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Her eyes burned as she reached out to him. “Grant, that’s not at all how I feel about you. I told you why I said those things back then. But it wasn’t how I felt.”
His laugh was twisted, cruel and ugly. It shifted him from the man she loved into the icy billionaire she’d encountered in New York. Someone who was just like all the men she’d met who had made her appreciate Grant all the more that summer.
“Of course it’s not. Nothing is ever how it seems with you, is it?”
“If you truly think this little of me, why did you hire me in the first place?”
He leaned down, the harsh gleam in his eye making her stomach drop.
“I hired you to show you that you were wrong. That I achieved success, worth, wealth, everything you said I wouldn’t.” His eyes narrowed. “And yet I failed, didn’t I? Since even the lowly florist barely scraping by still sees me as less than her equal, still not someone worth the dirt on the bottom of her shoe.”
The pain in her chest as her heart broke anew was almost unbearable. This wasn’t her Grant, cynical and untrusting. Yet, she shared some of the blame for this transformation. If she had been stronger all those years ago, they wouldn’t be standing here now, with the past coming back to rip them apart.
“Grant, this is just a misunderstanding.”
Another sardonic laugh escaped his lips. “How can I believe you?”
He couldn’t, she realized as she barely kept her tears in check. There was only one way for this to go.
Her fingernails bit into her palms as she curled her hands into fists, steeling herself for what needed to be done. Her heart cried out, begged her to find another way, to not let the past win.
But there was no other option. And she was tired. She was so very, very tired from running from the past.
“You can’t.”
The only indication of his surprise was a blink.
“Then I was right.”
She shook her head at his monotone.
“No. No, you weren’t right.” She looked over his shoulder at the lush green grass of the lawn. “I fell in love with you nine years ago and I never stopped. But my inability to stand up to my father kept us apart then, and unfortunately, it seems like it was a mistake that has doomed us permanently.”
The weight of his stare pressed on her, making it difficult to breathe. She wanted to throw herself in his arms, to beg for one more chance at a happily-ever-after. But she could never ask that of him. If she truly loved him, she needed to let him go.
“I told Ellen that we didn’t have a history because I wasn’t sure what you were comfortable with me telling people. I also wasn’t sure if her father would continue to do business if there was any hint of you being connected to a Waldsworth.”
“That was nine years ago, Alexandra.”
It was her turn to laugh, all the years of pain and heartbreak twisting the sound into something wretched and bleak.
“Yes. Nine years that you’ve held on to your anger with me and turned into a hard man who will never trust my word again. Rightfully so,” she added, holding up a hand as he opened his mouth to say something, most likely a list of reasons as to why he deserved to be furious with her. “Nine years that a woman held on to a grudge against my father and denied me a lease for a store. Nine years that I’ve been in love with you. Nine years is nothing when pain is involved. My father hurt a lot of people, and I will always pay the price for looking the other way.”
Grant took a step toward her.
“His actions are not your fault,” he growled. “I’ve told you that repeatedly.”
“You have. But my own actions—not standing up for you and for us when I had the chance—that was all me, Grant.” She sucked in a deep breath and then walked to him. His body went rigid as she reached up and laid a hand on his cheek. The heat of his skin seared her palm, made her ache to feel his embrace one last time. She would have stayed in bed just a few minutes longer this morning if she would have known it would be the last time she’d lie next to him.
“What just happened now, your real reason for hiring me...” She swallowed past the ache building in her chest, spreading throughout her body. She hadn’t thought it possible to hurt any more. But knowing he hadn’t hired her because she’d impressed him with her hard work, her skill, was just another stab to her shattered heart. “You’ll never be able to fully trust me. I see that now. Or to believe that I love you, that I won’t turn around and run away when things get tough. We’ve both changed. You’re a chief executive officer and all the other titles you wanted so much.” The smile she gave him was full of grief for what might have been. “I’m just a florist. We don’t belong together. Not anymore.”
He caught her wrist in an iron grasp.
“That is not—”
A knock at the door cut him off.
“What?” Grant barked.
