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One corner of his lip twitched in the hint of a smile. “Yes, you are.”
“Excuse me? No, I’m not.”
He didn’t seem angry. The rage I’d seen in his face the night before was nowhere to be seen.
Somehow, this was worse.
He stepped past me and went into the living room, looking around at my things. “This place is nice. Quaint. Kind of like your town.”
“I don’t think you heard me properly.”
“No, I heard you. I just disagree.”
“You don’t get to disagree with me on this.”
He paused and met my eyes. “Of course I do.”
“You can’t force me to date you.”
“No?” He clasped his hands behind his back and kept taking slow steps around the room. “I get what I want, Marigold. Always.”
I wasn’t sure how to reply to that. This wasn’t going the way I’d expected. I’d assumed he’d be angry. Not so utterly dismissive, as if I had no say in the matter.
“I’ve been very patient with you.” He reached up to straighten one of my mom’s paintings on the wall. “In fact, you have no idea how patient I can be. And I don’t think you appreciate what you’re trying to give up.”
“There’s no point in having this conversation. You’re not going to change my mind.”
His brow furrowed slightly. “I don’t think you understand. This doesn’t end until I say it does.”
“I don’t think you understand. It’s over. And you need to leave.”
He moved closer and I took another step back.
“It doesn’t have to be like this, princess. I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to you. Do you really think that small-town moron can compete with anything I can give you?”
“I can’t be bought.”
His lip twitched in a smile again. “Don’t be naïve. Everyone has a price. I can make all your problems disappear, like that.” He snapped his fingers. “If you want to keep your salon, great. But you’ll never have to worry about paying the bills again. And this house? This is nothing. I’ll give you extravagance you’ve never dreamed of. You have no idea who I really am, Marigold. I rub elbows with the elite. I live in luxury you can’t imagine. And I want to bring you into that world.”
“That’s not what I want.”
“Of course it is. It’s what everyone wants, whether they’re brave enough to admit it or not.” He stepped closer and brushed my hair back from my face. “I can give you everything you’ve ever wanted. You’ll never have to worry about anything.”
I flinched away from his touch. “No.”
Anger twisted his features and an edge crept into his voice. “Is this actually about him? You can’t seriously be thinking of choosing him over me.”
“This doesn’t have anything to do with him.”
“He’s nothing but a worthless, blue-collar nobody. You really want to be stuck in this random corner of nowhere with a guy like him? What kind of life is that? I want to elevate you above all this.”
“I don’t want you to do anything for me, and this isn’t about Zachary.”
His jaw hitched. “Don’t say that fucker’s name in front of me.”
“Don’t speak to me that way.” My spine straightened. I wasn’t giving him another inch. “I told you how I feel. I don’t want to see you anymore. Now you need to respect my wishes and go.”
“You still don’t get it.” He moved into my space, forcing me to back up. “This doesn’t end until I say it does.”
