Page 58 of Turning Up the Heat

“Your old life?”

“I want to be content like I was before.”

“I’m not following you.”

“You made me realize that I want more. I was happy then—single, carefree, focusing on rum, my friends, family. That was enough for me.”

“Was it?”

She looked down into her wineglass. It wasn’t. It hadn’t been nearly enough for her, but it sure as hell felt a lot better than she did at that moment. She’d never felt a hurt so real and powerful. And Tom did that. She loved him so hard that he alone had the power to make her feel like her heart was being ripped from her chest. She sighed and finished her glass of wine. She picked up the bottle. “Want some more?” He shook his head. She poured herself another glass, needing the fortification. “Maybe my brothers were right,” she realized.

Tom visibly stiffened. “What do you mean?”

“We don’t have a future.”

“That’s not true, Gemma.”

“It is. What kind of future do you expect to have? What kind of relationship is this—traveling between two states. Hell, I’m on a first-name basis with the flight crew at this point.”

“So we spend a few days a week on a plane.”

“But it’s not just the distance,” she said. “It’s what’s happening right now. We work for competing businesses, and I thought we were strong enough to just forget all of that.”

“We are,” he told her. “We can be.”

She shook her head. Tom wasn’t even the issue anymore. It was what he represented—every one of the feelings of mistrust she had. “It’s too much. Every conversation has that little bit of secrecy because we can’t talk about work. Every time you ask me a question, I feel there’s an ulterior motive. And then this ad thing. Do you understand how much it hurt, how embarrassing it was to have my brothers show me an ad that mocked me and what I do?” He thankfully said nothing, and she proceeded, her emotions at an all-time high, raising her blood pressure, making her hands flail as she spoke. “And not even to mention our plans to target Cain next year. How could I agree to that if we’re in a relationship—”

“What was that?”

She paused, knowing that she’d accidentally said too much.

“You’re targeting us?”

“It’s business.”

“And you said you agreed to go along with it. Before any of this happened?”

Who was he to turn it back on her? She nodded. “Yes, I did. And you know what? Your concerns that your father is ruining your company, that you could fail and lose everything, didn’t even sway me.” In reality, the decision had given her pause. She had thought about what Tom would think. But with the way his eyes narrowed at her now, she realized that she’d scored a direct hit on their relationship. It was her out. Her way to push him away and make him hate her before she could let herself be hurt by him again.

Tom’s laugh held no humor. He put his hands on his hips. “I see what you’re doing, Gemma. You’re trying to make me mad so that you feel better about me walking away. If you don’t want to be together, you only have to say the words.”

Gemma tried to stand tall, even though she could feel the quiver in her bottom lip. “It’s over.”

Tom looked away from her, and she could see the rise and fall of his shoulders as he took several deep breaths. She saw the moisture gather in his eyes, and he nodded his head. “I love you, Gemma. I’m sorry for what happened with the ad. But maybe you’re right. Maybe this has been too complicated from the start.”

Even though her heart might be breaking, she nodded. She wanted to take it all back. She wanted him to throw his arms around her and kiss her. But she stood her ground. This—ending it now—was for the best. “It never would have worked.” She sat on the couch. While her head said she couldn’t imagine a future with Tom Cain, in her heart, she couldn’t imagine her life without him.

He sat next to her. Even though they weren’t touching, she could feel his warmth, and she had to clench her fingers into fists to stop them from reaching out and touching him.

“I’m sorry,” he said, shaking his head, but looking straight ahead, not at her. “About the ad. About everything. That none of this turned out the way we wanted.”

“I’m sorry, too.”

Tom pushed his fingers through his hair in an attempt to smooth back the dark waves. “I should leave,” he said finally.

“Okay.” When he stood, she reached out and stopped him. “Wait.”

“What?”

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