Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 86322 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86322 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Ensure Aspen’s escape.
By the time they disbanded their blockade, she had vanished.
I glowered at each of them, and my annoyance peaked when they merely smiled.
It wasn’t until I reached my office, behind closed doors, and was replaying every second in her presence, that I remembered catching a detail that didn’t register until then.
She still wore her engagement ring.
A slow smile tugged at my mouth as flickers of hope sputtered to life in my chest. Riding that reckless surge, I put together a plan designed to strip her of every chance to avoid me and hit send.
CHAPTER 20
ASPEN
With one last shake of my arms, I took a deep breath, pulled my shoulders back, and knocked on the door.
“Come in,” his deep voice resonated through the door, already tempting me.
I walked in with my head held high, my face forced into a calm I was beyond feeling.
In reality, my heart tripped over itself, my lungs heaved, and everything inside me ached. Every passing second of the meeting demanded absolute control—to keep my mouth from pulling into a frown, to keep myself from crumbling at the sight of him.
God, I missed him so much.
More than I thought I could.
Definitely more than I should.
This man had taken the heart I’d offered on a silver platter—the one he’d convinced me he’d wanted with every gentle touch and soothing word—and stomped all over it.
And still, I craved him.
Still, I loved him.
Getting through the meeting had been a Herculean effort, one that sent me retreating to my office to curl up on my couch and cry. I gave myself ten minutes of tears before forcing myself back together. Even then, my body trudged through the rest of the day, heavy and hollow.
Then his email arrived.
The surge of excitement that followed left me ashamed.
I was a strong woman. I did not pine after a man who made it painfully clear he didn’t want me. I did not get excited over the chance of scraps.
So, I spent the half-hour before this reminding myself of all the reasons I’d told him we were done. Reinforcing my spine with logic and resolve. Strength that held—right up until I stood in front of him.
Until I stared into his dark eyes that caught copper in the right light. At his sharp jaw and stubbled cheeks that spread wide when he smiled. At his mouth—the same lips that once kissed me with reverence and drove me to the edge of pleasurable insanity. At his large hands that had soothed my pain and made me feel safe.
Every detail wore me down until I felt like an imposter, standing there wanting to fall at his feet and tell him I was willing to accept whatever pieces of himself he could spare.
But I wouldn’t—I couldn’t.
I was Aspen Quinn.
I was better than that.
“Your email said you had an interview you needed to discuss today.”
He stood and rounded his desk. “Yes. I wanted to let you know that I was thinking of hiring Sadie Albright.”
I racked my brain, searching for a face to put with the name, coming to a screeching halt when I found it. “What?” I practically shouted.
My eyes bulged as I stared at him incredulously, too alarmed by his suggestion to pause and take note of the deviant glimmer and predatory smirk.
“She’s horrible,” I argued, remembering the nightmarish interview. “She actually claimed gothic-country-jazz was the next big thing. Wanted to throw more than half our profits at it—all because her cousin’s uncle was starting a band!” My voice climbed a notch with every word, growing unhinged with disbelief.
I’d stormed closer to his desk—to him, forgetting space was crucial if I wanted to hold my resolve.
He shrugged. “Maybe. But I have final approval—your father agreed when we signed the contracts. He allowed you to join the interviews because he was trying to appease his hurt little princess.”
A burning heat stole through me, and my hands trembled with restraint. “Why? Why would you choose her?”
He circled me like a predator corralling its prey. “Because I can,” he answered low, his words brushing against my ear from behind.
Anger coiled back and snapped inside me. I whipped around to face him. “God, you don’t even care, do you?”
“Why should I?”
“Are you kidding me?”
A hollow cavity gaped inside my chest, heavy under the weight of heartbreak. Had everything been a game to him? Had I imagined it all? Had he truly never really cared? Did he feel so little for me that he couldn’t conjure a single reason to care about my legacy?
“Why should I care, Aspen? Hmm?” His black eyes glittered down at me. His imposing frame blacked out the lights, swallowing me into his shadow as my back hit the edge of the desk. “You left and didn’t contact me at all. The last thing you said was that we were done. So, tell me…why should I care?”