She laughs softly, and damn if it’s not my favorite sound in the world. I kiss her forehead. “I’m also going to start buying up midtown. The Sterlings think they’re moving closer to us? Fine. I’ll beat them to it.”
She traces her finger across my chest. “So you’re going to buy up midtown, and the Sterlings are doing the same thing. Eventually we’re all just going to crash into each other.”
My jaw tightens. “Yeah.”
She studies me for a second. “You’re worried.”
“I’m not worried,” I answer automatically.
Her eyebrows lift.
I sigh. “Fine. I’m worried about you.”
Her expression softens instantly. I shift onto my side so I can see her better. “Victor wasn’t after just lunch today, Ellie. He was making a statement.”
She shakes her head. “There’s no way he would have known I was going to be there. I just kept walking and decided to go when I saw the sign.”
I grit my teeth. “He could have ignored you, but he chose not to. No, he made a big deal about approaching you, knowing it would get back to me. I wouldn’t be surprised if he arranged for people to take pictures and video of you two together. It was a statement, Ellie.”
She asks, “To you?”
“To everybody.” I grit my teeth. “He wanted people to see my wife sitting with him. He wanted people talking.”
Her face twists. “Well, people are probably talking. The pictures were all over social media.”
Rage spikes through me all over again. “I should have killed him years ago.”
“Bobby.”
“I mean it,” I snap. “He scared you.”
She reaches for my hand. “I’m okay.”
“But you weren’t,” I point out. “You were standing in a restaurant with Victor Sterling blocking the damn door, and I wasn’t there to protect you.”
Her hand squeezes mine. “You can’t protect me from everything.”
“I should.”
She lets out a soft breath, and I know she’s trying not to argue with me. But it’s who I am. Protecting her is as natural to me as breathing.
I brush a strand of blond hair behind her ear. “Come home.”
The words are soft, but everything in me is riding on them.
She goes still in my arms, and I already know before she answers.
“Bobby…”
Pain slices through my chest, but I keep my face blank.
“I’m not saying no,” she says quickly. “I’m just not ready yet.”
I look away from her and stare at the ceiling. Every instinct inside me wants to push and demand she do what I say. It’s on the tip of my tongue to remind her that she belongs with me, but ignoring her needs and wants is what got us here.
I force myself to relax and look back at her. “Okay.”
She blinks at me like she expected a fight.
