The click of the elevator stopped, and the doors opened.
She stood there, in skintight leggings and a sports bra, her open jacket covering her arms. Her stomach was so tight and chiseled, and her lean legs were toned and strong. Her hair was down, a curtain of silk around her shoulders. She held my look for an instant before she stepped inside.
The doors closed behind her.
Just like it’d been by the car, the atmosphere was quiet, awkward, tense…shitty.
I was about to be dumped, and knowing it was coming didn’t make it any easier.
She ran her fingers through her hair as she regarded me, those blue eyes instantly reminding me of the clear skies above her family cabin. I didn’t have a visual ideal of the perfect woman—but I realized she was it.
She would belong to someone else someday.
And I’d be alone.
“I still want to be with you.”
I didn’t give a reaction because I didn’t understand the words that had come out of her mouth. My eyes narrowed, unsure if I’d daydreamed that statement.
“We’re young. There’s no need to talk about something so serious so soon…before we’ve even had a chance to be together.”
My lungs filled with the icy breath I drew. “Daisy—”
“I hate it when you call me that.”
Despite the seriousness of the situation, a smile tugged on my lips. “Baby, I don’t want you to go into this thinking I might change my mind later because I won’t.”
There was no flicker of emotion. “My dad said he didn’t want—”
“Listen. To. Me.” I came closer to her, nostrils flaring. “I will not change my mind. Do not go into this thinking that we’ll be happy together and then I’ll cave to give you what you want. There is no scenario where you and I are surrounded by our children and our grandchildren. Stop it.”
Her eyes flicked back and forth as she looked at me, her mind working like cogs in a machine. “There’s something you aren’t telling me.”
I inhaled a slow breath, holding her gaze with annoyance.
“Tell me.”
“There’s nothing I’m not telling you. I don’t want to have kids. That’s it.”
“Why?”
“Doesn’t fucking matter.” I didn’t mean to lose my temper, but she was so fucking smart, and that quality I loved was now biting me in the ass. “You know what…this isn’t going to work. We want different things in life, so we should just be colleagues.”
“You’re dumping me?”
“I’m just cutting to the chase.”
“No.”
“No, what?”
“I don’t accept that.” She said everything simply, without emotion, just the way she did when I yelled at her in her office. She was calm, and the calmer she was, the more powerful she was. “We belong together.”
I sucked in a breath through my teeth.
“So, we will get through this together.”
I shook my head. “Daisy—”
“Baby.” Her eyes were punches to my face. “I don’t know what you’re hiding, but I can wait until you’re ready to tell me. I’ve only loved one other man before you, and being with you makes me realize how misplaced that affection was. He wasn’t right for me. Never was. But you are. You’re worth the patience. You’re worth the inconvenience. You’re worth your secrets.” Like the conversation was over, she turned back to the elevator and hit the button.
Speechless, all I could do was stand there and watch her. My breathing was labored from the deep inhales I took, and my heart pulsed in my chest like a newborn right out of the womb. Emotion was in my throat, but I kept it back, kept it bottled deep inside.
She stepped into the elevator and pressed the button.
Then she stared at me as she waited for the doors to close. “You want to take me out to dinner tomorrow night?”
I breathed harder, wishing I could say no, wishing I could do the chivalrous thing and just end this relationship. I wished I could tell her that she was wrong, that her brilliant mind had led her astray. I was pissed that she was so smart, but it made me love her even more than I already did.
So, I caved. “Yes.”
She released the door so it would close. With a smile on her lips and victory in her eyes, she said, “Love you.”
My words echoed right back. “Love you too.”