“Sarah, wait.”
She froze, the warmth of Aiden’s fingers searing her skin. What? Did you change your mind? Do you actually want me to stay through Sunday?
“Use my office for your call.”
* * *
Aiden wasn’t sure what had gotten into him when he’d told Sarah she should leave before Sunday if she wanted to. It had seemed like the generous thing to do, but now he was kicking himself, even though he had to let her go sometime. Her actions suggested she hadn’t wanted more than one night with him, and from the very beginning, she’d been laser-focused on the deadline. She’d delivered everything she’d promised. He’d done the same. Once the paperwork was done, their relationship could come to its logical conclusion. Except that Aiden had that uneasy feeling in the center of his chest again, the one that said something was wrong. He couldn’t shake it, no matter how hard he tried.
Aiden played with Oliver in the library, unable to ignore how badly Sarah’s call was going. She hadn’t closed the doors to his office, so he couldn’t avoid hearing her say things like, “I don’t know. I’ll have to get that together for you.” Sylvia Hodge and her cohorts would likely only sink money into someone who was flawlessly prepared. He had to force himself to not walk in and offer his help. He’d done his part. He’d put her in the room with Sylvia Hodge. It was up to Sarah to make this happen.
Aiden’s worst suspicions were confirmed when Sarah drifted out of the office. All traces of the excitement she’d had yesterday were gone.
“Well?” he asked.
“I feel like I just got hit by a train.” Her voice was weary, as if she couldn’t take another step.
“Those calls can be like that. It’s not always a bad thing.” He didn’t want to give her false hope, but he couldn’t stand to see her like this. Her upbeat air was gone and he missed it.
She pursed her lips and shook her head. “No. This was bad. There were so many questions I couldn’t answer.”
“I thought your financials were in order.”
“They are, but they asked me things like what percentage of the market I can corner and how quickly I can do it. I can’t answer that. That’s what I need them for.”
Aiden’s stomach sank. Should he have prepared her more? Had he dropped the ball? “It’s okay to not know the answer to everything.”
“Judging by what Katie said, it’s not. She said they don’t work with companies that aren’t as up-to-speed on the business end as they are on the design end. That’s me, Aiden. I know the design end. I stumble through the rest of it.”
“But you’ve accomplished a lot. They’ll see that. And there’s the value of your concept and product. I’m sure that it’s Katie’s job to be a bulldog, so Sylvia can step in and be your savior.”
“I don’t know why I tried to do any of this. Sylvia probably only agreed to have her people talk to me because I had her cornered and she didn’t want to make a scene.”
“Don’t be so defeatist. You haven’t had a definitive answer yet. And if this doesn’t work out, you’ll move on to the next thing. I’ve done it many times.”
Sarah’s jaw tensed in a way Aiden had never seen, not even that first day in his office when she’d been so frustrated. “There is no next thing, Aiden. I’m not you. I don’t have a million amazing possibilities to juggle at one time. This is it for me. My career, my life, my paycheck. There’s nothing else for me but this. This is the one thing I’m good at.”
“Besides nannying.”
“I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that I’m done with that. Forever.”
Yes, Sarah had said these things to him before, but he still didn’t understand it. “Did something bad happen? Is that why you’re so adamant about not going back to nannying?”
“Yes, something bad happened. Why else does a person decide they can’t do something anymore?”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I don’t talk about it with anyone, especially not someone I’ve known for a week.”
Her dismissiveness felt like someone choking his heart. A week. In some ways it felt as if he’d known Sarah his whole life. “I’m just trying to help.”
“I can’t tell you. I’m too ashamed.”
Now he had to find out what had happened. Sarah, ashamed? He couldn’t imagine her doing a single dishonorable thing. “I’m not going to judge you. But I’d like to know what’s going on. I think I’ve earned an explanation.”