My head fell back against the seat, pulse still skidding through my veins.My skin buzzed with the aftershock of Creed’s touch, the memory of his mouth lingering like a brand beneath my skin.
“I can’t do it, Livvy,” I said quietly.
Her eyes narrowed.“Can’t dowhat?That man couldn’t take his eyes off you all night.”
I shrugged, forcing indifference into my voice.“So what?”
“Sowhat?”she scoffed.“Look at what he did for Mommy.He obviously cares about you.”
“Maybe,” I said flatly.
“There’s nomaybeabout it.”
“I want love, Livvy.”My throat tightened.“I’m not settling for anything less.”
If I’d stayed one moment longer in that gallery, I would have folded.Creed would have pulled me under, wrapped me in that dark gravity of his, and I would have let him.Again.
“The man spent three million dollars paying off Ray’s debt to the mob,” Olivia said, incredulous.“If that’s not love, then I don’t know what is.”
A chill slid through me.The money.The danger tied to it.No one had ever fought for me the way Creed had.No one had ever moved mountains on my behalf.
But that still wasn’t enough.
“I deserve more,” I whispered.
“More than three million dollars and a man who practically worships you?”
“Yes.”
She studied me.“And what exactly doesmorelook like?”
I didn’t have an answer.I only knew what it wasn’t.It wasn’t protection masquerading as intimacy.It wasn’t devotion that vanished the moment things turned real.I didn’t want to be fixed or guarded.I wanted to be chosen—fully, deliberately, without conditions.
Olivia sighed.“You’re overthinking this.”
“No.”My voice sharpened.“I’m finally thinking clearly.”
She gave me ninety-nine reasons why I was wrong.I nodded when appropriate, but my mind was still back in the gallery, caught in Creed’s gaze, the rough edge of his mouth, the weight of his hand low on my back.
I missed him so badly it ached.
But that didn’t make walking away a mistake.
...did it?
The car slowed in front of Olivia’s house.The driver opened the door, and I slid out.Olivia followed, and I pulled her into a tight hug, her belly soft against me, her pregnancy tempering the sharpness she usually carried.
“You’ll figure it out,” she murmured into my hair.
I smiled faintly.“Go inside.Get some rest.”
“Take your own advice,” she teased, squeezing my hand before heading up the driveway.I waited until her door closed, then climbed back into the car.
The car pulled away from Olivia’s curb, the tires whispering against wet pavement as we merged back into the flow of traffic.The city unfolded slowly outside the window—storefronts glowing, traffic lights blinking red to green to red again.Ordinary.Unbothered.
I rested my head against the glass and closed my eyes.
Creed’s mouth.
