Brendan turned back to Sterling. “I’ve got some unfinished business with this *sshole over here,” he snarled. “I’m itching to see if I can beat a man’s lust for another man’s woman out of him!”

Deirdre’s heart missed a beat. Panic possessed her, and she immediately clawed at Brendan’s arm. “No, what are you planning to do, Brendan?! This is between the two of us! You can shout and throw punches, but please… don’t drag an outsider into this!”

Her instinct to defend Sterling made Brendan’s eyes grow colder. “‘An outsider’?” he parroted mockingly, smirking. “I don’t think any woman would happily elope with an outsider, do you? And now he’s suddenly just some random what’s-his-name to you? Oh my God, Deirdre McKinnon, aren’t you a callous b*tch! You could murder Sterling with heartache alone, my dear.”

Deirdre’s eyes watered again. Her—heartless? Who was the heartless one among them?

What had happened to the man who had appeared at that charity event all those years ago? The man with