“Last night was a mistake,” she says carefully. “We got caught up in the moment, but we can't let it happen again.”
“Why not?”
“Because I'm your publicist. Because we work together. Because it's completely unprofessional.”
“So what? People have relationships with their colleagues all the time.”
She stands up and moves to the window as if she can’t bear to look at me. “We can't have an affair, Liam.”
“Who said anything about an affair? Maybe I want more than that.”
She turns to face me, and there's something almost panicked in her expression. “More? You don't even know me.”
I stand up too, frustration building. “I know how you felt in my arms last night, and I know you felt it too.”
“That's not enough.”
“It's a start.”
“It's not happening.” Her tone is final. “Last night was a one-time thing. It won't happen again.”
The rejection stings. “So that's it? You just use me and disappear?”
She whirls around and stares at me. “Use you?”
“Yeah. Use me. That's what this feels like, Avery. You take what you want and then you're gone. I'm the one left wondering what the hell happened.”
“You think I used you?” Her voice is incredulous.
“What else am I supposed to think?”
“You're unbelievable.” She's angry now, color rising in her cheeks. “You think I'm the one using people? You, who's been photographed with a different woman every week? Who treats relationships like a revolving door?”
“That was the past. I’m a different man now.” I can’t believe this shit is pouring out of me. Neither can I believe that I want this woman so badly that I’m begging.
Me. Novak. Begging for a woman’s attention.
She raises an eyebrow. It pisses me the fuck off, but I have to keep my cool. I move closer, needing her to understand. “Those women are just noise. This is different. You're different.”
Something flickers in her expression, but she shakes her head. “It doesn't matter. It can't happen again.”
“Why? Give me one good reason that isn't about work.”
She's quiet for a long moment, and I think maybe I'm getting through to her. Then she meets my eyes. “Because it would hurt me.”
The honesty of it stops me cold. “What?”
“When you get bored and move on to the next woman, when the novelty wears off and you remember that I'm just your uptight publicist who makes you follow rules, it would hurt me. And I can't afford that kind of hurt.”
“I wouldn't.” The very idea of it is insane. Doesn’t she understand? I’ve never been sure of anything in my life. Avery is it. She’s the one I never thought I was waiting for.
“You would. Maybe not intentionally, but you would. It's who you are.”
The words are like a knife to my chest. “That's not fair.”
“It's realistic.” She moves back to her desk, “I have a job to do, and you have a career to salvage. Let's focus on that.”
I stare at her for a long moment, anger and hurt warring in my chest. She's wrong about me. About this. But I can see in her face that she's made up her mind.
