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Flagging down another taxi, he headed for her apartment. She answered the door as if she’d been expecting his arrival. Her expression was neither surprised nor delighted and he half expected her to slam the door in his face. Instead, she stepped back, but made no welcoming gesture.
“Sabeen said you weren’t returning to New York until Sunday.” Her rebuke came through loud and clear.
Roark entered her apartment and dropped his duffel
near the door. “Sabeen doesn’t know my business.”
“Neither does anyone else, apparently.”
The black turtleneck she wore emphasized her skin’s paleness. She’d fastened her long blond hair into a lackluster ponytail. She stood with her arms crossed over her chest, her shoulders hunched. This was not the vibrant woman he’d made love to on Wednesday morning.
“I went to the restaurant, but some woman said you’d been fired.”
“Josie didn’t think having one of her employees embroiled in a Page Six scandal was good for her business.”
“We can fix this.”
Instead of answering she retreated to her small dining table and picked up an envelope. “Here.”
“What is this?”
“The money I took from you. It’s all there.”
He left his hands at his sides, letting her know he wasn’t going to take the envelope. “I gave you the money in exchange for your help.”
“What help? Thanks to Sabeen, everyone knows our engagement was fake. Your reputation is worse than before.”
“It’s her word against ours.”
“It’s more than that.” She waggled the envelope to catch his attention. “I can’t pretend anymore.”
Her dejection wrenched at him. When she’d needed him to be at her side, he disappointed her. He didn’t blame her for cutting her losses.
“Keep the money. This fiasco was my fault, not yours.”
“I don’t feel right taking it.”
“How are you planning on paying for your next round of in vitro without it?”
She shoved her chin to a belligerent angle. “I’ll manage.”
“Don’t be stubborn.” He might have accepted her decision, if not for the dark circles beneath her eyes. It was his fault that she wasn’t sleeping. That she’d lost her job. If he’d postponed his trip for a few days they could have confronted Sabeen’s accusation together. She wouldn’t have had to face the anniversary of her family’s death alone. “Have you forgotten that you’re out of a job?”
“Not likely.”
Frustration rushed at him like a speeding bullet. “Why can’t you just let me help you?”
“Because I don’t feel right taking anything from you.”
“Why not? I thought we were friends.” Even as he said the words, he realized he thought of her as a lot more than that.
“Friends.” She repeated the word too softly for Roark to catch any inflection that hinted at her thoughts.
Oh, who was he kidding? What he felt for her went way past friendship. But how far did it go? He instinctively shied away from the word love. He’d never shown a propensity for the commitment and responsibility to another required for that emotion.
And what could he expect from Elizabeth when he had no idea what he intended to offer her?
Bypassing the envelope she continued to hold out to him like some sort of shield, Roark stepped into her space and slid his fingers into the hair at the back of her head, undoing the ponytail. While her hair cascaded around her shoulders, he lowered his head and stole her surprised gasp.
