Page 59 of Hire A Cuddler

I don’t understand. “Me and who?”

“Becca… your manager.”

“She was my marketing manager.”

Haven rolls her eyes. “I know that. I’m asking if she was your girlfriend. Were you sleeping with her?”

“No!” I exclaim. Fuck, is that what she thinks? “No and no. She was not my girlfriend, and I’ve never slept with her.”

I barely get the words out and Haven lets out the breath she’s holding.

“So she did this… why? Because she was into you?”

I cringe just knowing what I let that woman do and how I let her come between Haven and me. “She was flirty, but I never encouraged her, and I never expected this.”

She shifts her weight and winces when she puts pressure on her ankle. “Here,” I tell her, pushing a chair toward her. She sits down, and I pull up the other chair to sit next to her.

She’s staring at the ground, her notepad, hell everywhere except at me. “Look at me, Haven. Please.”

She finally lifts her pretty blues to mine, and it kills me when I see what’s reflected back at me. I hurt her and am still hurting her.

“What can I do to help you today?”

She shakes her head. “King.”

I reach over and wrap my hand around hers. She doesn’t pull away, and the fact she doesn’t is huge. “You can ask me for anything, Haven. And I’d give it to you.”

She opens her mouth, but I stop her. “You can ask me for anything, but you need to know that there’s some things I can’t—I won’t—do. I won’t let you leave me. I won’t let you move into some apartment. I won’t let you end this.”

“But…” she starts, and this time, her voice trails off.

“I will give you space, and I will give you time… but I won’t let you go. I can’t.”

The front door opens, and Callan comes walking in with a bag and tray of drinks. He sets them on the counter. “Here you go. You need anything else, King?”

“No. That’s it. Thank you.”

Instead of leaving, Callan turns to Haven. “And you? Do you need anything, Haven?”

She seems surprised, but I’m not. Callan was pissed about the footage of the man pushing her down. She shakes her head. “I’m good. Thank you for the coffee, Callan.”

“You’re welcome.”

He walks back out, and I set the coffee and the pastry down in front of her.

She looks at me. “I had to cancel my modeling jobs for the next two weeks. If they were photoshoots, they could just photoshop the cuts, but they’re runway shows, and no one wants to see this.”

Shit. Another thing I’ve taken from her. “I’m sorry, Haven.”

She shrugs. “It’s okay, actually. There’s a lot to do here, so I’ll be able to stay busy. Hopefully, I can get everything tied up in the next two weeks.”

I fucked up so badly, and I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to fix it. I would give anything to have her look at me the way she did the other day. Now she’s so guarded, I'm not sure if she’s ever going to let me in.

33

HAVEN

“You goingto hide out in here all night?”

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