Chapter 23

Nash

I was in the backseat of my car, staring out at the passing city. It was only several minutes later that I realized I had a stupid smile on my face. My biggest fantasy had come true. I had managed to be with the woman I was crazy about, and not ruined it. I had stayed away from Bonnie for so long, all those years, because I was afraid of what would happen if we got together. Because I was so sure that she detested me, my world. But she was perfect. I should have trusted my instincts a long time ago. Bonnie Calhoun was always the one for me.

With thoughts of her still in my mind, I extracted my phone out of my pocket and tried switching it on. It was dead.

“Dammit,” I said, not too harshly, because nothing could really get me down today. I was in a great mood. I was just annoyed that I might have missed a call from her, or not seen a naughty text that she sent. I had a few things that I could already think of saying. For instance, that I wanted to slam into her, fuck her brains out tonight. I was smiling again as I plugged my phone into the charger next to me.

“Jonathan,” I said aloud, pressing the buzzer on the car’s intercom.

My chauffeur looked up in the rearview mirror, meeting my eye. “Yes, sir,” he said.

“Can we make a quick pit stop at the Calhoun Codes site?” I said and switched the intercom off. I was sure she would be there, and I was getting the feeling that I wouldn’t be able to get through the day without seeing her again. She had left my home only a few hours ago for her own apartment. But we’d already been apart too long.

I had wanted to tell her that she should bring some clothes over the next time, so that we could get ready for work together. Give this normal-life thing a shot. But something made me stop. Was I rushing it? We’d only been together for a few days. We were meeting after five years. I was afraid in that moment that I might end up pushing her away with my enthusiasm. She struck me as the kind of person who liked to technically assess everything, chart out reports in her head.

I was smiling again. I didn’t care anymore. I wasn’t concerned about what she might think if I asked her to move in with me. I wasn’t going to waste time. We had already wasted eight long years apart.

“We’re here, sir,” Jonathan said through the intercom.

I hadn’t actually been to her office before, and I stepped out of my car in a rush. I was feeling those school boy feelings of seeing my crush again. I was nervous and giddy from excitement as I stepped out into the scorching summer sun. Buttoning up my suit jacket, I walked toward the office building.

A yellow bulldozer and a crane caught my eye, a wrecking ball was angled at the building. And as I began to run toward them, I noticed Bonnie clinging to the front wall of the building, her arms spread out on either side. She was screaming at the guy operating the wrecking ball, her face red, shaking with rage.

What the actual fuck!

“Bonnie?” I called out, and everyone who was gathered there turned to look at me. She did, too. And I immediately saw the look of betrayal in her eyes. She was blaming me for this.

“Stay away from me, Nash!” she screamed as I drew closer, slowing my pace.

“What are you doing?” I asked, stretching out my arms at her. As upset as I was, I was also struck by her raw sensual beauty. In the harsh sunlight, her golden hair shone, her blue eyes looked nearly translucent, barely even blue. She was standing with her legs spread apart, her arms clinging to the wall. She was shaking her head vigorously.

“I’m not going to let this happen. You promised this wouldn’t happen. You’re a liar!” she yelled.

“This isn’t going to happen. I promise it isn’t. Guys!” I whipped around to the men in the machines. “I’m Nash Preston, CEO of Preston and Son, and I’m ordering you to stop,” I said with my teeth gritted. The heat was getting to me, seeing Bonnie like that was getting to me. Just when I thought life couldn’t get any better, something like this had to happen and ruin it all.

“But we got the authorization from your office,” one of the men leaned out of his seat to say.

“Stop, now. I was paying you to do this, and I’m not paying you anymore,” I replied, my shoulders heaving, I was breathing fast. I turned to look at Bonnie, who was still splayed on the wall. With a few quick steps, I was in front of her, and she looked up to meet my eye. Nobody had ever looked more beautiful.

“Bonnie, you can relax now,” I said, placing my hands on her shoulders. Her nostrils were still flared, her cheeks were a deep crimson and her eyes were bloodshot. Call me crazy, but she looked sexy as hell.

“I’m not going to relax until you tell me what you did. Why you did this,” she said, narrowing her eyes at me.

“I didn’t do anything—” I began to say, but she interrupted me.

“You think you can get me to stand down so you can demolish it a few hours later? I’ll camp out here if I need to. All night,” she continued, and I smiled at her, shaking my head.