Page 59 of Mr. Delicious
I wanted to feel happy, elated even, but I couldn’t. What I experienced was a gamut of perplexing emotions that seized me. It left me disorientated.
“Wren...” His voice sounded so far away. “I’m sorry. I should have told you who I was… before now.”
“I… don’t understand why you thought you had to keep your name from me. ” That was perhaps the part that threw me off kilter the most. That was the part I didn’t understand one bit. I’d never shown him that I was after money in any way. “Why didn’t you tell me who you were?”
“I didn’t want to put you off. I don’t know why I thought it would, but I did. I also knew you wouldn’t accept what I did.”
He was right about that. I wouldn’t have.
Well, I guess I now had more insight to the extent of his wealth. My previous assumptions weren’t wrong at all. He was indeed incredibly wealthy.
“You came to the coffeehouse practically every day – what was that about? Were you trying to see if I was managing, or what?”
“I went to see you.”
“Really? How do I know if that’s true?”
“Because you may be mad right now, but you know me. Wren, when you applied for the loan to get The Spot, the bank was going to turn you down. When they called me I looked into it further and your letter got to me. I knew how badly you wanted the place. So, I made it happen.”
That explained a lot about the loan. First the fact of getting all that I wanted to borrow and the fact that there was no interest. Even Stella had commented on the fact that I got an amazing deal.
“Then, I wanted to meet you,” he added. “I didn’t know until the other day that the first time I saw you was when I fell for you. That was how I felt, but you weren’t mine.” He looked down at the white fluffy carpet then back to me.
I looked him over, saw the extent of his care for me but I just…
“I can’t … I can’t accept it.” I heard myself say.
Shock now washed over his face. “Why?”
“Because… I never wanted your money. I wanted you.”
“Wren, if you truly mean that, you’ll understand how I feel too.” He stepped closer. “I shouldn’t have lied, but since I wanted you too all I wanted was your happiness. Be mad at me all you want. Hell, I even get it if this is it for us, but please accept it. It’s a gift.”
My head felt light and fuzzy and my heart squeezed when he stepped back and turned away from me to walk out.
Leaving me to my thoughts.
