His to Hold: A Billionaire Romance (His to Have Book 2) by Piper Hayes

don’t want to explain why. If I don’t tell him, he could be blindsided by Damien and my father. It just isn’t worth the risk. I have to tell him, even if it means losing his trust.

CHAPTER 10

    CATHERINE

    When I get back to the loft, I’m half-convinced Blake will be waiting for me at the door, but he isn’t. Instead, I have to wait. In truth, I’d prefer getting caught in the act. At least that way, I wouldn’t have to play through the scene again and again in my head. At least then it would be over with.
    Blake gets back shortly before six. He’s got grocery bags, and he’s smiling. He looks so happy to see me. It almost breaks my heart.
    “We have to talk,” I say.
    “I know, I know, I’ve kept you cooped up here for too long, but I have good news,” he says. “We can move back to my place in Tribeca in the morning. Everything is almost set. I thought we could make one last dinner here to celebrate our impending return to the land of excess. Then we can have all the thousand-dollar dinners we’d ever want.”
    “I saw Damien meeting with my father today,” I blurt out. “I think they’re planning something.”
    “Where?” Blake says.
    “A café on the Upper East Side.”
    “What were you doing there?” Blake asks. “I asked you to stay here.”
    “No, you told me to stay here, and I decided that as an adult I could look after myself well enough to go out for a few hours.”
    “Did anyone see you?” he asks.
    “They didn’t see me,” I tell him. “I ran into an old friend, Felicity, on the street. She’s the one who told me my father was around. It was her party you crashed the first night we met.”
    “Okay,” Blake says. “That’s not so bad. I’m sorry, there’s just a lot going on, and even the slightest change in the plan could mess everything up. I don’t want anyone trying to get at me by hurting you.”
    “I met with Ben,” I tell him. “I met with him before I ran into Felicity. It’s why I was in the city. I wanted to convince him that you’re innocent. I wanted him to help prove you’ve done nothing wrong.”
    Blake drops his bags to the floor. “What did you tell him?” He looks panicked.
    “I didn’t tell him about the loft or about your sister or any of that. Relax,” I tell him.
    “I need to know everything you told him. You have no idea how much is riding on this.”
    “Why don’t you tell me, then?” I ask. “Why don’t you trust me for once?”
    Blake’s voice flares as he answers. “Because I don’t know if I can trust you after this.”
    “I told Ben you were set up. I told him to look into M-CORE, that it would prove your innocence.”
    Blake sighs in exasperation. His shoulders slump and he shakes his head. “You couldn’t have trusted me on this one?” he says.
    “What you’re asking for isn’t trust, it’s obedience,” I tell him.
    “Come on, Cat,” he says.
    I’m too angry to let him change my mind. “No, that’s exactly what it is. You know, for all the time you spend fighting against my father and all his friends, you’re exactly like them. At the end of the day, you just want to be in charge.”
    He pulls his phone out of his pocket and takes a step toward the hall.
    “What are you doing?” I ask.
    “I’m trying to fix this,” he says.
    “Hang up the phone,” I say. “If you want to fix this, hang it up and talk to me.”
    “I don’t have time for this,” he says. “We can talk about it later.”
    I walk straight past him to the door. “I’m serious,” I say.
    “So am I,” Blake replies. He keeps the phone to his ear, and I wait for him to put it down. He doesn’t. “Give me five minutes,” he says.
    I’m not giving him a second. I’m not going to be part of a relationship where I’m not a priority. I’m not going to wait around when he won’t even tell me what’s going on. I step out into the stairway, expecting Blake to follow, but he doesn’t.
    Soon, I’m out of the building and walking