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“I saw you coming. Is this where you make me another offer I have to refuse?” she mutters, and turns straight back to the flowers.
I’m a little pissed she won’t even look at me.
“No. And yes. It’s time to have that talk.”
“Is it now? Well, I’m so looking forward to this.”
She shoots a look at me from over her shoulder, her glossy hair glowing in the sunlight streaming in the windows. I swallow a lump in my throat, savoring the sight of her.
In that moment, I want to make crazy passionate love to her. But I know, morally, I shouldn’t touch her again until we get past this dividing wall. I can’t use sex as a persuasion technique. Much as I’d like to.
But fuck, how unfair is it she gets more and more beautiful every time I see her? “I uhm—” My train of thought derails. I’m never lost for words. I never flounder when I’m negotiating a business deal. But Dani has a way of knocking me off guard. I clear my throat and steel myself. ”First off, I want you to know that all other businesses on this street have now sold up. Contracts are complete and funds transferred. We’re waiting on you.”
She whirls around.
Her expression freezes for a moment and her eyes glaze, her brain trying to process what I’ve said. A second later, she recovers, facing me with an angry frown.
“So?” she whispers through a tight throat.
I struggle for words. I should be proud right now. I should be smug. I should be satisfied.
I hold all the cards. She has none.
Instead, I’m heartbroken for her. She’s fought hard for her shop. “This is the start of the end, whether you like it or not.”
I wait for her to break down. I wait for the tears. I wait for Dani to accept her fate. Instead, however, this beautiful, stubborn woman just pushes back her shoulders and returns to her work.
Her back is towards me, but her voice is steady and bold. “I don’t care if everyone else in the damn city sold out to you. I won’t be joining them. This shop will stay open because it’s my gran’s legacy. Her memory will stay alive here, in this very place, even ifshe’snot alive. And even if I don’t earn a penny from it.”
I blow out softly, Ross’s words playing in the back of my mind.
This is what he was talking about. This stubbornness isn’t about the shop; this is about Dani’s grandmother.
Slowly, I walk to the counter so that I’m behind her. My hands gingerly lift as she sags forward, her head bending down towards her chest. She buries her face into her hands, body quivering. I grip her shoulders, and she leans back against me, allowing my arms to wrap around her. Her body is limp, but I keep her upright. I hold her tight, wishing I could take away her pain.
I whisper in her ear. ”I’m sorry it’s come to this. I want you to know I didn’t mean to crush your dream. I didn’t mean to hurt you at all. That was never the plan. But Dani, you can triple your gran’s legacy and start a new, better business to honor her memory. Why don’t you see?”
She says nothing, turning in my arms so she’s facing me. Our faces are only inches apart, and I gaze down into her eyes, cupping her cheek with one of my hands.
She’s beautiful, principled and strong, and so unlike any other woman that has passed through my sad and sorry love life.
I’m not sure which one of us moves first, but the small distance between us closes abruptly. We’re drawn together by the magnetic force that we’d been doing our best to resist but can fight no longer.
Our bodies collide, heart to heart, and our lips crash. I lift her, my arms wrapping around her, and set her on the counter where her legs tangle around my hips.
We cling to one another, lost in the moment, and I’m only wishing that the future could be as simple and perfect as this.
