Show & Sell

I feel like Rocky training for the event of my lifetime.

Sure, it’s cold, but I’ve got electricity pumping through my veins. I’m so high on the adrenaline that comes with seeing her that I need to let off some steam. If I don’t, I might just explode.

I breathe in deeply and run for a long time through the city. I don’t know what this girl is doing to me and why I feel so obsessed with her. I mean, I do know—she’s a goddamn fucking goddess.

But never have I been so uneasy about being with a woman. Normally, I’m confident and not easily shaken. But something about Aurora catches me off guard.

Her eyes seem to strike into my soul, revealing the very essence of my being.

It’s like she sees me—the real me.

And I’m not about to let that go.

So I run home. I run fast, and I pump all the blood and adrenaline through my body, so that by the time I see her tonight, I’m nice and prepared, cool as a cucumber.

Once home, I go back up to the penthouse, and suddenly the air in here doesn’t feel so stifling.

I take a hot shower. I make it so hot that it’s damn near scalding. The water runs over my body, and even though I’m trying to forget about her for one fucking second, there’s a dull ache of want and need harbored within my chest at all times.

I finish and wrap a white terry-cloth towel around my waist. Looking in the mirror, I realize that this is it. Tonight will make or break me.

Usually, I don’t care if a woman decides to come or go in and out of my life. But like I said, this one’s different. There’s something about her that makes me feel like I need to protect her.

I put on some aftershave and then walk through the apartment semi-naked to make myself a drink. In my heart, I know we’ll end up back here somehow.

My penthouse is impressive, draped in shades of gray and black-and-white. It’s modern and has every amenity you could think of. I have a private chef, a trainer, and a masseuse.

I have every type of person I could want my life, except for anyone that truly matters.

She matters.

I don’t know why, but there’s a reason she’s still on my mind.

Sipping my whiskey, I go outside. The cold air almost hurts my naked skin, but it feels so good that I ignore the pain.

New York City is alive and well. The dinner hour is upon us, and I can see swarms of people traveling through the city, being tourists, going to their prescribed destinations.

Yeah, I know I have to hurry up and get ready. I have plans for us tonight. We’re going to see the opera called Carmen. It’s only in town for tonight, and I managed to get tickets.

Am I trying to impress her with my love of opera and everything cultured?

Maybe.

For some reason, I just really care about winning over this girl’s heart. I want her to think highly of me. I want to be the only man that she thinks about and the only man that she’s with.

I know I just have to get my fill of her once more, and then I’ll know what to do. She may or may not be permanent. I don’t know anything yet.

But I do know that if I don’t get into my suit soon and make my way to her apartment, then we’ll be late. So reluctantly, I go back inside.

The cold air was waking me up and making me feel alive again. It was making me feel like my old self—and that to I need to be tonight. I need to be Finn Grayson, the most confident and charming man in town.

I need to be irresistible for her, and that only comes with confidence.

So I go to my sumptuous walk-in closet and pick out my most expensive Armani suit. Then I call my driver and make sure he’s on time. I down the final drops of my top-shelf whiskey and make my way downstairs.

For a second, thoughts of my brothers plague my mind. I know that I’m kinda betraying them, but I’m not sure that I care. It’s not like we’ve been close as of late—or ever.

Rather, there’s been as competitive streak running between us. We set it aside for one night, the night we took Aurora’s virginity, but that was the only time I’ve ever been on the same playing field as my brothers.

I know that by taking her out tonight, I run the risk of losing my brothers, the only family I have left, but I don’t really fucking care.

I have to see her.

Simple as that.

So I get in the limo and don’t look back.Chapter 18Aurora

The dressing room mirror doesn’t lie.