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She took one look at the elancing up at him

Steeling hiht, play up that she wouldn’t be giving up her independence or her drea a two instead of a three-letter answer

“I know this isn’t exactly the way either of us expected things to work out, but I think it’s for the best,” he said, his heart in his throat “I spent a lot of ti—about you, about ether You were aapore deal and you would have so much more opportunities to travel as part of Carlyle Enterprises So even if there’s not a baby, I think we should ood team”

A charged silence stretched between them as the Town Car pulled up to the curb in front of the hotel The prickly cactus that settled in his stoainst his sto

Finally, she turned toward hiood teammate?”

Okay, that wasn’t exactly the response he was expecting He opened his mouth to fix whatever it was that he’d fucked up but Linus picked that moment to open the door

Knowing tis, he took her hand and slipped on the engagerand this but… just think about it”

Clover stared at the ring as she tugged her bottom lip between her teeth but kept the rest of her body completely still Then, after a ht enough to square her jaw, and let out a shaky breath When she opened her eyes again, he couldn’t limmer of wetness in them or the bittersweet acceptance

“We’d better get inside,” she said before taking Linus’s outstretched hand to exit the limo

Sawyer got out after her and slid his hand across the sh hihtest feel of her, but he couldn’t shake the itching suspicion that he’dhis ring, he hadn’t yet sealed the deal

…

The ring felt weird on Clover’s hand—heavy, pokey, aard—but zeroing in on that gave her so to focus on besides the stone-cold realization that she couldn’t do this any longer Baby or no baby, tonight was it She just wished she had it in her to at least enjoy the last few hours with him Even if he didn’t love her, she could still have one last fantasy night pretending that he wanted her for more than a teammate

Teammate

“Quelle nation rising up through the hurt and disappointment

She grabbed the anger with both hands and held tight, relishing having so crystal clear to understand after days of ee proposals went, Sawyer’s second was even worse than his first Did he want her to be his wife or an eh That’s how she fit into the big-picture plan he had of his life It wasn’t about her—or the maybe baby—at all Yet here she ith his hand at the small of her back and a sh the crowded ballroom at the Bayview Hotel to the table where Helene Carlyle was holding court