And Syd ran.
She ran from him.
He’d always wondered if she’d run from herself too. Because drunk or not, she’d had four orgasms. Four. One could be a mistake. Two could be a fluke. Maybe three she could blame on the amount they’d drank and strange and shocking chemistry, but four… seriously. Four. Was. Not. A. Mistake. Four was her being into it. Four was right in ways it had never been right with anyone else.
Syd was there, and he was going to be damned if he let her walk out that door again. Not until he’d exhausted every last option and he was definitely not above bribery.
“I’ll make you a deal,” Jesse finally said, his voice a little softer, the edge gone, because Syd looked so damn miserable it ate him up. He couldn’t stand seeing her that way, even if she’d nearly shattered him a second time, because talk or not, he’d definitely had his hopes up.
“What?” Her head snapped up and her eyes, eyes which were beginning to leak a little out of the corners, went even wider.
Damn it, he hated when she cried. Those tears were his weakness. His kryptonite. He couldn’t keep being an asshole to her when she was crying. He wanted to go to her, wrap her up in his arms, tug her right up against his heart, so that hers beat in time with his, and they were a part of each other again, like they used to be, but in a different way. He wanted to welcome her home, to prove to her how right they were and were always going to be.
“What’s your deal?” she prompted, when his words died on his tongue.
He stood there, mouth parted, ready to put it out there between them. Ready to take the chance, because hell, he’d already let her go once and there was no fudgepickling way that he was going to let her walk out on him again. He probably would spend the rest of his life lonely, because he was damn sure that there was no one else on the planet for him, so frickstingling rights he was going to fight for her with everything that he had.
“It’s already late afternoon. I was going to say that I want the weekend to prove to you that we’re right for each other, but two days are not enough. I also want Monday as well.”
“No go,” she said automatically, too quickly. “I have to work on Monday.”
“Call in sick. It’s not negotiable. You give me three days and an open mind and at the end of it, if you’re still not feeling it, then I’ll fly you back home. I won’t bother you again. I’ll make up some story for the media. No hard feelings. No one the wiser. You’ll get to go on with your life and I’ll go on with mine.”
“So, you won’t turn into a reclusive hermit?”
“No.” I probably will.
“And you’ll find someone else to make you happy and drop the stupid notion of me somehow being the one for you?”
“That’s right.” Not a chance.
“And you’ll get some serious fudging help because there is no way that I broke your heart ten years ago. You’ll admit that we were just friends and that you got it wrong?”
“Yes.” No way in hell.
“And you’ll throw in a thousand dollars for my trouble. For kidnapping me. I’m going to buy my mom something with it. A purse or some shoes or something. Not only does she deserve it, but I’m going to let her down big time with this one, as much as I hate to admit it. And it’s not because I didn’t have serious relationships. It’s because she wants me to get married and have grandbabies for her. Like… asap.”
“I’ll give you enough money to treat your mom to a nice girl’s day out. Complete with spa and five-star dining, champagne, and a shopping spree.”
Sydney arched a brow like he’d gone too far, and he was pretty sure that he had. Seriously. He knew that she hated accepting things from people. Mostly help, but money, whatever. He knew she’d never use him for it. That it would never cross her mind. Ten years apart or not, Syd was still Syd. It was as much a relief as anything. He knew the old Syd. He could work with the old Syd. Three days wasn’t a long time, but it was seriously all the time he needed.
“I…” She blew out a breath. “Fine.” Thankfully she swiped away her tears at the same time as she rolled her eyes. “But this seriously can’t involve whoring.”
He took a step back and threw his hand over his heart in mock astonishment. “What do you take me for?”
“You’re going to try and seduce me. These are my stipulations. We stay here, since the media will dog our every step anyway. That way, you can’t throw money at me to try and impress and confuse me. It’s easy to whisk someone to Paris or Rome or like… the freaking beach or whatever. It’s a lot harder when it’s just you. No distractions. No fancy dinners. No nice things. No money, period. I’ll give you the time you asked for because it’s obvious that if I don’t, you’re going to throw a stupid grown-up tantrum and I don’t want to ruin my life, for my mom’s sake. She’s happier than she’s sounded in a long time, unfortunately. I’m going to have to let her down easy. My last stipulation is that you don’t do anything to confuse me any other way. Like manipulating my feelings.”