Page 60 of Winning Bid

Tears are chased by others down her face. Her nose goes pink. Her voice crackles. “We’re supposed to be a team?—"

I wrap her up in my arms, and to my surprise, she lets me. In fact, she clutches onto me tightly, like she needs this closeness as much as I do. We stand there in the cold night, just holding each other for the longest time. I am the world’s worst fiancé, and if she wants to call it off, I can’t blame her. This is all my doing. Every bit.

But when we finally look at each other, I know this isn’t over. She chirps out, “I am hanging by a thread right now. More hugs.” Then she holds her arms up for another hug, and I am ecstatic she wants another. Only then do I feel the warmth of her body. I think I’ve been numb for hours.

I murmur, “Do you hate me?”

She counters, “Do you hate me?”

The thought feels foreign. “Absolutely not.”

“But I snotted on your expensive coat.”

I laugh and bring her face to mine. “You can snot on whatever you want.”

She giggles. “How is it that feels like romance after this conversation?”

I laugh again and kiss her. It’s like the iceberg in my heart is finally starting to melt.

31

JUNE

“So why meet here?” I ask between nose blows. Thankfully, he keeps quality tissues in his fancy car. I'm still reeling from what he said. Those questions. How fucking dare he. But I also know the hold that Elliot has on him. It's hard not to stay angry right now, and for the moment, I am. But he's also the man that I love. So, for the moment, I don't know what to do other than ask inane questions.

“In case you were a spy, I wanted to come back to the scene of the crime. The first crime, I mean. Me buying a night with you. It's a strange thing that this building holds a special place in my heart. It brought you back to me.”

I laugh at the craziness of that. “Guess that's true.”

Anderson looks like he's aged five years today. He's paler than he should be. And my poor baby has bags under his eyes. I don't know how I can think of him as my poor baby when he's pissed me off so much tonight. Maybe that's the trick about love. It fools you into thinking things that you shouldn't. I don't know where we stand right now.

How could he have thought those things about me?

But I know how. It's his father, Elliot. That man has put Anderson in harm's way countless times. He's betrayed his trust. He's lied. He's nearly gotten killed. And yet, Anderson keeps going back for more. It's a textbook abusive relationship with a bit of mob flavoring. And he doesn't know how to get out of it. And at this point, I don't know how to get him out of it.

I don't know how much of a future we can have together with Elliot in our lives. But I'm not willing to give up Anderson just because of him. I won't let that bastard win.

“I'm not … we're not okay right now. But I'm also not going anywhere just yet. Okay?”

He nods. “You're sure you don't hate me?”

“I'm not sure of a lot of things, but I am sure of that. I don't hate you, Anderson. I'm angry. And hurt. But more than anything, I feel bad for you. Your father is a monster. If I hate anyone, it's him. I know that he did this to you.”

But he shakes his head. “I made my own choice about coming here and saying those things to you.”

It's almost like he's trying to get me to hate him. Like he thinks that's what he deserves. “Yes, you're an adult who made his own choices. You fucked up. But that doesn't change the fact that your father is the one who laid the groundwork for this. And I don't mean just today. I mean your entire life.”

Anderson looks at me with awe in his eyes. “I don't deserve your pity, June. Whatever kindness you think that you should bestow on me, I don't deserve it.”

“If we got what we deserved, we'd be fucked.”

He laughs, and it warms my heart. “I imagine you're right about that.”

“So what now?”

“I'm not sure. Dad has really put his foot down about this. He firmly believes you're a traitor. And to prove my loyalty to him, myself, and the family, he wants me to ghost you.”

The thought sends my jaw clenching. “And what do you want to do?”

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