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Her eyes lifted again.
“It’s me.”
Her eyes were still before she swallowed. Her gaze remained steady, but only for a short while. Then she lost her bearings quickly, looking at anything else but me. Her hand rubbed her arm, her knees came close together, and she continued to struggle with the affirmation she’d asked for. “This whole time…” She shook her head, like her disagreement would make it untrue. “You knew exactly who I was when you walked into my shop…”
“Yes.”
Now her eyes were glued to the floor, and she looked like she might cry. “Jesus…”
“Laura—”
She got to her feet and prepared to walk out barefoot.
“Laura.”
She ignored me and headed to the door.
“Let me explain.”
“Fuck off.”
I went after her, grabbing her by the arm when she was in the hallway.
She spun out of my grasp and shoved me. Threw her arms against stone. Tried to pry herself free from my strong body, the tears starting to spring from her eyes.
“You’re free to go after we talk. Not before.”
“Don’t tell me what to do—”
“I can do whatever I damn well please. Now sit your ass on the couch.” I guided her back into the bedroom with my hand on her arm. I shut the door behind us, and this time, I blocked it so she couldn’t run back into the hallway.
She looked at the door behind me, trying to plan her escape. “You give me your word?”
“Yes.”
She finally turned away from the door and dropped onto the couch.
This conversation had been approaching on the horizon, the colors growing brighter the closer they came. I’d been ready for it, and I’d been ready for her to piece together the puzzle on her own. My woman wasn’t just a smokeshow—she was smart too.
I grabbed a decanter of scotch and two glasses and set them on the coffee table between us.
She didn’t look at me as I filled both glasses.
“When I walked into that shop, I had an agenda. To use you to get what I wanted from your father.”
Her eyes flicked back to me.
“I abandoned that plan the second I had you. Everything between us—it’s been real. Not once have I asked you for information about your father. Not once have I used you to further my plans. Our relationship has been completely separate from my ambitions.”
“And you just assumed I would be okay with you trying to ruin my father and take his business?”
“You’ve made it very clear you don’t like him. I didn’t think it was an issue.”
“Didn’t think it was an issue…” She gave a slight nod, repeating the words I just spoke. “Right…”
“Separation of church and state.”
“Again, you just assumed I would be okay with this. That’s ludicrous.”
