Page 36 of Stuck with the Grump

When I came out of my room hours later, Clarke was sitting in the dining room with a file spread open and a furrow between his brows. He barely glanced up as I entered the room. Without a word, he reached for the amber-colored drink at his side and downed the rest of it.

“What do you want?” he asked, his tone cutting as he continued to avoid looking at me.

“I’m sorry.”

Clarke’s eyes flickered up for a moment before he looked away again. “A simple I don’t want to talk about it would have been better than you lashing out at me, like a child.”

I flinched, staggering a step back. Our age difference was a touchy enough subject without him throwing it in my face. I plastered on a blank look and crossed my arms, trying to find the right words to say. When I came up empty, I sat in the chair across from him and grabbed a file.

“I lash out when I’m scared,” I said after minutes of silence. “Tyson always used to accuse me of going for the kill when we were younger. I would say whatever I thought would get people to leave me alone.”

“I know. I seem to remember more than one insult tossed my way the few times I was visiting back home.”

I flipped through the file, making a couple of notes. “My mother started treatment today and I hate that I’m trapped here instead of being with her. I would give everything I could be there with her, but with the storm and the flooded roads, there’s nothing I can do.”

“You could have told me that.”

“I could have,” I said, more than willing to accept my faults. “I could have told you a lot of things about how I was feeling but I’m not used to opening up and letting anyone in.”

“Well, if you want something out of this relationship, then you’re going to have to start trusting me.”

“Now we’re in a relationship?” I asked, my voice hitching at the end. My heart was hammering in my chest as he looked at me. “I thought that we were no strings attached for as long as we were trapped here together.”

Clarke’s lips disappeared into a thin line, his unnerving gaze never leaving me. “What do you want from me, Leigh? Honestly.”

“I don’t know what I want.”

He nodded, pushing up from the table. “Well, you better decide before we go back to the city. Once we walk away, there’s no turning back.”

I watched Clarke leave the room, his shoulders tense. As the door slammed behind him, I was left wondering what had just happened. Days ago, we were nothing more than two people sleeping together. Now, he was talking about us as if there was the possibility of a relationship.

My heart twisted as my stomach knotted. Once the roads cleared, he would be gone from my life if I didn’t decide what I wanted.

Did I want to be with Clarke?

I didn’t know. The photos all over the internet were more than enough of a taste of what being with him would be like. People would think that because I was with an older billionaire, I was after his money. My appearance would be open for public discussion and judgment. There would be no more anonymity whenever I went to the grocery store or the movies. My name would be splashed across tabloids. The privacy I had once known would be gone.

Is Clarke worth it?

Yes.

The answer came to mind without any hesitation. It was a fact I knew without question. Clarke was worth all the scrutiny and more. He made me feel as if I was awake for the first time, not simply stumbling through life with my eyes half-shut and hoping to succeed.

Clarke was nestling himself into a small hole he had carved in my heart. It was a hole that nobody else would be able to fill.

And I was messing it all up.

16

CLARKE

Leighhadn’tcomebackto talk to me all evening. I had given her more than enough time to come talk to me before going to sleep that night. Disappointment had flooded through me when she hadn’t. I wanted something more beyond sex, even if it scared the hell out of me.

Instead, she was sitting in the kitchen with her notebooks spread in front of her. She was on her phone, talking with a local artist about putting together a few pieces for her grand opening. As she spoke, she curled a strand of dark hair around her finger, grinning. I wanted to go over to her and give her a reason to stop working but I wasn’t sure it would be appreciated.

She laughed and I scowled, wanting to go back to the peace and quiet of solitude. Having her close and seeing her build a wall between us was worse than not being around her at all.

I looked down at the bank statements spread across the dining table before raking a hand through my beard. After a few more minutes of trying to make sense of the numbers, I got to my feet and walked to the front door.

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