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“Sweetheart…” He moved toward her, lifting her chin with his finger. “You know I’ll give you whatever you want, but I’m not trying to buy you back. I just want to talk. Please.”
She inhaled deeply. “Okay.” Olivia showed him to a table and slid into the seat across from him. She tried to keep her gaze away from the bar, but her eyes betrayed her and wandered to the one person she didn’t want to see right now.
Shane’s eyes caught hers, and she could see the curiosity in the brown-green depths. Daniel’s touch jolted her attention away from Shane and back on him. He took her hand, lacing their fingers together. “I miss you. The apartment has been really quiet without you there.”
“That was your doing. You brought another woman into our home.”
“I made a mistake. I was out celebrating, had one too many drinks, and I fucked up. My biggest regret is that you were home to see it. I never wanted to hurt you. You got to believe that.”
Her heart tugged in two different directions. Daniel was familiar, and she’d given him three years of her life. But then there was Shane, and just the thought of him lit her world on fire. But what if Harper was wrong? What if Shane was her rebound, and she’d thrown away everything Daniel could give her for a chance at love, only to be left with absolutely nothing when Shane decided the fun was over?
“What about all those awful things you said?”
“I was angry at myself, and I tried to justify my actions. I was an idiot.”
“Yeah, you were.”
“And I’m sorry. We were great together,” Daniel said, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “And we could be great together again.”
“I don’t know…”
“Yes, you do. Don’t be difficult.” The tone in his voice changed for a quarter of a second, but Olivia caught it.
“I’m not,” she said with defiance.
“You mean to tell me you’re actually debating staying in this shithole over living in a sixteen hundred square foot apartment off of Fifth Avenue?”
“Yes,” she admitted.
“You’re doing this out of spite.”
After all that had happened, he still thought everything she did was with childish intent.
“No, Daniel, I’m not.” She stood from the table, wiping her hand down her apron to smooth out the bunched material.
“Olivia, please.”
“Why don’t you tell me why you’re really here.” If he really wanted to be with her, he’d give her space, let her figure things out on her own. He was pushing this too hard. What was his angle?
Daniel sighed, letting his hands fall onto the table. “You remember my business associate, Mr. Abrams?”
“Yes.” He was a lovely man who prided himself on loyalty and family. They’d had dinner with him many times. Every time he’d ask Daniel when he’d make an honest woman out of Olivia.
Realization smacked her across the face in a hard, cold hit. “You want something from him, don’t you? And you want me to tag along and give the façade like you’re some family man.”
“We’re having dinner Friday night, and he requested your presence.”
“Just tell him we broke up.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“Because he’s old school, and if he doesn’t think I can commit to a relationship, then he’s not going to invest the half a million dollars I need from him.”
“Relationships end. Just tell him I broke up with you.”
“I am not going to do that.”
