“It means that now that I’ve found you, I’m not letting you go. I can’t. Please, Lorelei, hear me out.” The anguish in his tone must have found a way through a chink in her anger because her glare faltered. The pain was still there, though, and it cut through him to know he’d hurt her.
“If you’re going to give me some sob story about being a misunderstood billionaire, then save it. I don’t have the time. I need to see if the band has shown up.”
She made a move to pass him, and he put his hand out to touch her arm. She stopped and glowered at him, brushing her cheeks with the back of her hand.
“When Marcus died it made me examine my life. I realized how shallow and superficial my past relationships had been. Then I met you. I didn’t want my money or position to come between us. And, as pathetic as it may seem, I needed to know that you liked me for me and not my money or what it could do for your career. I was going to tell you, but we were having so much fun just being us. I knew things would change once you knew.”
“Is that what you think? That if I knew you were rich I’d hit you up for a donation?” She took a deep breath and he braced himself for whatever she may say next. “I told you I hated lies in a relationship. You should have told me yourself and not waited till a maldito Fundraising Director accused me of poaching his prospect.”
He latched onto her last statement. “See what I mean about people always wanting things from me? You’re different, Lorelei—all you’ve ever done is give. You’re so special. Please, please give me another chance. Let me show you how wonderful we could be together.” He reached his hand up to cradle her cheek and this time she didn’t move away.
“You told me you’d met William Manning. You lied to me. You made a fool of me.”
“I never meant to hurt you. I’m sorry. And I certainly never meant to make a fool of you. When I looked in the mirror, I realized I don’t like William Manning much. He’s self-absorbed and just thinks about computers all the time. Then I met you and I wanted it to be different. When I’m Liam Mackenzie, when I’m with you, the world is a better place. I’m a better man. You make me a better person. Please don’t stop now. I need you.”
She searched his eyes and he hoped she saw his sincerity. Every word he’d said had been true. “It’s not there,” she said, her voice breaking.
He froze, every muscle clenched. He couldn’t do it without her. And at the moment he wasn’t entirely sure what it was—finishing his brother’s book, or breathing. “What’s not there?”
“The lines of code scrolling across your eyes.”
He released the breath he’d been holding. “That’s because of you as well. What do you say, Lorelei?”
“You did ride the bus to be with me,” she said through her tears. A faint smile played about her lips at the memory of his discomfort.
“I’ve never ridden the bus for any other woman. And once you’ve been in my Aston Martin, you’ll realize how much of a sacrifice I was willing to make to be with you.”
A shadow of fear passed over her eyes and she switched her attention to the ground. “I’m not from your world, Liam. I may dress up and rub elbows with the rich, but when I go home I eat pizza straight out of the box and cut coupons to save seventy-five cents on cookies.”
“You’ve already been part of my world for two weeks. You had dinner with David, Helen, and Jason. They are my world. You…are becoming my world.”
“This is a huge thing, Liam. It’s going to take me time to adjust.”
“Adjust to what? I’m still the same person I was an hour ago. I haven’t changed.”
Putting his other arm around her waist, he pulled her against him. He took her lips in a gentle kiss, but when she melted into him, passion ignited, incinerating reason. Somewhere at the back of his mind, he registered the multitude of people watching. It didn’t seem to matter—he was with Lorelei and her taste and scent were driving him wild. He must be more tired than he thought because he was on the edge of losing his mind. Someone in the crowd coughed and he realized things were getting a little out of control for a public display of affection.
Burying his face in her hair, he whispered, “And this explosive chemistry hasn’t changed between us either. Please, Lorelei, give us a chance.”
She took two breaths before raising her head. She pushed away from him and stood with her arms crossed over her stomach. “I need some time to think, to make sure this relationship is right for me. And I can’t do that with you around. I would appreciate it if you would leave and I’ll call you in a couple days.”
His heart fibrillated for a minute before racing. If he told her about the book now she’d definitely end things and he couldn’t risk that. Not until he’d finished the story. Not until he had worked out how he was going to cope without her. Not until he’d regained his sanity. He searched her face, then turned on his heel and walked away, feeling like he’d just been shot in the chest.
Chapter Ten
Lorelei pulled her borrowed dressing gown around her and stared at the ceiling. She��d just called Liam and told him she’d have dinner with him on Sunday night. She needed to make sure this was right for her because she was pretty sure she wouldn’t recover if she let herself fall further in love with him and he ditched her after a couple months. But it was so hard when he was so tempting. Her decision mantra head, heart, body was turning into body, body, body.
“See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Mandy stood with her hands on her hips, her belligerent stance at odds with her tear-ravaged face. The bombshell of Liam’s true identity had coincided with Mandy receiving a text from her fiancé asking for his ring back. Both women had left as soon as the clock struck eleven and raced back to Mandy’s apartment to soothe their heartache with ice cream and tequila. Not a great combination the following morning.
“No, but…” Lorelei stared at the phone still in her hand. She could call him back and say they could meet for a quick lunch, but that would probably turn into a quick trip back to her place or his. And then next thing she knew they would be arguing over who was going to get out of bed to make breakfast.
“He lied to you. He deserves a day in the doghouse.”
Lorelei suppressed a sigh. “Yeah, but he had his reasons. Did you see all the people who tried to talk to him after word got out who he really is? I even heard one woman ask if he could attend her fundraiser next week for some charity she’s involved in.”