Crash into Me (Heart of Stone #1)(65)
Author: K.M. Scott

His sorrow touched my heart, but then all my insecurities blew up inside me. "So you thought you’d just come by and see what the child of the man your father had murdered looked like? Maybe throw some money at her to make yourself feel better."

"Nina, I swear I didn’t mean any harm. It’s all I had to give and I thought if I could help you, then maybe some part of your life could be better."

I pushed him away in disgust and leaped up off the bed. "So that first night you didn’t like me or want to spend time with me? You just wanted to take me for a ride in your expensive car and foist some cash on me to ease your conscience?"

He sat hunched over on the floor with his back against the bed. In a quiet voice, he admitted what I already knew. "It wasn’t like that. I didn’t set out to look for anything romantic. I swear. But then I talked to you as we drove up here and you were unlike anyone I’d ever met."

"So that’s what this whole art curator charade has been about? That’s why you’ve been dumping money into my account all these months? To make you feel better?"

Shaking his head, he said, "No. Money’s all I ever had to give anyone, so it’s what I fall back on. All I wanted was for you to happy."

My heart hurt hearing all of this, but I needed to know everything. "Why did you make up that whole contract thing if you didn’t care for me then? Why make me stay here if you didn’t even like me?"

He quickly stood and moved toward me, his eyes filled with pain. "That’s not true. I did like you and I fell in love with you. I love you, Nina. I’d never do anything to hurt you intentionally. Please believe me."

"But why, Tristan? Why bring me here?"

Letting out a deep sigh, he said, "When my father died, there were still people in the company who had been part of what happened. I realized right after meeting you that they think you have information your father left you that can implicate them. I couldn’t stop them from killing your father, Nina, but I could stop them from hurting you. So I came up with the contract and made it a requirement that you live here so I could always watch out for you, either myself or Jenson and Rogers. I figured if I had six months, I could find a way to make sure they knew you had nothing on them."

"And you figured I’d just jump at the chance to live in this great house with you?" I snapped. "Poor, pathetic girl who loved art. It couldn’t be hard to convince her to live in a place like this with someone like you, right?"

He cupped his hands against my cheeks. "It wasn’t like that. Please listen to me."

"Your father killed my father and you’ve known every moment you’ve been with me. How can I believe anything you say to me?"

"Nina, I’m begging you. Listen to me. It wasn’t like that. I fell in love with you like you fell in love with me." Tristan’s dark eyes pleaded with me as he tried to make me believe him. "This doesn’t change anything. I love you. Please tell me you love me."

That was the problem. I did love him. I adored him. If I didn’t, then everything he’d just said wouldn’t have hurt so much. My heart felt like he was tearing it out of my chest, and the only one who could make me feel better had done the damage.

"Tell me this wasn’t some charity thing, Tristan. Tell me that even though I wasn’t of your level that you didn’t see me like that."

"Never. I never thought of how much money you had or didn’t have. It didn’t matter."

"Spoken like someone who’s always had money. And the test at your penthouse? Why?"

"I can’t help who I am, Nina. The doctors say it’s probably because of the accident, but I don’t trust easily anymore."

"Then why did you return the next night if I obviously hadn’t passed your test?" I asked, afraid to hear his answer.

Quietly, he said, "I found out you were in danger. I couldn’t let them hurt you like they’d done to your father."

"Did you even like me, Tristan? We slept together that night," I sobbed, the pain of this whole thing settling into my mind.

He leaned down to kiss me, but I turned away.

"I did like you from the moment I began talking to you that night after the art show. You weren’t like anyone I’d ever met. I wanted to try to be someone you would want."

"And what about all the possessive stuff? The feeding me. The bringing that couple here for me to paint for you. All that business about you not wanting other men to see me like you do? Was that all because of some faceless people wanting to hurt me?"

He shook his head slowly. "No. I’ve always been that way. I won’t apologize for that, Nina. You’re the woman I love, so it’s my responsibility to take care of you. It’s who I am."

I looked down at the gorgeous diamond ring on my left hand and then back up at him. "When did you love me, Tristan? When did you stop seeing me as someone you could help or protect and really fall in love with me?"

I let him kiss me tenderly, and he pressed his forehead to mine. "Don’t do this to us. I love you. You’re everything to me, Nina. Don’t do this."

I heard all his words but could only focus on the ones he didn’t say. I didn’t want to be someone’s charity case, even one for someone I loved more than I’d ever thought I could love a man.

Pulling away, I backed up toward the door. "You’ve lied to me from the moment I met you. How can I believe what you’re saying now? How do I know the last six months haven’t been about making you feel less guilty for the awful thing your father did to my family?"

In a voice that almost tore me apart, he pleaded, "Nina, don’t leave me. I can’t lose you."

I couldn’t answer him. I needed to get away from all the words he was saying and all the emotions he was causing in me. I heard him call my name as I ran through the house to the garage, unsure of where I was going but knowing that I needed to go.

Four cars sat parked in the garage, but the only choice was the BMW because I didn’t know how to drive a stick shift. I’d noticed Tristan kept the keys in the cubby under the dash once and as I climbed into the car, I saw he hadn’t changed his habit, thankfully.

I hurriedly started the car, turned the heat up high, and drove away as fast as I could, shivering in the late fall weather in just my shorts and t-shirt. My mind was racing faster than the car was tearing down the deserted dark road that led away from the house. Everything I’d thought I’d found in Tristan had been a lie. I’d let myself believe that a man like him would want to be with someone like me just for being me.

What a fool I’d been!

I looked over at the passenger seat and rummaged through my bag for my cell phone. A swipe of my finger across the screen showed me I still had no service. Tossing the phone back onto the seat, I pressed my foot on the gas, taking the car to sixty and then past seventy.