“But I get it now.”

Will grinned. “Because with her, nothing’s more important than what she wants.”

“Exactly. There’s no sacrifice, because I just want to see her happy.”

“Oh, hell, man. You found her.”

“Well, I…” That’s not true, because I can’t have her.

But, for the first time, he didn’t entirely believe that. This is the shift Will was talking about. When you stop seeing obstacles and start seeing pathways around them. “Yeah, I think I did.”

I’m going to marry that woman.

The sudden realization had him jumping out of his chair. “I’m heading to the bar. You want anything?”

“Nah,” Will said. “We’re not staying much longer.”

Brodie pushed his way through the crowd.

Marry her.

Where the hell did that come from?

What would that even look like? The bartender was slammed, so Brodie waited to catch his attention.

She was part of the royal family. She needed to live in St. Christophe.

Their obstacles seemed insurmountable, but nothing was impossible. Not when you wanted something badly enough. He twisted around, seeking her out in the mass of bodies dancing to the country rock song. When you needed something. Someone.

Her.

“She’s something, right?”

Brodie jerked away from the voice in his ear. Fucking Marcel stood there, but where he’d expected to see a smug expression, instead he found sincerity. He ignored the douchenozzle and raised a finger to the bartender. The guy gave him a chin nod in acknowledgement.

“Looks like she’s having a nice time out here,” Marcel said.

“It’d be even better for her if you left.”

“She’s my fiancée. Where else would I be?”

“You can cut the shit. I know the story. And, before you get all pissy, she only talked to me because she knows I’ve got her back.”

“Do you, though?”

Brodie stepped closer to the guy. “Not an easy concept for you to grasp, but some of us can be trusted.”

The man looked almost as offended as embarrassed. “Don’t presume to understand our situation. I never stopped caring about her. I just got…restless. When we were at university at the same time, I didn’t notice it as much. But, then, she was away another three years in perfume school, and I was back home and…” He let out a rough exhalation. “I don’t know. Something changed for her in perfume school.”

“Yeah, she found her passion.” Brodie’s tone held contempt for the man she’d known all her life but who didn’t get her at all.

“Up until then, she was my constant companion. We did everything together, texted all the time. But for those three years...”