Page 100 of Playing My Rivals

We share a heavy stare and I’m about to blow a gasket. She has got to be the most beautiful woman in the world.

“Come out with me. Give me one night where we’re not fighting outside battles. I know the truth now. Let me show you we can move past it and that I’m willing to move forward. No looking back.” I rest my hands on her shoulders. “What do you say?”

“I don’t know.” She studies me as she considers my request.

Maybe I can get her cheeks to blush.

“Yes, you do. You want to. I can still read you.” I drop my gaze to her breasts and I slide my tongue between my lips.

My eyes find their way back to hers. Her cheeks turn a beautiful shade of crimson and I know I have my answer.

My dick twitches in celebration. My heart grows ten times its normal size. If I can win her back by showing her I trust her from here on out, my world will be complete.

I scan over my apartment. The cleaners and my assistant have made it shine like I want Dorothy’s eyes to by the end of the night.

Red roses await her on my center island. Her favorite wine is chilling in the fridge. We weren’t so off track when things went south, so hopefully, we can easily find our way back to one another.

There’s a knock on my door and my excitement explodes. I jog to answer it because I need her in my arms.

She knocks again right as I swing it open. “Good evening, beauty.”

“Good evening, Hunter.”

“Please, come in. I’ve got dinner heating in the oven and your favorite wine chilling.” I step aside so she can enter.

“You shouldn’t have gone through so much trouble.” She comes in and places her purse on a table in the foyer.

She doesn’t lean in for a hug or a hello kiss. She just methodically lays her purse down. I can’t help but notice she didn’t bring an overnight bag. My balance falters. She obviously doesn’t plan on staying.

“It’s no trouble at all.” I make my way to the bar area, feeling slightly lopsided. “Let’s enjoy a drink while we wait for dinner to be ready.”

She nods and slides onto a stool. We share some awkward silence as I prepare our drinks. She isn’t smiling or making eye contact. My guts tighten in a gripping wound knot. Something’s off. I feel it in the pit of my stomach. Last week rams into my mind.

Jamison.

This is about him. And I know I’m going to lose it.

I slide her wine glass across the bar as I study every inch of her face. “Tell me about last week.”

“What do you want to know?” She takes her drink and tastes it. “This is good. Thank you.”

I nod in acknowledgment as my chest heats. “Why don’t we start with your trip to the hot springs? You said you got into a car accident on a deserted road. Why were you in a remote area?”

“I wanted to see Mount Sopris. There’s a meadow up there that has amazing views.”

“And you thought the time to see it was when your brother was in the hospital?”

She turns toward the window as she takes a slow drink of her wine.

I see I’m going to have to pull this out of her.

My heart thunders against my ribcage. “Dorothy, why won’t you look at me?”

She takes another sip and places her glass on the counter. Still not a word. And now I’m seeing red. I already know where this is going. Bombs go off in my head.

“Answer me,” I say through gritted teeth.

She tenses. “I will. I just need a minute.”

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