Page 22 of Wild Curves
She looks up from where she’s pushing a piece of bacon around the plate with her fork. She’s not eaten much this morning.
“This afternoon.”
I don’t know if she’s quiet because she’s going to miss them, although I know how she feels about her mother. But I can’t bear the thought of the weekend ending.
I sit next to her on the bed, and she raises those big brown eyes to mine.
“Maggie, this doesn’t just have to be for the weekend. We could make this work.”
She shakes her head, but not before I see a flash of longing in her eyes. She wants this as much as I do, but something’s holding her back. She can’t really believe she needs to choose between me and her career, can she?
“I can’t allow that to happen. I told you that.”
There’s a sadness to her words, and I tilt her chin up so she has to look at me.
“Tell me you don’t feel this, Maggie. This connection that’s between us.”
She shakes her head out of my grasp.
“No,” she says defiantly. “I don’t feel it.”
The words make me sit back. She pulls the covers off and gets out of bed.
“I need to get back to work.”
“You got the weekend off. I cleared it with Travis.”
She turns at the door. “I don’t want the weekend off. I don’t want Travis to think I need time off, Arlo. I took this job to work. I want that promotion.”
Determination blazes in her eyes. But it breaks my heart that she thinks she can’t have both.
I follow her into the kitchen as she slams the breakfast tray onto the counter. The kitchen’s still covered in chocolate mess from last night, and my dick twitches at the memory.
“It doesn't have to be like that, Maggie. Being with me doesn’t mean giving up your job. You can have both. You deserve both.”
She turns on me, and her eyes are wet with tears.
“You don’t get it, Arlo. You’re a man. Men can have both. But it’s different for women. It wouldn’t be fair to get involved with you.”
She’s exasperated like there’s something I’m missing. We stare at each other.
“I don’t want kids, Arlo. I don’t want a family, so it’s not fair to get involved with you.”
The words have me reeling. I’ve been thinking about putting a baby in her belly since I first laid eyes on Maggie. But if it’s not what she wants right away, I can wait.
“You don’t have to think about kids now. Many women have them later in life.”
She holds her hands out, stopping me in my tracks.
“No, Arlo, you don’t get it. I don’t want kids ever. My career will always come first. And I won’t let you give that up for me. I should never have asked you to pretend for my parents. I’m sorry.”
My fantasies of Maggie in my cabin, overrun by laughing children, shatter.
I take a step towards her; I can’t believe she can just walk away after what we’ve shared in the last few days.
“Please…”
She puts her hand up again. “Just drop me back at the restaurant. I left my car there on Friday. I’m going to work, I’m going to see my parents, and that’s it. We’ll go back to how we were before. Colleagues and nothing more.”
