Page 64 of Bidding War

But last night, I was suffocating in it, and now he won't text me back, which makes me feel like I’m suffocating all over again.

I just want some kind of resolution to this. I want him to be okay with me working for Andre. I want things to be normal. We may never have normal, I know that. But I want to try for it. With him.

The downstairs intercom buzzes for me. It's odd because I didn't order any food. It's probably just a neighbor’s friend with the wrong apartment number. I set aside my emergency chocolate, which is dwindling at the moment, and go to the intercom. “Hello?”

“It's me, June. Let me up.”

Oh shit, it's an Anderson ambush. This cannot be good. Okay, I guess we're doing this. I buzz him up and wait by the door. My heart is lodged in my throat, pounding in my ears, and waiting on my sleeve. I can't hide it from him. He will know the moment that he sees me that I feel like hell about last night, even though I was right and even though he was wrong. But when he gets here, I need to hold my head up high and stick to my points.

He doesn't get to tell me what to do about my job. He's not the boss of me.

He wraps his knuckles on the door, and I open it. Before I can open up my mouth and say a word, the way he looks shuts my mouth. My poor man looks like he has been through hell, and I have the distinct impression it’s not because of last night.

I ask, “What's wrong?”

“Can I come in?”

I open the door wide, then shut it behind him, throwing all the locks. “Talk to me, Anderson. What is going on?”

“My dad knows.”

I shake my head, confused. “What are you talking about?” We have a lot of secrets from Elliott West, and I need him to be more specific.

“He knows everything. The auction. The fake engagement. All of it. I wouldn't be surprised if he's behind Andre trying to hire you. But I don't know that for sure.”

Suddenly, there is not enough air in the room, and I’m dizzy. “Oh my god.”

“I know, I know. I'm trying to wrap my head around it too.”

“Can we convince him that he's wrong? That he's just confused or that he got his facts wrong? That someone lied to him?”

“He is on the committee at the Chamberlain Museum that runs the auction. The auction where I won you.”

It’s as if the floor drops out from under me. “Oh fuck.”

“June, there's more.”

Those words hit me like a truck. “What? How can there be more? What more is there?”

Anderson pauses to look at me, and I have never seen him look quite this devastated before. The only other times have been when I was in danger, so my flipping stomach plummets. He licks his lips and takes a deep breath. “My father has forbidden me from seeing you ever again.”

Those words knock all mine away. What could I possibly say to that? I knew we were having trouble. I knew Andre was a big sticking point for him, yet I was dumb enough to think we could work that out. But this is something else entirely. How do I tell him to tell his own father no when his father has done everything to have him by the balls?

I don't have a trump card for that. This is game over. I’m sure of it.

I want to cry that it's not fair. I want to scream, and I want to vomit. And I want to pound Elliott West's ugly face in. But I can't do any of that. This obviously hurts Anderson just as much as it hurts me. Maybe more because it’s his father doing it.

I gather all the courage that I have inside of me and try to ask the question that I don't want to ask. It doesn't come out easily. I can’t even ask it the right way. My voice sticks around the hot ball of pain in my throat, begging me to cry to release it. But I don’t. I can’t make this harder on him. “I love you, Anderson. And I understand-“

He grabs me, pulling me into his arms for a kiss. I don't know if it's a kiss goodbye, but I give myself over to it. Our passion, our love, wrapped up in that kiss, sends a sharp thrill through my body, warming me from the inside out. He presses his forehead to mine. And murmurs, “My father can go fuck himself.”

36

ANDERSON

“Do you mean that?” she whispers. Her breath is sweet, and it fills my lungs with her scent. This is all I ever want out of life. Being close enough to June to be surrounded by her. She is everything to me. She’s my world, my air, my reason for being.

If Elliot West thought he could pry me from this woman, he has lost his damned mind.

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