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“Oh, it’s fine. I’ve moved on past it.” He looks mischievously at me and asks, “Tell me, honestly, what are you scared of?”
“Me? Nothing.”
“No, there’s something. There’s something about romance that has you scared. That’s why you tried to end it after the event, isn’t it? What’s it?”
“I’m not scared of romance, or love in general. I’m scared of the effect.”
“The effect?”
I set down the spoon and stare at him. “Commitment.”
“You’re scared of commitment? What, with the wrong person?”
“With anyone. Look at my parents. They are living proof that commitment will hurt you sooner or later.” I snort. “Also, I once had a thing with this guy and it was going great. We were completely different people and he’d also just lost his ex-girlfriend to, uh, cancer.”
Maverick’s eyes dims. “Oh.”
“Yeah. Anyways,” I clear my throat. “He got in too deep and I felt he kind of wanted to be with me but I wasn’t sure I wanted to be with him.”
“Hmm. Sounds a lot like us.”
I let out an awkward laugh and glance away. “It’s not. It’s a coincidental story, which, I, um, relate to a lot.”
He gives me a doubtful look but says nothing.
We talk a bit more about relationships and family until we’re out of ice cream. Then we stumble back to bed to make love again. And again. And again.
When we are both spent, he spoons me. His long, muscular legs entwined with mine are like silk-encased marble; the downy hairs on his legs against my naked skin feel softer than velvet somehow. My ear, resting against his sculpted chest, picks up all the sounds of his body; from the steady thump-thump of his heart to the small rumblings and creaks of any human body at rest. One of his arms is curled around me, that hand stroking my skin; or making little circles with the tips of his fingers; or playing with a lock of my hair.
Being here with him makes me want things that I shouldn’t. Things that I know will eventually hurt me. Things that I know may be my ultimate demise.
But as I lie here in his arms, I can’t help but let the what-ifs take over my mind and my heart.
What if we can have a future? What if we are right for each other? What if my luck is changing and this is my time?
I’m falling so hard and so deep for him, that the chance he is not there to catch me when I’m all the way fallen is terrifying.
But if the way he touched me today and made me feel is any indication, he might be taking the plunge with me.
God, I really hope so.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Maverick
“Don’tdoit.”
I roll my eyes. “Why not?”
“Because it’s going to ruin your recruitment agency faster than you can say Mamma Mia. And, as you can read in my report,” Mabel Pines, the risk analyst, leans back in her seat, “there’s a number of reasons that sustain my recommendation.”
I let out a big breath as I stare at her, biting the inside of my cheeks in contemplation.
There’s no reason to doubt Mabel’s authenticity. If she says something, she means it. She’s one of the best financial advisors in the state and if she’s against the idea of my company joining hands with Nexus, then I should listen.
“So, what now? We turn down the proposal?”
“And save yourself a lot of hassle in the future. Nexus has a penchant for two things: giving start-up businesses a false sense of protection and also, in the long run, draining the coffers of these said businesses. Derrico is a fine example. Not to mention Sersa as well as Caplan and Roald.”
