The hands disappeared at once. A sudden chill sprang up between us. And all our banter, and laughter, and games faded permanently into the past. Leaving nothing but the question.
“Why did you pick Ella?” he asked again.
Cold, this time. Unyielding.
I turned slowly to face him, still shaky on my feet. I didn’t know why, exactly, but the question made me strangely upset. Almost angry. An echo of his abrupt departure from the park bench the other day.
“With the option you chose, you’re not supposed to build attachments,” I answered shortly. “Ella’s the antithesis of your type. I thought she would be the perfect solution.”
“That’s bullshit, Abby.” Nick’s eyes flashed, then cooled to a low simmer. The way they did when I knew he wasn’t going to let something go. “There were a dozen other girls you could have picked. Girls you knew I wouldn’t attach to, but they also wouldn’t drive us both mad.”
I didn’t miss a beat.
“Those girls take time to find. We needed someone quickly.”
“Oh—come on,” he snapped. “You’re really going to—”
“You saw her resume!” I interrupted heatedly. “It’s exactly what we—”
“Stop trying to spin this!” he yelled, finally pushed past the limit. “I’m not just a fucking client, Abby—don’t talk to me that way! Why did you pick her?”
I glared up at him. Overly-confident with the booze. Overly-willing to speak my mind.
An idiot, through and through.
Maybe I was mad he didn’t like my marketing plan. Maybe I was sabotaging him. Maybe this was revenge for everything he put me through since I was hired. I knew my job wasn’t on the line. Because I could make this work. Meanwhile, Nick would suffer. Or was this something completely different.
Just maybe...
Maybe I didn’t want to see him kissing another girl. When maybe something was changing between us.
“...why did you buy me that necklace?” I asked.
“For the same reason you put me with that wretched woman.”
“What does that even mean?”
“I feel things changing, shifting between us. And maybe you do too. You didn’t want me to be kissing a desirable woman, like perhaps an ex-girlfriend. You picked somebody so that I would have to pretend. And while I’m pretending, I can’t date other girls. So in a way, you have me all to yourself.”
“That’s ridiculous!”
He cocked a brow. “Is it?”
“You are so conceited.”
“Skip all the games. If you want to be with me, all you have to do is simply ask.”
“You’ve seduced so many maids, cooks, stylists, and exercise instructors. I guess you’ve decided to include me in your little black book. You love to fuck the help, don’t you?”
“You’re so damn good at changing the subject. It’s why you’re at the top of your game. Directing the attention off of you ‘wanting me’ and turning it toward my promiscuous behavior.”
“Goodbye, Nick. See you in the morning.” I turned to walk away.
Chapter 17
In my entire life, I had never been as hungover as I was the next morning.
Water didn’t help. Food didn’t help. Not even my precious coffee. And it certainly didn’t help, that behind every wave of nausea, there lay an over-whelming feeling of guilt.