Page 45 of Scandalous Contract

“You have to be more specific with me,” he told me. “I can’t read your mind.”

I sighed, feeling like he was trying to teach me a lesson or something.

Noticing that I still wasn’t eating, he said, “The quicker we finish our food, the quicker I can carry you back to bed.”

He had a point there. I picked up my fork.Wait!What the hell was I doing? I was supposed to be trying to get rid of him, not keep him around. What would another hour or three hurt, though?

“Not hungry?” he asked before forking a bite of food into his mouth.

“Oh, uh. I was just thinking.”

“About?”

I decided to be honest. My gaze met his.

“About how I’d planned to tell you goodbye first thing this morning. Yet, here we sit, eating breakfast together.”

He took a sip of his coffee, lowering the mug to the table before replying.

Gazing at me, he asked, “Do you want me to leave, Stefanie? And before you answer, remember, only say what you really mean. Because I’m going to do what you say. Do you want me to leave?”

Yes.

No.

Maybe.

I swallowed. “Not yet,” I answered truthfully.

He nodded. “Then I’ll stay until you tell me to go. And the rest, we’ll figure out later.”

“The rest?”

“Your food is getting cold.” He nodded to my plate.

“When you say the rest...”

“I’m here to rest,” he told me. “I’m on vacation.”

“Wait. What?”

“I’m on vacation. I promised my parents that I’d stay in town to check on my sister, just in case she needed me during spring break. So, I got a hotel for a week and a rental car. And I’m considering this my vacation. This is my time to rest.”

“Oh. Okay. But you still didn’t answer my question. What did you mean when you said we’d discuss the rest later?”

He chuckled. “Not going to let that slide, huh?”

I shook my head. “Nice try, though.”

“I tried really hard.”

“I know. You almost got me,” I told him, smiling. “What’s up, Julian? Even last night, you hinted at wanting to talk about something deeper. What is it?”

He cleared his throat and sat his fork down on the edge of his plate.

“Listen, Stefanie. I admit, that day at the campus wasn’t...” he started, only to go silent when a knock sounded at the front door.

Knock. Knock. Knock.