Page 70 of My Grumpy Billionaire Protector

In the bedroom, I bend down to pick up my clothes and spin around to face him. “Should we be worried about Hayes and Felix?”

Shane drops the towel and pulls his boxers on with a snap. “No, I don’t think they’re going to say anything.”

What if everyone knew how much I cared about you?

With a start of surprise, I give him my back and pull on the rest of my clothes. While I do, I turn the realization over and over in my head, doing my best to make sense of it but failing miserably. I don’t know how or why I’ve started to care about the damaged man standing a few feet away from me, but against my better judgment, I have.

And so help me, God, I want to help him.

Don’t be stupid. You can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped. He can stop Isaiah, but out of some warped sense of loyalty, he isn’t going to.

But I can’t shake off the feeling that it isn’t too late to show him that there is another way.

Shane turned to Isaiah when he’d felt untethered, and he had no one else to back him up. While I was thankful to his cousin for looking out for him, I couldn’t help but blame Cory, at least in part, for steering Shane toward someone like Isaiah when he should’ve urged him to look elsewhere. Being kidnaped didn’t have to mean the end of his life or his hopes and dreams.

And I wanted to help him rediscover those things.

Little by little and then all at once.

Shane didn’t have to go down with Isaiah, not if I could help it.

“It wouldn’t be so bad if they did,” I murmur, spinning around to face him.

Shane’s back was facing me. “What did you just say?”

“I’m just saying it wouldn’t be a bad thing if we didn’t have to hide.”

Shane wheels around and brings his arms up over his chest. “You’re joking, right?”

I shrug. “No, not really. It’s only a matter of time before they find out anyway. So why should we hide it?”

“An hour ago, you were talking about not knowing how this works and how we should fight our attraction.”

“Obviously, that didn’t work out for us.”

“Obviously.”

I throw my hands up in the air and huff. “I don’t have all the answers, Shane. I wish I did, but I don’t. All I know is how I feel when I’m with you, and I think you feel it too.”

Shane stiffens. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I take a step toward him and frown. “Don’t do that.”

“Don’t dowhat?”

“Dismiss me and push me away!”

Shane scoffs. “Why would I be doing that?”

“Because you’re afraid.”

Shane raises an eyebrow. “Of what?”

I gesture between us. “Of this thing between us. I think you’re afraid of wanting this or letting yourself want it, and you don’t have to be.”

Shane tilts his head to the side and gives me an incredulous look. “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, but you know why this can’t work between us. Are you forgetting that you blame me, at least in part, for landing us in this mess? Are you just going to miraculously forget that Isaiah is my business partner?”

“Who said I have to?”

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