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‘That’s great,’ he said. ‘And really, I can...I can help. If you want. I’ve got contacts, been through a lot of the stuff you’re going to come up against...’
‘Thank you, but no.’ She smiled as she spoke, but the words still stung.
‘Why not? Because you’re too stubborn?’
She shook her head. ‘Because I can’t have someone in my life who is ashamed of me. I’m done being ashamed of myself. I’ve made mistakes, sure, but...’ She took a breath. ‘That’s not who I am any more. And I can’t have you reminding me at every turn what an embarrassment I am.’
He winced at the reminder. ‘When I said...I didn’t mean to...’
‘Yes. You did.’
‘You weren’t exactly complimentary to me, either,’ he pointed out, and she sighed.
‘Look, Dominic, it’s okay. Really. We knew each other for, what, a week? It’s crazy to think it was anything more than a flirtation. We barely even made it to fling status. It was a one-night stand. Yes, things ended badly, but it’s over. You don’t have to check up on me, try to help me. You don’t even have to feel guilty about the things you said. It’s over. We just...move on.’
It was all perfectly reasonable. Almost as if she did this sort of thing all the time. Rational, even. The sort of sensible argument he’d normally be the one putting forward, not her.
The only problem was, it was a lie.
Whatever had been between them in that week, it was more than a flirtation. More than a fling, even if they never made it past one night together before everything fell apart. And it meant more to him than she could possibly know.
But the most untrue part of all was something he’d been lying to himself about, right up until the moment he saw that tilted chin, the pride in her warm hazel eyes.
He couldn’t move on. He needed her in his life. No matter what her past, or who she was. No matter what the papers would say, or his mother’s friends, or anyone else.
He needed her. Even more than he wanted her.
Now he just had to convince her of that.
‘Dominic?’ she asked, and he realised he was staring at her.
‘Sorry. Just...thinking.’
She shook her head. ‘You think too much. Look, I mean it. You can go.’
He didn’t want to. But he needed time. He needed a plan.
Across the field, the burly guy with the tape measure beckoned to her.
‘That’s Jack,’ she said. ‘He’s helping me with the estate. I’ve got to go. Thanks, though. For coming and talking to me. It’s good to...’ she let out a breath ‘...I don’t know. Have closure, maybe.’
‘Closure is good,’ Dominic agreed. If she wanted to think that this was it, that this was the end for them, fine. It would make it all the more fun to prove her wrong.
Faith bit her lip, then jerked forward suddenly, wrapping her arms around him for a very brief moment. Her body felt stiff, unsure—so unlike the way she’d melted against him in the park at almost midnight, or the way she’d come apart in his arms in bed that night.
A clear sign that this was just not the way it was meant to be.
‘Take care of yourself,’ she said, stepping back. ‘And...I don’t know. Try not to overthink things. And loosen up, sometimes, yeah?’ She sounded as if she thought she’d never see him again.
‘I will,’ he promised, watching her walk backwards away from him. His heart hurt just to watch her go, but he held firm. He had to do this properly. He had to find a way to convince her that it didn’t matter who she was, where she’d been, what she’d done, or how she might ever embarrass or humiliate him in the future. He loved her. And none of the rest was worth anything, without her.
‘Faith?’
She paused. ‘Yeah?’
‘One more thing. What really happened? With you and that rock star?’
‘Jared?’ Her eyebrows shot up. ‘Didn’t you learn everything you needed to about that from the papers?’
He shook his head. ‘I don’t believe them. You wouldn’t do that.’
She bit her lip and he wanted to kiss her, so very badly. ‘You’re right,’ she said. ‘It wasn’t what it looked like. His wife had just walked out on him, taken the kids, and he’d got himself into a hell of a state at some club. He called me—we were friends, before everything that happened. I picked him up, got him back to his hotel and spent the night sobering him up and listening to him wail about his life. I was taking him home to call his wife and beg her for another chance when they took the photos.’ She looked up at him. ‘Satisfied?’
