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The familiar terror that a relationship would detract from her career came slamming into her. Her old tendencies to clam up at love, to guard her heart, and to acknowledge she didn’t have time for it rose up from their quiet resting place. Looking at Zander, she saw all of the dangerous things she’d avoided for so long. Tonight was just a slap in the face that she had been right to put aside love.
And now, she knew what she had to do. It was painful, but it was necessary. Rachel wouldn’t let anything or anyone interrupt her on her path to success.
Even if that someone was a gorgeous man who had stolen her heart from the moment she saw him.
“Zander, I can’t do this. This is exactly what I was afraid of. My career has to come first. This thing between us has been fun and exciting, but I can’t do it anymore. It’s too risky. It’s pulling my attention away from what matters most. I have to focus on my career. I can’t let anything get in the way, okay? I’m sorry. I just can’t.”
Zander opened his mouth, but no words came out. He stood holding the single red rose, which now seemed like a funeral flower instead of a symbol of love. She stood for a moment, mourning her mistake on stage and also, in truth, mourning the loss of this, whatever it was blooming into.
Some women could do it all. Some women could juggle a career and a relationship and everything else.
But Rachel apparently wasn’t one of them, as evidenced by tonight’s debacle. And she wasn’t going to risk everything she’d built for her heart’s fantastical whims. She couldn’t, even if she wanted to.
“I’m sorry,” she said before slinking away from Zander, off to the back dressing room to get herself together before heading home, alone, like she always should’ve done.
He said nothing because he probably knew the obvious truth—once a stubborn woman like Rachel set her mind to something, there was no changing it.
