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“Elsie.”
I turn around, and Beau is there. My heart is sick. In the afternoon light, he looks like a dream in jeans and a white tee. But this is definitely my nightmare. “I have nothing to say to you.” I whip back around and stomp forward, picking up the pace.
But he grabs my arm and turns me back to him in a swift movement. “Elsie, just listen to me—"
“This guy botherin’ you?” a middle-aged jogger asks me. He’s got a thick Brooklyn accent and a defiant glare aimed at Beau.
I raise my eyebrows at Beau and smirk before turning to the stranger. “He is, but I’m fine. Thank you for asking.”
“Yeah, okay,” he says, still glaring at Beau. “I’m gonna be on that bench over there, if you need anything.”
“You’re sweet, but—"
“Thank you,” Beau says to him, and the two of us give him a quizzical look. He explains, “I’d do the same thing in your shoes, sir.”
“Sure.” He walks to a bench twenty feet away, monitoring us.
Beau smiles at him with nothing but gratitude on his face. “Good guy. You know him?”
“I pass him on my walks through the park once a day, but that’s it. You know, my mom thinks Manhattan is full of crime and danger. She’ll be floored when I tell her about that guy.”
“Yeah, she will be. Can we go somewhere and talk?”
“No. You have one minute before I leave, and you will not follow me, Beau.”
He takes a beat, then agrees with a nod. “Thank you for the minute. You’ve been ignoring my calls and texts for long enough that I’d think I earnedtwominutes of your time—"
“Then you think too highly of yourself. Fifty seconds.”
“I’m not sure if you’ve read my texts or listened to my voicemails, but I had nothing to do with getting you off the project, Elsie.”
“Old news. I read that in a text.”
He huffs. “The whole Pavel thing, it completely caught me off-guard about that. Truly, I had nothing to do with it.” The truth of it is in his eyes.
But I don’t care. “It’s too late, Beau.”
“Admittedly, it’s a delightful change to work with an architect who isn’t a giant pain in the ass—"
I laugh. “Ten seconds.”
“But I don’t care about that. I want to work with you. I want you back. On the project.”
“You are really something.” I march away.
But he catches up to me. “So are you! After everything between us, you give me aminuteto explain? Are you kidding me with this?”
“Not at all. I was serious. Especially the part when I said you wouldn’t follow me.”
“I’m not following you. I’m walking through Central Park. You’re on my path.”
I laugh and roll my eyes and keep walking. “Of course you want me back for the project, Beau. I’m better than Pavel. But you—"
“I want you back because you’re better than him, and because I miss the fuck out of you.”
That stops me in my tracks. I will not let him emotionally manipulate me. I fight the tears welling up. Stupid emotions. “You don’t missme! You miss thesex! That’s all we were, remember? If you think—"
He takes my face in his hands and kisses me, and I can’t stop the tears then. I want this, and I hate myself for it. I should be stronger than this, but Beau’s kisses make me weak. No matter how angry I am, his lips still feel right.
