“Why not?” he asked, his voice coated in steel.
Nerves ricocheted through me, but I had to tell him the truth. I’d always been honest with him and I wasn’t about to change that now. Even if I had avoided him partially for weeks because of the answer to this very question.
“The shop’s in trouble. I took out some loans a couple of years ago and the interest is eating my repayments alive. That man who was there when you got there the other day, do you remember?”
“Bad suit and nervous demeanor?” he asked, eyes still laser focused on mine.
I nodded. “That’s the one. He was from the bank. They’re pushing my interest rate up. I can’t leave the shop right now and I can’t afford to get someone in to look after it. I need to be there to make every dollar I can until the bank eventually decides even that’s not good enough.”
The kitchen went so quiet, I’d have been able to hear a pin drop if I’d had one around to test the hypothesis out with.
Cyrus seemed to have frozen in place, and when he finally moved, it was only to fold his thick arms across his chest and lower his chin. If I’d thought he looked less intimidating and scary without the suit when he had that expression on his face, I’d been wrong. So very, very wrong.
Not that I was scared of him. I knew he’d never do anything to hurt me, but he was certainly all alpha businessman again. Bye pretty surfer dude.
“That’s what you’ve been so busy with?” he demanded in a low tone. “That’s what’s been keeping you out of my bed at night? Money problems?”
His jaw was clenched so tightly now, I was worried he was going to crack a few teeth, but I nodded anyway. “Yes. I’ve been trying to figure out strategies to make more money.”
“You know what I do for a living, right? I. Invest. In. Other. Businesses,” he gritted the words out. “Why didn’t you come to me? If not for money, then for help with strategizing?”
“Because it’s not your problem, Cyrus.” My voice was soft but earnest. “Both of us were very clear about what we wanted out of this and you helping me save my business wasn’t part of the deal.”
Cyrus cocked his head, his voice dangerously low. “What about a new deal?”
“What new deal?” I asked warily, not sure if I could live with an amendment of the terms at this stage without throwing the entire fudging agreement in the trash.
“This can be a solution for both our problems. I’ll pay off your debt, every last cent of it, and you will come to Italy and pretend to be my spouse. You will be compensated for doing so. It’d be a business transaction, so think carefully.”
I blinked rapidly, all at once shocked and appalled and awed at how fast his mind worked. What he was offering me felt like a lifeline. Heck, it was a lifeline.
If I took his deal, I got to keep my shop. It was as simple as that.
But at what cost? Going to a different country and pretending to be married to him? Wasn’t that exactly like that movie where the prostitute pretended to be dating the millionaire and ended up falling in love with him?
Only in this scenario, I would be the prostitute. I couldn’t afford to say no, but I also couldn’t afford to take the chance and risk falling in love with Cyrus.
Is there any cost that’s too high for saving your shop? A voice whispered in the back of my mind and I let out a heavy sigh because I knew it was right.
Broken hearts could be mended. Failed shops with heaps of outstanding debts couldn’t be reopened. With my shoulders slumping, I lifted my eyes to his and nodded. “Okay, you’ve got yourself a new deal. I’ll come with you.”
Chapter 28
Cyrus
Loud rock music flowed from the speakers in the bar where I was meeting up with Peter. The Wednesday afternoon after-work crowd sipped on drinks, ties loosened and heels having been traded out for flats.
Peter was already waiting when I got there, a pitcher of beer and a bucket of wings on the table in front of him. He licked barbecue sauce off his fingers before wiping his hand with a towelette, then picked up the beer and poured a glass for me.
“Hey, bro, what’s up?” he greeted when I slid into the booth across from him. “Where are you off to this time? Your text only said you’re going out of town again.”
“Yeah, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I’m going to that annual entrepreneurship thing. It’s being held in Venice this year.”
He nodded slowly. “Italy, huh? You’re one lucky son of a bitch. Any chance you want some company?”
“Jenny would kick your ass if you took time off to come with me when you should be saving your vacation days for the honeymoon.”
“True.” He grinned. “But come on, dude. It’s Italy. If we take Jenny with us, it could be an early honeymoon.”
I knew he was only joking, but I took a sip of my beer and wondered if I could somehow convince him to come anyway. “We’d have a great time. That’s for sure. Luna’s coming with me and I know she’d love to have some company around when I have to go do the schmoozing.”
His green eyes grew wide. “Luna’s going with you?”
“Yeah. I invited her a couple of weeks ago, but she didn’t give me an answer until yesterday.”
“I’m surprised she took you up on the invitation.” He lifted his glass but didn’t take a sip from it. Brow furrowed, he looked at me like he was trying to solve some kind of puzzle. “I didn’t think she’d be the type to go jet-setting to an exotic location with someone she hadn’t known all that long.”
“She wasn’t exactly agreeable at first.” Understatement of the fucking century. “It took some convincing, but eventually, she said yes.”
“I can see why you’d want to take her. We really enjoyed having her over for dinner the other night. She’s a great girl. Good sense of humor, fun, gorgeous. I bet you two are going to have a ball of a time in Italy.”
“Yeah, I’m not so sure about that.” I rubbed my palms over the stubble on my jaw. “Samantha and her husband are going to be there.”
Peter’s expression fell, his shoulders coming up and his eyes narrowing. “What?”
“You heard me. It’s an entrepreneurship conference and Landon is one of the big boys, remember? He may not have made as much money as I did when he sold his first company, but he did make bank, and he loves talking about it. They gave him a slot as a speaker this year.”
His lips curled in disgust. “Asshole. You really think Sam will go with him?”
“It’s not his fault she set her sights on him, but yeah, he is an asshole. As for Sam, I’m willing to bet she’s going to be there. I don’t think she’d miss the chance to go gallivanting in Venice and prancing around at the social events with that giant fucking rock on her finger.”
“Unfortunately, I think you’re right. It’s somewhere she can be seen and she lives for that shit.” He shook his head. “I still can’t believe she turned out like that. I really didn’t see it coming.”
“I didn’t, either. Obviously.” At the time, she’d had me wrapped around her little finger. She fed me so many lies and so much bullshit and I’d lapped it all up like an obedient fucking puppy. “At least she’s not my problem anymore. Dodged a bullet when she left me, if you really think about it.”