Page 62 of Passion Restored

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Liz’s heart thudded in her ears, and she did her best not to scream or run away right then. She couldn’t quite believe what was happening.

“Now, honey, don’t yell at this young man.” Her father’s words were sickly condescending, and she wanted to shake him. He was a hollow man who’d ignored her for most of her childhood, but if he ever did take the time to speak to her, he always used that voice.

She looked quickly over at Clive. “What did I say about getting near me? Get the fuck away.”

“You need to go, Clive.” Owen’s voice was low, determined, as if he knew that everything was balancing on a knife’s edge. She was right there with him, and yet she wasn’t sure what she was going to say next once she opened her mouth.

“We weren’t done talking business.” Clive ran a hand through his hair, his eyes darting between them. “How do you know Liz?”

“Not your problem,” Owen growled. “We’re done with the Roland Group and you. Get out.”

Her father—though she hesitated to call him that—looked between them once more before shuffling out, his head hanging. She honestly couldn’t care about him right then. In fact, after last night, she’d decided to push him from her mind altogether. She’d wanted to think about the future, try to make sure she wasn’t risking everything by falling for Owen, and yet the universe had smacked her in the face with its lies once more.

“Liz, talk to me,” Owen said after a moment, his voice too calm, too practiced, as if he were afraid to make the wrong move and spook her. Well, too late, she was already spooked.

“Did you know?” she asked, her voice hollow. She couldn’t meet his eyes, not then.

“Did I know that man was the bastard who hurt you? No. I had no idea. He had a different last name, and yeah, you mentioned that your mom changed your name to her maiden one after he left, but it never occurred to me that he could be that man. Never once.”

She turned to him her body numb. “Never once?”

“No. I even talked to you about this guy. He’s the client that dropped us.”

She frowned. “Then why was he here?”

Owen ran a hand through his hair and scowled. “He said he made a mistake and wanted to hire us again.”

The floor beneath her feet felt unsteady, and she reached out for the chair next to her to steady herself. She couldn’t deal with the idea that that man would be working with Owen and the family who had said she could join them in any way she was willing. It didn’t matter that it made no sense to the practical and logical part of her mind. It was the scared child part of her, the part that screamed and ranted and that no one had listened to. It was that part that made her eyes hurt and her brain not want to work quite right.

“You’re going to work with him?”

Owen moved forward, but she took a step back. Once again, she caught the hurt look on his face, and she hated herself for it. She hated everything right then and didn’t know what to do about it.

“You just heard me say we had no business to discuss.”

“So you’re not going to take the deal of a lifetime because of me, then?” Because she wasn’t sure how she’d feel about that. He’d resent her for it later, and that’s how the disease would spread, how the hatred within a relationship burned.

“Fuck, no. I’d already said no, but he didn’t listen. Him being the prick who deserves to be shot for what he did to you just put the nail in the coffin.” He moved closer, and this time, she didn’t back away. He cupped her face, but she didn’t lean into him. “I love you, Lizzie. I’m not going to let that man and everything he’s done hurt us.”

She blinked, tears finally falling from her eyes. All of the emotions she’d buried for so long came to the surface, and she couldn’t quite catch her breath.

“But what if he already has?”

“We can’t let him. He’s gone, Lizzie. He’s gone.” He pleaded with her, but some small part of her still rebelled, still worried that things could go wrong and everyone would be hurt worse in the process. Her father showing up here had to be a sign, and it was one she needed to pay attention to.

Only she couldn’t think with Owen touching her, and she couldn’t push through the worries and logic that came with everything they’d gone through up until now.

“I came here to tell you I got a job offer,” she blurted. “It’s in Cheyenne.”

He stiffened, his hands falling from her face. “Cheyenne is a hell of a commute, Lizzie.”

“I’d have to move there,” she said hoarsely. “But it would be a position higher than the one I had, with better pay and hours.”

“And you’d take it? Just like that?”

She was hurting him, and she didn’t know how to stop it. She hadn’t planned to take the damn job at all, but she didn’t say that. She just kept rambling about benefits and everything that came with the position she didn’t want. But her father had just been in that damn room, reminding her of everything she could become if she fell in love with Owen.

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