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The expression on his face made her heart break. She knew the statement would hurt him, but she couldn’t change the facts. Wives were like business deals to him—he was always searching for the next rush, the next chase.
He shook his head. “Because…I…I’ve never met anyone like you before, Julia. I can’t…I can’t change my past. And it’s not pretty, but I thought…I thought you understood that I’ve changed. I’m different now.”
“Are you?” she asked. “Or is this about the chase for you?”
“What? No,” he answered with a shake of his head. “Julia, no. You can’t think that. Please tell me you don’t think that.”
She shifted as she stared at the pattern of the carpet below her feet. She didn’t want to think about it. But she couldn’t think of anything else. She couldn’t see past a bitter divorce and a replacement wife. She couldn’t stop thinking about how he pursued business deals like a chess game, always seeking the next conquest.
“It’s not about the chase. If it was…I would have told you months ago how I felt. If that’s all it was to me, this wouldn’t have taken me two years to say.”
“Why did it?” she asked.
“Because…of this. What’s happening right now. I…would rather have stayed silent and have you with me than live through this rejection. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.” His earnest gaze held hers, a stark contrast to the unyielding, confident gaze of the businessman she knew. A new vulnerability shimmered in his eyes. “I’ve learned what truly matters, Julia. Not deals and successes. Not wins. Us. You.”
Her features pinched as she struggled to sort through her feelings, a slight shake of her head her only response.
“So…what am I supposed to do now? Just…let you go? I’m not willing to do that.”
She remained silent, biting her lower lip as she fought the surge of fear and tried to parse through her emotions.
“If you won’t come back for me, come for Sierra. She loves you. And–”
“That’s not going to work,” she said with a shake of her head. “That’s not fair to you.”
“Neither is this,” he shot back with a huff.
Silence stretched again before he spoke. “You can’t do this.”
She sucked in a breath, ready to argue but he didn’t give her the chance. “You can’t keep running away.”
“I’m not running away,” she retorted. She wasn’t running, she was protecting herself.
“You’re running. This is what you do.”
Her jaw unhinged as she stared at him with an incredulous expression. “No, it isn’t.”
“It is,” he said, his voice a little stronger. “You ran from Luke. You ran away the first time we met. We had a connection then. Those first moments that we spent together, I felt it, and I think you did, too. And you took off.”
“And then in Maine, when we argued, you left. And now…Every time things get real, you leave.”
She shook her head, wanting to deny it but afraid he may be right. She had a history, too. If she was going to hold his against him, he had every right to hold hers against her, too.
She ran a hand through her hair as she fought through the waves tearing her apart. “I don’t know where we go from here, then.”
Grant flicked his gaze down to the ring in the box before he raised his eyes to her. “Forward. Together.”
She sucked in a breath, ready to respond when he stopped her.
“Give me the chance to prove to you that we can be happy together in a real relationship. That’s all I’m asking.”
“It’s not just about happiness, though. It’s about trust. About knowing this isn’t just another fleeting chapter in your life. Can you promise me that?”
“It’s not!” he said, his voice raised before he steadied it. “Look, I know we can be happy. You’re the only woman who has ever made me happy. Let me prove it to you. Give me a year. If you’re not happy at the end of it, you can leave.”
Her eyebrows knitted as he made the offer, oddly comforting and reminiscent of their contract, only this time it wasn’t his image on the line, it was their hearts. She had to stop running. She was miserable the moment she walked out of Harrington House.
But a year was a long time. She pressed her lips together before she studied his stormy blue eyes. “Three months.”
