Page 78 of Fourth Point Of Contact

Yes, I remembered all those things. But that was a different time. That was when I still trusted him, still found myself achingly in love with him. No, that love hadn’t disappeared overnight, but I knew I would never feel the same way with him. Nothing could bring back what he had crushed.

“James—”

“Tell me it’s not over.” He brushed his finger over the engagement ring I still wore on my left hand. “Tell me I haven’t destroyed everything. You still wear this. That has to mean something.”

I pulled my hand from his grasp and was surprised at the sharp inhale that left his lips. “I can’t tell you that. You broke what we had.”

“Baby—I would give anything, do anything to get you back. You want a whole library in the apartment? I’ll give it to you. Do you want a house? Let’s buy one. You can pick it out. Anything you want.”

“Do you really think that’s all it would take?” I asked gently. “A new library or a house? You can’t buy me back, James.”

The devastation in his eyes was real, but it still wasn’t right. James was never this…emotional. There had to be something else going on here. I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

“What will it take?” he pleaded. “Tell me and I’ll do it. I’ll give anything to get you back.”

The problem was that I had no idea what it would take. I hadn’t really thought about him at all since I jumped out of that plane. Patrick had taken over my thoughts with his kindness and charming personality. The sex was undeniably good, but that wasn’t the only reason I liked him. He was a genuinely good person, someone I didn’t think was capable of ever doing something so hurtful to me.

Then again, I used to feel the same way about James. Was I just a bad judge of character? In the end, it didn’t really matter. I knew I would never give James another chance. I just didn’t have it in me.

“James—”

“Come back to work for me. We’ll take it slow and I’ll win back your trust.”

His words froze me on the spot, and suddenly, I knew exactly why he wanted me back. “You haven’t found a replacement for me.”

“Baby, no one could ever replace you,” he grinned.

“That’s it, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“That’s why you want me back.” I looked around his office and saw the chaos that had ensued since I left. I always kept his life running like a well-oiled machine, but without me here, he had no one to keep him organized, to bring him his coffee just the way he liked, to anticipate his needs and make them happen before everything went off the rails. The one thing he hadn’t considered when he cheated on me was that he might lose me and not know what to do.

I jerked my hand out of his grasp and took a step back. “You don’t want me back in your bed. You just want me back in your office to run your life,” I hissed.

“Baby—”

“Don’t you dare baby me. How could you play with my feelings like that? How could you pretend you wanted me back when all you really needed was a secretary?”

The loving man in front of me morphed into the man I saw screwing another woman on the table. “I won’t deny that I need you. You’ve always kept this office running smoothly, and I won’t be ashamed of that. You were always the piece that held this together.”

“And without me, you just can’t do it, is that it?”

“We were always good together. Why should that end?”

“Because you’re a cheating bastard!” I snapped. “How could you think for even one minute that I would still want you after what you did?”

“You’re still wearing my ring!”

“As a reminder of what you did. And trust me, as soon as I’m on my feet, I’ll be selling this for the highest dollar!”

“If you’re not going to marry me, you should give it back.”

“If you wanted me to keep it, you should have kept your dick in your pants.”

I turned to leave, but he grabbed my arm. I spun around so fast that I surprised myself when my hand slapped his face.

“You will regret that,” he growled as he pressed his hand to his cheek.

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