Page 119 of The Husband Contract

“I know. But maybe I want to take care of you. Maybe I need to be there for you. Maybe?—”

She swallows hard. “I think you need to go as well, Sebastian,” she says softly.

“What if I don’t want to go?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, what if I tell you the biggest mistake I’ve ever made in my life is not listening to you, not believing you, not telling you I love you when I really do?”

“It would’ve been worse if you told me you loved me,” she says. “I mean, it was bad enough that you made me feel it, but it was a whirlwind. I could blame myself for that. If you told me—” she shakes her head. “I wouldn’t even be able to look at you again.”

I stare at her. I so badly want her to give me anotherchance. I so badly want to tell her what I know about our connection, about her parents, about David. But I’m scared. I’m scared that if she has that information, she will completely shut me out.

“Will you come to New York—you and your friends?” I ask her.

She stares at me for a couple of seconds. “No, of course not.”

“You can’t stay here,” I say. “You can’t work at this bed and breakfast. You can’t allow Charlotte to manipulate you, to hurt you.”

“I have nothing else.” She shakes her head. “I can’t leave.”

“But maybe that’s the way to get back at her,” I say. “Maybe you and your friends walking out and leaving this place empty is the way to make it really hurt, because isn’t that how she controls you? With this job?”

She stares at me, nodding slowly. “But we need the paycheck until she officially fires us.”

“Will you please come to New York? Spend the weekend. You don’t even have to stay at my penthouse. I own hotels. You guys can stay in one of the suites.”

She shakes her head. “I can’t do that, Sebastian.”

“I have a lot of friends—powerful friends, friends with money, friends who invest in businesses. What if I just make some introductions? What if I allow them to talk to you?”

“Excuse me. What if youallowthem to talk to me? What does that mean?”

I glare at her. “I mean, they’re all good-looking, and I know you already thought Jack was handsome.”

“I’m not interested in Jack. I was just pretending to make you jealous and upset.”

“Oh,” I say, grinning. “So you wanted to make me jealous, did you?”

“It’s not about that right now.”

“I know,” I say, clearing my throat. “Well, what if we set up some meetings and you can pitch ideas for your bed and breakfast? They’re not going to invest unless they really believe in it.”

“I don’t want your money, Sebastian.”

“I won’t invest,” I say.

“And you won’t tell your friends to invest?” She looks thoughtful for a moment.

“They don’t listen to me about what investments to make,” I assure her.

She nods slowly. “I mean, I’ll have to speak to Katherine and Brielle, but it’s a possibility we could do that.”

“You want to call them now?”

“Now?” she says. “Really?”

“Well, I’m thinking if they say yes, I can drive you back to the city with me.”