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There. She’d said it. And not during sex. No going backnow.

He took a step toward her. He opened his mouth to say something then closed it. Then opened it again. “Why does it matter what I say to journalists when I’m sharing my bed withyou?”

Her eyes felt moist. She’d said I love you and he ignored her. Again. “It makes me your shameful little secret.”

“No.” He placed his arms on her shoulders. “It doesn’t.”

She shrugged out from his grip. “It does. And it’s not just journalists. It’s charity events where I watch with your fans while you hang on the arm of women you’ve slept with. It’s you lying to important people about who I am in your life. Would you even tell your mother?”

His pause told herno.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“You promised me, Maddie, that you wouldn’t care what other people thought or knew. That you’d come to me. That you’d talk tome.”

“I am talking to you. And I don’t care about what they think of me. I care about what you think about me. What it means that you don’t want to tell people about me. If you cared about me at all, you wouldn’t ask me to be a secret. It’s not fair. It’s selfish.”

The lines of his jaw hardened. “And you weren’t being selfish when you decided when and how we were going to end without giving me a chance to respond?”

She hung her head as if she’d been slapped. “You’re right. I ran away—I run away, Micah. That’s my M.O.” She took a deep breath. “But I’m not running now. I’m telling you how I feel and that’s not easy for me. Did you hear me? I love you. I want to be in your life. For real.” A tear escaped down her cheek.

He caught her tear on the tip of his finger. “Maddie...” His voice was low and pained.

But he didn’t say it back. He didn’t loveher.

Her heart broke. The dam of tears burst and she swiped as they fell. “I know. You have to choose and all that. You’ve told me. Well, I choose, too. And I’m choosing this. I…can’t seeyou.”

He closed his eyes, pain etched across his features. When he opened them again, he’d turned hard. He noddedonce.

Maddie choked back a sob. He was letting her do this. Letting her walk away. She had hoped he would fight harder for her. But he didn’t.

“Goodbye, Micah.”

As she passed by him, he grabbed her and pushed her against the wall. He pressed his body to hers, his stiff bulge throbbing through his pants against her pelvis. She shook her head, but he put his hands on the sides of her face and held her still, capturing her lips inhis.

He kissed her roughly, desperately, and within moments she surrendered to his demanding mouth. Warm liquid pooled between her legs as she melted into him. She loved this like she loved him. She wanted him like this always. He moved a hand down to her breast. His fingers kneaded her frantically, drawing her nipple out easily.

She moaned, and he moved his lips to her ear. “Doesn’t this mean anything to you?” His voice was thick with need. “What you do to me? How you respond to my touch?” He pinched her nipple and her breath drew in sharply. “Can you really walk away fromthis?”

Maddie moved her hands to his chest and, fighting against every aroused nerve ending in her body with more strength than she knew she had, she pushed him away. He dropped his hands and steppedback.

She wiped her mouth, trying to erase the taste of him. “It’s sex, Micah,” she said when she could speak. “As long as you’re officially free and single, that’s all wehave.”

She turned again to leave, but paused in the doorway. “Silent partner, I think.”

“I’ll tell Richard.” His voice was cold and empty, breaking her heart further—she hadn’t known it was possible.

Without another word she walked out on Micah Preston, her chest aching, and her pride hurt. It killed her to admit, but she had learned something important: Fairytale endings only ever happened in the movies.