AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His arms cross over his chest, a sign he’s going to be stubborn. “I don’t want anyone else.”
“But you seem to,” I counter.
“I was talking as your boyfriend, not your business partner, and don’t give me that crap that I’m not your boyfriend,” he argues. “We fit, you and me.”
“We don’t, and you proved it. If you loved me, you would love all of me, not only the parts that make you feel comfortable.”
“I do.” His voice goes low, and he gets in my space. His hands come up to touch my shoulders, and he lowers his head to mine. “I do love every part of you, and I hate watching you tie yourself up in knots. I just want you to relax a little.”
That’s the problem. If he merely wanted me to take an afternoon off or something I could understand that. I could deal with that. He’s already gotten me to concede weekends, and that’s something I would never have done before. I don’t know why but I have this drive to build something that I can’t deny. I’ve had it since I was a teenager and I dreamed of making robots not only because I thought they were cool, but because I thought I could make my mark that way. “So what are you proposing? How should I relax?”
“I feel like this is a minefield, baby, and you’ve laid about a hundred traps for me,” he whispers.
My damn heart clenches. “Because it can’t work. The things we want are too different. Our values are too different.”
“Not true. I’m not handling this well. I know I screwed up, and I’m panicking.”
“It’s better we know now.” I step back, shoving down the need to reach out to him. All I want to do is wrap myself around him and pretend like the day hadn’t happened, but it had. I can’t pretend. I have to live in this world. “Can we be friendly?”
“I think we’re past friends now.”
“Can we be civil?”
“Don’t do this.” He moves in again. “Baby, we hit a rough patch, so let’s take a breath and figure out how to make our way through it. I know you think we’re only together because of convenience and proximity, but you’re wrong. You’ve been happier with me.”
I have. I’ve been happy with him, and it made me forget what I want. Or rather made me think I could have both. I can’t let go of what he said, of the resentment I feel. Of how much he sounded like my mom, and I don’t think I can have two of those relationships in my life. “I need some time to think.”
“If you think, you’ll walk away.”
He’s probably right.
“Don’t,” he says. “Stay and fight it out with me.”
I don’t know what to say to him. I feel stuck standing here because I don’t want any of the options in front of me.
He straightens up. “Let Emma decide.”
I’m surprised at the turn. “What do you mean?”
“I mean we’ve put everything we have in this company and you’re betting your business future on it, so why not your romantic future? She’s not ready yet but when she is, we feed her all our data and if she says we’re a match, we get married and that’s it.”
That is the craziest idea I’ve ever heard. “Married?”
He shrugs. “If I’m in, I’m all in. And no prenup. I’m betting everything I have on you. If you’re brave enough though, we can just do it. Tonight.”
I feel like all the air has gone out of the room, but we’re not in a room, so out of the city, I suppose. He’s got to be joking.
“I am not joking,” he assures me. “Three weeks. That’s how long it’s going to take to work out the bugs, and then I’ll prove it to you. I’ll prove Emma works. I’ll prove we work. If you feel like we need to be business partners and nothing more until then, that’s how it will be. But, Ivy, you should know I’m going to be very professional. Right up until you tell me I can take you to bed, and then I’m just going to be determined to make sure you understand we do fit.”
I have no idea how we went from fighting to him…asking isn’t the right word…betting we’re going to get married, which is not a thought he’s expressed thus far in our extremely short relationship.
He said he loved me. Mere minutes ago he’d said he loved me, and I hate that the first time he said it we were in the middle of a fight and that I can’t go back and make him say it again.
And I’ve only thought about it a couple of times. Being with him for the rest of my life. Getting married to him. I think about it when I’m weak and he’s sweet and I think the world is so much nicer because he’s here with me.
