Page 57

I reminded myself of that as I climbed out, walked to her front door, and knocked.
Her pale face and the shadows under her pretty eyes hit me hard, and my calm, rational logic took a flying leap.
“Please tell me you’re not letting this shit get to you so bad that you’re crying over it,” I bit off.
She flinched, and I felt like a bastard. Sucking in the air, I clenched my jaw and ordered my thoughts.
“I guess I should have expected you to come over,” she said, her voice dull. “Come in.”
The lack of vibrant energy, the very thing that had drawn me to her, hit hard, but I bit back another comment that would only make shit worse.
I stepped into the small living room. “Look, I’m sorry I didn’t respond right away. I was on the phone with my lawyer to get a grip on this and see what we can do.”
Tina had her arms wrapped around herself, and she stared outside instead of looking at me.
Several seconds passed.
“Tina?”
She sighed and swung her head around to look at me, her eyes unreadable. “I heard you. I still feel we should stay away from each other.”
It cut even deeper to hear it from her lips.
“Why?” I demanded, taking a step closer. “Are you that worried about what people think about you?”
“Not everybody has millions to fall back on, Maximus,” she said, averting her gaze. And while people see you as eccentric, they’ve already labeled me a whore. My other client, Hattie’s Place, contacted me earlier to tell me they’re suspending the project. Even my sister has to deal with the fallout since I work for her on the side. Two of her clients already contacted her to make sure I wouldn’t be there.”
She lowered her gaze to her phone with a wounded look in her eyes.
I wanted to hit something.
I wanted to hold her and promise to make this all better.
Before I could figure out even a single word that might soothe the pain in her eyes, she glanced at me and turned away. “It’s not just about you and me.”
“Funny, because it’s only you and me in that article,” I bit off. A quiet voice in the back of my head told me to shut the hell up and listen, but I couldn’t stop. The panic at the thought of her disappearing was a fist around my throat. “Just you and me. If you’re a little worried about your business and your sisters’, we’ll fix it. I’ll have my PR people help us through it. The gossip won’t last. It’ll barely make a ripple in the long term!”
“Worried?” she scoffed and tossed me a look over her shoulder. “Maximus, I was barely keeping my business alive before I met you, and the clients I’ve been wooing for the last month just put everything on hold. I think I’m entitled to be worried. My sister works with many traditional family-oriented companies—if this affects her catering business, she’ll never forgive me. But…hey, it was only you and me in the article.”
She walked over to the window.
The distance between us was like miles as I felt helpless. It only got worse when her shoulders shuddered.
Fuck. Had I made Tina cry?
“I won’t let this hurt you,” I said stiffly. “Or your sister. It’s not your fault some asshole took pictures of us in a private place. She can’t blame you for that.”
“If she loses clients, I would even blame me,” Tina muttered in a voice so low, I wasn’t sure she’d meant for me to hear. “If only I’d listened….”
She went quiet as I walked up behind her.
“Listened to what?” I asked.
She stayed silent.
But I already had a good idea, and the knowledge was a blow.
“Let me guess. You and your sister talked about me.” She said nothing, but her rigid posture filled in the blanks. “Here, I thought you were confident enough not to worry about others’ approval. But it’s pretty clear you’re ashamed.”