Page 45 of Scottish Seducer
The Egyptian art exhibit next to the Regency room was the only place where lovers could escape society’s attention tonight, so I nodded toward the exhibit room and said, “One moment.”
We entered the excavated tombs exhibit, and it did seem that we were alone.
I ignored my pounding heart and asked, “Charlie, what are you doing here?”
He took my gloved hand in his and squeezed. “You told me you love me then stormed out before I could say anything. I needed to see you again.”
I blinked away the sting of tears.Fuck.He had a new weapon to use against me. I faced the railing that separated us from the exhibit and said, “Why? Are you so determined to call all the shots in any potential relationship that you can’t let me go?”
He rested his hand on my waist. “That’s not it at all.”
My cells were alive and clamoring to be his. My arms pinged like I needed to hold him tight, but I shook my head. “Charlie…”
My voice trailed off as he pressed closer. My stomach did sweet flips as he said, “When you said you loved me, my heart about jumped out of my chest to shout, ‘Yes’! I shouldn’t have put up that wall so suddenly. I love you, too.”
Wow.My heart whispered, “This is it”.He loves me.I ignored the butterflies and the words I’d longed to hear and said, “You don’t show it.”
He let me go. “What?”
He was just like Richard, only worse. He arranged his world to suit himself, and I hadn’t mattered. I swallowed and ignored my raw throat to say, “You lied to me. You kicked me out. Then, you didn’t expect me to react and decided it was okay to dictate our relationship.”
He took a step back. “I am sorry.”
Now, I cringed. This was sincere regret. I knew it. My stomach was in a knot when I said, “I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have told you how I felt. But it doesn’t matter now.”
I turned to leave, but he said, “Love always matters, Stephanie.”
My heart went mushy. But he wasn’t for me. We were from different worlds, and in the end, if I went back to him, I’d be hurt even worse. So I ignored my desires and shook my head. “No. Love gets me hurt. Over and over again. I need to get off this merry-go-round.”
His lips thinned when he said, “I was an asshole to you.”
I reached for his face and cupped his cheek, just for a moment. My body ached because this was the last time I’d ever see him.
I swallowed and fought my own impulses as I said, “You were, and I let you. So now I need to go.”
He paled and tugged his waistcoat down, looking like I’d slapped him, and he bowed. “I see. I’m sorry I bothered you.”
His perfectly polished shoes stepped away. I took a few moments to catch my breath. This was it. I was done.
No turning away from what I’d done. My stomach was queasy, though.
And I rocked on my feet.
The question that kept running through my mind was, if he really did love me, forme, as he’d just said, I’d be leaving the only man who ever truly mattered.
For now, I headed back to my friends. They were still sipping their wine and taking their turn to sit on the couch. I joined them, and swallowed back my tears when Sophia asked, “What happened?”
“Nothing.” I stood and hugged every one of them. “Maybe, when I get home to America, I’ll find myself a nice, simple guy who just loves me. He doesn’t need to be a billionaire like Charlie.”
Charlotte stopped me and asked, “What did he say?”
My core was on fire right now, like I’d just made a huge mistake, when I said, “He said he loves me.”
She beamed her huge smile at me. “That’s amazing.”
I frowned and turned away. “No, it’s not.” My chest was tight, but I said, “I’ll miss you guys.”
Outside, I took my phone out of my dress pocket and called a car. The night air was chilly, but I’d grown used to it.
