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The electricity that passed between us, the feel of my hand in his, brought back a rush of memories and broke my resolve. “I can’t do this.” I pulled my hand away.
“Allie, don’t go.”
I was halfway around the desk toward him when we collided. I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face in his chest.
“I missed you,” he murmured into my hair.
I held on to him for dear life. “Just hold me, please.”
He ran a hand through my hair and over my back as he hugged me and stayed silent. I kept my face against his chest, fearing I wouldn’t get the words out if I looked up into those eyes. “I’ve been a terrible girlfriend.”
“Don’t say that.”
“It’s true,” I insisted. “When Martin told me your secret, he did it to hurt you. I should have kicked his ass, defending you to the death. But instead, I got mad and made it about me. That’s what I mean.”
He stroked my head. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier.”
“That’s not the point. I was selfish and terrible. I should have defended you the way you defended me. You’re not at all the way they portray you. You’re smart, and thoughtful, and sweet, and generous to a fault. It’s all my fault. I let Daddy’s dislike of your father bias me against you from the beginning. I’m so fucking sorry I walked out on you when I should have had your back and slowed down to see it from your point of view.”
“Are you done?” he asked when I stopped to take a breath.
“No. Do you remember our first date?”
He breathed deeply. “Yes. You yelled at me because we were seated at the window and I hadn’t warned you. You called it a fishbowl and threatened to leave.”
I nodded against him and smiled. “That was our second date, dummy. The first was at DiMaggio’s where we negotiated me helping you out as your fake girlfriend.” I felt his erection growing with every word.
His phone vibrated on the desk. He nodded. “Now I have to say something.”
“Let me finish,” I countered. “I thought I’d come here and negotiate with you to come back to the penthouse.”
He shook his head. “Allie, I wasn’t kidding when I said I fucking love you. You’ve always been welcome back. I thought you knew that.”
He wanted me, my nickname was back, and damn, if it didn’t feel good. But I wasn’t finished. “I want to bring something to the table and get some money in return to start my business. I want us to be partners.”
He lifted my chin. “All you had to do was ask. I told you before, you can have anything you want. I enjoy giving you things.” The eyes didn’t lie.
He was telling his truth, but I had to add mine. “But you know I have to earn things.”
He laughed. “Right, the self-sufficient woman.”
“It’s not funny.” I pushed at his shoulder. “I can’t change who I am.”
His hand cruised up to the side of my breast where his thumb caressed me. “And this hypothetical friend is really you, isn’t it?”
I nodded, doing my best to ignore the heat his roaming hands were building inside me. It had been too long, way too long since I’d felt his touch. “Yeah. It hurt when you called it more of a dream than a business because it’s my dream, my business.”
He cradled my face in his hands. “Tell me. Did you really find a way to get Martin out?”
I giggled. “What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn’t destroy my boyfriend’s enemies? I also gave your father the material he needs to get rid of Martin’s father.”
“No shit? How?”
I shook my head. “First answer me. Can I come back? I promise to be better, to always fight for you, to support you in—”
His mouth crashed down on mine, cutting me off.
I strained upward to match his ferocity as our tongues tangled, and I lost my train of thought. But I had the answer to my question—I was his minx again. I was back with my man, the way I was meant to be.
