“I wanted to.I was going to do it after the gala, honestly,” I insisted when he snorted.“Can you blame me for worrying about how you would react?You were pretty clear on being uninterested in starting a family.”
“When it was only a hypothetical possibility, sure.”He threw his hands into the air, exasperated.At least he was showing a little emotion instead of that stoic act of his.“Put a positive test in my hand, and you’d be surprised at how my feelings change.You didn’t give me the chance to process it before you decided to run away.What were you thinking?”
“No.We’re not going to ignore all your bullshit.”I waved the press release I was still clutching.I held the paper up in my trembling fist.“Let’s start here.What is this?”
The question calmed him.“That is what I should have done from the beginning,” he explained, quieter now.“That is my attempt at setting things right.Giving you what you deserve.”
I smoothed out the crumpled paper and read it again.“You’re renaming the company?”
“That’s a small part of it, yes,” he murmured, moving closer.“Instead of Manning Hospitality Group, we are now the Manning-Rinaldi Group.And you will serve as co-president if you want to,” he added.“No more making decisions for you.You can make them on your own.If you want the job title, it’s yours.”
“You know I’d want to,” I muttered.“Or you wouldn’t have put the details in a freaking press release before ever discussing it with me.”
“I had a feeling you’d accept, okay?”He shrugged, flashing those irresistible dimples.“Sue me.”
It was too much to believe.I wanted to, but I was gun-shy after so much disappointment.“And you’re holding a press conference about this today?Is that what all this craziness is about?”I asked.
“That’s right.I wanted to hold it here.Look,” he said, taking the chair next to mine, his body angled so he faced me.“I am not any good at this.I’m sure you’ve figured that out by now.All I can tell you is I’m no good without you.All of this?”He waved an arm.“The hotels, the restaurants, the money?I can’t remember why it was so important.That is what you’ve done to me, Mirabella.So don’t ask me to live without you because I don’t think that’s possible.”
I could barely catch my breath.The intensity of his voice, the way he stared at me, the warmth of his body so close to mine, it was almost too much.“Oh, Clay…” I whispered.
His brows pulled together.“No.Don’t sound that way.”
“What way?”
“Regretful,” he grunted.
“I’m not,” I insisted.“I’m conflicted, if anything.I never asked you to do this.I don’t want you giving up anything for me.”
“I’m not doing it because I feel like I have to.I’m doing it because it’s right.”His hands found mine, which at the moment felt damn unfair.I couldn’t think straight while he was touching me.“I didn’t think enough about you from the beginning.I told myself I didn’t care, that it didn’t matter, that you were getting plenty out of this deal… the chance to stay involved with the company.I convinced myself it was enough for you when it was never up to me to decide that.I was wrong.Just like I was wrong to think I could live with you, work with you, and not completely fall in love with you.”
I had to be hearing things.Love?He loved me?It was unreal how much I wanted to believe him.
“I know better now,” he continued, his voice softer.“I did fall in love.I want us more than I want this company.God, I can barely believe I’m saying that,” he added, chuckling softly.“But it’s true.It’s real for me.All I need to know is if you feel the same?Is it real for you?”
Not yet.
No matter how much I wanted to give in, there was still too much weighing on my heart.“You can be extremely selfish,” I told him.“Thoughtless.Arrogant.You really mean you would share the spotlight with me?”
“The spotlight?”he scoffed.“Mira, if you want the spotlight, you can take all of it.I wantyou.I would do anything to make things right.To make you happy.Give me a chance.”
Co-president.My family name on the company, where it belonged.
Yes, it all mattered, but not quite as much as the love shining in Clay’s eyes as they searched my face for any sign of encouragement.I wasn’t sure if he was breathing as he stared at me.It couldn’t be easy for a man like him, always calling the shots, in control.There was nothing for him to do now but wait for me to give him an answer.
I knew what my heart wanted, but my heart could be wrong.“There is too much riding on this,” I whispered.“There is too much of a chance that I’ll end up hurting.Can you see why this is hard for me?”
He flinched like he was hurt, sighing with a nod.“I blame myself for that.You wouldn’t have to worry about being hurt if I wasn’t already so blind and careless.What can I say other than promising to put you first, always?”
He was saying all the right things.More than that, he meant them.I heard it in his voice, felt it in his touch.I saw it in his probing, intense gaze.He really meant it.He would try, and I had seen for myself what he could accomplish when he did.
“Well,” I said with a long exhale.“So much for a relaxing day.I guess I’d better hurry back to the suite to get ready for this press conference.”
Only he would have understood that was my way of saying yes.We spoke the same language.We understood each other.
He stood, pulling me to my feet before taking the back of my head in his hand and pulling me in for a kiss.My heart cracked open, and light poured out of it, filling me with indescribable joy and relief.He was mine.I had something that belonged to me.
Once he let me up for air, I whispered, “I’m sorry I ran away.”
