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“Stop,” I hiss, refusing to meet his eyes, afraid that one look would completely give me away.

“Why? Because it’s everything you’ll never admit that you want? I’m a patient man, Carly, and I’ll wait for you as long as it takes.”

“Don’t you dare say that.”

“Why not?”

He nudges my cheek, forcing me to meet his eyes but I can only hold it for a second before my eyes fall to his chest where my fingers are digging into his skin. “Because it would be a waste of your life.”

“Even if I found someone else, they would never be you.”

I snort. “Sounds like a win-win to me.”

“Except then I would never feel this way again,” he whispers, grabbing one of my hands and placing it over his racing heart. “And that’s a problem for me.”

Closing my eyes, I press my hand harder against his firm chest, counting the heartbeats that pound against my palm as I try to rein in my emotions. “Stop trying to fix me, Chance. Some things are just broken.”

“Someday, Princess, I will prove to you that you’re not nearly as broken as you seem to think you are.”

That promise, simple as it seems, is enough to break me. Tears well up in my eyes and I push against him, but he doesn’t budge, holding me close as I struggle to get away. “Just stop, Chance. This has clearly gotten out of control. There is nothing but sex between us and I’m sorry if you made it out to be more.”

“Bull. Shit. You know it. I know it. Hell, if anyone would catch us right now, they would fucking know it so why do you keep fighting what you feel?”

A tear slips from my eye and I bury my face in his chest for a moment to hide it as I swipe my cheek. Taking a deep breath, I look up again and meet his eyes.

“I don’t feel anything anymore. I’m sorry.”

Twisting out of his arms, I open the bathroom door and run to the front door, hoping that I don’t attract the attention of Ali or Storm before I get to my car. Glancing back over my shoulder, I almost burst into tears when I see Chance standing in the doorway to the bathroom, watching me. He doesn’t even look a little deterred by our conversation and I wonder what the hell I have to do to make him believe me. Maybe I’m really not as convincing as I think I am.

“This isn’t over, Princess,” he calls to me, soft enough for only me to hear and I turn away from him, desperate to get to the safety of my car.

Once I get to the car, I throw my bag in the passenger seat and pull away from the curb. In the rearview mirror, I can see Chance standing on the front lawn with his arms crossed over his chest and I swear, it’s like he’s looking right through me. That’s always been our biggest problem. He sees the real me, through all the bullshit, and most of the time, he doesn’t let me get away with it. He forces me to be real with him and it stripped away all of my defenses.

Needing a distraction, I look around the car and try calling my sister again. Getting ahold of her has been difficult lately and every time she doesn’t answer the phone, I get more concerned. She and I have always been so close so what could possibly be going on in her life to make her ignore my calls and not get back to me? It’s like she’s a completely different person and I just don’t get it.

The phone rings and rings and with each moment that my call goes unanswered, my heart sinks. When I get her voicemail, fresh tears sting my eyes and I blow out a breath, hating how achingly empty my chest feels walking away from Chance.