Page 276
Chapter 276 of "Desert Wind" introduces the scene: I let go of Dylanโs hand.Not fast, like I had been caught doing something dirty.Slowly.Like... Keep going!
I let go of Dylanโs hand.
Not fast, like I had been caught doing something dirty.
Slowly.
Like surrender.
I stood, the chair scraping faintly behind me.
My face was wet. My hands empty. My heart nowhere near protected.
Georgia waited.
She deserved a lie.
No.
She deserved the truth.
I looked at Dylan first.
Then at her.
โSince I was eighteen,โ I whispered.
Georgia closed her eyes.
The answer landed exactly where she already knew it would.
When she opened them again, tears slid down her cheeks.
โHe said your name,โ she said.
It was not a question.
My breath caught.
She looked past me to Dylan.
Then down at the ring on her finger.
โI knew there was someone,โ she whispered. โI just didnโt know she was real.โ
Something inside me cracked.
โIโm sorry.โ
Georgia laughed once.
Small.
Broken.
โMe too.โ
I stepped away from the bed.
Away from Dylan.