Page 65 of The Spare
I could hear him take a deep breath. “Listen, about Istanbul—”
“I’m sorry I brought it up.” It was easily one of the scariest weeks of my life. I had never brought it up because I never wanted to remind him of it. Xander had these moments in his life where he went completely off the rails. The first time was after his parents died. The second was during our trip to Istanbul. It never happened again, but the morbid anticipation of a recurrence kept the anxiety alive.
“Don’t be. I’m glad you did. I’m okay now, and you don’t have to worry about me all the time,” he said. I opened my mouth to retort, but he stopped me. “We both know you still do.”
“I love you, Xanny.”
His laugh reset the tone of the conversation. “I thought we retired that nickname.”
“I was feeling nostalgic.”
“Don’t punish him for too long.”
“I won’t.” I wanted to hold onto my anger, but the desire to melt into Marcus’s arms was so much stronger.
CHAPTER33
Marcus
It was Friday. It had been almost a week since our kiss, and Sloan still hadn’t answered my texts or calls.
Her phone went straight to voicemail, again. I shoved my phone in my pocket, the vice grip on my chest tightening. Thankfully, Penelope was answering my calls. I could only pray my plan would work.
I should have waited until she was ready. I knew that. But the terror that I’d lose her made me question everything.
When I got to her office, I stopped for a moment to watch her from the doorway. She had her headphones on, her hair tousled from a long day. Her head bobbed adorably as she stood at her desk, reading the pages in her hands, glancing down to the ones on her desk, and scribbling notes.
Her mannerisms, her laugh, her voice. I missed it all.
Her eyes lifted. She froze before removing the headphones.
Silence smothered the room.
“Marcus,” she said as she placed the papers on her desk neatly. “What can I do for you?”
“Can we talk?” I took several steps into her office, and her expression softened. Her eyes darted around in thought.
I wanted to pull her into my arms. Instead, I took a few more cautious steps closer to her. Having to be even arm's distance away from her felt like torture. “Sloan, I’m sorry, I thou—”
"Amari, love, I thought you were lead on the Burton merger." A voice interrupted at the doorway.
Love?
A cold wave of possessiveness rippled through me. My grip nearly crushed my phone in my hand, the one I’d stared at all day hoping to see her name.
He stood at the doorway, stealing her attention from me. Whoever he was, he looked oddly familiar.
“Jay Sachi, this is Marcus Sutton,"Sloan said. He took a few steps into the office when Sloan gestured to me. Recognizing the name, my eyes narrowed, taking in the guy she was apparently too smart to go out with.
"Pleasure.” His voice was grating and polite. I was sure nobody would miss him if he disappeared.
I didn’t say anything. Fury rumbled low in my chest.
“Sutton? You know Xander then? Small world," he added jovially. My jaw flexed. An awkward silence fell in the room. "Terribly sorry if I'm interrupting something—"
"You're not." Her eyes finally met mine again and stayed there. "He's Xander’s older brother. Just checking in on me."
I flinched.Xander’s older brother.That’s all?
