My stomach twists.
Sickness rises from my stomach, working its way up into my throat.
I force it back down.
I can’t tell her.
This will kill her.
At first, getting close to her was just a game, a ploy to draw her near to me. But she’s under my skin, spreading like a wildfire through my veins, seeping deeper and deeper into my soul, no matter how much I fight against it.
It seems the more I fight, the tighter the hold she has on me.
After what I just found out, I can't bring myself to hurt her.
If I tell her she’ll leave, and I’ll never see her again.
But how can I look her in the eye knowing what I know?
If I tell her it will destroy her.
I can’t tell her.
I won’t.
I’ll keep this awful secret to myself.
She doesn’t need to know, there is no point in her knowing when she is just starting to move on with her life, learning to trust again, it will only hurt her.
No good will come from her knowing.
She can trust me.
I’ll protect her from the truth.
From everything.
∞∞∞
When I get back to the penthouse, I begin setting the table.
I bought way too much food, but I don’t have a clue what food she’d like, so I bought everything. I spread out the boxes of food in the center of the table, along plates and cutlery.
“Hey.” I hear behind me.
I turn to see Hayley leaning against the island in the center of my kitchen, her fingers fiddling with the countertop awkwardly.
“Hi, you just wake up?”
“A while ago, I saw your note.”
“I left it in case you woke up before I got back.”
“I can’t even remember falling asleep.”
“You fell asleep in my arms, so I carried you to bed, figured you needed to sleep.” I smile. “I got us some food, I didn’t know what you’d like so I got a little of everything.” I hint to the banquet in progress behind me.
She nears the table, eyeing the food in front of her, and takes a seat.
She lets out a little chuckle. “A little of everything? You have enough food here to feed an entire army.”
I laugh, taking a seat opposite her. “Hey, don’t underestimate my capabilities,” I say, patting my stomach.
She laughs, shaking her head. “There is no way you can eat all this food.”
“Care to wager Miss Roberts?" I ask, resting my elbows on the table.
“The stakes?” A devious smile touches her lips.
“If I win, you have to spend one more day with me. If you win and it turns out my eyes are bigger than my stomach, you decide, you can go home, or you can stay,” I explain.
I can’t force her to stay any longer, I can’t do that to her which is why I’m going to lose this bet on purpose.
From here on in, it’s her choice.
“Deal.” She holds her hand out to me and I take it, a sharp spark shoots between us where our hands are touching, just like it had the first time I met her at the casino.
We fill our plates with food and begin eating. With so much choice it’s hard to decide which to eat first.
The tension between us has seemed to ease off slightly, we seem somewhat comfortable in each other’s company, more specifically, she is more comfortable being around me.
“Tell me more about your family.” she asks.
I finish chewing on a bite before answering. “What do you want to know?”
“Everything.”
“My mom does a lot of charity work, particularly for children and families in need. She’s the best mother I could ask for, she’s kind, strong, fiercely loyal, not afraid to call you out on your bullshit.” I smile at the thought of my mom. “My dad, I know it’s going to sound corny as fuck, but he’s my hero. After finding out about my real parents, I couldn’t go to my mom, I didn’t want to upset her, it was my dad who held me together, I couldn’t have gotten through it without him. He founded King Corp back in the early nineties, built it up from scratch all by himself, he’s retired now so he passed the company onto me. My brother, Luke, is still learning, working his way through college, this week is a big test for him, running the company on his own. He’s a little shit but I trust him.” I laugh.
She smiles. “What does your company do?”
“We do a lot to different things, mostly we buy businesses that are struggling, turn them around and make them a success and then sell them on for double, triple the price we paid.”
“So, where does the hotel and casino fit in?”
“I always wanted to own a hotel. My dad wasn’t keen on the idea at first, it took a lot of convincing, but he let me take a chance on it and it paid off. I love this place. It was never just another business deal for me, it was personal. This hotel was going to be mine, fuck, I loved it so much I moved in here.” I take a bite of my food. “What about you, your family?”
“Well, my dad you’ve met. No brothers or sisters...” I take a deep breath. “My mom, she died three and a half years ago, she had cancer and they found it too late, when they eventually did, it had already spread too far, after that it was just a matter of months.”
“I’m so sorry, Hayley.” I lean over and take her hand in mine squeezing it comfortingly.
God, I love the feel of her hand in mine.
She squeezes mine gently before pulling her hand away from mine, and continues to eat her food. “So, what’s your brother like?”
I chuckle. “Luke is loud, annoying and stubborn.”
“Oh, come on, that can’t be all he is.”
I laugh. “He’s a good brother, really. Caring, funny, loyal, a hopeless romantic.”
“He and my best friend Gwen would get along well, you basically just described her.”
“Maybe we should set them up.”
“Oh dear.” She laughs, shaking
