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“I know my pattern. It’s why I’d decided to have a baby on my own. I’m always falling for the wrong sort of guy.”
“Like me.”
“Like you.”
Roark would never be domesticated. He had no interest in being part of a traditional family. As a child he’d spent too much time alone. He’d learned about independence, not what it meant to rely on someone. While his brother was content to be a husband and a father, Roark craved adventure. It wasn’t fair to be frustrated with him because she expected too much. But she didn’t have to bang her head against a wall either.
“So, if I really care about you, I should leave you alone.”
No. If you really care about me, you should stay in New York and spend the rest of your life making me the happiest woman on earth.
“Yes, you should leave me alone.”
Heart breaking, she continued, “The reason for us being together no longer exists.”
“Then I’ll stay away.” He grazed her forehead with his lips, picked up his jacket and duffel and headed toward her front door.
Was she making a mistake? He said he didn’t want to lose her, but she’d not given him a chance to tell her where he wanted to take their relationship. She just assumed it wasn’t where she wanted to go. And yet by abandoning her at Thanksgiving when he knew how devastating the holiday would be for her, he’d demonstrated exactly where his priorities lay.
The guessing game tore at her confidence and reminded her how many times she’d played this same game with herself.
“Roark…”
He’d reached the hallway and turned when she spoke his name. His face was granite, but behind in his eyes intense emotions burned. “I would only end up hurting you. I never wanted that. You have to do what’s right for you. Goodbye, Elizabeth.”
She should be grateful that he was sympathetic to her plight and strong enough to follow through when she would have called him back and repeated her mistakes. But she couldn’t feel happy or even relieved that their relationship had ended cleanly. After such a short time together, her heart should be barely bruised.
So, why did her chest ache and her eyes burn with unshed tears?
Because she’d fallen in love him despite all her determination to be smarter this time. And that made her a first-class idiot because his actions had demonstrated that she would always come a distant second to his adventures.
* * *
Roark caught a taxi in front of Elizabeth’s apartment and directed it to Waverly’s. This wasn’t how he’d expected his day to end. The lasagna cooking in Elizabeth’s oven made his mouth water and he realized it had been over twelve hours since he’d eaten anything. Food hadn’t seemed important while he was gorging himself on sensual delicacies. With Elizabeth in his arms, nothing else mattered.
So, why had he let her push him away? His instincts demanded that he stay and fight for her. Walking out her door had been one of the hardest things he’d ever done. If not for his decision he’d made after his mother’s death to avoid all romantic entanglements, he might have…
What?
She wanted something from him he couldn’t commit to. A family. Security. He wasn’t cut out to settle down and be someone’s everything. Hadn’t he failed his mother? Wasn’t his leaving what had made her heart give out? He swore he’d never get close enough to hurt anyone like that again.
The taxi let Roark out in front of Waverly’s. This late on a Friday, all of the building’s seven floors were dark except the top one where Waverly’s executives ran the business. He paused before approaching the building. When Vance had first brought him into the Waverly’s fold, Roark had been adamant in his refusal to be tied to an office and a day-to-day routine. But after spending three months in the Amazon, eluding thugs with machine guns, and the troubles over the Gold Heart statue, he no longer perceived Waverly’s as a straightjacket he needed to avoid.
Kendra Darling pushed open the front door as he neared. She reminded him of Elizabeth. A career woman hiding her femininity behind tortoise-shell glasses, unglamorous pantsuits and professionalism.
“You’re working late,” he remarked, passing from the chilly November night into the impressive foyer.
An enormous crystal chandelier cast a soft glow over the classical artwork adorning polished-wood paneling. During the day Waverly’s clients strode along the gold carpet or sat on one of the couches upholstered in rich fabrics that dotted the large space. Tonight, the empty space had a haunted quality.
“I’m supposed to escort you up as soon as you arrive.” As Ann’s longtime assistant, Kendra was used to dealing with all sorts of tough situations, from unhappy clients to nosy reporters.
“Ann doesn’t think I can find my own way?”
“After you refused the car I sent to pick you up, she insisted I make sure you weren’t sidetracked.”
“Lead the way.”
Ann wasn’t behind her desk when Kendra gestured him into the CEO’s office. Roark could tell by Ann’s agitated pacing as she wore a path from one tall, narrow window to the next that something was seriously wrong.
