Page 64 of Legal Attraction
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
FORTHEFIRSTtime in his life, Ronan understood what it meant to fail epically. His hand shook as he clicked off the flat-screen TV that was mounted over his white marble fireplace. He turned toward the windows that looked out over Central Park. He’d seen enough of the news broadcast.
The reporters had ambushed Muriel outside the door of her dressing room at the show. Since she’d been so surprised, she had spoken honestly.
She wasn’t going to give him another chance.
God, no...
That had been her reply. He felt sick and hollow inside—even more than he had when he’d dropped her off that night. He missed her so damn much.
Apparently he was just going to have to get used to it, though. She wasn’t giving him a second chance.
His doorbell rang, echoing off the high, coffered ceilings of his apartment. He hesitated before heading toward the door. It was probably one of his partners or maybe all of them. Except for Simon.
He would be celebrating with Bette. Her fashion show had been a huge success. But, of course, her designs couldn’t help but look amazing when The World’s Most Beautiful Woman was modeling them.
The bell rang again—longer and louder this time—as if someone was repeatedly stabbing the button. Irritated now, he stalked toward the door and jerked it open. “What the hell—”
But it wasn’t Trevor or Stone standing in the hall outside his penthouse apartment.
“Muriel,” he murmured, shocked to see her. How had she even found him? He had never brought her back to his place. He should have...
But then, he would have found it even harder to sleep in his bed if she’d ever been in it with him. Not that he’d been sleeping, anyway.
He couldn’t do anything but think about her—how she’d felt, how she’d tasted.
“Muriel,” he murmured again as he reached for her. But before he could wrap his arms around her, she slapped her palms against his chest and shoved him back, just as she had shoved him out of her apartment that one night. But now she was shoving her way inside. After stepping through his door, she slammed it shut behind herself. “What the hell are you up to now?” she demanded.
“Up to?” he asked. “What do you mean?”
“That interview you gave,” she said. “Was that to appease your conscience?”
“You once told me that I don’t have one to appease,” he reminded her.
“Then why did you do it?” she asked, and her gorgeous green eyes narrowed with suspicion. “Why the hell would you give an interview and open everything up again?”
He flinched as he realized now what a bad idea it had been. “Everybody else sends you flowers,” he said. “Your place already looks like a funeral parlor.”
She glared at him but she didn’t argue about the flowers. Instead, a little glint lit up her eyes. “If you’d wanted to send something, there’s chocolate or wine.”
He slapped his forehead. “Chocolate or wine... I didn’t think of those things.”
“You went straight for the news interview instead,” she said. “And I’m still trying to figure out why.”
At the moment, so was he.
She had once seemed offended that he hadn’t taken their relationship public. He couldn’t have taken it any more public than he just had. Except it was obviously too little, too late. They had no relationship, so the only thing that had gone public was his humiliation when she’d made it clear that she was not going to give him another chance.
He expelled a ragged sigh. “It wasn’t a smart move,” he admitted, “but I did it because, just like I told those reporters, I have fallen for you.”
She closed her eyes, as if she couldn’t even look at him, and murmured, “I wish you would have told me first.”
He tensed. Was that because she didn’t return his feelings? “So did I make a fool of myself?” he wondered. Not that he cared about his pride. He didn’t care about anything but her.
She shook her head, tumbling her long wavy hair around her shoulders. He loved when she did that when she was naked and astride him. “No. I just wish you’d told me...”
Oh, no. She had moved on—she was dating someone else already. And probably really dating him, like dinner and movies and shows and art galleries...
