Page 71 of The Player + The Pact = I Do

“By the sounds of it, no one could have predicted what she was after with Bennett.”

“True, but what was it aboutmethat meant I was targeted by her? Why not Worth? Or Fisher or Byron or Jack?”

“Who’s to say? It might have been an alphabetical list and she was working backwards.”

He looks at me—really looks at me—for the first time tonight. It feels like his hand around my waist, warm and safe.

“You’re looking for closure,” I say. “That’s normal.”

“I got closure when she laughed in my face and told me she had no interest continuing our relationship. There was literal closure, Jules. It was a door in my face.”

“I think it’s normal to want to prove to your enemies that they didn’t break you.”

“Maybe shedidbreak me,” he says more quietly.

“I don’t think so. She might have just bent you a little, and now you’re looking to straighten back out. But no one can do that for you but you.”

His eyes slice to mine and we sit there for a few moments, the city in the distance, a backdrop to our whole lives.

“You think someone else could straighten me out? Make me someone who’s less driven to succeed by the knowledge of what it’s like to feel small? Disposable? Someone who’s friendly with a lot of people but who has few actual friends? Someone who carries this anger toward a woman he hasn’t seen for fifteen years. Why can’t I just put it down?”

“I wish you could see yourself the way I do, Leo. You have a small circle of friends who would bury a body for you. You’re lucky. Most people get one of those people in their whole lives. And being a bit suspicious is a smart move. You’re a rich, successful guy, and this is a tough city—a toughworld. Someone’s always going to want something from you. I think you’ve kept your humanity when life could have turned you cynical and cold. You’re kind and sensitive and thoughtful and… I’m proud to know you. Yeah, maybe Caroline coming back into town has you shaken up. But maybe she’s the closet you never cleared out—something that’s been on your to-do list for the longest time. Maybe the awards ceremony is the perfect opportunity to?—”

“Purge?” he asks.

I laugh. “Maybe.”

Silence echoes out from our terrace.

Maybe I shouldn’t have come tonight. Just as I’m about to leave, he reaches out a hand and I take it. He threads his fingers through mine. We sit there together in a quiet that speaks volumes.

“Thank you for dinner.”

“You’re worth it,” I say. He turns his gaze full on me again, and it takes my breath away.

What have I gotten myself into?

“I’m considering not going to the awards ceremony,” he says.

I feel like I’ve been dropped to the ground. “You really don’t want to see her.”

“It’s not that. I just feel like I’ve given it way too much attention. Like, no offense, but I knew you for five minutes before I brought you on as my fake fiancée and moved you into my apartment.”

“Right,” I say. I’m getting whiplash right about now. “I can go stay with Sophia tonight.” I manage to keep my voice steady as I deliver the words, but it’s an effort. Is this why he’s up here tonight? Because he wants space? I tug my hand from his. He reaches for me again, but I don’t reach back.

“No,” he says, his tone sharp. “That’s not what I’m saying. I want…” He sighs. He doesn’t know what he wants. “I want you to stay.”

“The awards are in a couple of days. And then it will be over. I’ll be gone.”

“I want you to stay. Not for the awards, but because I…” He looks me in the eye. “Because I like you.”

My heart lifts in my chest, even as my throat goes tight. “I like you, too.”

He pulls me onto his lap and circles my waist with his hands. “I don’t want you to go.”

This is what I missed when I was back in the apartment. This feeling when I’m with him like I belong. Like I’m someone’s priority. I’m sure Leo doesn’t mean to make me feel that way, but he does. Like I’m special—the only woman he’ll open up to, the only woman he’ll bare his soul to. The only woman he’ll look at just this way.

He makes me feel like I’m his exception, and I can’t decide whether to be moved by the realization, or afraid.

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