Page 15 of Tempting Him (Illicit Desires)

* * *

Annie was havinganother overnight with Declan. Rich and I had been enjoying the idea of a night together instead of a stolen moment here or there when Annie was out.

When I got there, Rich had cooked for us. The table was set with candles. He gave me a rose, and we had wine and an amazing meal.

“This almost seems too good to be true.” I laughed nervously. “Like an ending.”

“We’ll have to tell Annie soon.” He sighed.

He was right, we would have to. And while we would put our case with care, neither of us really knew how Annie would react. ‘We will. Is this a goodbye in case she doesn’t handle it very well?”

He swallowed hard. “Is that what you want it to be?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“God, I hope she’s okay with all this.”

“I hope so. I don’t want to give this up. Do you?”

“Fuck, no!” he answered immediately. “But if you’re given no option, if Annie makes you pick between her and me, you have to promise me something. You’re young and you have your whole life ahead of you, and she needs you. Pick her.”

Was that really what he thought? That he was forgettable. That this was just some folly of youth on my part?

“You want me to forget you?”

He winced at my words.

“Is that what you want, Rich? I thought you wanted me.”

“I do,” he admitted, and then he realised what he’d said. “But Annie needs to come first, and you are young. You will recover.”

“Is that really want you want for me? To fuck off and end up with someone else because there’s an age gap between us?”

His mouth opened, but no words came.

ChapterSixteen

Rich

How could I tell him?Liam thinking I didn’t want him was killing me. Of course I fucking wanted him. I was in love with him, but I never for one second dared to hope he would feel the same way about me. I had to think about Annie, and if she needed Liam, then it was up to me to be her father and let him go.

“Do you want me to fuck off and be with someone else, is that it?” His words were harsh and angry, and they bit into my heart and left it bleeding.

“Answer me, Rich? For fuck’s sake, I thought we had something here. Am I that easy to cast aside?”

“No!” I spat. “No, I don’t want you to fuck off with someone else, okay? I don’t think this was just some suck and fuck that can be thrown away, but I’m trying to do the right thing here Liam!”

He was pushing my buttons. He was making me confront my feelings for him and say things I wasn’t ready to say to a man who was half my age.

“What about what I want?” he spat back.

Well, fuck. That was a loaded question. “What doyouwant?” I asked flippantly.

He reached across the table and touched my hand. “I want you, Rich.”

I looked at him in confusion. What the hell did he mean?

“I want you,” he repeated. “I want to fight for us. I want to convince Annie that it’s okay for us to be together. I want to be with you.”

---