Page 146 of When She Loves
His words exhaust me. I sit down on the edge of the sofa and hang my head. I don’t want to talk about what happened anymore. I’ve spent two weeks trying to come to terms with everything, and I was nearly there before he showed up here uninvited.
“It doesn’t matter,” I say weakly.
He places his palms on my knees. “I should have accepted the fact that I was developing feelings for you instead of running away from it. I kept you at a distance, and I know that must have hurt.”
I shake my head. “Don’t.”
“I was in denial for the months we were together. If I hadn’t been, maybe I could have learned how to process my emotions better. Instead, I did everything I could to pretend that I was in control of the situation. I was a coward.”
I shove his hands away from me. “Stop it. You don’t have feelings for me. You said it yourself, and I heard you loud and clear. I don’t want to listen to this anymore.”
When I stand up and step around him, he reaches for me again. His hand brushes against my calf. “Cleo, please. Don’t do this.”
I move toward the door. “Dowhat?”
He gets up. “Give up on us.”
“Why would I give another chance to a man who is incapable of love? I deserve better than that, Rafe.”
He opens his mouth to say something, but I’m done. I can’t do this right now, not when my heart is about to splinter. Without giving him a chance to respond, I walk out of the room.
CHAPTER44
RAFAELE
De Rossi is standing justoutside the library. In my haste to go after Cleo, I nearly run into him. His eyes move to Cleo’s retreating form before he levels his gaze back on me. “I don’t think she wants to talk to you right now.”
“I know.” When I first saw her, she looked at me like she wanted to incinerate me, like I was something unholy that had crawled back from the dead.
“What now?”
Great fucking question. I rake my fingers through my hair. I’m not going back to New York. I lost the first battle, but I came here prepared for a long war. I’m not giving up.
“Let me stay here for a few nights.”
De Rossi drags his tongue over his teeth and shakes his head. “Cleo made it clear she doesn’t want you here.”
I bite on the inside of my cheek, tamping down the strong urge to tell him to fuck off. He didn’t have to let me into his house, but I managed to convince him. Barely. It won’t take much for him to rescind that permission.
“I still have things I need to say to her.”
“Why didn’t you say them, then?” he asks, his voice razor sharp.
I was supposed to but she ran from me before I could.
When she took off the ring, I lost it. It felt so utterly wrong that I knew I’d do anything to get her to put it back on, and so I did. I got down on my knees for her, begged and pleaded and prayed. It worked. Thank fuck, it worked.
That ring is a symbol of everything we were, everything we still can be. I want her to think of us whenever she looks down at it.
I have to convince her I’m worth another shot.
Tomorrow, I’ll try again.
“If you want to win her back, you’re going to have to try harder,” De Rossi says firmly. “She’s hurt. Thanks to you, she blames herself for what happened with Nero.”
“Believe me, I know. I fucked up.”
He stares me down even though we’re the same height. “I can’t tell her the truth about Nero.” He looks like he wants to say more, but he doesn’t have to.
