you’d try a pet. Holy hell.” I sag back in the chair. “Beck…”
“They were just little things.”
“Were they, though? Were they really?”
He looks so lost, like a little boy. I kind of feel bad for him. For both of us.
“I don’t think so. Because to me they were everything. They were what we were trying to build a relationship on.”
My laughter is devoid of humor. “God, you’re such a hypocrite. You wanted to be so careful, take your time and build our foundations strong, and you were lying all along?”
“I just wanted to give you reasons to stay.”
“You were my reason. Just you. Don’t you get that?” I ask. “God, I am so fucking angry at you right now I can’t even think straight.”
His grabs my arm, his grip bruisingly tight. “Alice, please.”
“You’re hurting me. Let go.”
Without a word, he does as asked. We both stare at the lingering red marks left by his fingers. He swears quietly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…I’m sorry.”
“You should know, your grandma threatened to have you thrown off the board at Elliot Corp. if I stayed,” I report. “She also said she’d ensure you were outbid on any further hotels you tried to purchase and would be gasp horror unwelcome in Denver society. Just so you know…”
A deep line sits between his brows. Like for a moment, he’s not even sure if he believes she could spew such poison.
“Do you want me to leave?”
“Of course I don’t want you to leave.” His fingers curl into fists. “It’s bullshit. She doesn’t have the bids or the necessary level of support to oust me. As for the rest, I’ll deal with it. You don’t need to worry about any of that.”
“Okay. I’m tired…I just…I want to sleep,” I say, wavering as I get to my feet. He reaches out to steady me, but I hold my palm up in a stop signal. The alcohol didn’t help in the least. I’m not numb. My heart is a raw open wound. Messy as fuck. “The bitch of it is, I thought you got me, I thought we understood each other. I felt safe here and now that’s all shot to shit.”
He rises, moving in slow motion like he’s hurt. “Tell me what to say. How do I fix this?”
“I honestly don’t know.”
“What are you doing?”
It’s around eight the next morning when Beck looks up at me. “Alice. Hey.”
“You slept on the floor?” I ask, standing in the doorway to one of the fourth-floor guest bedrooms. Still wearing yesterday’s clothes. They’re crumpled, since I slept in them.
The fourth level is set out much like the ones below. An open area in the middle with a sitting room and powder room. Bedrooms and bathrooms to the back of the building, and media and games rooms at the front. But Beck isn’t even lying on the nearby couch. Nope. He’s sprawled out on the floor with his suit jacket balled up and put to use as a cushion beneath his head. Princess naps on a nearby antique side table.
After our talk, I’d needed some space. Guess he either didn’t get the message or figured a few yards would do.
Still nothing from him.
“Beck, you slept on the floor outside my door?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
He winces, sitting up. “Several reasons.”
“Such as?”
“Well, firstly, if you’d needed something during the night then I could have gotten it for you.” He climbs to his feet, shoving a hand through his messy hair.
“I didn’t even know you were here.” I frown. My system is running on insufficient coffee and Advil for this level of crazy.
“But you would have found out if you’d opened the door. Like you just did. And also if you’d wanted to tell me off some more I’d have been right here within easy hearing.”
I shake my head, stepping around him to head for the stairs. “I can’t deal with this right now.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
“No.”
“I, ah, was pretty surprised when you weren’t in our bed last night.” He follows close behind, down the steps and into our room. “You didn’t have to go upstairs. I would have given you your space if you’d said that’s what you wanted.”
A grunt from me. Hangovers make me surly. Same goes for being betrayed.
“If you’d just said—”
I make an about turn outside my closet. “I want space.”
“Oh. Okay.”
Inside, I grab some clean jeans, a long-sleeve tee, and boring cotton underwear. Today the glamor care factor is so low it wouldn’t even register. Today I officially do not