And never tell her about his true feelings.
His tone contradicted his slowly crumbling heart. “Then we have a month together and we won’t lose a moment.”
Arianna stiffened. Her words were hesitant. “Do you want to do the long distance thing?
Grant, I can’t imagine walking away from you. I—“
He stopped her by smothering his mouth over hers. If she said the words he wanted to hear, he’d fall apart. She would stay, and they’d never know what she could have been. Her lips softened, became pliant beneath his until she quieted.
“I don’t want to lose you, either. But you’re moving because this promotion is what you’ve been waiting for. I’m so damn proud of you, Arianna. You go to Chicago and kick some ass. But I think we need a clean break. You don’t need the distractions of a long distance relationship, and I don’t know if I can handle it.”
The starkness of his words took her breath away, but Arianna fought through the fog of pain and swore she’d never ask him to wait for her. If he wanted a clean break, she’d honor his wishes. She wouldn’t tell him she was madly in love with him. She wouldn’t confess having him in her life may be more important than the promotion of her dreams.
Because he didn’t want her.
At least, not enough to ask her to stay. Or to remain in the relationship.
Arianna felt the tears dry up and leave her slightly cold. He felt the chill in her skin and rubbed his hands briskly over her pebbled flesh.
“Come on, it’s getting late. Let me take you to dinner and we’ll talk more.” She allowed him to help her up and get dressed. She allowed him to take her to dinner and drink wine in the candlelight of the expensive French restaurant. She enjoyed the crisp white linens, the rich sauces and delicate fish. They toasted to her success and talked. But not about the promotion or the unspoken questions they both wanted to ask.
And didn’t.
Chapter Seven
Arianna laughed at her team members as they hummed Chicago around the conference table. She looked down at the farewell cake with a Rosebud garter belt discreetly tattooed around the edge. “Funny, guys, real funny. At least you remembered to make it chocolate.” She cut large pieces of the sugary treat and passed them around. Conversation revolved around work accounts, football season, and raunchy jokes. Tim handed her a glass of champagne from a cheap plastic glass. “Drink up, boss. You won’t get much free time once you hit Chicago.”
“Hmm, I’m already burning the hours on my smart phone and videoconferencing to get a leg up.”
“How’s yoga guy?”
She shot him a glare. “Good.”
“Hmmm.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Tim threw up his hands in defense. “Nothing, just wondering. Are you guys gonna do the long distance thing?”
The wound throbbed, but she forked up a piece of cake and soothed it. “Nope. We’re making a clean break.”
Tim brightened. “I think that’s for the best.”
She stared at him with suspicion. “You’ve never been so interested in my love life before, Tim. What’s up?”
He shrugged. “I was worried about you. Sanders picked you for one reason. I didn’t want you to make the wrong decision.”
Unease settled low in her gut. Arianna didn’t want to ask the question, but like a train wreck unfolding before her gaze, she stepped on the track. “What are you talking about? What reason?”
“Come on, Arianna, it’s no secret you practically live, eat and breathe this job. You’ve slept on the conference room couch to meet a deadline. Sanders had a few people to pick from, but they all had families or girlfriends. No one had the killer instinct to give everything over to the job. But you did.”
The truth sunk in slowly but steadily, just like the Titanic. “He picked me because I had no other commitments? That was the deciding factor?” Tim laughed, obviously not aware of her distress. “Crap, Arianna, it was your work, too.
You’ve got the talent. But Sanders needs someone with drive who will make G&B their life. You fit the bill perfectly. That’s why I got nervous when you started spending so much time with yoga guy. Hell, a few nights during the week you actually left the office on time. The guy even came to visit the office. That never happened before, so I thought you could be thinking about doing something stupid.”
“Like?”
“Like giving up the promotion for him. But you’re as smart as I always knew you were.