Page 79 of Saved By the Billionaire

“No.” A harsh, quick rejection. “I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to do this. Please, leave.”

“I was wrong about you. I was⁠—”

“Jealous, I get it. It doesn’t change anything. I need you to go.”

I need you to go. And didn’t she deserve to have everything she needed?

“Fuck,” he dragged a hand through his hair. “I am sorry. You’re right. It was unforgivable. I saw you and I just—something inside of me burst. I wish—I would take it back, all of it, if I could. Please, Kate…five minutes.”

He saw her wavering, her uncertainties rising, but then, the Kate he knew so well, the Kate he admired and loved came to the fore, like a phoenix from the ashes, rising from the depths of her despair to defend and protect the core of Kate. “No,” she said with deep, desperate ferocity. “Leave me alone, Roman. Forget where I live, forget I exist. I can’t see you again.”

And when she went to push the door shut, he moved his foot to allow it, because the least he could do was respect her wishes.

The next morning, she woke to a letter beneath her door, and one look at the dark cursive script on the stationery from an exclusive six-star hotel showed who it was from. She contemplated throwing it out without reading it, but unfortunately, she wasn’t quite that strong.

She did however make a coffee before opening it, and lifting the back of the envelope.

Kate,

If you change your mind, you can reach me here.

Roman.

He’d included a business card with an Australian office. She threw it in the bin rather than letting temptation dig under her skin. Roman Hayes had the power to undo her; she refused to let him. She’d worked too hard to make something of herself to risk her heart to a man with the power to destroy it so easily.

He told himself he’d stay away. He told himself he had to leave her, but two weeks after that godawful night, Roman was at the end of his rope. He only wanted to see her. To know that she was okay. And so he’d driven to her place and parked across the street, telling himself that one sight of her would be it.

At some point, he had to give this up. He knew he’d moved into some kind of weird territory. His sleep, always broken, was practically non-existent now. He was working twenty-hour days, but Kate was always there, the pulse in his bloodstream, firing through him.

He had been waiting half an hour before her door opened and Kate stepped out, and all the air in the world seemed to disappear. He was suffocating right there, behind the steering wheel of his SUV, at the sight of her. She wore a gold dress and a pair of strappy sandals, and it was easy to imagine her going to a Christmas party with some rich guy who wanted a woman like Kate on his arm for the night. Jealousy was unmistakable—he’d always feel that where Kate was concerned, though. He couldn’t help it. What he could help was his unhinged reaction. He gripped the steering wheel, telling himself this was all he wanted; to see that she was okay. To know that she wasn’t in pain because of him. If he could just see her smile… he watched as she walked down the steps and looked in both directions, perhaps waiting for a car. A frown crossed her features as she scanned her phone. He couldn’t look away.

She dialled into her phone, had a brief conversation, then disconnected the call and glanced up to the sky, as though asking for patience. Roman was out of the car before he could question his decision, crossing the street and walking down to her, hands jabbed casually in his pockets. But there was nothing casual about the way his heart was hammering.

At his approach, she whipped around, her features immediately arranging themselves into a mask of protective coolness. “This is borderline stalking.”

“Nothing borderline about it,” he muttered. “And believe me, I’m aware.”

She glanced away.

“Do you need something?” he asked. “You look…”

“Pissed off.”

“I was going to say perfect.”

“Don’t.” It was a plea. He closed his eyes, remembering their last conversation. How he’d hurt her. He had no right to stand there and worship her now.

“Okay,” and it was a promise. “What do you need?”

“My car cancelled.”

“So a lift?”

“I’m not getting in the car with you.”

“Because you think I’ll kidnap you?”

“Possibly.”