Her lips part as she sucks in a breath.
“I’m sorry, sir,” she says. “But it’s hard not to notice. And she seems quite upset.”
“How much do you know?” I ask, clutching the kitchen table.
“She told me that you two had an argument about the cameras … and her love for you.”
“Ahh …” So they talk about me now. Interesting. “When did she come here?”
“Right after your fight. I gave her some tea and a snack,” she says. “I don’t mean to speak out of turn, but maybe you could ease up on her a little? Show her you love her without being so angry?” she hints, fiddling with her fingers.
I rub my lips together. She’s pushing it now. “Angry? That’s what you think I am?”
“Well, you come off that way to her. But she doesn’t like feeling that way about you. I can tell.”
“How?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. From the way she looks at you … How she touches you …” She stares at the kitchen table, at my hands, and then lets out a sigh. “Women know these things. We recognize it.”
“So you think she loves me?” I ask.
“I believe she hates the fact that she does,” she says, sucking on her bottom lip for a second. “But there’s still hope if you show her your good side.”
I take a sip of my water. The moment of silence in the room is deafening. “How?”
“By apologizing.”
I almost spit out my water.
“I mean it. Apologize to her. Beg her for forgiveness,” she says.
“For what?” I scoff.
“For doing everything you can to make her hate you. For being an obnoxious prick who only cares about revenge instead of the woman who’s waiting for him to act like a husband!” The moment she spits the words out, she covers her mouth with her hand and shakes her head. “I’m sorry, sir. I don’t know where that came from.”
I take another long sip of my drink and put down the glass. Still, a big, fat smile forms on my face. “That’s an honest admission.”
She lowers her hands and approaches me. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s refreshing.” I nod. “And the truth.” I chug down my drink until the glass is empty and place it on the kitchen counter. “So what should I do then? Besides the groveling?”
“Remove the cameras. Apologize about sending the footage to her father.”
My eyes widen. “Remove the cameras?” I growl. “No, they’re my—”
“Control,” she interjects. “You use it to control her. And she knows this. But it also means she can’t love you.” She takes a step closer and grabs my hand. “Women want and need to feel like they give you their love freely. Not that you can just take it when you want. Love has to be earned.”
Her hand is warm around mine … different from Charlotte’s but soft and delicate still.
“And how do you suggest I earn it?” I ask.
“By giving her what she wants the most,” she says, a melancholic smile adorning her face. “That which she has always wanted.”
My courage and heart sink into my shoes.
There’s no way I can ever give her that … not without abandoning everything I ever desired and everything I felt was owed to me. Her.
She craves her freedom, but I can’t give that to her without losing my only goal in this life; to have her be mine forever and to destroy her father’s business and his life.
But how can I have both?
“I can’t,” I say, shaking my head.
“Yes, you can.” Jill squeezes my hand. “Don’t give up so quickly. You know it’s possible. There must be something you can give her that doesn’t cost you anything.”
I close my eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. “Maybe. But it might mean losing her to another.”
“If you have faith in your attraction, and you know she’s on the verge of wanting you too, then you need to risk it,” she says, glaring me straight in the eyes. “Take a leap of faith.”
She’s so damn smart for a woman her age.
“I believe in you,” she says, stepping closer. Her hand rises, and she wriggles her fingers through my hair, brushing it down along my neckline, where her hand stays. “I always have.”
When she leans in to press a kiss to my forehead, I’m stunned. Taken aback by this sudden gesture.
But before I can respond, the moment passes, and she turns around and walks off.
Chapter 19
Charlotte
I haven’t spoken to Easton for a few days now. Though it’s refreshing, I also find it terrifying at the same time because he’s never let me have this much time to myself. I got to shower, sleep, eat breakfast and dine alone, sometimes with Jill accompanying me. We’re talking again but not about anything specific. She’s been quiet about my escape ever since our big talk and so have I. We’ve moved past it already.