Page 46 of Seductive Hearts

“We had a good time. I delivered that, along with the man of your dreams.” Every word was sandpaper against my tongue, but I pushed through. “You’re on your own from here.”

“Oh. I see…” She sat on the bed, staring at the twilight beyond the window. “If that’s what you want.”

I paused in the middle of tucking my wallet into my back pocket, staring at her bare back. “Isn’t it what you want?” I asked, aching to reach for her and touch her one more time.

Her head turned partway, giving me a view of her profile. Say no. Please say no. Her lashes fluttered, and she moistened her lips with her tongue while I hung helplessly, dangling on a string, waiting to find out whether I was good enough to wipe Landon Jones out of her mind.

“Sure.” Her voice was flat, devoid of emotion. “I guess so.”

I had to get out. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t look at her anymore. “I need to head back to my loft. Are you good showing yourself out?”

Her small voice barely reached my ears. “Did I do something wrong?”

“Not a thing. Like I said, we had a good time.”

I know my place. I know I’m not wanted.

If only she would’ve stopped me. I had never wanted anything as much as I wanted her to tell me I was wrong, that she wanted me and for us to be together. This was who she had turned me into. A pussy who couldn’t handle rejection and would’ve begged if I thought it would get me anywhere.

But then, she was the only person to stick up for me. She saw me and still wanted to know more. Rose made me feel like I was something better, more than most people had ever given me credit for.

I wasn’t good enough for her, though. In the end, it was Landon she wanted. Leaving me to rush from the house, determined to get back to Manhattan and drink until I forgot Rose’s name.

I had a lot of wasted time to make up for.

18

ROSE

Colton: Checked in at the site. Shelves were delivered by seven forty-five. Crew is hard at work. I’ll be working remotely since everything is on track.

That was it. That was all he saw fit to send me first thing Monday morning after I had spent the weekend going over every detail of Friday, trying to figure out what was wrong, why he’d shut me out and walked away.

How could he have turned his back on me after everything we shared? It had seemed so real. After the fight with Noah, I thought I felt something real with him like we could be something more.

But then, what did he do? He threw Landon in my face and walked out the door.

In the end, it was best he stayed away. Our good time was over. Besides, that was all he was interested in, right? How had I lost sight of that? Because I chose to turn a blind eye to convenience. And it helped me get what I wanted, which was Colton’s great, big dick.

If only it was that simple and all I needed.

“You know, the Davies’ yacht was impressive.” Landon was all warmth and cheer as he cut into a stack of pancakes.

Getting together for breakfast on Monday morning had been his idea, and I had accepted since it wouldn’t conflict with the meeting I’d scheduled with Mom and Lourde regarding the design elements coming into the space this week. Now that the bones were in place, the finishing touches were all that was left.

As we sat in the café, the crew was across the street, making up for lost time with the shelves.

“Was it?” I asked. It wasn’t easy to fake interest. I didn’t care about their yacht, how great the fishing was, or the fact that the couple had invited Landon to come back whenever he wanted. The way he described the situation told me he was waiting for me to swoon.

“You should come with me next time.” He waited a beat, then snapped his fingers. “What am I saying? I doubt your boyfriend would be a fan of that idea. Not that I blame him.” There was a twinkle in his eye when he looked up at me from his banana nut pancakes.

“You wouldn’t?” I asked, sipping my coffee.

“Hell, no. I wouldn’t let you out of my sight, especially not around a guy like me,” he added with a chuckle. “You might end up realizing what you’re missing out on.” Setting down his knife and fork, he turned his full attention to me. His gaze was heavy, serious. “But what do I know? Maybe you’ve already realized it. Maybe that’s why you agreed right away to come out with me this morning.”

It was almost funny. I honestly believed for the longest time that all of Colton’s boasting was just that—prideful, ridiculous self-confidence, and outrageous ego.

Looking at Landon now, I couldn’t remember why I wanted to be with him in the first place. A laugh worked its way out of me. Nobody could’ve been more surprised than I was to hear it. “What’s so funny?” he asked, his smile slipping a fraction.

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