Page 70 of A Mutually Beneficial Proposal

My chest is burning. I don’t understand why Ella wants to do this.

A woman turns around. “Oh, are you Brad?”

I shake my head, unable to speak.

“Jumper number two might be a no show,” the woman announces to the others.

A man heads to the van behind them. “I’ll give him a call.”

When he moves out of the way, I catch my first sight of Ella since I left her sleeping in the hotel Thursday morning. Any fear that’s been growing inside me is smothered by the awe of how stunning she is to me.

Her hair is braided down her back. She’s wearing dark jeans and a white tank top that clings to her sides. I want to reach for her, but I know I don’t have that right. Not yet, anyway. I hope “yet” is the right word to use.

She looks down at her side closest to me and tugs on one of the straps around her waist. “Are you sure this—”

Our eyes lock, and she stops talking mid-sentence.

I take a step further, but she shakes her head, stopping me mid-stride. “What are you doing here, Owen?”

“I came to…” I’m not sure how to say what I need to with the other five people present now watching us.

“Came to what?” Ella demands.

I step forward, even though she doesn’t seem to want me closer. I don’t want to have this conversation feeling like we’re yelling at each other.

“I came to apologize and explain what you saw,” I finally say when she’s only five-or-so feet from me.

Ella scoffs. “Oh, that’s not necessary. You and Natalie make a wonderful couple. I hope the two of you are happy together.”

“She’s not the one I want,” I plead with a desperation I’m not at all ashamed of.

The group of workers begin to disperse, and I move until I’m standing in front of Ella. She takes a step back, but she can’t go far. She’s already strapped into a harness that not only goes around her thighs and waist, but also crosses over her chest. At her feet, thick wraps are secured around her ankles and carabiners secure the bungee to her.

“Ella, I left that morning because Bill wanted to meet with me. He asked me to get closer to Jack, so I could retrieve some information for the board. The only way I could get back in that asshole’s good graces was to pretend to like Natalie. She knew it was all a show. She doesn’t mean anything to me, and she doesn’t have feelings for me. All she wanted was my help.”

Ella’s eyes are narrowed, and she crosses her arms. “Didn’t seem that way when I saw you smiling down at her in the hotel.”

“The only happiness I had in that moment was knowing our day was nearly over and that I was another minute closer to finding you,” I say, hoping like hell she believes me.

She doesn’t say anything, and the lack of distraction has me shaking when I make the mistake of looking to my right. The edge of the bridge is right there. A few more steps and I could fall right to my death.

I realize the chance of that happening is slim-to-none, but my mind isn’t accepting logic right now.

“Are you okay?” Ella asks, taking me by surprise with her concern.

I nod. “Just not a fan of heights that could get me killed.”

“Right. Well, as long as you’re not dying, then I think we’re done here,” she says, and that little bit of hope I had is dashed away.

“Ella, please give me a chance. I will face any fear for you. I will climb to the tallest mountain. I will jump off this damn bridge if it proves to you that I mean every word I’m saying. I don’t want to lose you. I can’t.”

Her eyes soften, but her stance remains firm. “Why, Owen? Why can’t you lose me? You’ve only just met me.”

I take a step forward, my hands itching to touch her, but I won’t do so without her permission. “I can’t, because I know that any day without you in it won’t be as bright. I don’t want to go days without hearing your laugh or the clicking of your tongue when you’re concentrating. I want to live for the moments that I get to hold you in my arms. I want to be the reason you smile and be the person who wipes away your tears when you’re sad, not the one to cause them. I can’t lose you, because there is so much I don’t want to experience without you by my side.”

Ella’s lips tremble, and I continue, “I don’t want to further upset you, Ella. I only came here to say the truth and beg for your forgiveness, but if you want me to go, I will. I don’t want you to hurt anymore because of me. I just had to make sure you knew that Natalie is nothing to me. In fact, I quit my job that same day. As soon as I knew you were gone, I was done with Harrington Enterprises. Nothing else mattered to me besides finding you.”

“Why did you stop calling me, then?” Ella asks, and a few tears fall down her cheeks.

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