Page 119 of Surfer's Paradise

“I know you,” she said, her voice calm, quiet, but razor-sharp. “I know exactly what you’re doing. And I won’t let you pull me into something undefined just because it’s convenient for you.”

Isaac’s muscles tensed, his fingers curling against the couch.

But she wasn’t done.

“This isn’t just sex for me,” she continued, her voice unshakable. “And it never has been. So if you want to do this—**really do this—**then it can’t be like this.”

Isaac’s chest rose and fell, his expression dark, conflicted, dangerous.

His voice was hoarse when he finally spoke. “Tell me what you need.”

Rosie let out a slow breath, holding his gaze.

“You want to know what I need?” she asked, her words deliberate, weighted, measured.

“I need to focus on the first real professional opportunity I’ve ever had in my life. I need to make that happen. I need to walk into those rooms, into those meetings, with my head clear, without feeling heartbroken or torn up because you’re toying with me.”

His eyes flashed, something like frustration rippling through them.

“I’m not fucking toying with you,” he said, voice tight.

Rosie let out a bitter laugh, shaking her head. “Aren’t you?”

Isaac’s jaw clenched, his knuckles whitening where they rested against his thighs.

“By a matter of convenience, I’m here,” she continued, voice sharp. “Not because you chose me. Because I was there.”

His nostrils flared. “You’re not here because of convenience.”

“No?” she challenged. “Then tell me how it happened. How I suddenly became the woman in your bed?”

Silence.

Rosie took a step closer, her voice gaining heat, strength.

“I barely heard from you for a year. And then one night, you’re drunk and horny at a bar, and suddenly I’m living with you.Suddenly, I’m sleeping with you. You decided all of it. And one day, you’ll wake up and decide you’re done. And that’ll be that.”

Isaac’s throat worked, like he wanted to argue, but couldn’t.

Her heart twisted painfully.

Because this wasn’t about what had already happened.

This was about what was coming.

“I know you better than you know yourself,” she said, voice thick with emotion. “And I’m bracing myself for the biggest heartbreak of my life when you decide you’re done.”

His hands curled into fists. “You don’t know that.”

Her stomach clenched.

“Then tell me I’m wrong.”

Silence.

Her chest ached.

“Promise me you won’t break my heart,” she whispered.

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