Boss Me (Private Listing #3)

“Fuck.” His voice is soft, but the anguish catches my attention. He drops to his knees in front of me. His blue eyes capture mine. “She brought us here, knowing you’d be here. Knowing she could use you against me.”

He reaches up and grabs his hair like he wants to pull it out. “The only way I could get through tonight was to imagine she was you. That I was showing you off. Holding your hand. Kissing you.”

When a tear slips down my cheek, I swipe at it. The ache in my chest won’t go away. But I’m listening, because I want to believe him. I want him to be mine, but then the image of him kissing her rears its head. I close my eyes, but it remains there, playing on an endless loop.

“Tell me what to do to fix this, princess. Because I’m dying inside.” He moves closer until his knees bump into my feet. I don’t have the energy to pull them away. “Help me, because I can’t see you like this. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You kissed her.” The words tremble on my lips, holding back a floodgate of tears.

“Not her, Madison. Never her.” He reaches out and brushes a rogue tear from my cheek. Those sparks between us don’t fail to rise at his nearness, making me long to lean into his touch to let him comfort me. “I could never?—‍”

He draws in a breath and rubs his fingers together, spreading my tear over his skin.

“You could never . . . ?” But he did. I saw it.

His gaze lifts to mine. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I need to protect you. I can’t do both. I can’t protect you without going out with Elizabeth, and being with Elizabeth hurts you. Please tell me what to do because I can’t lose you. I can’t—‍” He closes his eyes. When he opens them, they’re filled with determination. “I love you. Only you.”

My heart pounds fiercely with his admission as another tear slips from my eye. I don’t know what to feel. He loves me. He doesn’t want to hurt me, but he did. But he did it to protect me. This is so fucked up.

“Please tell me what to do.” His eyes shimmer in the light, and I can’t hold myself back from him any longer. I need his comfort. To feel safe.

I launch myself into his arms. He catches me, draws me into his arms and onto his lap and holds me close to him while I cling to him.

“I love you, Seth,” I whisper so no one else will hear. I need him to hear it, to feel it, to know why I’m so distraught seeing him kiss her.

“I love you, princess.” He moves to capture my lips, but I stop him with my fingers over my lips.

“I can’t.” Those lips have touched hers. I can’t kiss him after he kissed her. It may make me the biggest hypocrite in the world. I literally kiss three other guys besides him, but he can only kiss me. That’s the rule we agreed to.

He reaches up and grabs a paper towel from the dispenser. He rubs his mouth, wiping away any residue from her. Crumpling up the paper towel, he pitches it at the trash can before grabbing me and capturing my lips with his.

Sparks light up my insides. My heart feels like it’s going to burst. He trails kisses over my cheek to my ear and whispers, “I love you.”

A knock sounds on the door. My eyes widen. I’d forgotten where we are. Oh, fuck, I’d forgotten where we are!

“You can’t be in here,” I whisper, but I don’t move away. I want to linger in this moment, in his words as they help to patch up my heart.

“Noah’s watching the door for us.” Seth brushes my hair out of my face and looks me over. He presses his forehead against mine. “I wish we could stay here, but we have to go back out there. I have to go back to her. Just for now.”

“I know.” I clutch at his suit jacket. I don’t want to let him go. I don’t want him to leave me.

“We’ll talk at home. Okay?” He presses his lips to mine. “We’ll figure this out.”

“I don’t want you to have to date her.” I meet his eyes steadily. My heart pounds. “It hurts too much.”

He nods and blows out a breath. “We’ll find another way.”

Standing, he helps me to my feet. We both straighten my dress before he draws me in close. “You look magnificent tonight.”

I cup his cheek with my hand and smile sadly. “You look very handsome.”

He presses his forehead to mine and then leaves me. Unlocking the door and slipping away before I can do anything else. I draw in a deep breath and a laugh slips out. He broke my heart and then told me he loves me.

I want to curl up and fly at the same time. I doublecheck my makeup and outfit in the mirror. When I feel like I’m ready to face whatever will happen out in the dining room, I take a deep breath and step out into the hall. Instead of Noah, Coop leans against the wall opposite the door. His hands in his pockets as he looks me up and down.

“Let’s go home, sweetheart.” He holds out his hand and I take it, grateful I don’t have to return to my seat and pretend I don’t see Seth with her. I can’t handle it anymore. Just seeing them together weighs on my soul.

Coop pulls me into his side. His warmth surrounds me, drawing me in. I lean against him, craving more.