He breathed through his mouth. She’d been cut every time he touched her or said her name. Even his panic-scrambled brain could pick that up.

He dug the heels of his palms against his eyes. It was just a stupid dream. It didn’t mean anything.

Chapter Seventeen

Ginger didn’t go back to Shane’s penthouse after she finished the dim sum with Debbie. Instead she’d gone to her apartment to give herself some time to process everything that had happened.

How the discovery of the photos had changed so many things so fast…and so irrevocably. She’d been convinced that even though Shane didn’t remember everything—and the issue of what had made him leave in the first place hadn’t been resolved—they might be able to make their relationship work. She couldn’t have been more wrong.

The pictures established a pattern. They were clearly the reason Shane had left her the first time. And he had run off again when Dane had told him about her ex-boyfriend. Apparently, all it took for him to hightail it was an insinuation that she might not be faithful.

Would she be asked to pay for the sins of his parents forever? She’d always been true to Shane, always been extra careful not to give the wrong impression because she was aware of his background.

But one set of photos had destroyed everything.

She closed her eyes, trying to block out the painful twist in her heart, and clenched her jaw. What if there hadn’t been just one set? What if there had been more, and the ones she was holding were just the final straw?

No way to tell, but there was one thing she knew for sure—if he didn’t trust her, she couldn’t continue to be with him. Her word should be able to trump even “evidence” like this, no matter how perfectly photoshopped.

Her phone rang. Before Ginger could say hello, Debbie squealed. “Daddy said yes!”

Ginger sat up. “Really?”

“Yup. He said, ‘That’s horrible. I like Ginger.’” Debbie giggled. “I think he likes you because he thinks you’re a calming influence on me. Anyway, he sent me information for the family investigator. I’ll forward it to your email so you can contact him yourself. Apparently he’s very good and very discreet. Also, no connection to the Pryce family. I checked.”

“Oh my god, thank you!”

“Keep me posted!” Debbie hung up.

Soon, a message popped up in Ginger’s inbox with a name, number and email address. No other info.

Ginger typed out a short memo to the investigator, scanning and attaching copies of the pictures and envelope. She was just about to click SEND when she hesitated. If I find out who it is, then what? She’d been furious earlier and wanted whoever it was to pay. But now that she’d had some time to process the situation, she wasn’t so sure. She could probably deal with a random stalker, but what if it was somebody closer?

Ceinlys, for example, had always thought Shane could do better than Ginger.

A knot of pain formed at the base of Ginger’s neck. She stood up and stretched, rotating her neck around and massaging her shoulders.

It didn’t help.

She sat down again and closed her eyes. Whoever it is, the first thing is to know. She hit SEND and closed the laptop. It was done. She would just wait for the report.

* * *

Shane puffed out a breath as he stood outside Dane’s penthouse. The bastard was inside, but taking his sweet time answering the door.

A blonde finally opened it. She was in nothing but a silky red robe…which stuck out prominently in the chest area. “Hi?”

“Where’s Dane?”

“He’s, like, in the back? Should I get him?”

“Don’t bother.” Shane shouldered past her.

Dane’s place was professionally done with minimal personal touches. No family photos, no favorite books or movies. Just a large wall-mounted TV, recessed lights illuminating a collection of crystal figurines from Swarovski, and expensive furniture. It looked like a model home rather than a place somebody actually lived.

“Hey. Are you, like, barging in?”

Shane gritted his teeth. “Dane!”

His brother emerged from the master suite in a robe. “What do you want?”

“Honey? I tried to, you know, stop him, but he came inside? Who is he?”

“How the hell can you date somebody who can’t talk without turning everything into a question?” Shane said. Maybe hanging out with annoying people was what made Dane so abrupt and obnoxious.

“Wow. Are you, like, rude or what?”

Dane smiled at the blonde. “Why don’t you get dressed? I’ll see you later.”

“You call me, honey?” She beamed at Dane, gave Shane a dirty look, and disappeared into the suite.

“Scotch?” Dane said.

“You know where Ginger lives, don’t you?” Shane said.

Shrugging, Dane poured a glass. “I thought she was living with you now. Didn’t you run after her to her parents’ place?”

“What the—? Have you been spying on me?”

Dane gave him a bland look. “I noticed Mark was missing one of his cars.”

Shane scowled, unsure whether to believe him. “Ginger’s probably at her place. I just don’t know where that is.” He didn’t want to contact Debbie. She was like a bulldog on steroids.

“Not surprising. She moved after she came back from South Africa.”

“So…her new address?”

Dane rattled it off, and Shane put it into his phone.

“Why are you going after her?” Dane said. “Maybe she doesn’t want to be with you right now.”

“My god, your assholeness really knows no bounds. Do you have any friends? Anyone at all you actually like?”

Dane gave him a look. “I liked grandmother Shirley, but she’s dead. And Blake is a friend.”

Shane tilted his head, curious about a person who would be friends with Dane. “Is that Blake male or female?”

“Male. Blake Pryce-Reed. One of our cousins. Now, back to the subject. You didn’t want to be around Ginger when you took off. You left the entire damned continent and cut off all communication with her. So don’t act like she can’t feel the same way about you. That would make you a hypocrite.”

That gave Shane a pause. He still couldn’t remember what had made him leave the way he had. “Do you know why I left?”

Dane shrugged. “Not really. Something about some pictures.”

“What pictures?”

“I don’t know, since you never discussed them with me.”

Shane frowned. “Does Mark know?”

“Highly doubtful. You kept a lot of things to yourself, and he’s not the person you would’ve gone to for relationship advice. Back then Mark’s record for dating the same woman was about three months.”

The blonde reemerged from the bedroom suite. She kissed Dane on the mouth. “Don’t forget to call me?”

“Don’t worry.”

She gave Shane another dirty look before leaving. Shane stared at his brother. “What’s the attraction of a woman like that?”

“Dumb and blonde.” Dane smiled slightly. “Just my type.”

Shane shook his head. “Never mind. I’m leaving now.”

“If you’re smart you’ll take my advice. Just let Ginger have some time to herself while you see the specialist I arranged for you. If you really want to know about your past, you’ll have to do it yourself instead of relying on others to fill in the blanks. People are notoriously unreliable and self-serving. And until you can resolve the past issue that had you disappearing, there’s always a chance it could come back to bite you in the ass later. What are you going to do then, when you might be married with kids?”

No way. Shane knew he’d never abandon Ginger and their children. God, just the idea of raising children with her made his heart tight with emotions.

But the part of him that had been shaken by the nightmare wondered if it was wise to ignore Dane’s advice. Even if the dream hadn’t been his lost memory, it might be related to his fears or something.