Page 135 of The Flirt

I chuckled. "You're right. Besides, I wouldn't leave Bella alone in the car."

She frowned. "Are you okay? You seemed a bit tense in the car."

"Shit. I didn't realize you’d picked up on it."

Her eyes widened. "Oh my God, so I wasn't just overthinking it. What's wrong?"

I shook my head. "I wanted to wait to talk about it until we got home, but I keep thinking about that email."

She waved her hand. "Oh, please forget it."

"I can't, and I don't think you should either."

Scarlett stared at me. "I don't understand," she said.

"It's a chef's position at a Michelin-starred restaurant."

"I don't understand why you’re still pushing the issue if I said no. Especially after tonight and what Bella said."

I inhaled deeply and took her hand in mine. "Because you're young, and you're building your career, and I want you to be sure that you're making the right decision."

"You don't want me to stay?" she asked me.

Fuck yes. That was all I wanted. But instead I said, "I want you to do what's best for you."

She took her hands from mine and crossed her arms over her chest. " I really don't understand why you're being like this."

"Look, I've been mulling this over for hours.” The arguments had made more sense in my head. “I wanted to talk to you after Bella went to sleep, not blurt it out like this in the street. We can talk more later."

She glanced over my shoulder. “Bella’s up.”

I looked at the car and saw her glued to the window, watching us.

Scarlett stared down at her feet. "Do you mind if I stay at my studio tonight?"

My chest clenched. "Fuck, I've upset you."

"I just don't want Bella to pick up on any tension between us," she said.

She was thinking about my girl. Fucking hell, I loved this woman with all I had. I was messing this up, and I wasn't even sure how the hell I’d managed it.

"If you're sure," I told her.

"I think it's best. I'll tell her that I'm super tired, okay?"

"Sure.”

As if through a haze, I watched as Scarlett bid Bella good night. She wasn't at all suspicious.

But I was unnerved the entire rest of the night. After I put Bella to sleep, it became clear that I wasn't going to be able to do the same. I paced the living room like a madman, trying to figure out what was going on.

By the time morning came around, I hadn't slept a wink. I was a fucking mess, and I still didn't have a good plan. All I knew was that I wanted to fix this.

To give myself something to do, I began to prep breakfast. Bella liked to sleep in on weekends, so I had some time.

I was midway through mixing the waffle batter when Mom called. I put the utensils down and answered the phone.

"Morning," I said.

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