Page 84 of Legacy
He stills, just a second, before dropping his hand and stuffing both into his pockets.
I follow him toward the living room. The smell of roses is almost as suffocating as his cologne. My eyes rake over his back—how the fabric of his black dress shirt shifts over muscle.
Sleeves rolled. Inked arms. Red and black lines etched like a war story.
Nothing on his hands. Only rings on his right, none on his left.
Interesting.
The living room is absolutely stunning—bathed in natural light from floor-to-ceiling windows. The maroon curtains hang like velvet secrets. Plush black couches arranged like a magazine spread. Stylish. Controlled. Deadly.
It’s the kind of room I’d dream of.
A space too perfect.
A trap dressed as a home.
And the flowers—roses lined on nearly every surface. But now I see it clearer.Carnationsmixed in with the roses.
The mistake he never forgot.
He pours two glasses of wine by the bar and hands me one.
I take a seat on the far end of the couch. He sits across from me.
He’s trying to rewrite history.
I glance at his eyes.
Soft.
Don’t fall for it.
“I read over the contract multiple times, and despite the fact that I do not want to be married—” I pause. Give him a pointed look. “—it reads like a typical business merger.”
He watches me. Waiting.
I continue.
“No need for an heir, no co-mingling of our businesses, separate bank accounts—I keep mine, you keep yours. So what was this for?”
I take a sip of wine before I continue.
“For company? Were you, what—lonely?” I laugh, low and bitter.
Another sip.
Damn. This is good wine.
“Yes.”
I almost choke.
“What?”
“Yes. I was lonely. And I wanted only one person.You.”
My lips part. I blink.
