Page 86 of Playing Flirty

I rolled my eyes. “I can take care of myself. I am a grown woman.”

“Growing stopped early, though,” William teased.

I shot him a dirty look. “Oh, someone is feeling very funny today.”

He smiled at me, and all was forgiven. Damn, I was easy.

“Have you decided what you want to do?” Shaun asked, cozying up against Neema on the couch. “I know we’re joking about it, but you’re more than welcome to stay with us.”

“No way. I did the math a while back. If I get the promotion I’m going for, then I could afford our place by myself. Worst case, if I don’t get the job, I could afford a studio.” Though I tried to sound confident, the thought of moving had my nerves frayed. “Have you found a place?”

Neema clapped her hands together in excitement. “Oh, I forgot to tell you! We were thinking I’d move in here since thewedding’s so soon. It’s close to both our offices, and to yours, which means you can come here after work every day.”

“Even if you stayed in a different country, I’d find a way to be there every day. But thank you for making it easy.” I turned to William. “You’re moving out? Where?”

His unconcerned gaze met mine. “Haven’t figured it out yet.”

“You don’t seem stressed enough for someone who’ll be homeless in a few weeks.” My anxiety built. I had been so busy lately that I’d barely thought about how things would change after the wedding. “I have a place to stay, and it still feels chaotic.”

“I love chaos.”

Well, he didn’t have to tell me that.

After dinner, William walked out to the balcony—a signal he’d like to see me alone.

“Hey,” I said, using my most seductive voice as I closed the door behind me.

“Hey,” he replied.

Our eyes met, and all I saw was discomfort. Which seemed to be the theme of the day.

“I, uh… wanted to talk to you about something.” He swallowed hard and looked away.

He was going to break up with me. Well, we weren’t dating, so maybe not break up, but he was quitting the game we’d been playing. I knew it.

“You want to end this?” I tried to hide the fear in my voice.

He frowned at me. “What? No. Do you?”

I shook my head. “Then what?”

He hesitated before blowing out a deep breath. “I don’t think I should be the one representing your game.”

My eyes widened. “Why?”

“I don’t know if I’m the right person to do it. Earlier you spoke about your spreadsheets and your future plans.” He exhaled, turning away from me. “Rose, there are things you don’t know about me. I’m…”

“You’re what?”

He gazed across the rail toward the city lights. “The stakes are too high, and I’m worried that I’m not good enough.”

The statement was so ridiculous that if his voice wasn’t filled with so much pain, I’d have laughed.

“Send someone else,” he said, in an almost childlike tone. “I don’t want to mess this up for you.”

I stood beside him, our arms touching. “I don’t understand what’s going on here. Don’t you want to do it? I asked you if you wanted to do it, and you said yes.”

“I know. I do want to do it. I love this game, and I love…” He paused and looked at me for a long moment.

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