Page 48 of Contracted and Claimed By The Boss

Withered, empty, lifeless.

‘What do you mean, she had to go?’ Amanda’s face showed confusion.

Max wanted this day to be over.

He wanted to wash his hands of it completely.

Paige was still in the air of the house. If he closed his eyes he could smell her, see her. He half expected her to come walking through a doorway at any point, her beautiful smile, her sparkling eyes... His gut tightened.

She was gone. He’d made sure of that.

And what alternative had there been?

Let her stay until it suited her to leave?

Just roll over and have it all on her terms?

No.

It was just him and Amanda, like always. The two of them. He wasn’t sure why he’d let himself start to see Paige as part of their team, but at some point, he had. It was a mistake.

She was a temporary fixture in their lives and whether she stayed three weeks or three months, it didn’t matter to him.

He repeated that to himself silently, sure that eventually it would ring true.

‘Dad? You’re kidding, right?’

‘No, honey.’

‘Dad?’

Amanda pushed her chair back, staring at him with teary blue eyes. His gut rolled, and rather than admitting how much he understood Amanda’s feelings, he felt his anger surge. Paige had done this. She was supposed to fix things and instead she’d come and messed it all up even worse.

‘I don’t want her to go. I wanted her to stay.’

‘She was never going to stay for ever, you know that. Paige just came to help out a bit.’

‘And she was helping,’ Amanda cried. ‘I liked her. I loved her. She was so fun, and kind, and when I hugged her, I just felt—like everything was okay again. How could you do this?’

He felt as if he’d been punched. Not just because of the accusation but because of the way she’d perfectly articulated her feelings for Paige, and the way they somehow resonated with his own.

‘It was her decision.’

‘She would never leave without saying goodbye to me. I know her.’

He grimaced. His daughter was right; her faith in Paige was worthy. Paige had wanted to stay, to do this better, properly, maybe in a way that would have avoided Amanda experiencing this pain, but he’d forced her to leave earlier. For his own sake.

Who exactly was the selfish one?

He ground his teeth.

‘There is no sense discussing this further.’ His words were unnecessarily abrupt. He stood, moving into the kitchen and bracing his palms against the counter. ‘She’s gone. We’ll be fine without her. Fine.’

‘I don’t want—’

He didn’t want either, but it hadn’t been his choice.

‘Go to your room, Amanda.’ The response was sharper than he’d intended. ‘You must have homework to do.’

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