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She couldn’t pretend anymore. She couldn’t let him go. That would mean giving in to circumstances, and she didn’t do that. She fought her way out of everything. She fought to survive after Josh left, but she’d never fought for him. He didn’t deserve that much. But Adam wasn’t Josh. Adam valued her drive and determination. He was caring and thoughtful. He wanted to see her succeed. More than that, he could set her on fire with a single look, and no other man had that effect on her. Adam was worth fighting for, even if he might say that she’d hurt him too many times. She would fight for the man she couldn’t allow to walk away. It was time to start listening to her heart again.
Melanie tapped out a text to Adam.
Can we talk before the party? In person. Alone.
Her pulse thumped wildly in her throat. Everything she wanted to say was bottled up inside her. She merely had to let it out. But was she too late?
The instant she sent the message, her phone rang, Adam popping up on caller ID. “That was quick,” she muttered to herself. “Hey. I just sent you a text.”
“It just came through,” he said. “That’s funny.”
Her heart thundered. “Funny?”
“The timing. I’m standing outside your building. Can you buzz me up? The intercom isn’t working.”
Outside my building? But why? Panic coursed through her. Her apartment was a mess and her room looked as if a tornado had leveled a department store—dresses and shoes everywhere. “I’m not even dressed.”
“Doesn’t matter. I need to talk to you.”
With no time for straightening up or putting on clothes, much less thinking, she rushed out of her bedroom, pressed the buzzer, unlatched the chain and opened her door.
She stepped out into the hall and watched as he ascended the stairs. He made it nearly impossible to breathe. He was temptation on two legs, in a perfect-fitting suit and five o’clock shadow. Deliberating over whether the front or the back was his best side had been so stupid. The sum total of Adam was the best. “Is something wrong?”
“You might say that. I’m sorry I didn’t call. I was worried you might not let me come over.” He stood inches away, still making her feel as if she couldn’t breathe. “I love the dress. Not quite what I pictured, but I appreciate the cleavage.”
Melanie looked down. Her silk robe gaped in the front. Heat flooded her face, and she quickly covered up, inviting him in. “What’s wrong? Is there a problem with tonight?”
“I could ask you the same thing. Why did you need to talk to me before the party?”
Now that she was confronted with him—his endlessly magnetic being—it was difficult to start. She only knew that she had to. “I saw the photo in the paper. I don’t care if Julia spent the night at your apartment. I don’t believe that you want to be with her.”
He nodded carefully, killing her with every second of silence. “I’m glad you finally believe me. I came over to tell you that she won’t be at the gala tonight.”
Wait. Her brain sputtered. Was this just about work? “What?”
“Don’t freak out. I know you’ve worked hard on the party, but I couldn’t pretend anymore. That was the reason for the photos of her outside my apartment. Her publicist is fabricating a breakup, at my request. I had to put an end to it now. Not just for my sake. For your sake, too.”
Was this him just being fed up with the charade? Or was there more? “I broke my date with the doctor. It wasn’t right to take him.”
“And why is that exactly?”
She held her breath, a deluge of thoughts crowding her consciousness. He deserved to know how she felt, the mile-long list of reasons she needed him. “Because I’m in love with you. And I don’t want to be with some other man, even for a minute. I don’t want to watch you walk away tonight.” She erased the physical divide between them with a few steps. Just feeling the rhythm of his breaths calmed her, even when she wasn’t sure how he felt about what she was saying. The expression on his face was one of shock, but was it horror? “You’re my only thought before I go to sleep. You’re the first thing I think about when I wake up. When something happens in my day, good or bad, I have this undeniable urge to call you and tell you about it. The only reason I don’t do it is because of my job. But I need more than my career. I need you.” Their eyes connected and she saw her first sign that he might be on board—he smiled.
“You do?”
“I do. And you were right. I let everything that happened with my ex turn me into somebody who doesn’t allow herself to feel. I don’t want to be that person anymore. It’s making me miserable.”
