Page 29

Again…What. The. Fuck. “Um…” I turned my head to the door and then back again. I had walked through that door and entered a parallel universe. That was the only explanation for what was happening.

“I’m sorry. Are you talking to me?”

The heavy sigh that left his lips was accompanied by a pained expression that I didn’t recognize. He’d never once looked so full of regret, but I couldn’t figure out what brought upon this sudden change of heart.

“Piper, I was so wrong.” His brows scrunched as he stared at our joined hands. “I—I can’t stand the thought of how much I hurt you.”

“You can’t?”

I studied his tortured face and tried to find any sign that he was lying, but he looked genuinely upset about the whole thing. I didn’t understand it.

“The things I said and did—” He shook his head regretfully. “How can I even ask for your forgiveness?”

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing,” I said before I could think better of it. I was here to get my papers back, and if I snapped at him, that wouldn’t help the situation.

“You have every right to be upset with me. What I did was unfathomable.”

I wasn’t sure why, but tears pricked my eyes. I didn’t want him back. I knew that much. I could never trust him again, not after the things he said and did, but to hear him admit that the whole thing was his fault…it felt like retribution.

“James, you hurt me so much.”

“I know.” His voice was so quiet, I almost didn’t believe it was him talking. But they were his words, his lips moving. “Can you ever forgive me for what I did to you?”

“James—”

“Hear me out.” His eyes shot up to mine and the tears swimming in them nearly broke me. Nearly. “I don’t know why I did it. And there’s no excuse for it. Frankly, there’s nothing I could say that would make any of this right. I hurt you so badly, and—she wasn’t even worth it.”

“Is she gone?”

I wasn’t sure why I asked. It wasn’t like it would make a difference, but I needed to know she wasn’t here any longer.

“Yes. She left the next day. She had business in London and—God, this is so embarrassing.” He sucked in a breath and looked at me.

“She’s married. She didn’t even tell me.

And I was so upset with her, and that’s when I realized how bad it was—what I had done to you.

I understood in that moment that I had hurt you beyond repair, and you didn’t deserve that. ”

His words were touching, but I still couldn’t believe it. He had fucked another woman on the table in front of me, and then tried to destroy my life. How could he be so upset about this now?

“I ruined your apartment,” I said, stunned by his admission. “I put insulation in your clothes.”

He chuckled, brushing his knuckles against my cheek again. “So like you. I should have seen that coming.”

“You shipped all my things to a storage unit. I have no ID and no paperwork to get it back.”

“Why don’t you have an ID?” he asked, suddenly concerned.

“It’s a long story, but I lost everything and?—”

He walked away, picking up the phone on his desk. “Yes, I need all of Ms. Monroe’s paperwork as quickly as possible. She needs a new ID ASAP.”

My brows furrowed in confusion at his demand. “How can you do that? I have to go in. I have to?—”

“I’ll take care of this. It’s my fault,” he sighed.

“But why? Why would you take care of this?”

“Because I screwed up. I know I did, and I want nothing more than to make this right for you.”

I was reeling, completely confused by this one-eighty. I knew in my heart there was nothing he could say or do to make this okay, but my feet refused to walk to that door until I understood why. Call it curiosity or whatever else, but I needed answers so I could move on.

“Tell me it’s not too late, Piper. Tell me I haven’t ruined everything between us.”

I gaped at him, shocked at his admission. “James, what exactly did you think was going to happen? That I would find you fucking another woman and then walk back into your arms when you apologized?”

“I know,” he frowned. “I know it doesn’t…there’s nothing I could say to make you want me back. But…we had some great times. Remember the dinner outside that little cafe? Or when I made you breakfast in bed after our first night together?”

Yes, I remembered all those things. But that was a different time. That was when I still trusted him, still found myself achingly in love with him. No, that love hadn’t disappeared overnight, but I knew I would never feel the same way with him. Nothing could bring back what he had crushed.

“James—”

“Tell me it’s not over.” He brushed his finger over the engagement ring I still wore on my left hand. “Tell me I haven’t destroyed everything. You still wear this. That has to mean something.”

I pulled my hand from his grasp and was surprised at the sharp inhale that left his lips. “I can’t tell you that. You broke what we had.”

“Baby—I would give anything, do anything to get you back. You want a whole library in the apartment? I’ll give it to you. Do you want a house? Let’s buy one. You can pick it out. Anything you want.”

“Do you really think that’s all it would take?” I asked gently. “A new library or a house? You can’t buy me back, James.”

The devastation in his eyes was real, but it still wasn’t right. James was never this…emotional. There had to be something else going on here. I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

“What will it take?” he pleaded. “Tell me and I’ll do it. I’ll give anything to get you back.”

The problem was that I had no idea what it would take.

I hadn’t really thought about him at all since I jumped out of that plane.

Patrick had taken over my thoughts with his kindness and charming personality.

The sex was undeniably good, but that wasn’t the only reason I liked him.

He was a genuinely good person, someone I didn’t think was capable of ever doing something so hurtful to me.

Then again, I used to feel the same way about James. Was I just a bad judge of character? In the end, it didn’t really matter. I knew I would never give James another chance. I just didn’t have it in me.

“James—”

“Come back to work for me. We’ll take it slow and I’ll win back your trust.”

His words froze me on the spot, and suddenly, I knew exactly why he wanted me back. “You haven’t found a replacement for me.”

“Baby, no one could ever replace you,” he grinned.

“That’s it, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“That’s why you want me back.” I looked around his office and saw the chaos that had ensued since I left.

I always kept his life running like a well-oiled machine, but without me here, he had no one to keep him organized, to bring him his coffee just the way he liked, to anticipate his needs and make them happen before everything went off the rails.

The one thing he hadn’t considered when he cheated on me was that he might lose me and not know what to do.

I jerked my hand out of his grasp and took a step back. “You don’t want me back in your bed. You just want me back in your office to run your life,” I hissed.

“Baby—”

“Don’t you dare baby me. How could you play with my feelings like that? How could you pretend you wanted me back when all you really needed was a secretary?”

The loving man in front of me morphed into the man I saw screwing another woman on the table. “I won’t deny that I need you. You’ve always kept this office running smoothly, and I won’t be ashamed of that. You were always the piece that held this together.”

“And without me, you just can’t do it, is that it?”

“We were always good together. Why should that end?”

“Because you’re a cheating bastard!” I snapped. “How could you think for even one minute that I would still want you after what you did?”

“You’re still wearing my ring!”

“As a reminder of what you did. And trust me, as soon as I’m on my feet, I’ll be selling this for the highest dollar!”

“If you’re not going to marry me, you should give it back.”

“If you wanted me to keep it, you should have kept your dick in your pants.”

I turned to leave, but he grabbed my arm. I spun around so fast that I surprised myself when my hand slapped his face.

“You will regret that,” he growled as he pressed his hand to his cheek.

“Somehow, I doubt that.” I stormed to the door and yanked it open, only to turn around and glare at him one final time. “I expect those papers today. You know where to send them.”