“Please. You think I’m hot because you love me. There’s a big difference.”
“Un-fucking-believable.” He slowly shook his head. “Come with me.”
“Come with you where?”
“There’s something you need to see. Something someone should have shown you a long time ago.”
Scene37
Mike
Mike took Maggie’s hand and marched to a full-length mirror on the other side of the room, next to the password-protected walk-in closet.
“You’ve got a pin code for your closet?” She snickered.
He didn’t answer. Instead, he pointed at the mirror. “Look at yourself.”
She stood there fidgeting, her arms moving nervously, veiling her body. Then she looked away. “What are you doing?”
He made her look, holding her arms still. “I want you to see yourself for what it really is, not according to what someone else had told you.”
“Mike…”
“Just look and tell me what you like.”
She blew out a breath. “Well…I like my eyes.”
“Even though they’re Andrea’s?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Continue.”
“My nose and cheekbones are okay, I guess. I think my lips are beautiful.”
“What if some expert told you that your cheekbones are perfect, would that make any difference in how you see them?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
“Because it only matters what I think, and I know what I see.”
Holding her tight, he moved his head closer next to hers. “Is this really what you see? Or is it what Andrea has been telling you?”
She swallowed, her expression dark, her eyes glistening. “I don’t know. There isn’t a way to know for sure.”
The muscles around his heart squeezed. “What about your body?”
“What about it?”
“Tell me what you see.”
Her breath shook on her lips. “I don’t want to. I know what you’re doing, but it’s not working.”
“You are beautiful, Maggie, and super sexy. I don’t say it because I love you. I say it because it’s true. You once told me you finally realized those facts about yourself, but I don’t think you truly feel it. You need to remove that cloud over your eyes and start seeing your beauty for real.”
“Maybe one day,” she whispered, looking away again. “But I’m not ready now. The question is, can you wait?”
