Page 93 of Tangled Kisses
“She’s very nice.” Tears blur my vision as I look up at him. “Why didn’t you tell me how much money you needed for your business startup?”
His brows pinch as he offers a slight shrug. “Didn’t think it mattered. Lauren said she was going to review the proposal and?—”
“That plan only works if you move to Portland,” I cut in, my voice trembling. “Only works if you marry her. Then you have no more worries, right? You live in a mansion, get your business, a new life. You don’t have to keep breaking your back just to stay afloat. Lauren is stunning and sweet. It’s a great deal. I just wish you had told me.”
No way am I getting out of here without collapsing into a puddle of tears.
Griffin blows a hard breath through his nose, lips pursed. “I didn’t think she was serious about that. Hell, I didn’t even?—”
“She is. Tit for tat, right? Quid pro quo. You get what you want, and so does she.”
And I get nothing. Like always.
“Reese—”
“No.” I swipe at my cheeks furiously, refusing to break down in front of him. “Don’t. I’m not mad. I get it. You can’t keep working yourself into the ground, and you’ll never make enough here to start over. Pearl needs you, and you need her. And I don’t want you going back to sleeping with women for money—I know how much you hated that. I just want you happy. Because you deserve it.”
“Reese—”
“Just listen, okay?” I press my fingers to his lips before he can finish, my hand shaking. “I can’t fall in love with you. Ican’t. But God, I really want to.”
Something shatters in his eyes. His hands come up to cradle my face, his thumbs dusting gently over my skin. “Well, I’m going to try my damnedest to change your mind.”
I shake my head, stepping back, my heart breaking with every inch of space I put between us. “You can’t.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Griffin
Iwatch Reese leave, the sound of her boots swallowed by the crowd.
Yanking the hat from my head, I drag a hand across my scalp, trying to calm the frenetic energy dancing inside me.
Just breathe, man. Deal with Lauren—then fix things with Reese.
Her words replay on a loop in my brain.I can’t fall in love with you. But God, I really want to.
Baby girl, I’ve never wanted anything more.
I return to Lauren’s side and jerk my chin toward a booth. “Come on. Let’s talk.”
“Everything okay?” Lauren asks as we settle onto the hard wooden seats. She glances toward the front door of the bar and then back at me. “Reese seemed upset when she left.”
“She was,” I mutter, wrapping my digits around the beer bottle.
“Nothing I did, I hope.”
I toss my hat onto the table with a noisy sigh. “No. It wasn’t you. It’s… life.”
Lauren chuckles. “Living is a chore on the best days, isn’t it?” She reaches across the table, gliding her palm over my head with a small smile. “New look.”
“Don’t ask.”
“It suits you. Gives you that rough edge.”
I huff out a laugh and down another swallow of beer. “Not sure if that’s good or bad.”
Honestly, I’m not sure of much anymore, except I need to get to Reese. As soon as humanly possible.
