Page 109 of The Bourbon Bet
Rosalia is at my house. Standing in my sitting room. Time hiccups, leaving me momentarily suspended between heartbeats. I lean against the nearby wall.
“How…”
“I borrowed Paige’s car,” she answers my unasked question.
I take her in after a weeklong absence. Her presence fills the room, stealing the air from my lungs in the best possibleway.
“I was leaving—”
“Should I go?” she asks.
I want to kiss the downward curve of her lips and spend the rest of my life making sure she smiles more than she frowns. “I was leaving to go to your place.” After spending the last couple of weeks scowling, the sensation of a smile spreading on my face feels odd.
“You were?” She bends to scratch behind Twain’s ears. The dog’s tail thumps against the hardwood floor in pure contentment.
“Yes, I’d needed to meet with Thorne first to work through some things. I wanted to have them figured out so I could come to you as a better man.” My voice catches slightly on the last words, and I clear my throat. “To show you I was serious about making changes.”
She straightens, meeting my eyes with an intensity that pins me in place. “That’s why I’m here. We need to talk.”
I motion toward the window. “Would you like to sit?”
She settles onto the cushions, and the light streaming through the window catches the highlights in her hair. I sit beside her, careful to leave some space between us. After everything that’s happened, I don’t want to presume she wants me near her.
“I love you.” The words tumble out before I can stop them. Her eyes widen, but I keep going. “I should’ve led with that at the derby party. But I couldn’t see past my fear until I had space from Thorne’s games.” I take her hand, relieved when she doesn’t pull away. “I should have told you the truth from the beginning.”
“Sebastian—”
“I’m sorry, I... I need to get this all out. May I finish first?”
She nods slowly and I lean forward, letting go of her hand and resting my elbows on my knees. “I wanted to make some grand gesture to prove how sorry I am. But I realized that’s not what matters. What matters is honesty. So here it is: I’m sorry for not trusting you. I’m sorry for being part of that bet. Most of all, I’m sorry for not being brave enough to be honest with you.”
She’s quiet for a long moment, her fingers tracing patterns on the cushion between us. “I wasn’t honest with you either. I made that deal with Thorne. I let him manipulate me into getting close to you.”
“Yes, but let’s state the facts,” I say gently. “He didn’t leave you much choice. And if I’d spoken up sooner about what was happening, you could have had more opt—”
“I know you couldn’t have, at least not without huge consequences. We both signed NDAs,” she tells me.
Shock ripples through me. “How did you know?”
“About your NDA? Daniel came to see me.”
I shake my head with a slight smile. “Of course my nosy therapist did.”
Her lips purse to one side. “Isn’t he a lawyer?”
Laughing, I wave a hand. “He has many talents. What did he tell you?”
“That he suspects Thorne was blocking my loans at every bank in town. That he manipulated both of us from the beginning.” Her eyes meet mine. “About your anonymous donation to my adult literary program.”
Shit. “Daniel talks too much. I wasn’t trying to buy your forgiveness.”
“At first, I was angry.” She laughs lightly. “Then Daniel reminded me you gave the money anonymously.”
“Not that it worked with his damn big mouth,” I complain.
I’m not truly mad. I’d have gone to Rosalia and begged her to talk, but I suspected Daniel’s visit helped me.
“He was vague about a lot of things, said I needed to talk to you.” She studies me. “And I’ve been thinking over the bet and timing. Did you try to stop it from the beginning?”
