Page 35 of Bidding War

She cries harder, and I wrap her up in me again. Her every sobbing shake destroys me. It takes a long time for her to calm down, and I hold her the whole time, just glad to be here for her. I can’t stop thinking about what would have happened if he’d gotten her alone. My imagination runs wild with the thought like it’s trying to punish me for not stopping him sooner.

She mumbles something, but I don’t catch it. When I lean back, her eyes are so red that it guts me. She breathlessly says, “I don’t know how this happened.”

“Green Sweater is a piece of shit.”

She frowns. “Green Sweater?”

“I don’t know his name.”

She almost smiles at that. “Neil. He’s a hedge fund manager at Bryce-Connolly. That’s what he told me, anyway.”

“Well, Neil, the hedge fund manager at Bryce-Connolly, is a piece of shit.”

She snorts out a laugh at that before her face crumbles into tears. “I thought he was a nice guy. I’m so sorry, Anderson.”

I know I shouldn’t keep asking questions. Her throat must be killing her. But she sounds so guilty for something, and it’s weirding me out. I can’t stop myself from asking, “Sorry for what?”

“I shouldn’t have gone with him. I should?—"

“Stop. June, please stop. It’s fine. We’re not together. You don’t owe me an explanation for your dating life, and you didn’t deserve any of this. You did nothing wrong.”

She wipes her wide eyes, but more tears fall. “I shouldn’t have gone with him because I’m in love with you.”

My voice catches in my throat, and my heart stutters. “I’m in love with you, too, June. I always have been.”

She cups my face in her hands, and we meet in the middle for the gentlest kiss imaginable. She gives a small smile. “Didn’t want to hurt your lip worse.”

But I’m still hazy from our love admissions, and that kiss was not enough to slake my thirst for her. “You can do whatever you want to my lip.”

She giggles, but then more tears come. Right. It’s been a fuckup of a night. Our emotions are all over the place, and she might be saying things she doesn’t mean or will want to take back in the morning once she’s calmed down. I won’t push her on any of it. Instead, I hold her again. That doesn’t seem like crossing the line, and it feels amazing after everything we’ve been through.

Once she calms down some, she quietly says, “I got a job.”

Oh shit. She hasn’t figured out I’ve been watching her. Best to play dumb. “Really?”

“I’m bartending back at the place I worked in college.”

No wonder she looks so at home there. “That’s great. I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks,” she says numbly.

Her breathing has evened out, and I want to test out pulling away so we can get this handled. Need to call the cops and get Neil arrested. I also need to talk her into getting checked out at the hospital. Something tells me she’s going to be stubborn about that. But I’m worried if I pull away, she’ll fall apart. Instead, I wait until she pulls away. “Think you can stand?”

“I don’t know. I was blacked out … I don’t know for how long.”

“Let me call an ambulance?—"

“No.”

I close my eyes in frustration. “June, you should get checked out.”

“I’m bruised. I’ll heal.”

“If you think you can’t stand, then we should get you to the hospital.”

“Just need some help, I think.” She starts to get up, so I give her a hand. Once she’s straight and not wobbling, I feel better. “See? I’m okay.”

“You’re sure?” I still haven’t stopped holding her hand to brace her.

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