Page 61 of My Billionaire Neighbor's Secret

“Coming…” she said aloud, her voice sending an unexpected shiver down my spine.

The door opened.God, she was so beautiful.

Her jaw dropped upon seeing me. We gazed at each other in silence for I don’t know how long. But it was me who first spoke.

“Uh, hi,” I said awkwardly. My heart felt like it was getting torn off my rib cage.

“Hey,” was all she said. “Uh… come in…”

She invited me in, so I followed her into the small but very tidy living room.

“Do you want coffee? Tea? Juice? Water?” she asked as her back was turned to me.

When she suddenly stopped and faced me, we were both caught in surprise, almost stumbling into each other.

I smiled uneasily. “No, thanks. I only came to see you.”

She blushed a little but then quickly recovered and smiled back at me. “Oh, you must have seen the ‘for rent’ sign on my front yard,” she said.

“Uh, yes,” I admitted. “And actually, I’ve been waiting for you to come back, but you never did. I saw Rasha and some others one time. They had luggage with them, but I never thought that…” I took a deep breath, the thought of her leaving finally sinking in. “… that you would leave so suddenly…”

“Yeah, the offer was unexpected and sudden,” she answered. “And I guess timely too.”

“Actually, it’s not,” I told her.

She looked astonished and puzzled, but she did not say anything. “Was it Rasha who pointed you here?” she asked, changing the topic.

“Yes,” I said. “But don’t get mad at her. I think she sort of felt my desperation.”

I was looking at her so intensely that she looked away and sat down. She motioned for me to do the same, so we sat beside each other on the sofa, sort of groping in the dark in this conversation, each one not knowing where it would lead.

“Leigh,” I started, taking her hand in mine and stroking her soft, smooth skin. I felt a surge of energy shooting up my arm and making me feel warm and cold simultaneously. “I know I haven’t been fair to you the past weeks… We, uh, shared something really special… And then I just froze up and got so…” I was struggling to use the right words, analyzing each sentence. But then I remembered Jillian’s advice.Just be truthful.

Leigh was just staring at me expectantly, though she also seemed to look nervous.

“I got so scared,” I finally admitted. “I think you know that I’ve never actually been in a real relationship. I’ve never dated anyone for more than three times… I just… I’m not good with commitments…”

Slowly she nodded, a sad look passing through her eyes. “Yes, I get that. I figured that much. I’m sorry if I scared you, if I became too clingy or needy or pushy…”

“No, no,” I said. “It was me. I was the problem. You were just being yourself, being true to your feelings. I should have discussed this with you then. I’m sorry.”

She smiled, but it was a melancholic kind of smile. “I understand,” she assured me. “It’s your past. You have a hard time trusting people. You’re afraid to let anyone close to you.”

I nodded, still holding onto her hand. I was glad she wasn’t pulling away. I wanted to feel her, to connect with her again, to make her realize that I was now ready and willing to commit.

“If I’d been honest with you from the start,” I began, regret spreading through my chest and seemingly crushing my heart. “Maybe you wouldn’t have gone to the beach with Drake. Maybe you would never have to go to Asia…”

“We don’t know that for sure,” she answered. Then narrowing her eyes, she looked at me with suspicion and a little shock. “You know about what happened at the beach?”

“Arthur…” I said. “He’s the one who saved you from Drake. I, uh, asked him to tail you and watch out for you. I didn’t want to be the one to do it because you might get mad at me…”

“Oh, God,” she whispered, suddenly standing up and placing a hand over her mouth.

I stood up and took her in my arms, embracing her and releasing all my pent-up emotions. She pressed her cheek against my chest and wrapped her arms around my waist. We stood like that quietly for a minute or so until she gently pulled back and faced me.

“You knew he was capable?” she asked, her face looking pale.

“I wanted to tell you, Leigh, but I didn’t know how without looking like I was just speaking badly of him because I wanted you for myself---”

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