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I couldn’t live through another kiss like that and maintain my sense.
“You made your point.”
“I can make things happen for you. More than just a buyout.” He spoke
softly, as if offering not a business deal, but personal satisfaction only he
could provide.
The tea was cold. I needed to get off the couch and boil more water, but
I couldn’t. I was locked in place not just by the promise in his words—but
by the suggestion in his tone.
“I’m scared,” I said, and like a punctured balloon, the smallest opening
let out all that I barely held inside. “My father’s name isn’t just a name. He
made it mean something and he gave that to me. It’s the only thing I have
left. And when he died, he asked me to hold on to it. He said I should use
my gifts for it. It’s what he wanted and I’m scared. If I do this, and we try to
take it over, we could fail. I could lose my connection to Papillion and I’ll
break my promise.”
“He’s dead, Ella.”
A fact was a fact, but I didn’t like it coming out of his mouth right after
it kissed me.
“Thanks for the reminder.”
The pressure behind his words propelled me up, where I could see a
leftover bag of blue crystals glittering through the plastic like a transparent
geode.
“I’m a bad choice for you.”
I took the cups back to the kitchen before I said something I couldn’t
take back.
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