She went to say something. What that something was, he didn’t want to imagine. Michael held up his hands, stopping her. This was too important. She was too important. He couldn’t let her fear make her run away.
“Monroe Hills is perfect for you. Not only are your best friends here…” He swallowed the lump in his throat. He needed to get this out, needed for her to understand what her leaving would do to him. “… I’m here too.”
Her silence was sharp, like a blade to skin, tearing through him. He couldn’t stop to acknowledge the pain, though. He absolutely would not let his pain make him give up.
“Not to mention, I called Mr. Montgomery this morning and he’s agreed to schedule a Zoom meeting with you today so you all can talk about the value of the business and all the things you’d need to know in order to make a decision to buy it.”
Her face pulled into tight lines as she narrowed her gaze. “You did what?”
“I scheduled a virtual call with Mr. Montgomery. He wants to sell you his business.”
“I don’t even know what to say to you right now, Michael.” Her body was tense against the headboard and her jaw was clenched tight.
“Thank you, comes to mind.”
She sat quietly, her intense gaze slicing right through him. “I can’t do this. I’ve gotta go home.”
She went to get out of the bed and he placed a hand on her bicep to stop her. When she gave him a sharp glance, he held up his hands. “Vanessa, why are you so upset?”
“I have asked you repeatedly not to make decisions on my behalf. I explicitly told you I wasn’t interested in buying Mr. Montgomery’s business. You ignored me anyway and set up a meeting with him without my knowledge or consent.”
When she said it like that, with her jaw tight and her teeth clenched, it sounded like a bad thing.
“I was only trying to help, Vanessa. It was obvious to anyone looking that you were interested. I just didn’t want you to regret not acting in time.”
“I told you this at the auction, and it bears repeating. Whether the results are good or bad, my choices are my own. I’ve lived with a man who controlled everything from how I wore my hair, to what shade of lipstick I was allowed to put on. I can’t do that again.”
His eyes widened as understanding dawned on him. “Are you saying I’m like Karl?”
She didn’t respond. She didn’t need to. He could see the answer in the tight set of her lips. Her silence was like a punch to his gut, knocking all the wind out of him.
“I would never… I was only trying to help.”
She pulled her gaze away from him, nodding slowly as she rubbed her hand up and down her arm.
“I know you mean well, Michael.” She exhaled a loud breath, letting her shoulders slump when she was finished. “After everything I went through with Karl, I can’t be with someone who micromanages the way you do.”
Her voice was a whisper when she spoke again, yet somehow, he knew her words would be heavy.
“It’s like you have this obsessive need to control everyone around you. I know you have a good heart and you’d never intentionally hurt me, but I just can’t do this. I need a partner, Michael. Not a father.”
He could feel the bed shift under Vanessa’s weight as she pressed her back against the headboard.
“Michael, look at me, please.”
He didn’t want to. He feared he’d see regret in her eyes. If he thought she regretted anything about their connection… he didn’t know if he could recover from that.
“Michael?”
He slowly turned his gaze to hers.
“I don’t want this to end.” That brief sentence acted like a salve on his roughed-up ego. “I never thought I’d find someone so selfless and supportive. Someone who gives everything he has to take care of the people he cares for. And even though I’ve only known you a short time, I’m confident enough to add myself to that number.”
He grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers together, placing a gentle kiss on the back of her wrist.
“I do care for you. It’s why I don’t want you to leave.” He kissed her hand again before whispering, “Gajima.”
She might not have understood the literal translation of the word, but he could tell by the way her eyes softened with remorse that she understood the sentiment.Don’t go.
