She wouldn’t look at me.
“Baby.”
She finally lifted her gaze to meet mine.
“I’ve been doing this since we met. Why is it bothering you now?”
She gave me a pissed look, like she was about to throw her dinner plate at my head. “Don’t be stupid.”
“I’m serious.”
“Because I love you, asshole.”
“You’ve always loved me,” I snapped.
“But it’s different now, and you know it.”
Now, we were in a real relationship, the kind of relationship where we slept together every night and made love before bed. We had dinner together every night, and we shared the same space without getting tired of each other. “It’s my job, baby. I’ll be gone for a week at the most.”
“A week?” she asked incredulously. “That’s the longest you’ve ever been gone for.”
“I know. But I promise I’ll come back.”
“You can’t make a promise like that, Griffin. You have no idea if you can actually keep it.”
“I’ll keep it.” I held her gaze as I spoke. “Nothing will stop me from coming back to you.”
My words touched her slightly, but the softness quickly wore off. “It would be one thing if you were in the military and didn’t have a choice. But you’re doing this for the money, which is ridiculous. You have more than enough money. Stop risking your life for more.”
“There’s no such thing as too much money.”
Her eyes narrowed. “It’s not worth more than your life.”
“I’m not going to die.”
“Don’t be so arrogant. You never know what’s going to happen.”
“I know what’s going to happen because I refuse to accept any other outcome besides victory. You need to stop worrying.”
She sighed loudly, her nostrils flaring.
“Let it go.”
She looked down at her plate again.
“I’ll be fine. I promise.”
She dragged her hands down her pretty face. “You can break all your other promises, but please don’t break this one.” Her hands moved back to the table, and she looked at me with the emotion in her eyes.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy this, enjoy watching her hurt over me. I’d never had a woman love me like this, who didn’t care about my money as much as my life. She was practically in tears, begging me to walk away from that kind of life for a simpler one with her.
I was an asshole to enjoy her pain, but I never said I wasn’t an asshole. “I won’t.”
I packed my bag and walked to the front door.
All the gear we needed would be on the plane, so I didn’t need anything besides my clothes. I wore my leather jacket and my black jeans, blending in with the darkness outside the building. Once Shane and I met at the headquarters, we would take off.
Vanessa was sitting on the couch, wearing one of my t-shirts like it might convince me to stay. She refused to acknowledge my departure, as if pretending it wasn’t happening would somehow make it easier.
I set my bag down by the elevator and stared at her.
She kept her arms crossed over her chest and stared at the TV, refusing to even glance my way.
I continued to stand there, slightly amused she was taking this so hard. “You aren’t going to say anything to me?” I’d told her to stay here while I was gone since it was a lot safer than that dump she lived in. I was surprised her family let her stay there after Knuckles broke in to it, but I knew they didn’t have much of a choice because Vanessa was so stubborn.
She continued to ignore me.
“Fine.” I hit the button and watched the doors open. I could play this game if she wanted, but we both knew how it was going to end. I stepped inside and immediately hit the button so I could move to the bottom floor. The doors started to shut.
“Wait.” She hopped off the couch and sprinted into the elevator, squeezing through the doors before they closed. She ran into my chest, hitting me at high speed but not hard enough to do any damage. “I’m sorry…”
I held her against me as the elevator moved to the bottom floor, my t-shirt reaching her thighs and hanging loosely around her body. My chin rested on her head, and I felt her back rise and fall with her quick breaths. “It’s okay. I knew you weren’t going to let me leave without saying goodbye.”
“Don’t be an asshole right now.”
I pressed a kiss to her forehead and tried to hide my smile. “Baby, you know I’m always an asshole.”
“Not to me.”
The elevator reached the lobby, and the doors opened. She was in no condition to walk me to my truck, so I stayed with her inside the elevator. My hand moved to her face, and I tipped her gaze up toward me. My thumb brushed across her soft cheek, watching my woman turn weak the second she was about to lose me. That was what I’d always wanted from her, for her to need me, to be devastated when I wasn’t by her side. “I love you, baby.”