Page 151 of Pandora's Pleasure
With him gone, Pandora stood before me with her arms folded and her expression taut.
“Your parents called me,” I admitted. “They’ve expressed their concern. It looks like I’ve kidnapped you.”
“You have.”
My throat tightened with that accusation. “Want me to take you home?”
“No, thank you.”
“What’s going on with you? You’re worried about something. I can see it. Is it your dad? I know tomorrow’s not going to be easy on any of you.”
“Galante might change his mind.”
My heart squeezed at her need to deny the inevitable. I closed the gap between us, but she raised her hand to stop me.
“No.”
“I can’t hug you?”
“If you hold me, I’ll tell you everything…and then you’ll stop me.”
“What are you saying? What’s going on?”
“This is the most important time of my life. I don’t want to fuck it up.”
“You’re talking about us?” I stepped back. “We’ll be together. There’s no compromise. You know that, right?”
“You’ve asked me to trust you. I need you to do the same for me.”
“Pandora, you ditched your security. Want to tell me where you went?” I glanced at the shopping bags, which I now believed she had used as a ruse.
“I went to a coffee shop.”
This was good…Pandora was opening up. My only concern was why she went there alone.
“You wanted to experience normality?” I reasoned.
“You’re going to be late.”
“If you need me to stay—”
“You can’t, though, can you?” She arched a brow. “Optics.”
“We’re mere days away.” I read her reaction and cringed. “What I mean is, they’ll focus on more important issues other than—”
“Our suitability.”
“We’re almost there, sweetheart.”
“Damien, I need you to remember I fought for you, too.”
I went to embrace her again, but she sidestepped me.
She walked across the room to the window. “I’ll call my parents.”
“What will you tell them?”
“The truth. That I’m never going home.”
