Page 23 of Man Seeking Woman

Chapter Six

August

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Iwatched her, wonderingif she actually heard what I said. Her mouth was hanging open, brows scrunched tight, body completely still, a blank look in her eyes.

Oh shit, this could go either way.

"You still with me?" I asked, waving a hand in front of her face.

Taking in a deep breath, Ella quietly stood up from her seat. Her hands gripped the edge of the table, knuckles turning white. "You—" she started to say, but stopped herself. Shaking her head, her eyes shut briefly as she picked up her purse. "Mm, mm, nope."

Flicking her eyes to mine, her stare was piercing, lips pressing down tight as if she was willing razors to fly out of her eyes and slice me where I sat. I waited, anticipating an onslaught of curse words, maybe even a good old fashioned slap to the face. And I was willing to sit back and let her if it meant she'd open up her mind and let me tell her everything I had to offer.

Because I needed a baby, plain and simple.

I was willing to make this as easy as possible for her. All she had to do was agree.

Holding up her hand, she grunted softly, staring at me like I had lost my fucking mind—and maybe I had, maybe I was standing on the edge of a cliff without a fucking chute. But she didn't know me, she didn't have a clue what I was up against.

Veering her stare, her lips parted to speak, but she stopped herself, holding onto her thoughts.

The way she looked at me, the caustic mix of disgust and disbelief, it really stung, because I wasn't a bad guy. My heart twisted into a painful ball, making my chest hurt.

I wanted to soothe her anger, help her to understand my reasoning behind this unconventional request. "Ella, if you'd just give me a second to explain—"

Twisting around sharply, she stormed off, not giving me a chance to finish.

And for the first time ever, I followed.

Time and legal strong holds were currently in charge of my life. Every month that passed was one closer to losing it all. There was no more room for testing the waters, I needed her.

Everyone was watching us as a silence fell over the room. I could feel the confusion and shock from the other diners, all of them wondering what the hell was going on.

A bright flash ignited from the corner, and I knew instantly that some asshole pappaazzi had snapped a picture of me chasing her out of the place.