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She slid the ring halfway off her finger, but I stopped her, my hand covering hers. It bothered me, a lot.Why?All I knew was that I wanted the ring to stay where it was. “No. Don’t. I’ll find a way out of this. I just can’t see it yet.” I pushed the ring back up her finger, wishing my immediate situation was different. I was juggling too many things. At least with her wearing my ring, I had hope I would find a way out of my dad’s tangled web.
Her lower lip trembled, stealing the air from my lungs. Then she pinched her lips together. I curled my fingers around her arm, but she moved, and my hand fell to the bed.
The feelings were so foreign but impossible to ignore. Things had gone too far between us. Somehow, she’d gotten past my walls. With a jolt of panic, I realized I’d fallen for her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
GIA
It shouldn’t bother me. My fingers curled, nails biting into the skin of my palms. It did.Kylian is going to date someone else.
I’d sat up and moved so my back rested against the headboard. He’d turned the light on, and now I wished he hadn’t. The moonlight would have been enough. I didn’t want him to scrutinize my every reaction for this conversation.
“I don’t think it’ll come to me having to marry her.”
I snorted a laugh. “You believe that? It won’t be a neat little contract like we have.” I had to take a beat. Calm down until my features were schooled to hide the absolute turmoil in my mind and body.How did I let myself catch feelings for him?“I saw her reaction to you in the school’s blog video. That woman will not let you go without a fight, and I suspect she has the means for a ruthless battle.”
His firm lips pinched tightly together, and a muscle jumped along his sharp jawline. “I don’t want anything to do with her. The problem is my dad. Mom is in an experimental treatment program that insurance doesn’t cover. I don’t have enough money to keep paying for the appointments. My dad will only continue to help if I do what he wants.”
“Oh.” The argument left me. His father was terrible, and I could understand why Kylian felt backed into a corner. “I’ll, um, I’ll go to the boat in the morning and get the rest of my stuff. You don’t need to worry about me or the contract. We can just forget it.” He had bigger things than the deal we’d made. I wanted to say that sleeping with him was a mistake, but I couldn’t. It wasn’t.
“No.” He growled. “I want you to stay. I can uphold that end of our agreement.”
Anger whipped through me. “I’m not staying there. Your dad or that woman will find out and kick me out anyway. I would much rather leave on my terms. And if I go early enough, I won’t have to deal with any photographers hanging around in case your dad leaks anything about me.” That was one thing solved.
“I won’t let them.” Steel infused his voice, and his eyes flashed with determination. “Trust me, there is no way they’ll kick you out, especially if I do what my dad wants.” He moved closer, but when I shook my head, he stopped. “If you left, I would worry about you. Please stay on the boat for as long as you need.”
It was a touching offer, a good one even. But I couldn’t let Mad-Scientist Barbie toss me out—I recognized the danger there. And I had too much pride to let that happen. I knew he would assume I’d agreed to stay, but I just said, “Thank you.”
His features smoothed, some of the tension leaving his body. The muscle along his jaw stopped jumping. “I’ll sleep on the couch.”
“That would be best.” I uncurled my hands and tucked them under the sheet to hide the tremor that ran through them.
In my head, I counted down from ten, trying to ignore how his presence saturated the room, making it seem smaller than it was. He filled the doorway as he let himself out. I waited,needing him to be farther from the room before I let the first tear fall.
It hurt that he was throwing away…what?I lay down and punched the pillow. We weren’t anything other than a business agreement that had gone too far. I never should have slept with him. It had blurred the line we were trying to maintain, muddying it with feelings—probably only on my part. Maybe I should just look at it as though I’d dodged a bullet.
Stupid feelings.And why does he want me to keep the ring if his sights are on Blondie?I curled into a ball, hating how alone I felt. One night. I swiped the wetness from the corners of my eyes. I would feel sorry for myself for one night, then I had to do what needed to be done, since the only person I could rely on was myself. Something Kylian had made very clear in that conversation, despite how much I’d softened and let him into my traitorous heart.
I willed my eyes to shut, but it didn’t do much good. I tossed and turned most of the night.
When morning rolled around, I dragged myself from the bed and tiptoed to the bathroom to get ready. I had everything packed, which wasn’t much. Ignoring the dark circles under my eyes, I entered the family room and found Kylian waiting for me on the couch.
A dark-blue T-shirt stretched across his broad shoulders, highlighting the sculpted muscles of his chest and abdomen. When I met his gaze, I was mildly appeased by the circles under his eyes too.
“I left Mom a note.” He stood, towering over me. “I’ll drive you to the boat.”
I nodded, not wanting to prolong staying there and risking her waking. I’d had fun hanging out with her the previous day, and I could easily see myself doing that often. But he’d tossedme aside for a better deal. I didn’t blame him for protecting his mom, but it still stung.
Kylian opened the door and motioned for me to precede him. I waited for him to lock it behind us, then we walked the hallway to the stairs in silence, my thoughts whirling the entire way. Tense silence hung thickly between us as we navigated the stairs then outside his mom’s apartment building.
The days had run together. I could barely keep track of where we were in the week. But I knew he had somewhere to be. It was a game day. A big one, from what he’d told me. “You have to be at the stadium soon?”
“Yeah.” He glanced at his phone while holding the passenger door open for me. “I have some time before I need to leave.”
I got into the SUV and tossed my purse and bag on the floor at my feet. As he went around the side and got in, I looked out the window, needing space between us in any way I could find. Traffic wasn’t bad due to the early hour. The Ferris wheel loomed high in the skyline as we neared the harbor.
He parked in the lot reserved for boaters, and we got out and headed toward the dock where theQuarterback Keeperwas tethered. The carnival was still set up but hadn’t been opened to the public yet that day. People milled about, getting the booths ready. A shiver ran down my spine, unease lingering from who I’d thought I’d seen the previous day.
