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But I needed to be an adult. It’s what I had been aiming for the past few years of my life. I was no longer a dependent child; I was an independent woman. I needed this relationship to work if he would have me. I knew that the hurt I caused might prevent him from ever seeing me in the same light as before. I just had to hope.
When I got off the bus, I stopped before going inside, taking a few deep breaths to steel me for the conversation I was about to have. This would make or break us if he would even forgive me.
I headed through the door, nodding at the men at the front desk. When I got inside the elevator, I punched in the code and felt that tickly feeling as the elevator ascended to the penthouse. I was unannounced, and when the doors opened, Jordan’s eyes widened as I walked out.
He was sitting on the barstool at the large granite island, indulging in what looked like the last of the whiskey. I recognized the bottle and wondered if it was the same that he previously had drunk from, or this was new. He looked ragged. Dark circles underlined his eyes like a smudge. His face looked as if it had aged in the week since I last saw him. His clothing of sweats and a tank top were wrinkled, his blonde hair a tousled, sexy mess.
“What do you want? Come to claw at my heart some more?” he growled.
I stopped short at his tone. He was angry, and I was reticent to continue. My response was to run as my adrenaline kicked in. Leave this man to his own devices. It was apparent that he had nothing left to give, or he just didn’t care.
“I’m sorry. This was a mistake,” I turn to leave. He wasn’t going to forgive me.
“You came here for a reason. I’m waiting.”
I keep my back to him, “You aren’t interested. I shouldn’t have come here.”
I press the button on the elevator and hear the scrape of his stool on the floor. I can see his approach in the steel of the elevator, but I don’t turn. I’m defeated. He’s so close that I can feel his body heat rolling off him in waves. Jordan gently pulls back my hair, his warm liquor laced breath against my ear.
“Why did you come?” he whispers seductively.
“I wanted to talk,” I quietly say.
“I’m listening.”
The elevator dings, and the door opens. I stand there, and Jordan reaches around me to press the button. It closes as he takes my hand in his, leading me to the living room couch.
“Talk to me, Emma. Why are you here?”
“I. We need to talk.”
“You already said that. What should we talk about? How you ignored my texts and phone calls, begging you for an explanation? How you twisted my emotions so much that the last week has been hell on earth for me? So what would you like to discuss?”
“All of it. I jumped to conclusions. I didn’t understand. I was confused and hurt. You’re not the only one who has lived a hell on earth this past week.”
The tears start to fall from my eyes, staining my shirt. Jordan uses the tail of his tank top to dry them, but it’s no use, I can’t stop. All the pain of our separation comes rushing forth until my head is buried in his lap, and he’s stroking my hair.
“Silly, Emma. Don’t you know what you mean to me? I should have told you everything I was doing in LA. I own a piece of the production company that produced Feral.”
“But you didn’t call me. I took that as you didn’t want me anymore.”
“I’m sorry, Doll. I was involved in business negotiations all week. I’m trying, I really am. I’m learning how to be a boyfriend. I need you to understand. I would never cheat on you.”
“I was so hurt when I saw the pictures of you kissing Natalie.”
“Those were from two years ago. Those gossip sites try to create drama where none exists. They’ve already received a letter from my attorney. Natalie was none too happy since Pedro Gonzalez saw them also. She had her own explaining to do. We’re friends and colleagues, that is all.”
“I don’t want any secrets between us, Jordan. I told you that we barely know each other, and this proves it.”
He strokes my hair, bending to plant a soft kiss on my cheek, “I need to tell you something if we’re being honest.”
I spring up from his lap and stare at him, “What?”
“I purchased the building you live in.”
“Excuse me?”
“I didn’t trust the security there. I was worried about you.”
