"It's a family property," I say, shrugging off my jacket. "No one uses it anymore. Too cramped for my mother's tastes."
Jade's arms are crossed tight over her chest, her body a wall of defensive fury. "How long?"
"How long what?"
"Don't play stupid." Her dark eyes blaze. "How long are you planning to keep me here?"
I meet her gaze and hold it. "Seven days."
She stares at me. Then she laughs. She sounds bitter and broken and that makes me sad for a moment.
"Seven days," she repeats. "The same deal as Malibu. Is that your magic number? Seven days to manipulate a woman into submission?"
"Seven days to prove this is real."
"Provewhat'sreal? That you're a controlling psychopath? Mission accomplished."
I take a step toward her. She takes a step back.
"Seven days," I say slowly, "to show you that what I feel for you has nothing to do with that dinner. Nothing to do with investors or business deals or any of the bullshit Marcus was spewing."
"Then what does it have to do with?"
"You." I take another step forward. She takes another one back. "Just you. It's always been you."
Her back hits the wall. She has nowhere else to go.
I stop, leaving a foot of space between us. Close enough to see the rapid flutter of her pulse at the base of her throat. Closeenough to smell her perfume, faded now but still there beneath the scent of fear and fury.
"I love you," I say.
She flinches like I've slapped her.
"Don't." Her voice is a whisper. "Don't you dare say that to me right now."
"It's true."
"I don't care if it's true!" The words explode out of her. "This isn't how you prove love, Phoenix! You don't kidnap someone. You don't trap them in a cabin in the woods. You don't take away their phone and their choices and their ability to leave." She's shaking now, trembling with rage and fear. "This is how you prove you're insane. This is how you prove you're exactly what my mother warned me about."
The mention of Sydney sends a spike of anger through my chest, but I push it down.
"Your mother doesn't know anything about us."
"She knows enough. She knows men like you use money to control women. She knows your father did the same thing to Olive. And now you're doing it to me."
"This isn't control."
"Then what is it?"
"Desperation."
The word hangs between us. It’s raw and honest and it makes me more vulnerable than I intended.
Jade stares at me, some of the fire in her eyes flickering with confusion.
"I'm not going to apologize for bringing you here," I continue. "I'm not going to pretend this is normal or healthy or any of the things you want to hear. But I'm also not going to let you walk away without understanding the truth."
"The truth," she repeats flatly. "Which version? The one you told me on the beach? The one Marcus told the investors? How many truths do you have, Phoenix?"
