Page 242 of When We Fall: Part Two
“One down,” he whispered, his hand trembling in mine.
“You’re now the new owner of Rustic Rifles. Chicago’s newest billionaire,” I said, squeezing his hand. “To the top.”
“To the top,” he rasped, gripping my hand tightly. “All the fucking way, brother.”
SEVENTY-FIVE
ROSALIE
Anson didn’t come home that night.
I woke the following day with a nasty hangover and a fuzzy memory of our night together.
I touched my lips, remembering how we’d kissed.
HowI’dkissed him.
Panic surged through me.
“Damnit,” I said, stumbling out of bed. “Damnit!”
This was going to ruin things. I knew Anson. I wasn’t exactly sure the dynamic of his relationship with Bianca, but he was going to marry her. Those vows mattered to him, and I’d come along with my lack of willpower and had given in.
Oh god. Oh god. Oh god.
I kept telling myself that staying here was a bad idea. He kept saying it was OK.
But we’d both been lying to ourselves about it.
The front door opened, and I swallowed hard. Knowing I couldn’t avoid this forever, I changed into a hoodie and sweatpants and went to the living room to find Anson sinking into his chair, his head in his hands.
“Ani?” I called out nervously.
He snapped his head up and stared at me, his eyes filled with exhaustion.
“Hey, LeeLee,” he greeted me tiredly.
Cautiously, I moved forward and sat on the couch near him.
“Are you OK?” I ventured.
“Yeah. But no. Are you OK?” he asked.
“Not really.”
He nodded and was quiet for a moment. “LeeLee, we need to talk.”
Oh god, the dreaded talk.
I inhaled deeply, waiting for him to tell me exactly what I knew he was going to say.
“I care about you,” he started. “So fucking much. Last night, it just got away from me. I-I drank too much.”
“It’s not your fault,” I cut in. “It’s mine. I had no business saying those things to you.”
“It’s not.” He sighed. “I knew better. I did it anyway because I let my feelings take over. You know how fucking much I love you,” he choked out.
My eyes burned with unshed tears at his words. I wanted to say the words back to him, but I knew it would only make things worse.
