Page 27 of Getting Down to Business

She shook her head and pressed her lips together.

“No. I’m going to get sucked back there and never be able to escape.” Tears threatened, causing her eyes to glisten and her lip to tremble. “I’m sorry. I’m not going to cry. I promise.”

“Are you sure? It looks like you need to.” Gray winced and pulled her closer.

“What good will it do?”

“None, but it might make you feel better.”

“Guys hate crying,” she said.

“That we do, but sometimes it’s inevitable.” He stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. With her face against his chest, he wasn’t sure if she let herself cry or not, but it was nice just to hold her. “I have to say, I’m rather insulted.”

“Why?”

“I offered you a very nice room for a decent price and you’re turning it down to move to Albany. You might as well tell me I’m worse than Albany.”

She laughed and looked up at him.

“I like you, Gray. But I can’t move in with you. It wouldn’t be right. We want different things. Maybe we can meet up when I come to the city to visit.”

“I don’t see that happening. Besides, I don’t know how I feel about hooking up with someone from Albany.” He shivered this time, making it more theatrical. As if Albany was a slum. It made her laugh. Mission accomplished.

They lay there in silence for a long moment while he thought over the situation. In all reality he should be insulted. She was brushing off his perfectly reasonable offer and giving up everything she had here. For what? Just so she wouldn’t have to spend more time with him?

“Liss?” He checked to see if she was sleeping.

“Yeah?”

“Why won’t you move in here? Really? I mean, I’m not making you sign a lease. You would be free to try it out for a month or so, and if it didn’t work out you could go with Plan Albany next month. I don’t get it.”

“I don’t expect you to get it.”

She didn’t elaborate.

“This would be the part where you tell me the reason.”

“I don’t trust people.” He got that. He had his own trust issues. Didn’t everyone?

“I understand, but I’m offering you a room, not matrimony or even an exclusive affair. You wouldn’t need to trust me any further than knowing I wouldn’t steal your stuff or eat the last of your Oreos.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Really. It would be just like this, only you would have a home and not have to move to Albany.”

“I’ll think about it.”

Thinking about it was a step in the right direction. He wasn’t giving up.