Page 40 of Wrong Idea

“You were stalking me, Carver!” I shouldn’t have been surprised that he had followed and stood as well. His tall, strong, broad body hadn’t intimidated me before.

“Max, baby?—“

“Tell me I misunderstood. That those cameras weren’t you. That my missing key when we first met wasn’t you. That you had nothing to do with those things.”

“I can’t,” he rasped, and before I knew it, he enclosed his arms around me, hugging me so tightly I had no choice but to press my face against his chest. I hated how much I loved how it felt to be encapsulated in his embrace.

“Car, this isn’t funny,” I muttered, trying to fight my traitorous body with how safe she felt in his arms.

“I’m not trying to be,” he roughly whispered against the top of my head.

“Carver—“

“I love you,” he rasped, tipping my head up so that our eyes would connect. “I walked into that room so fucking pissed. I look back at myself, at the man I was before I walked into that room, and feel like I was pissed at the world for a million things, and after that…” He shook his head. “All I saw was your back, and I didn’t know which way was up.” Carver’s hand stroked my cheek.

“I couldn’t put it into words, and then you turned around thinking I was someone else. I offered to step out.”

“I remember,” I cut in, but he shook his head.

“I offered to step out of the room with the sole intention of running off. Heading to my office and hiding in there to pretend I hadn’t seen you, that I didn’t know someone like you was out there.”

“Carver.”

“I know it sounds extreme.” He shook his head. “It sounds fucking crazy, but it’s true. I knew who you were meant to be for me before we spoke a single word.”

“That’s… not possible.”

“Tell me you didn’t feel it,” he rasped.

“That’s just physical.”

“What about now?”

“Now it’s all messy and a lie. Not to mention illegal! What you did was wrong!”

“I know,” he owned up to it like I knew he would. Carver wouldn’t try and lie to me or bullshit. “I crossed a lot of lines, and I am sorry, but honestly? I wouldn’t have done things any other way.”

“Are you serious right now?” I asked, trying and failing to step out of his arms.

“Max…” he groaned and looked like he wanted to pull out his hair. “You had a certain impression of me. Every time I tried to tell you, you mentioned something about your asshole of a boss, and I don’t know, I got scared. I messed up. I should have been honest and told you who I was from the beginning, but I wanted you to get to know me for me and not as the owner of the resort.” I hadn’t minced words when it came to everything I had heard about the new boss.

“I thought you and I were… on the same level. You made me think you worked for the same jerk,” I argued.

“Baby—“

“And now that the truth is out or what I hope is all of it…” I paused, searching his gaze. “Is it all of it?” I asked vulnerably. Ihated feeling like suddenly, after having the rug pulled out from under me, only to be expecting it to be pulled again. He stared at me for a moment too long. “What is it?” I asked quietly. “Are you married. You have kids? Multiple wives all over the country? What?”

“No,” he scoffed. “I shared your location.”

“What?”

“One night when you were in the bathroom, I grabbed your phone and had you share your location with me.” A muscle twitched under his eye. “I just… I needed to know you were safe. You wouldn’t take me up on giving you a ride to and from work. You were so damn stubborn about taking the bus in and out of the city that late at night… and that week before, I had a meeting and wasn’t able to follow the bus home. I hated feeling… scared.”

“For me?” I asked, completely dumbfounded.

“Yes!” he clipped. “Meeting you, I knew“—he shook his head—“you were going to be the biggest distraction at the worst time possible.”

“Sorry,” I muttered, feeling like he had just kicked my puppy.

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