Unforgivable Mistakes, Unpaid Debts

liant but disgraced student working as a bartender, and turned him into a Silicon Valley billion

ood sweetheart,

tening it around her neck for everyone to see. That same night, he rescued me after I was drugged and nearly as

y bleeding in the ER, the nurse called him for consent for my eme

d," he said. "Whatever happe

an I had built from nothi

gned the consent form mysel

d proposed to me a year ago. "About th

pte

ine told Haven Parks that her parents were gone. A drunk driver had ru

ss. The weight of Parks Industries, her father' s life's work, sett

riends dragged her to a bar downtown, a place with dar

an V

ur years at MIT memorizing it from the back of lecture halls. He was the brilliant scholarship

Rumors flew, but the most persistent one

serving drinks, h

said, her voice

ed in his eyes, followed by a

," he said,

theart, Cora Short. Some guys had cornered her, and he' d stepped in. He didn't regret protecting her, but

extinguished by circumstance. The old affection, buried for y

of the turmoil inside her. "I' ll pay for you to finish your degree. Any sch

her, suspic

investment,"

ng to fill the echoing silence her parents had left

his companionship. It quickly bled into something more. An unspoken physical connection that filled the

years

d, just as he' d promised, changed the world. He had repaid his debt a hundred times over, making Haven wealthier

repaying a debt

hort w

Keegan and Cora on a weekend trip to Napa. He lavished his time and money on her,

business partner. He t

diamond necklace was on the block. Haven didn't care about the jewelry, bu

n, it was just her aga

n," Haven s

through the room

necklace with wide, wanting eyes. Haven froze, her paddle in her hand. Everyone turned t

lood, looked at Haven. "D

The humiliation was a physical heat rising

' s neck right there, in front of everyone, and ki

o was stable, kind, and devoted to her in a quiet, unwavering way. He had proposed to her a ye

the phone. "Is your of

is warm, steady voice. "

ne filled with suits she' d picked out, ties she' d knotted for him. Methodically, she began to pack his thin

She knew he would be at a tech gala that weekend.

aughing, her head thrown back. Keegan was watching her with an expr

mured nearby. "He looks at her like

en. What are you doing here?" The question was laced

lk," she said,

," he said, nodd

her voice sweet as syrup. "Haven, you

r future," Haven said, l

t?" Before he could finish, Cora

eaning heavily on him. "I

tly probing her ankle. "Does it hurt here? Let me see." He spoke to her in a lo

t he couldn' t see the shoddy acting in front of him. Cora wasn' t hurt. She j

ng accident. The pain had been white-hot, blinding. This f

asking, even though he knew Haven hated seafood. He peeled shrimp for Cora, his long, capable

agne, then something harder from a flask a friend offered. The

iness rivals, a man with a slick smile she' d always di

hallway was blessedly quiet. But he didn' t st

head thick and fuzzy.

ce," he said, his hand

d them. She realized her mistake too late. The wine hadn't jus

rying to get to the

his town. Let' s see how he feels whe

rs clumsy. She managed to hit Keegan' s number on her speed dial

s sour. She fought, kicking and scratching, but th

face a mask of cold fury. He pulled the man off her and

touch her again,

scooped her into his arms and carried her out, not to the suite they s

making her delirious. She reached for him, pulling at his

een so focused, so brilliant. He' d looked up from his equations, and for the first time, he had really seen her. He

ith cool eyes and said, "I will pay you

t. She thought it was t

But he had an early class. He' d kissed her forehead and left, leaving the w

e had him. That their nights together meant som

for Cora, while for her, there was only the cool, dutiful glow of a lamp kept lit out of obligati

creeping poison. Now, it h

was

he pushed him away. "

"Haven, it' s me."

d her hea

ang. He glanced at th

an! Help me! The shower... it' s broken, the water is s

cidity. Another ploy. Ano

om Haven, lying drugged and vulnerable on

t Haven, a flicker of something-annoyance? gu

shut, leaving her alone in

arity. He had left her. He had found her being assa

hroom, her body screaming in protest. The room was spinning. She need

decoration. Without thinking, she picked it up. She needed pa

in of her forearm. The sting was sharp, im

She didn't call Keegan. She called the only oth

into the phone, her voice

world w

of Keegan, eighteen and full of fire, arguing a point wi

he was looking at Cora, his eyes full of a raw, des

r been. His body, his time, his success-it was

ith a single,

aid. It was ti