“Because baby girl, you made everything different,” he began slowly. “You were different from what I expected. You were giving and loving, with a real zest for life. You love music, you love being a ballerina, and it showed in your dance.”
The words ripped me in half but I wouldn’t give in. He’d hurt me so badly that I couldn’t cave, I wouldn’t let myself cave. So I acted mean and nasty, trying to get a rise.
“So?” I spat. “You’re saying that the fat girl got further than you think. So what? That’s hardly a compliment.”
He frowned.
“First you’re not fat, sweetheart,” he growled. “Gorgeous is more like it. Sure, you don’t have the typical ballerina body, but so what? Audiences love that plush form and you know what? Your dancing sells tickets, and that’s more than what any artistic director could hope for.”
“Second, you’re so different,” he continued, wonder creeping into that low voice. “You’re different and it’s a breath of fresh air. The ballerinas I’ve been with in the past only wanted to know what I could do for them. Whether I could give them a solo, whether or not I could put their name in capital letters at the top of a program. But you never asked for that.”
“I did,” I burst in then. “I did. I danced the solo in The Plumed Feather, don’t you remember? And you’re the one who made it happen.”
“I made it happen,” agreed Thorn, “but you never asked for it. See baby girl? That’s the difference. The other girls always had their hand out, coaxing, demanding, even forcing me sometimes. Yes, I can be forced. But it wasn’t like that with you. You, sweetheart, are truly giving, going where the music leads, giving it your all. And I love that about you.”
My mouth snapped shut. Even the mere mention of the word “love” made me go tense like a rabbit. I had to get this situation under control. I had to take the wheel and drive this conversation like a boss.
So steeling myself, I looked fully into the billionaire’s eyes.
“What are you here for Thorn?” I asked, voice on edge. “I don’t have anything for you. We’re finished, remember? The scene with the gun, the crazy lady, all that?”
The alpha looked at me thoughtfully before answering. And when he did, his voice was quiet and low.
“I’m here for you, Laney,” he rumbled, eyes searching mine. “I’m here to see if we can make it work between us, no more games, no more hook-ups, no more misunderstandings. I want to try, baby girl, really try this time.”
My heart leapt inside, but outside, my expression remained frozen.
“Really?” I asked sarcastically. “You want to try after disappearing for six months, and then re-appearing like magic?”
Thorn took a deep breath, that big chest expanding while looking me straight in the eye.
“I didn’t come to see you because I needed to look deep in myself and figure out what the fuck was wrong,” he ground out.
I let out a half-hearted yelp.
“What was wrong with you? That’s a nice change, I thought it’d be what was wrong with me.”
I expected Thorn to storm off or slap me across the face for my nasty words. But the alpha knows how to handle animosity, and he took another deep breath.
“Yes, what was wrong with me. Like I said before, I was a fucking tomcat and I wanted to stop that shit. I wanted to be a real man for you, get all my shit in order before approaching you again. Because I love you, Laney Jones. You’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time, maybe ever. And I was a fucking idiot for letting you go, for letting that woman manipulate our relationship.”
I shook my head, eyes blurring with tears. Because this was what I wanted to hear, what I’d lain in bed at nights dreaming of, my hopes so high that I couldn’t even admit it to myself. And now the billionaire was saying that he wanted to be with me.
But I couldn’t believe it.
“You don’t know what you’re saying Thorn,” I said in a pained voice, refusing to look at him. “I’m a small-town girl from the middle of nowhere. I have nothing to offer a billionaire like you. You just want me because we’ve been through a lot together, so you feel like you have to make it up to me somehow. Please don’t,” I choked once more. “Because you don’t have to. I’m fine, I’ll be fine here in Kansas.”
But the alpha always gets his way because he took my hand then, pressing it to his lips.
“Laney Jones,” he began. “This is the first time I’ve really thought that you might be dumb. Because a man shows up, declaring himself, and you’ve got some twisted reason as an explanation? You can’t just accept my love? You don’t think that a man like me would love a girl like you? Someone special?”