Page 144 of Rush

“Not like you to drop work for a girl, bro. What gives?”

“She needed me. I promised her I’d be here, and…I didn’t want to let her down.”

At those words, I want to run. Into his arms, down the street—anywhere. They sit too heavy with expectation. I know he has feelings for me. That’s what made it so easy to push him into agreeing to this arrangement. Some small, selfish part of me knew he wouldn’t say no. And now, it feels cruel to have cashed in on that—because I’m not sure I’m ready to give my heart away again when so much of it still feels tethered to someone else.

After we say our goodbyes, Broderick and I head back toward the city.

“Thank you for today,” I say quietly, my gaze fixes on the blur of trees outside the window.

“Did you have a good time?”

“I did. They’re wonderful—and little Mia is so squishy and cute.” The word slips out in a giggly rush, and Igigilover his niece.

He chuckles, eyes warm on me. “She’s really something. Elijah’s a lucky man.”

I nod and turn back to the window, the ache in my chest sharper than I want to admit.

“El—you sure you’re okay?” His thumb strokes my thigh, gentle, grounding.

“Are you?” I murmur. “Okay with all of this? I’d hate to think this…arrangement between us might be holding you back. Stopping you from finding someone who can give you all ofthat.”

He exhales slowly. “If I gave you that impression, I’m sorry. But El, you’re not holding me back. You didn’t force me intothis. If anything, you probably gave me ten years of my life back. Before you, I was killing myself with work. These last few weeks with you—have been incredible. A reprieve from the grind, from the noise. You’ve reminded me there’s more to life than just the hustle.”

I turn to face him, struck by the earnestness etched into his features. “If you want to stop, we can stop.” I look down at my hands, the way he looks at me is unbearable.

“I meant what I said,” he replies, steady. “I’m in. I’m all in, baby. If this is the only way you’ll let me have you, then I can live with that—for now.”

“For now.” My throat tightens. “But what if you get tired of this? Tired of me?”

Alex did,I think, bitterly. Less than three months with me, and he was gone—back into Madison’s arms.

“Hey.” His voice softens. “That’s not going to happen. We’re friends first, no matter what. You said you couldn’t lose me, right?”

I nod, blinking hard.

“Well, I can’t lose you either. I care about you, El. I really do. And it’s not just about the sex—though, for the record, it’s phenomenal. Honestly, before you came along and blew my brains out, I hadn’t had sex in over a year. My hand was about to riot, maybe even cut itself off.”

My jaw drops. “What? A year?” I scoff, shaking my head. “I don’t believe that. Surely, you’ve been leaving a trail of broken hearts and one-night stands across the globe.”

He shakes his head, a small smile tugging at his mouth. “I’m not like that—I can’t fuck someone without a connection.”

Chris pulls the car into the parking garage of my hotel, and Broderick and I are engulfed in patches of darkness.

“Ma’am, we’ve arrived. I’ll give you two privacy. Mr. Schwartz.” Chris nods before leaving the car.

His words hang between us, the silence thick, our breaths heavy with the desperation to cling to whateverthisis between us.

“Who’s Lauren?”

I hear Broderick unclip his seatbelt and shift closer. “Lauren is my ex-girlfriend. We were together for two years. Broke up almost two years ago.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It was amicable—we grew apart. No bad blood. She’s married now.” His voice is flat, as though he’s long since put it behind him.

“Did you love her?”

“I did. For a time. But we fell out of love. We wanted different things.”