feelings all rang true with me still. I knew I had let her down, but that didn’t mean that I stopped loving her. I wanted her, needed her, and now she was going to be staying with me. Hell, we were playing the part of the loving couple that were going to get married. And we had to play it well when Rebecca was around. If she found out that I had deceived her, I would lose the contract for sure.
“Are you going to let me in?” Anna asked warily.
I shook my head and stepped aside. “Sorry, I was just lost in thought.”
She nodded and stepped past me with two bags in her hands.
“The cleaning service comes twice a week, and I had them make sure your room was ready for you. Anything you need, just let me know and I’ll make sure it’s taken care of.”
“A cleaning service? Robert, this place is already spotless. It can’t be that hard to keep clean.”
“I work a lot. I don’t have time to clean.”
She nodded and set her bags down, slipping her coat off. “Um…where should I…”
I stared at her, watching as she flushed slightly as she stared back at me. Did she still want me? Did she still think about me the way she used to? I watched her throat work, watched as she swallowed hard and bit down on her lip. God, I wanted her.
“Robert?”
“Huh?”
“My coat? Where can I hang it?”
“Oh, right. Uh, closet,” I said, walking over to the hidden closet by the front door. I popped it open and took out a hanger, slipping her coat onto it. When I turned back around, she looked uneasy.
“Is this going to be a problem?”
“What?”
“Me, being here, pretending that you’re my fiancé.”
I laughed humorlessly, dropping my gaze to the floor. “You know, there’s nothing I wouldn’t give for another chance with you.”
“You had another chance.”
“You gave me three days, Anna. You put an expiration date on it. That’s not giving me a chance.”
“I don’t know what you want me to say. We’re not-“
“The same people,” I finished. “I know. You keep telling me that. But you don’t really know me anymore.” She looked away and I stepped closer, slowly creeping into her space. I slid my arm around her waist and pulled her in close to me. “All that stuff you said about me in the restaurant, was that true?”
She wouldn’t look me in the eyes. Her gaze was firmly locked on my lips. She still wanted me.
“Robert, what we had…it was a long time ago.”
“And you can honestly tell me that you don’t feel that way now? That you don’t still think about me and wish that I was the man that came to rescue you from your house? Because I think about you all the time, Anna. I wish that I had stayed. I wish that I was still the man that you would wait eagerly for. I may wear a suit and tie now, but I’m still the man that loves you. That hasn’t changed in all these years.”
Tears pricked her eyes and she swiped at them. “You left,” she whispered.
“Thirteen years ago,” I whispered, cupping her face in my hands. “I was seventeen years old, Anna. I made mistakes. I was a stupid kid that didn’t know what to do. I’ve hated myself all these years, wishing that I could go back and change what happened between us. I would have never slept with you, if that meant that I could hang onto you. I would have given up everything to stay by your side. You’ve always been it for me, Anna. You said that you’ve forgotten about that stuff, that you’ve let it go, but you’re still hanging onto that anger like it’s your redemption. Just let it go. Be with me.”
“I can’t,” she whispered. “I want to, but I’m scared.”
“We can still have what we used to. You just have to let me back in. Let me be the man you used to know.”
Her eyes lifted to mine and I crashed my lips down on hers. She tasted sweet and salty from her tears. Years of longing crashed into that kiss, filling me up so much that I lost control. I picked her up and carried her into my bedroom, loving the way her fingers dug into my hair and pulled at my shirt. She needed me just as much as I needed her. I laid her down and tore at her clothes, needing her