Page 54 of The Billionaire's Commitment

“I’m not putting anything on you. I’m letting you know how I feel. You can do what you want with it. If you want to end this now, I won’t be happy, but I will understand. If you want to keep what we’re doing and then end it when you leave, I will respect that. If by some chance you can see how great we are together as much as I can, and you’re willing to give us an opportunity to be the happiest people in the world, then you know where to find me.”

“Are you saying we’re through unless I want to decide the rest of my life right this second?”

“No. I told you what I want, what I think is worth fighting for. What happens next is for you to decide. I will respect and stand by whatever decision you make. I don’t want to pressure you. When you’re ready, if you are ready, then come find me.”

I looked at her and willed her to tell me I was wrong, that she loved me, that she was just scared and processing all that I had told her. I wanted her to say that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with me like I did. As I looked at her, I knew she wasn’t. The only thing left for me to do was to walk away from her and hope that she would come back to me.

With a sigh and more strength and bravado than I actually felt, I turned and walked out of her apartment.

Chapter 26

Zoey

“You’re coming out with us, and we aren’t taking no for an answer,” Amber said to me.

It was late on Thursday night, and Amber and Grace had come to my work and insisted on taking me out for drinks. I hadn’t wanted to go; I had been looking forward to going home, eating some leftover pizza, and watching a movie. It was the same thing I had been doing for the last three days. I kept telling myself I liked the routine. I liked getting back to how things had been before Brody had come back into my life, but it wasn’t the case.

I missed him. I missed hanging out at the bar with his friends. I missed going to bed with him. I really missed the adventures we had. I convinced myself that I didn’t need him to go along with me. I had already planned to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art over the weekend. It wasn't on my top list of things, but it seemed like the safest for me to do on my own.

Once I was comfortable with a few museums, I might go so far as to see a play by myself or even explore more of Central Park or the Financial District. It was my plan, and I wanted to stick to it, but I was finding it, like all my other plans I had made, went right out the window because of Brody.

I didn’t want to do those things on my own, not if I could do them with him. It would be more fun if he was there. He would see the random things I missed, and he would point them out. We would make fun of ourselves over what we saw or didn’t and then talk about it after.

He had ruined New York for me. It was never going to be the same now that I knew what it could be like to experience it with him. It was only because I still had committed to the internship that I wasn’t looking for the next flight out of town.

It wasn’t lost on me that all I had to do was call him, go by the bar, or send him a text that I wanted to see him, and he would be there. It would be so easy to do that, and I wanted to, but I knew I couldn’t.

His life was in New York City with his friends, his business, and the world he had created for himself. I had fit into it for a little while, but I wouldn’t long term. As much as I cared about Brody, and I did, I couldn’t stay in New York for him. I also couldn’t ask him to move out of the city for me.

As much as I wanted us to be together, I knew it wasn’t going to last. It had been hard enough watching him walk away from me in my apartment after us being together for only a few months. I didn’t want to think how much harder it would be months from now. It was for the best that we just ended things when we did.

It didn’t mean that I didn’t miss him or reach for my phone fifty times a day to send him a message or want to look at the pictures we had taken. I didn’t call him, and I forced myself not to look at the pictures. I didn’t go as far as to delete the pictures or his contact information; I couldn’t bring myself to do that. I would eventually, just like I would forget all about Brody and how wonderful it had been to be with him.

Seeing Amber and Grace looking happy and excited to see me did not help me to forget about Brody. I had enjoyed drinks at the bar with women a few times. Each time we had mentioned going out to dinner, the three of us. It had never happened, and I hadn’t thought it would. I didn't want to go out with them because it would only be another reminder of what I was missing.

“I already had plans for the night,” I said.

“Great. Then we can join you. I was just planning on us going to a bar and getting drunk. What do you have planned?” Grace asked.

I didn’t have anything planned, and by how I stuttered to come up with something, they knew I didn’t.

“Maybe she doesn’t want to tell us,” Amber provided.

“Do you have a date?” Grace asked.

“No,” I said too quickly and realized I shouldn’t have. It would have been the perfect excuse to not go out with them and to convince Brody I had moved on.

“Oh, good. I didn’t want to have to stalk you and your date and sabotage it,” Grace said.

“You wouldn’t do that, would you?” Amber asked.

“No, of course not,” Grace said, but she gave a smile that told me not to believe her.

“I’m really beat. I’m not in the mood to go out and talk about Brody and what happened,” I said.

“Oh, we weren’t going to do that. We wanted to take you out to make sure you were okay,” Amber said.

“Yes. Just because you and Brody had a fight or whatever doesn’t mean we can’t still be friends,” Grace said.

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