“If Henry — or anyone — sees,” he went on, “you’ll lose the Game before it really starts. And besides that, I don’t know what Mr. Stonewood would do to me for stepping that far out of line.”
I should’ve let go, but I didn’t.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I promise I don’t want you to get in trouble because of me.”
A humorless breath slipped out of him.
“Too late for that,” he said. “I volunteered. That part’s on me.”
“I know, but—” My throat went tight. I swallowed hard, fingers still curled against his arm. “Jacob, I’m not… I’m not here because this sounds fun, or because I want to be married to some random stranger with more money than God. I’m here because I’m out of options on all fronts, and the Game is the best chance I have at turning things around.”
His gaze flicked down to where my hand held his arm, then back up to my face.
“What are you out of, sweet girl?” he asked quietly.
“Time,” I said. “Money. Ways to take care of the person who took care of me my whole life.”
Granny Irene’s name burned behind my teeth. I didn’t say it out loud. Once I started, I wasn’t sure I’d stop. I sucked in a breath that felt like it had shards of glass in it.
“And I know I probably shouldn’t say this,” I went on, the words tumbling out faster now, “but I need you to understand why I keep… doing stupid things around you.”
One of his brows ticked up.
“Stupid things?”
“Like this,” I said, giving his arm the smallest, most helpless little squeeze. “Like grabbing you and refusing to let go when you’re clearly trying to be good and follow the rules.”
His throat moved in a hard swallow.
“Chrissy—”
“I wanted to kiss you,” I blurted. “That day at the hardware store.”
Silence.
My heart slammed against my ribs. I pushed forward anyway, because if I didn’t say it now, I never would.
“I was supposed to be bandaging your hand,” I said, voice shaking. “And all I could think about was how I wanted to lean in and kiss you instead. I didn’t, obviously. I’m not a complete lunatic.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” he murmured, but there was no real bite in it.
My laugh came out broken.
“I thought I imagined you after,” I admitted. “I kept thinking… there’s no way someone looked at me like that and then just walked out of my life, never to be seen again. I told myself I made it bigger in my head. That you were just some stranger with a cut hand, having a rough day.”
His jaw clenched.
I took a breath and jumped.
“But I didn’t make it up,” I said. “And I haven’t stopped thinking about you. Not really. Not when things get quiet. Not when I’m sitting with Granny at Bayview and the only sound is the oxygen machine and her breath and whatever stupid Hallmark movie the nurses put on. My brain just… goes back there. To your face. To your gorgeous blue eyes. To that scar, and all the questions I have about the story behind it.”
His eyes went darker, some emotion I couldn’t name pulling tight across his features.
“If I have to…” my voice broke, but I forced it to steady. “If I have to sell my soul and my freedom and marry some billionaire stranger to make sure my grandmother has the end of her life she deserves, then I just…” I swallowed. “I want to know what it’s like to kiss you, just once, before I walk into whatever this is with Mr. Stonewood and his Game and his money.”
His whole body went still under my hand.
When he finally spoke, his voice had dropped a full octave.
