“I know, baby. I’m so sorry that happened.”
“And you expect me to just, what? Smile and accept that explanation?”
“No.” His gaze held mine. “We’re in a relationship, but we haven’t had any conversations about boundaries other than the game’s rules. Here’s one we can try. I expect you to listen, just as you would me if it were the other way around. But we’re just working this thing out, so you have every right to be angry at me.”
My chest rose and fell, a sob wanting to escape that I would never give up. Part of me was ready to run again. But the other part…
A stupid part had started trusting him.
It had me hesitating.
Elijah inched closer again. Not enough to trap me this time, but enough that his voice eclipsed the city noise. “Five minutes. That’s all I’m asking.” His eyes searched mine. “Then you can decide whether to walk away.”
My throat tightened.
And for the first time since leaving his apartment, I stopped wanting to run from him.
Chapter 19
Bonnie
In a pub, with cosy corners, a jukebox, and a clientele of mostly old boys nursing pints of Guinness, Elijah settled me into a booth.
“Don’t move.” He stepped over to the polished wood bar, placed an order then waited, leaning on an elbow and never taking his eyes off me. I wasn’t about to bolt again. Not yet anyway.
When he returned, two drinks in hand, I raised an eyebrow in question.
“White rum and Coke,” he explained.
“Sure alcohol is a good idea right now?”
“A very good one, sugar included. My nerves are destroyed.”
Mine were, too. I’d been to despair and back, and only his words about giving each other a chance to speak had quieted the beast inside me.
I took a deep sip and shivered at the cold. “How did you find me?”
“I had my tech team search street cameras for you, as well as call major department stores to ask their security teams to look out for you as a high-profile VIP.”
The woman at the lingerie shop. She’d been reporting a sighting, not calling me in. Damn, did he have resources.
I swallowed and got back to the point. “She’s really a family friend?”
Elijah nodded once. “I’ve met Melinda a couple of times at events when I was Mom’s plus-one. There is no previous romantic entanglement, even if my mother hinted otherwise. If Melinda came here hoping the same, I would’ve set her right.” He took a deep breath. “The first time I ever saw you, in Crowley’s, I was on the phone to my mom. She asked then if Melinda could use the place. I was so hooked on the angel I could see in front of me that I barely processed the question, and it didn’t stick in my mind, so I didn’t even consider it this morning when planning to come here.”
Something unravelled inside me. “Is that the truth?”
“Entirely.”
“You didn’t set me up? I thought it was your way of showing me I was one of many.”
Something shone in his eyes that spoke of honesty and a decent, patient man. “I didn’t. I would never do something like that. For the record, I’m not seeing anyone else. I’m not married and I never have been. I haven’t had a girlfriend in at least a couple of years. Any dates I’ve been on ended without drama. No other woman thinks I’m hers. That’s your right alone.”
It was too much. I hung my head, at long last, reason calming my too-big emotions.
He touched my arm. “You believe me.”
Miserable, I nodded. My temper had taken me on a journey from scandal to outrage. All the drama had been mine. “I’m so embarrassed.”
