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Although part of me wanted to be childish about this and tell her to go shove her money where the sun didn’t shine, I knew I couldn’t.
“Apology accepted. If Lukas also came to you to ask you to be involved, I trust him.” This time I reached out to offer her my hand. She took it and smiled.
Without much more hesitation, she signed the contract and finally worked on getting her money transferred over. I backed off again, considering how this meeting had gone from almost entirely awful to a positive end. If it hadn’t been for Lukas, this whole deal might have fallen apart. I owed him for the whole project in so many ways.
CHAPTER NINETY-NINE
Lukas
It took all my self-control to stay in the room with everyone and wait to see what Kit would do. She had been polite, said goodbye to the majority of the investors, but now just Anna was left and Kit had walked away from her to stand elsewhere.
Henry and Daniel were both deep in conversation, and the other two PAs were talking to each other out of the way, leaving Sarai to close the final piece of business again. There was only Kit and I who were not talking to anyone, but I had made her a promise and I knew it was time I left.
Although I wanted to wait to say goodbye to Anna, I also knew I had no real reason to stay. I slipped out of the room, not even daring to look at Kit before I did.
I’d only walked a few yards down the corridor when I heard footsteps behind me.
“Lukas, wait,” Kit called.
I didn’t need her to ask twice. She came right up to me, a familiar blush on her cheeks and her hands wringing together in a way that made me want to reach out and take them in mine.
“Thank you.” She stopped in front of me and looked up at me with those sweet eyes. I wanted to pull her into my arms andcrush her against me. To press my lips against hers until I didn’t know where I ended and she began. Instead, I gulped.
“You’re welcome. I hope it makes up for some of my stupidity.”
“You think you were stupid?” she asked, her eyes widening in what appeared to be genuine surprise.
“Sarai and Daniel told me what really happened with Peter. How you rejected him and sent him on his way before I ever said a word to you about witnessing it. I should have trusted you.” I shook my head. I couldn’t look at her. Couldn’t hope for anything other than she would at least hear me.
“They told me about Jennifer. How she used you for money. I can understand your fear. I’d have appreciated being trusted, but I can at least understand why you ran scared of a repeat.” She sighed and I looked up finally.
She wasn’t looking at me, but down at her hands. Again I had to fight the urge to sweep her into my arms. I didn’t have that right.
“Can you forgive me?” I asked instead.
“Yes, if you’ll forgive me for not responding well.”
“You responded exactly the way an innocent person would have. You have nothing to be sorry for.” I shook my head, so sure she had been an angel that I couldn’t let her say sorry to me. I just couldn’t.
There was an awkward silence and she looked up at me again.
“Is there any way I can make it up to you? I know you asked if I wouldn’t be where you were on this project, and if the answer is still no, I promise I’ll accept it and never ask again, but if there is anything at all I can do to show you exactly how sorry I am, I would do it in a heartbeat.”
“Anything?” Kit asked, her hands finally going still.
I nodded, not sure what she was going to ask me to do, but I was almost certain I would. Hope fluttered in my heart as she considered my words. Fear had told me she would reject the offer outright. Could she actually give me the chance?
“There’s nothing I can think of for sure that would show me you were truly sorry. I...” Kit shrugged. “I assumed you wouldn’t want to talk to me again. You’ve set up this project for me and made it very clear that I’m to expect a cut of money forever. If you wanted to make it up to me, in that sense, you already have.”
It was the most unexpected reaction she could have given me. I had assumed there would be a long list of ways I would need to grovel, and here she was telling me I had done everything already and more than she’d hoped for.
“You really don’t think of life the way other women do, do you?”
“I can’t tell if that’s a compliment or an insult.” The corner of her mouth twitched up.
“It’s supposed to be the former. It’s…refreshing. But...” I stepped forward and gently took one of her hands. It took all my control not to do more, but I wanted her to know she was safe with me again. I had to prove that to her. “If you’ll let me, I’d like to do something anyway. I want you to know I’m truly sorry and willing to do what I can to put it right. Will you give me the chance to show you how sorry I am?”
She studied me, and it felt like her eyes saw right through to my soul. I hoped she could see the truth of how I felt.
