Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45202 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45202 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
“I’m sorry, Lucy. I really am. I fucked up, and I know I did. I’m going to make things right.”
There’s pure anguish in my voice, and I hope she can hear how much this means to me, but she shakes her head and steps back out of my reach. “It’s all in the past. I’m over it, and I don’t want you to make anything right. I’m going to work for you and pay off that stupid car, and then we’ll go our separate ways.”
“But—” I try to stop her, and she holds her hand up.
“I can’t do this, Dom. I promised myself that I would never let you hurt me again. I can’t…” She takes a deep breath and lets it out. “I can’t do this with you.”
I want to argue with her. I want to tell her all the reasons why we should be together, but I know she doesn’t want to hear it. She’s not going to listen to me anyway. I stuff my hands deep into the front pockets of my jeans. “Fine. If that’s what you want…”
I let my voice trail off, hoping she’ll change her mind, but she gives me a nod. “That’s what I want.”
She turns on her heel and doesn’t give me another glance. The pain is real, and it hits me square in the chest. It feels like I’ve lost the love of my life… again. And it hurts just as much as it did the first time.
9
LUCIANA
The next morning, I walk into Dom’s Garage thinking that I have my emotions under control. It took everything in me not to fall into his arms yesterday, and after thinking about it most of the night, I know I made the right decision. Dominic Evans is not good for my heart. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. But no matter how many times I try to convince myself of it, I can’t stop thinking about him.
I walk into the garage and look around for Dom. He’s leaning against a car, arms crossed, and he watches me as I walk over to him. It would help if he wasn’t so damn sexy. I suck in a breath and practically stumble over my own feet when I smell his sexy, masculine scent. I do my best to make my voice sound professional. “Good morning.”
His eyes travel down my body and back up again. I want to tug on the hem of my skirt, but I stop myself and jut my chin at him. “Where do you want to do this?”
His eyebrows practically shoot up into his hairline, and I realize how what I just said must sound. I gesture to the chairs against the wall. “We can sit there. I just have a few questions for you, and then I can get started on your site and you can get to work.”
He walks over to his office and pushes the door open. “Come on, I got you set up in here.”
I hold the strap of my bag tighter to my chest and follow him into the office. He’s standing next to the same desk that was in here yesterday, but it looks completely different. “Uh, what happened here?”
He gestures to the room. “I know it’s probably not like any office you’re used to, but I tried to straighten up.”
I’m looking at the cleared desk. He’d wiped everything down, put a plant on the corner of the desk, and there’s an arrangement of brand new notebooks and pens that haven’t even been opened. I’m about to ask him about it when the chair catches my eye. “Is that a new chair?”
Dom’s cheeks are ruddy. “Yeah.”
I point at it and say the obvious. “It’s pink.”
He’s watching me closely. “Yeah, it’s your favorite color… well, it used to be your favorite color, right?”
When I look back at the chair and stare at it, speechless, Dom continues, “The old one squeaked every time someone sat in it. And it was covered in grease. If you were to sit down in it, you would ruin any outfit you would be wearing.”
He bought me a chair. I try not to let the emotion take over, but how can I? This is the Dom I remember. He was always looking out for me. “Dom, this meeting is going to take thirty minutes, max. You didn’t have to do all this.”
He takes a deep breath and puts his hands on his hips. “I was thinking. I mean, this is an office space that no one uses. You saw it yesterday; this desk was a catch-all, and it hasn’t been used in months.”
He pauses, and I wait for him to continue.
He slaps his hands together and then leans on the desk. “Well, I thought until you get things figured out, you may need a place to set up shop. You can work out of here. Set up appointments, work on websites, do… whatever you need to do.”