Faking Ms. Right (Dirty Martini Running Club #1)(83)

She glanced at Jude, who gestured for her to walk ahead of him. She smiled at me, then left, her giant hulking bodyguard moving with surprising grace behind her.

“Oh my god, Shepherd, what are you doing here?” I hissed at him when they were gone.

“Everly, I’m so sorry.” He covered his mouth, then ran his hand down his chin. “I never did figure out what I was going to say when I got here.”

“How did you know I was here?”

“Nora and Hazel.”

My mouth dropped open. “What?”

“They came to my office yesterday and said you’d gone to Miami for a job interview.”

“Those meddling little vixens. But how did you know I was at this restaurant? They didn’t know where I was meeting Cameron.”

He winced. “That was them, too. Nora, to be specific. She guessed your email password.”

“Damn, I knew I should have changed it.”

“I’m sorry. This is the craziest, most unprofessional thing I’ve ever done. Also, you might want to let Cameron know she can ignore all the messages I left at her office.”

“You called her office too?”

“I was desperate,” he said. “I don’t know what I’m doing. I’ve lost my mind, and I’ve never felt this way before.”

“How did you get here so fast?”

“I called Tom Nguyen at Blue Streak Charters. He says hello, by the way.”

I couldn’t help but smile. Tom was the nicest man. “Aw, I love Tom.”

“Luckily for me, he feels the same about you.”

I glanced into the restaurant, but no one seemed to care that we were out here. “You might as well sit down.”

He took Cameron’s seat and I sat in my chair.

“So, you took the position,” he said.

“I did.”

His eyes were on the table. “That’s… great. I’m glad for you. You’ll be amazing.”

“Shepherd, why are you here?”

He took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling against that crisp white shirt, and his disheveled hair fell across his forehead. “I hoped I’d get the chance to talk to you before you made your decision.”

“Why didn’t you just call me?”

“I know. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything. I didn’t call because I needed to do this in person.”

“Do what?”

He looked up, meeting my eyes. “Tell you that it wasn’t fake. Not for me.”

“What?”

“I love you. I think I’ve loved you since the moment you stepped out of that car in that goddamn red dress. And I’ve fallen a little bit more in love with you every day. I should have told you a hundred times, but I’m an emotionally stunted robot.”

I laughed softly. “No, you’re not.”

“I really am,” he said. “From the very beginning, I was fighting my attraction to you. Do you remember the first night we slept in bed together?”

“Yes.”

“I barely slept because all I could think about was how beautiful you were. How good you smelled. I kept wondering how I’d worked with you for years, but I’d never really seen you. But I know exactly why. I didn’t let myself see you. Not because you worked for me, although that was part of it. But mostly because deep down, I knew if I did, I’d fall for you. And that fucking terrified me.”

He glanced away again and rubbed his jaw. It seemed like he had more to say, so I waited, my heart in my throat.

“I’m sorry I overreacted when I found the contract. I should have listened to you.”

I nodded. “I’m sorry too. I’m sorry you found out the way you did. I never wanted to hurt you.”

He reached across the table and traced the back of my hand with his fingers. “I know you didn’t. Everly, thank you for everything. I asked you to turn your life upside down for me, and you did it. Regardless of whether you thought it might get me to agree to something else, you did it because you care so much about the people in your life. Even me, and I’d never done anything to deserve it. Thank you for your kindness to my dad. For coming into my world and injecting color. Maybe this sounds stupid, but your sunshine warmed my cold soul, and I’ll always be grateful for that.”

“Shepherd, I’m not moving to Miami.”

“What?”

“You sound like you’re trying to say goodbye, but I’m not staying here. I told Cameron I wasn’t sure about relocating. She said the foundation can be headquartered anywhere. We’re opening the office in Seattle.”

He stared at me for a long moment, his mouth slightly open, brow furrowed. Without saying a word, he rose and took my hand, gently pulling me to my feet. He tilted my chin up and looked down at me with those gorgeous blue eyes.

“Everly,” he said, his voice soft and low. “I love you. Please come home.”

My eyes stung with tears and I squeezed them shut. Relief poured through me. He’d said it. It was real. Shepherd Calloway loved me.

“I love you, too.”

And there it was. That smile. The one that showed his perfect teeth and puckered his adorable dimples. The smile he never gave anyone else. The one he saved for me.