It’s time for me to end whatever the hell I started when I invited him over here tonight.
“Look, Vince. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or put you in a weird spot with your family. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. I’ve got an early morning anyway, so?—”
“Wait, so you don’t want me to come up?”
Now it’s my turn to furrow my brows.
“I don’t want to be the reason for any problems.”
Vince slips his phone back into his pocket. A thick strand of hair slides out of place as he takes a few steps toward me. Hiseyes pin me to the spot, daring me to move away from the fence. Fierce yearning loops around me, holding me captive to his dark-eyed stare.
“You’re not the problem.” His voice is so low, I can barely hear him. “I am.”
I shake my head. “I crossed the line. I’m your client.”
“Are you?” He lifts an eyebrow, his lips curling upward.
“I never signed the contracts dissolving our management agreement.”
“Why not? I gave you an out. I thought it was what you wanted.”
His low, growly voice makes the hairs on my arms spring up.
“It’s not what I want. And I didn’t want to take the out, especially if…” I swallow hard.
Don’t say it. Don’t put it all out there. If you do, you’ll never be able to pull the words back…
“If?”
“If it was the only way I’d be able to see you again.”
Well, Christ. Here we fucking go.
I tried to put him on the spot before when I asked why he’d come home with me and somehow, here I am, the only one baring my damn soul.
“I’m glad you didn’t sign.” We stand toe to toe. My fingers twitch at my sides, aching to graze the dark stubble shadowing his face. “But it wouldn’t have stopped me from seeing you again.”
I almost choke on the golf-ball-sized lump in my throat.
“I was an ass the night of the event. I let you walk away because I was afraid.”
“Afraid of what?” I can barely croak out the words.
“Afraid of finally being honest about what I want, with the one person I wantit from.”
My jaw drops. Holy shit, that wasn’t at all what I expected to hear.
“You weren’t just on the phone with your girlfriend?”
Vince shakes his head. “There is no girlfriend. There never was.”
“And you’re here because…?”
He moves as close as he can without actually touching me. “Because of you. I’ve never felt this way before, and I need to know what it means. I came here to find out.”
A rustling of leaves jerks me out of my incredulous bubble. I twist just in time to see a shadowed figure nearby walk quickly down the otherwise quiet street.
“Okay, Castro.” A smirk lifts my lips. Yeah, we’re not gonna be friends. “Follow me.”