Page 72 of Dreaming of Dawson

“Because James broke up with me the day the deal closed, and two days before we were due to move in.”

“What the f—” He stops talking mid-way through his curse, and purses his lips, shaking his head at the same time. “Sorry,” he murmurs.

“It’s fine. My feelings ran along similar lines.”

“Did he give you a reason?”

“Yes. We’d arranged that I’d go to his place, even though it was a Thursday night. My idea had been that we’d celebrate owning our first property together, and also work out what we were gonna do on the Saturday, when we were supposed to be moving in. Most of my things were at my parents’ house, but I didn’t have any furniture, so my dad had suggested we load up his car and that he’d drive it to the new place, while a moving company was dealing with all of James’s belongings. The problem was that James needed to be at his apartment tooversee the removals guys, which meant I needed the keys to the new property, so I could get in there with my dad.”

“So it was just about who was gonna be where, and when?”

“Yeah. That and a celebration. Except it wasn’t. Because within minutes of me getting there, he told me he’d spoken to his uncle, and that they – the two of them – had decided he was too young to settle down and make commitments, like buying property.”

“How old was he?” Dawson asks.

“He was twenty-seven.”

“And he thought that was young?”

“Evidently.”

“Jesus… I was twenty-three when I married Stevie. I’d already plowed my inheritance into this place, and we were in the process of fixing it up by then.”

“Maybe,” I say, with a slight smile. “But everyone’s different.”

“Yeah. I’m getting that now.” He returns my smile. I’m growing more used to the way his lips twitch upward, and the sparkle in his eyes, and I have to say, his smiles make him even more handsome… if that were possible. They soften his features, while making him look boyish and mischievous. It’s a surprising effect, but I like it… even if I know I shouldn’t. “What did you say to him?” he asks, halting my wayward thoughts.

“Although I told you he broke up with me that night, to begin with, it wasn’t clear that was what he was doing. I thought he was just pulling out of buying the apartment, and I was livid. We’d talked it through before we’d gone back to see the realtor with our offer, and he’d been as excited as I was. He’d wanted it, too. We’d planned where we were gonna put his furniture, and how we might eventually re-decorate the place together… and yet he was letting his uncle dictate to him, even though that was something he’d always claimed he hated. I couldn’t understandany of it, but the thing I couldn’t get my head around most of all was why he’d waited until the eleventh hour to change his mind. He’d had more than enough chances, and hadn’t taken any of them. Why wait until the apartment was ours before backing out?” I stop talking as I recall the dumbstruck, open-mouthed expression on James’s face when I screamed all of that at him. I’d never lost my temper with him before, but I did that day, and it shocked him.

“Did he explain himself?”

“Not really. All he said was his uncle was right. He was too young. He wasn’t ready. It was pathetic.”

“It sounds it. He sounds it. So, what did you do?”

“I walked out. I told him he might not be old enough to commit to buying a property, but he’d have to grow up damn fast and deal with selling one.”

“Nice,” Dawson says, his smile widening. “I like your style.”

“I was too damn angry to think about style. I just knew I wasn’t gonna take responsibility for his actions.”

Chapter Sixteen

Dawson

I’d guessed Macy had issues with her boss… or her former boss. That much was obvious. But had I realized the guy was this much of a loser?

Hell, no.

I like that she got mad, rather than falling apart. I like the fire in her eyes, too. It’s kinda sexy. So is touching her neck like this. I noticed it made her shiver when I first did it, which seemed like a good reaction. It suggests she wants more, even if she’s still fighting her instincts.

“Did he?” I ask, sensing there’s more to her story.

“Did he what?”

“Take responsibility?”

“Not immediately. I left him there, feeling sorry for himself, as usual. Then, the next day, when I got to work, I went to see him in his office. I wanted to talk through what we were gonna do about the apartment, because even though I was very clear he’d have to be the one to deal with it all, it was my money… my inheritance, that was invested in it.”

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