Twisted Perfection Page 0,45

still sleeping. Why would he do that? He wanted what a marriage to Angelina would give him. Why was he ending that?

“I don’t understand,” I replied. My voice was barely above a whisper.

A sexy grin tilted the corners of Woods’ mouth. “That’s why we need to talk.”

I glanced over at Tripp who just shrugged. I had lunch plans with him today. I couldn’t cancel on him. I needed him to say something instead of just shrugging at me.

“We… Tripp and I were supposed to have lunch together,” I said, still looking at Tripp.

Tripp looked from me to Woods then he shook his head with a small smile. “I’m not getting in the middle of this. Go with him. If he just broke it off with Angelina then there’s more to what he’s got to say than I thought there was,” he said and then his complete attention went to Woods. “No one’s puppet. It’s about damn time,” he said then walked off.

Woods was grinning when I looked back at him. “Have lunch with me?”

I glanced past him toward the club’s restaurant. I didn’t want to go in there with the boss and have lunch. I couldn’t let one of my coworkers wait on me. But I also wanted to talk to Woods. He wasn’t engaged. My heart started beating harder in my chest. Woods was free.

“I wouldn’t be comfortable eating in there. Could we talk first then go find something to eat somewhere else?”

“Whatever you want.” He pulled me to him and then nodded his head toward his truck. “Let’s go for a ride.”

Once we were in the truck, Woods didn’t start the engine. He looked over at me. His dark brown eyes were serious but the sadness wasn’t there. “I’m sorry for how I acted last night. I shouldn’t have talked to you that way. I was panicking and I lost it.”

I shifted in my seat and rested my shoulder against the leather so that I was facing him. “Why were you panicking?”

Woods cocked one eyebrow as if he didn’t think this question needed an answer. As if it was understood. “Because Tripp was talking about taking you away.”

Oh.

“I want you to understand something. This needs to be very clear. I never loved Angelina. I never wanted to be engaged to her. I was doing it because she was the key to getting what I thought I’d always wanted. But you changed that. I realized I wanted other things. I didn’t want to be controlled. And I wanted a chance with you. Even if you don’t plan on staying long. Even if you aren’t one for commitments, I want this time with you.”

The idea of losing his freedom hadn’t been enough reason for him to refuse to do his father’s bidding? It had taken me to make him stand up to his father? Why me? I didn’t understand. “What if you get to know me and you realize I’m not worth it? Will you still be glad you let go of everything?”

Woods’ grin returned and he nodded. “Yeah. Like Tripp said out there. I’m no one’s puppet. It was time I put my foot down.”

He was right. Living under someone else’s control wasn’t living at all. I knew that all too well. But I didn’t want to be the only reason he gave up what was rightfully his. The pressure to be worth it was too much.

“I agree. Not being able to make your own choices in life isn’t fair. I guess I just want to be sure I’m not the reason you did this. Because honestly, you’re gonna find out real soon that I’m more of a mess than you already got a glimpse of the other night.”

Woods’ eyebrows lowered over his eyes as he frowned at me. He didn’t like me saying that but he didn’t know the truth about me. I wasn’t going to tell him either.

“I don’t like to hear you talk about yourself like that,” he said in a husky voice.

I turned my body back around in my seat. “We can discuss that another time. I’m starving.” I wanted to ask him more questions like ‘what happens with your job now?’ or ‘Will your dad fire you?’ or ‘Do you have plans to do something else?’ but I was refusing to talk anymore about me and my future so I couldn’t expect him to open up about his.

We could go eat and just see what happened next. He might realize what he’d done before