Gorgeous: Book One (Gorgeous #1) - Lisa Shelby Page 0,75

the car with his hand in mine, I'm starting to panic.

Since when do I let a man plan my life for me? Should I be pissed that he went and started a company for me to run, without having a single conversation about it with me first? Is this all a part of his plan to make me a kept woman? What about that scene on the dance floor? Did he ask me if I wanted to be thrown into the limelight?

When we stepped off the dance floor, and I noticed all the flashes from the photos that were being taken, I was instantly filled with dread that my life was never going to be the same again and the fear that my past may come back to haunt me.

To haunt him.

He should have asked me first. That's really all there is to it. We should have had a private conversation and not one in front of hundreds of people with cameras pointed at us.

I slide my hand from his, breaking our connection. Staring out the window, I can feel him watching me. I know my mood is swinging from one extreme to the other, but once I had a half a second to think about things, the reality of the situation and how it was handled came to light in my head, and I'm not liking what I see.

"Baby, what is it?" he asks quietly, but I don't care to discuss our relationship in front of Baxter. Besides, I think we may be about to have our first fight. We don't need witnesses.

"Not now, Ronan."

Being the perfect man that he always is, he doesn't push. He leaves me alone, and a few minutes later, we're home. Well, we're at his home.

Baxter gets the door for me, and while the two men discuss their plans for the next day, I let myself in. The moment I'm inside the house, I take my shoes off and carry them and my exhausted self upstairs. I grab one of his T-shirts from his walk-in closet—which is bigger than my entire apartment—and as I hear his steps on the stairs, I close myself inside the master bathroom and get ready for bed.

I need to wash my face and clear my head before the conversation that is inevitable occurs. I find my cosmetic bag I had brought over this morning, knowing I was going to stay here tonight, and go through the motions. I remove my contacts, wash my face, brush my teeth and stall as long as humanly possible before I pull up my big girl panties and open the door to face him.

I've rehearsed what I was going to say in my head on a loop since the car ride home. I know exactly what I want to say and the points I need to make. I straighten my back and hold my head up high and swing open the door.

I'm not expecting to be met with the deflated man, sitting on the side of the bed with his head hanging between his shoulders. His jacket and tie are off, and his shirt is untucked, but he doesn't seem to have had it in him to fully change out of his tuxedo. He looks devastated, and before I've said a word, he proves his worth to me just like he always does.

"I never should have outed us the way I did. I am so sorry, Olivia." His head is still aimed at the floor, and his eyes are closed. "I thrust you into my world without even asking you if it was what you wanted or if you were ready for it." He finally lifts his head, and his apologetic eyes meet mine. "I know you want me when it's our little secret, but just because you want me doesn't mean you want everything that comes along with me. I didn't give you a choice tonight, and for that I am truly sorry."

I know I have every right to be pissed right now, but he's just apologized for everything I was going to argue about that part of the evening.

However, there is more to be said.

I take a seat next to him on the bed, but I don't touch him.

"You're right. It should have been handled differently. Thank you for acknowledging that. I have lived my life, looking over my shoulder and just trying my best not to be afraid of my own shadow. Having my picture taken like that wasn't something I