FRAGILE: A Billionaire Romance (Part Two) by Kimberly Malone Page A

sorry.”
                  “No, I can see….” Eli trails off, looking at my face, and he frowns a little. “Ruby, I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but I actually think something might be medically wrong with you,” Eli says. “Do you want to go to the doctor?” His tone is tender, and I have to stifle myself to keep from crying.
                  “I have an appointment scheduled with a doctor next week,” I say quietly.
                  “Alright.” Eli’s hands tighten over my fingers, his green eyes searching mine. He exhales slowly, but he doesn’t break his gaze from me. “I…I can’t stop thinking about you, Ruby.” He drops his head again, as if that was the hardest thing to admit. Then, he lifts his eyes to mine once more. “I can’t promise it’ll go anywhere. But…I’d still like to see you,” he whispers.
                  My heart leaps with life. “Me too,” I say.
                  And that’s the honest truth. While Eli still hasn’t accepted my profession of love or reciprocated, I realize that I’m so out of sorts that I might not have even really been in love anyway. This way, I get to see Eli while I work through the stress on my end, and Eli can make the moves in our relationship at his own pace instead of me trying to barge ahead.
                  A light bursts in Eli’s green eyes, and it gives me hope and strength. He gives me a small smile, and we lean across the desk, kissing briefly. Fire courses through my veins, and now I’m feeling weepy with joy.
    “Thank you, Eli,” I say once I catch my breath. “I really appreciate your understanding, and the second chance.”
    “We all make mistakes,” Eli says. A real smile finally breaks the stone on his face. “You’ve just happened to make two rather peculiar mistakes, both around me.”
                  Chuckling, I nod my head. “Yeah. At least the first one I had better intentions.”
                  “Well, you intended to fix things the second time,” Eli says slowly. “Your emotions just got the better of you. Am I right?”
                  “Yep,” I say. I snicker. “You know me pretty well.”
                  Eli smiles again, and he open his mouth to speak. The phone on his desk rings, and Eli lifts his top hand off and picks the phone up. “Hello,” he says. There’s a pause, Eli’s eyes gazing far off. I stare down at our clasped hands. “Yes. Thank you.” He sets the phone down and looks back up at me. “So, how long have you been having these headaches?”
                  “Hard to say, what with all the stress recently. Maybe a month.” The relief that Eli is even still talking to me is making me woozy, and I lean back in my chair.
                  Eli frowns at me. “A month? And the headaches have been getting worse?”
                  “Yeah.”
                  “Maybe you should go to the ER,” Eli says.
                  I roll my eyes. “I’m fine. It’s probably just that I’m lacking vitamins or minerals or something like that.”
                  After a few seconds, Eli nods his head, gives my hand one more squeeze before dropping it, and then he stands, refilling my water and getting me another tissue. I thank him, and as Eli sits again, a pause hovers in the air.
                  “Your gift was very thoughtful,” Eli says. He gestures to the pin, which is lying on his desk. “I haven’t seen this design before. Is this your new line?”
                  “Not the one I mentioned the other day, no,” I say. “But this is a new design. I created these pins just for you and your staff.”
                  “That fast?” Eli asks.
                  “I haven’t been sleeping well,” I say. “Sometimes I can sleep for hours,