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Wait. What am I thinking?
“This is an incredible gift.” I start backing away and notice how his face falls. “But you can’t buy me.”
“Buy you? Why do you have to turn it into something like that? Who said anything about buying you?”
“It’s what you’re doing right now. You can do anything if you have enough money. And you do. That doesn’t change anything, not really. Not where it matters.”
“It doesn’t matter that I want you? That I’m sorry for everything?”
“I know you’re sorry. But no. This can’t change anything. I’m grateful. I’m so grateful. But I can’t do this. I can’t be with you. And for your information, I don’t want to be taken care of, not in this way. I want a partner, an equal. Someone who doesn’t keep secrets from me.”
“I don’t keep secrets to hurt you.”
“I know that, and I know that some people would be more understanding and okay with your job, but I just can’t do it. I can’t live in a hotel, knowing there is so much stuff going on inside I just don’t know about. I just can’t. So unless you are willing to tell me everything, it’ll never work between us.”
This isn’t what he expected, obviously. I don’t want to hurt him, but it’s either that or betray myself. I won’t do that anymore.
Griffin doesn’t call out to me when I leave the store, determined to walk the rest of the way. I notice he still follows me, though. Let him. I don’t have it in me to care.
Not when I finally have what I wanted, but my heart is still in pieces.
TEAGAN
It’s the scent I notice first. Even before I open the door to my apartment after a long shift, I pick up a sweet, floral scent that’s completely out of place. I’ve smelled a lot of things in this hallway, yet it’s never been flowers.
I’m pretty sure what I’ll find before I swing the door open onto what can only be described as something out of a dream. Roses. Daisies. Carnations and lilies and peonies and other blooms I can’t identify. Every color imaginable, in enormous arrangements that cover every flat surface. There are even a few vases on the floor. Everywhere I look, there they are.
My apartment has been turned into a florist shop while I was at work.
“I wasn’t sure which was your favorite.”
Mason’s voice comes as no surprise. Only one person could’ve come up with something like this. He couldn’t buy me with my book, so he bought out a flower shop. I don’t even want to think about how much it cost.
I look up from a gorgeous bunch of red roses to find him coming out of my bedroom. As always, he looks hot enough to melt my panties in one of his tailored suits. I’ve missed looking at him. I’ve missed everything about him, in fact. So much that I’ve spent the past week coming up with new reasons to stay away from the hotel. It hasn’t been easy, but I keep telling myself it’s the right thing.
I’m not feeling too confident in my decision right now. It’s a lot easier to resist him when we’re not breathing the same air—and it was already hard as hell. “You really can’t take no for an answer, can you?” I ask.
“You don’t get where I am by accepting rejection.”
“And where did you get?” As much as I want to fall into his arms, I fold mine because I refuse to make it this easy for him. Anybody can spend a bunch of money. And I know he has it—he talked about millions of dollars when he explained it to me. He actually used the word millions.
His calm, confident expression slips a little. “I don’t understand.”
“Where did you end up? Living in a hotel? Making it your entire world?”
“It’s not that simple.”
“You live a life I would always have to be apart from. Don’t you get that?”
I can tell he wants to dismiss my worries. It’s written all over his face—the way he frowns and his already sharp jaw goes tight. It’s his instinct to brush all of that aside. He’s slowing himself down and giving me the benefit of taking me seriously. Almost like he’s trying to meet me halfway.
“The life I live is complicated. And yes, it’s dangerous. And because of that, I haven’t been able to share it with anyone. Even now, standing here in a garden, a part of me still wants to close off before I tell you too much. Not for my sake, but for yours. You have me hanging between what I know is right and what I want. And that’s a challenge. But I want to work through it. I want to because I want you. It’s no use telling myself to leave you alone and keep you safe from the sort of people I come into contact with. You worked your way into my heart when I wasn’t looking, and I can’t get you out.”
