Page 81 of A Sudden Romance

Dig ditches and whatnot?

“You’re a talented chef.”

“I’m assuming you didn’t see me splashing the potatoes everywhere?” Her parents and his friends probably saw him make a fool of himself. His hands tightened on the leather steering wheel. “I could barely peel potatoes!”

“You’re forgetting you stopped in the middle of your competition to help your competitor when she sliced her finger.”

“It was the right thing to do.”

“You have another opportunity to go to the Vegas event.”

“You don’t understand. This proved I can’t run a restaurant on my own.” No way would he embarrass himself again.

The most frustrating part wasn’t how he performed. “I knew I wasn’t gonna make it. I knew I couldn’t work under pressure, but somehow, you convinced me to sign up.”

“Are you blaming me, that you didn’t win?”

And there it was. He didn’t win. “It was your idea for me to be there.”

He tried to stay calm and not blame her but only state the facts.

“You were terrified to step outside of your comfort zone.” Her voice was firm. “What better way to confront your fears than being on TV?”

“Spotlight and adventures are not for me.” The Peak was it. He’d work there until they got tired of him. He switched to the right lane, his heart hammering in his chest, even as terror seized him. He had to save Iris from himself. There was no need to waste her time. “You’re better off without me.”

“Don’t say that.”

He snorted out a laugh. “What was I thinking? I was in way over my head to think you and I could be together.”

“What are you trying to say?” She was so calm.

A silence passed before he clarified his point. “You deserve someone better. I’m not the kind of man you want to fall in love with.”

“Oh yeah?” She touched his hand on the steering wheel. “Tell me what kind of man I’m supposed to fall in love with? While you’re at it, why don’t you schedule a date for me? Huh?”

He drew out a breath as he stopped at a red light. “I work for your family, and I’m never going to score big financially.” He was even terrified to touch the million he’d saved. Money he hadn’t even told her he had.

She took her hand off him and stayed silent until the light changed. “Do you think I was attracted to you because you had lots of money a month ago?”

Maybe not. But how long before she tired of a poor boyfriend or husband? “How am I supposed to take care of you if I’m terrified to fail? Even if I start a business, what if I lose all the investment? What do I do then?”

“I get it. You’re scared, but that shouldn’t hinder you from trying. God’s the one we turn to any time we need answers. I thought you knew that, Sabastian.”

Of course, he knew God was his refuge. But God had brought him into this family and given him The Peak as his refuge. “What if God wants me to stay put?”

“Then you stay.” She shrugged. “I’d rather you make your decisions based on what God wants you to do, rather than out of fear. Money isn’t the answer to everything.”

She was saying all the right things, not making this any easier. He drove, staying silent as he thought of a better way to end things so he could squelch this urgency to change his simplified life. It wasn’t simple anymore now that Iris had taken full captive of his heart.

“Sabastian?” she called, her voice calm, yet he sensed the hurt. “If you want to end our one-month relationship, all you have to say is the truth. I’m so tired of people telling me what I can and can’t do. Maybe I try too hard when I care about someone.”

She cared for him?

“It’s exhausting when I think I’m doing the right thing for someone, but when things don’t go well, it backfires and they blame me.”

She wasn’t yelling, but emotion heated her voice.

When he pulled into the hotel parking lot, claimed a space, then faced her, the lamps in the lot outlined her taut profile.

---