Page 60 of The Muse
“I didn’t say that.”
“But it’s the truth. Nothing’s ever good enough for you Brodericks, is it?” Where on earth is this going? We were happy, laughing and talking and … “Look, I can’t do this, Seffi. I can’t do us here with your name hanging over my head. I thought I could. I wanted to. For you.” He turns, looks into the road as if searching for something, then looks back at me. “But if it’s not this, it will be something else. The offices. Your family home on the other side of town.”
“Hey, slow down. Stop.” I rush up to Scott and move my hands to circle his neck. “I won’t mention Sophie again. Or pancakes.”
“No. It’s not enough. I’ll always question whether you’re my Seffi or their Persephone.”
“Scott, I love you. I thought we got through this last night. I thought we’d worked out that we’re better together, that we can have what we had.” He moves my arms away slowly, creating space between us.
“This isn’t magically fixed because you said some words and I couldn’t see through all the fucking pain. I tried, but everything you do, everything you say, I’ll always be wondering if it’s you talking or your family.”
My mouth's open as he looks at me, but my heart's struggling to find a comeback for that. I understand. I do. But I'm still me, and this me is all his. I belong to him, with him. “What do we do then? I can’t lose you, Scott. You're … We're ...” I feel like my heart's about to explode, ripped apart by his words, and yet I can’t find what to say to stop this happening.
“Leave.”
My head rears back, confused over what he means, as he moves closer to me. “Leave?”
“Yes. You leave with me. We’ll go to Paris. Or Italy if that’s what you want. But I can’t be with you here. Not when your family has taken over my father’s business and the name Broderick is plastered over everything.”
“Leave England?”
“And your family.”
And those words stop all my thoughts.
“But I'm not at my family’s house anymore, Scott. We could–” His head shakes, body turning away without letting me finish.
“I need you to be Seffi Castlewood. You can’t stay a Broderick if you want us to work. It’s them or me.”
His words echo inside my head. My family and I have never been close, but there’s a big difference between not being close and never seeing them.
I move around in front of him again,needing to be absolutely sure what he's asking of me. “You’re asking me to choose? Never see my family, or lose the man I love?”
He nods before shoving his hands in his pockets. “I am. And I can't even promise you I'll be easy or if it will work. Cantankerous could be the least of your worries. But I can tell you that there we've got a chance. There isn't one here.”
“But my sisters? My mother? I can understand cutting ties with Landon. Or even my father, but everyone?”
“Seffi, it’s all or nothing.” He sighs and looks up into the sky,smiling lightly about something. “Look, you clearly don’t get it, and that's fine. Stay. Be whoever you want to be, but I'm going with or without you. I have to.”
“Wait, don’t say anything rash. Let me think about what you’re asking. Hell, you’ve not even told me you love me, and you want me to disown my family for you.” I shake my head at him but keep my eyes on his. I know he loves me. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself.
He suddenly grabs my wrist, pulling me to him and then turning me to look towards the sky. “You see the sun?” I watch as it passes partially through a light cloud. “It's looked different to me since I first saw you dance. Brighter. Warmer. Bolder. Wine seems deeper in colour. Art's inspirational again. Light dances rather than stays flat,” he murmurs, pulling me tight to him. “You've done all that for me. Changed everything.” Lips brush my neck, stubble rubbing gently. “And you see those clouds covering the sun? They're polluting my light, and I'm trying to see clearly, Seffi. I am. For you. But you’ve got to meet me halfway.”
I turn in his hold, my heart swelling at his words, but I can’t make my eyes reach his. “And you're saying that never seeing my parents is halfway.” It's not even a question because I know the answer, and I know what he wants of me, too.
My fingers pick at the buttons of his shirt, palms flat on a chest I barely know, yet feel I've known my entire life. Paris. Away from everything I’ve ever known just for him. No guarantees. Cantankerous is the least of my worries.
“I can’t give you an answer, Scott. Not now.”
He kisses my forehead, lifts my chin, and then pushes me to stand on my own again. A loose smile rests on his features as he sighs and looks me over. All the way up. All the way down, before he backsteps. “Alright, Seffi. Just don’t wait too long before finding one.”
And with that, he walks away.
Chapter Twenty Three
SCOTT
The voicemail I’ve just picked up is enough to have me running out the door, keys, jacket and messenger bag snatched off the side. Getting rid of him? Whatever this is between Seffi and me, and no matter where I end up going forward from here, Landon is not getting my father out of his own bloody business before the contract stipulates he can.
