Page 87 of Best Laid Plans

He wrapped his arms around my hips and rested his forehead on my stomach. "Give me a chance, Sugar. Give us a chance."

I stood motionless, shell-shocked. What had just happened?

I pulled away from Anson and saw pain flicker in his eyes. "I can't. I…can't."

"You love me, Nova." He didn't get up; he just stayed on his knees, looking at me with such raw hunger and desperation that I wanted to join him on my knees, hug him, and hold him. He was right. I loved him. Seeing him in such agony made my heart ache.

"I don't know you," I whispered.

"You do."

"I knew a young man…not who you are today."

"Same man, Nova."

I shook my head. "You're harder."

"Because you weren't there."

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! This man was being so utterly sweet and vulnerable that it was more than tempting to give in. But I'd learned about loving Anson the hard way.

"Love dies, Anson," I said softly.

"Are you saying your love for me is dead?" His eyes filled with tears, and it was such a shock that I stumbled back and fell onto the sofa. I'd never seen him cry. Never imagined he was even capable of doing it.

"I can't do this," I whimpered. "I don't want to do this."

He nodded sadly. He rose, and I realized that even on his knees, Anson had been who he was—a proud man who believed in taking a moral stand; for standing by his convictions.

He leaned down and kissed my forehead. "I'm across the hallway, Sugar. You need anythin', you just come knockin'. Okay?"

That pierced through my shock. "What? Who?"

He grinned, mischief in his eyes and he looked like the young man I knew all those years ago. "I moved from Sentinel. That's why it took me a few days to get here."

"You moved?" Never thought I'd hear that.

"I'm selling the mansion."

"Am I in a coma or something?" I looked around. "Maybe all this is happenin' in my head, 'cause that's the only way this makes sense."

"You're wide awake, Sugar, and so am I, for maybe the first time in my life."

"You can't just move into my building, Anson."

"Proof's in the puddin', darlin', 'cause I'm all settled in. The apartment came furnished."

"But why?"

"Can't woo you from Sentinel, Sugar."

With that explosive, threatening, exciting parting remark, he left my apartment, gently closing the door behind him.

What the fuck just happened?

Chapter 33

Anson

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