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I internally cursed myself, realizing once again what an idiot I was and why I don’t belong in situations like this.
“Hey, hey, what’s wrong, angel?” Leo whispered, gently rubbing my shoulders.
“There are kids coming. I ruined everything. I . . . I . . . don’t belong here. This is all messed up.”
“Hey, you didn’t ruin a thing. How many kids can say they had a five-star chef cater their party?” Leo’s voice was soft and he continued to run his palms over my shoulders.
“This isn’t working, Leo.” I looked up at him and he frowned.
“I’ll order a few pizzas and everything will be fine,” he said.
“It’s not fine . . .” I whispered and hung my head. Leo tipped my chin up with his finger, forcing my gaze to meet his. “I don’t belong here.”
“Why would you say that?”
I scoffed. “Look at me.”
He nodded, raking his eyes over my body. “I’m looking and I’m liking what I see, Red.” Between his charming smile and wink, I almost melted right there. But too many facts remained. I wasn’t a list girl. Wasn’t Vanessa. I wasn’t a woman Regan approved of. I wasn’t even in the same realm as the great Leo Savas. Not to mention, kids made me nervous. I was everything Leo wasn’t looking for. And I wasn’t the only one who knew it.
“I’ll clean this up and get going,” I said and reached for a box.
“Hey, will you stop?”
“What?” I snapped.
“Paige, you’re invited. You don’t have to leave. I should have been more clear on the food.”
I didn’t know if it was the past few weeks, or few months that were creeping up on me but suddenly, everything felt overwhelming. I couldn’t take one more instance where I came up lacking and felt so out of place in Leo’s world. Because every time, it crushed a part of me.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea that I stay.”
“I disagree,” Leo said sternly. “Do I need to pull out the job description again?”
I gave a humorless laugh. “There’s no reason for me to stay. I feel uncomfortable. I don’t fit in here, Leo.”
“You want a reason?” he asked, and waited for me to look into his eyes before saying, “Stay because I want you to.”
My eyes fluttered shut for a moment, letting the words sink in, desperately wanting them to be enough. To be true. He wanted me to stay. But there was a lot that didn’t make sense between us. A lot that bothered me, a lot of questions.
“How did lunch with Vanessa go?” I asked. I knew it was out of nowhere, but it had been eating me up. The wondering. I had no right or claim to Leo, but the thought of him and another woman sat really bad with me.
“It was fine.”
I nodded. “So fine you didn’t need to go on a date the following night with someone else?”
He grinned. “Is that what this is about?”
“There’s nothing about anything, I was just wondering.”
“Uh-huh. Well, do you really want to know the truth?” His voice was raspy and I found myself crossing my arms, preparing for the worst.
“Y-yes.” I cleared my throat because that stupid tremor made me sound weak. I hung on the edge of what Leo was about to say, prepared to hear that he really liked Vanessa. Maybe that they were dating, or maybe he—
“I’m interested,” he said, and my heart sank. But when he cupped my hip, pulling me a little closer, he whispered against my lips, “in you.”
My eyes went wide. The sound of those words made my chest fill with the same hope that was getting me in trouble. Just before I could rise to my toes and kiss him, several kids came whooshing through the door.
“Uncle Leo! The bouncy castle is ready. You have to come see,” Lyssa said. She tugged his hand and Leo winked at me.
