Her mouth drops, and it’s immediately obvious that I said the wrong thing.
She stomps her foot and shakes her head. “That right there, that’s why we can’t be together. You can’t buy me, Miller. I don’t care about your money.”
I let out a laugh because what she is saying is so unbelievable to me. Everyone wants something from me. The only people that don’t are my brothers and sister.
I plead with her. “Can we just start over?”
She looks at me and then shakes her head. “I’m sorry, Miller. I like you, I really do, but when I look at you, I know that if I date you, I’m going to have a broken heart in the future. I can’t.”
She looks so sad as she holds her hands up, walking backwards. “Please, just go. This is for the best. You’ll forget me in no time.”
I call out her name. “Lindsey.”
She stops, and I tell her, “Promise me if you ever need anything, you’ll call me.”
She shakes her head. “I won’t need anything from you.”
My hands fist at my side. I don’t know why this is so important to me, but it is. “Promise me. Promise me this one thing, and I’ll leave.”
She stops walking and nods. “Fine. I promise that if I need anything, I will call you. But Miller, you need to know that I’m not like the other people in your life. I’m not going to use you.”
I’m not proud. “You can use me. Fuck, Lindsey, you’re the one person I want to use me. I’ll give you anything you want.”
She walks over and stops in front of me. Her hand lifts, and she cups my cheek. “Miller. You deserve to have people in your life that won't use you. That are there because they want to be.”
I lift my hand and cover hers, holding it to my cheek. “I want you to be that person.”
She pulls her hand from mine. “I can’t, Miller. I just can’t. As much as I want to, last night broke me. We only had one date, and the pain was already toomuch. It’s better to end this now because I don’t know how I’d survive later.”
The finality is clear on her face. She shakes her head and steps back. “I’m sorry, Miller. I can’t.”
Struggling not to run after her, I call, “Remember your promise. Anytime, Lindsey. Call me anytime.”
She turns and walks away without a backwards glance.
My feet are planted. My hands are in fists at my sides, and everything inside of me is screaming to run after her. I want to. Hell, I want to more than anything, but I saw that determined look on her face. She’s not going to give in to me. Not now. I need to earn her trust, and that’s exactly what I plan to do.
CHAPTER 7
LINDSEY
I sit in the stands next to my sister, and we wildly wave at my excited nephew.
He's smiling ear to ear as he waves back and then tightens his hold on his bat and goes to the plate.
I swear I'm holding my breath as he puts the bat over his shoulder. The pitcher throws the first pitch, and Eli swings. As soon as the crack is heard, my sister and I jump to our feet, cheering.
The ball goes over the shortstop’s head, and Eli runs through the first base.
The crowd is going wild, and you would think this is a professional baseball game instead of some seven-year-olds just learning the game.
Eli waves at us as he bounces up and down on the bag.
We're giving him thumbs up and throwing our arms in the air, being way too loud and obnoxious.
Once we sit down, Tammy lifts her sunglasses and looks at me. “Spill it. What's wrong?"
I avoid her knowing gaze. "Nothing is wrong. I'm fine. I’m cheering. I’m happy. I mean, look at that face. How can anyone watch that and not be happy?"
