“Then what’s the problem? What’s stopping you?” he presses. This is the side of Ty Winters that precedes him. He always gets what he wants, and right now he wants me.
I fight to breathe. “Ty, I just can't pursue anything with anyone.”
“Bullshit.”
“You don't know me.”
“Then let me get to know you. Don't run off and disappear into thin air. I looked for you.” He rattles me. “But Simone Travers doesn’t seem to exist.”
The sentence is accusatory.
“That’s because my last name wasn't originally Travers. I only recently changed it,” I explain, hoping it will make him back off. It doesn't. It only makes him hold onto me tighter.
“Explain.”
“My father was Alfonzo Travers.”
“Alfonzo didn't have any children. I would have known. I knew the man my entire life.”
“Well, I didn't. We were estranged for a long time. My mother was a showgirl in Vegas, which is where she raised me until I was ten. He came back into our lives shortly after your company split. I don't know all the details. Just bits and pieces of what I remember from my father and what my Uncle Joseph told me.”
Ty studies me as if he is trying to read between the lines of my explanation. He’s looking for lies, but he won't find any.
“That actually makes a lot of sense. Alfonzo was the whole reason the partnership fell apart. His drinking, his gambling, his mistresses. He was a goddamn mess and nearly took everyone he associated with down with him.”
“I didn't know him all that well. He died too soon to form a relationship.”
“Then how did you get tied up in the Travers family? Why change your name now?”
“Because Joseph stepped in after he found out about me. He became the father I never had. He paid for my education, the house I grew up in, and made sure I understood that even though we had different last names, we were still family.”
“That definitely sounds like Joseph. It's amazing those two men shared the same DNA.”
“I have their DNA, too,” I feel compelled to remind him. The rift between the Travers and Winters is almost as infamous as the War of the Roses. Their corporate meltdown has been used in case studies and taught in textbooks.
“I don't care. The only thing I care about is picking up where we left off.”
“You want to fight? Cause we didn't exactly part on the best terms.”
“I'm not opposed to an enemies-to-lovers story.”
“We can't be lovers. We can't be anything.”
“I don't buy that. Our last names aren't going to stop us no matter who opposes.”
“It’s not your last name that’s stopping me.”
Questions, concerns, and the challenge of a conquest are evident in Ty’s stern glare.
“Then what the fuck is stopping you? We have a connection, and it doesn't seem to be dying out anytime soon.”
“It's so much more complicated than that.”
“That doesn't explain a damn thing, Simone. I want you. You want me. The simple addition adds up.”
My eyes start to burn with tears. “Nothing about me is simple. Please let go.” I jerk in his grasp. He hesitates for a beat before reluctantly releasing me.
“I'm not scared of a challenge. I'm not scared of anything.” Ty yanks on his collar. “And I'm sure as hell not going to let you get away again. Whatever your hang-ups are, they aren't going to scare me away.”
