Page 69 of Worth Risking It

He shrugged, holding my chin between his index and thumb, searching my features. “I’m just a lucky man, and I know it.”

A blush heated my cheeks.

“Well.” He dropped a kiss to my nose and patted my ass. “Gotta get going.”

Anxiety rushed through me, knowing I was running out of time before my confrontation with Wyatt. Tapping into the façade of complacency I was getting easier to perform, I grinned brightly, smoothing his tie.

“See you tonight.”

“Love you.”

I blew a kiss and whispered, “Love you, too.”

The two of them left, and silence nearly drowned me with apprehension. Tilting my head, I stared at the ceiling, trying to picture what he was doing two flights up in his apartment.

Heaving a sigh, I finished loading the dishwasher, added the detergent, and started the cycle. After washing my hands, I headed out the kitchen to get ready for work. As soon as I pushed the door, it banged on Wyatt’s chest.

“Oh…I-I’m sorry.”

He glared, his nostrils flaring. “What the hell was last night about, huh?”

So, no build up, straight to the point. Why was I surprised?

“Nothing,” I mumbled, brushing past him to scramble up the stairs.

Of course, he was right on my heels.

“Then why did you sneak out on me like that?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Rounding the banister at the landing, I held my head high and pranced to the room, going to my vanity.

“I get off the phone, turn around, and you’re gone. I come down here, and you’ve locked the fucking door and don’t come out until Milo gets home. Don’t tell me nothing is wrong.”

Acting as aloof as I could, I combed my fingers through my hair over and over, gathering the tresses at the crown and wrapping them into a bun. Getting the band, I secured everything in place and spun around to stand.

He grabbed my shoulders and shoved me to the side, stopping me from sidestepping him.

“What is wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong,” I snapped with a tone much colder than I thought I could manage. “We’re over, is all.”

Taken aback, his complexion blanched, his eyes bulging. “What?” he croaked, letting me go to put a couple feet’s distance between us. “What are you talking about?”

I groaned and rubbed at my temples. “Wyatt, in less than a year, I went from this ugly, no good loser—”

“Don’t…don’t say that—”

“All I did was work, eat, sleep, and repeat. Then this gorgeous, rich, successful man walks into my job one day and…and he wants me,” I chuckled incredulously, slapping my palms to my chest. “Me, invisible, fat, worthless me.”

“Don’t say that!” he barked again, pointing.

My shoulders sagged, my energy draining quickly, my heart aching and exhausted. Walking past him, I sat on the corner of the bed and pressed my palms together between my knees.

“I fell in love with a man I didn’t know. I had never been in love, and I fell hard and fast. Suddenly, I’m caught up in this world I never knew existed outside of television, and…a-and I’m stuck! It’s not like normal relationships where I walk in to find him fucking my best friend and break up with him.”

He crossed his arms, bowed his head, and cradled his forehead with a muted curse.