Worst Cupid Ever

Miss Me?

"After Jane died, I just..." Raymond shook his head. "My existence became a blur."

Genevieve's brow bunched as she squeezed his hand. That look of concern in her eyes. When was the last time Raymond talked about this without that queasy twist in his guts and that suffocating guilt he could never shake off?

"I became a shut-in; couldn't get myself to focus on projects for years." That he hadn't turned to alcoholism or some other deadly vice still surprised him.

"That's—" Genevieve dropped her gaze "—that must have been hard."

"Yeah, it was." There were days Raymond felt like he was yet to recover. Take the raw terror that consumed him when Genevieve was shot at. The thought of her dying. Nope. He flung the thought out of his mind.

"It wasn't your fault. Believe it or not, Jane was the happiest when she was with you. Thank you for being there for her. I'd always wanted to tell you this, but you were excellent at playing Houdini."

After speaking with Jane's mum at the wedding, Raymond admitted a truth he fiercely ignored all these years. Becoming a stick-in-the-mud, letting his father dictate how he ran his life, resisting his attraction to Genevieve; all that grew from his need to punish himself in some way for Jane's death. Nothing was ever enough. No atonement could cut it, and he would have likely continued the rest of his life on that path if Genevieve hadn't happened to him.

"Genevieve," Raymond swept his thumb across the back of her hand. "I'll be leaving Dominic and Dimes earlier than I thought."

"Huh?" Genevieve blinked at him. "Why? When?"

Raymond hoped from the bottom of his soul this decision wouldn't ruin their relationship. He had been drowning and his father offered a hand to help, now that hand was choking him. "I joined Dominic and Dimes based on a deal with my father. I'd get ownership of some shares if I worked for the company for a year."

"Oh." She frowned and cocked her head. "Is that a bad deal? You've spent what? Three or four months with Dominic and Dimes? And you're crazy good at your job."

"I worked for two months in the background before joining officially. So, six months. You think I'm good at my job?" Raymond winked at her. "Thanks, babe."

Her gaze dropped to their joined hands as a smile lifted the corner of her lips. "Stop flirting and answer my questions."

"You call this flirting?" Raymond wove their fingers as his eyes lingered on her lips.

"Why not see it through?" Genevieve asked, pulling Raymond to their earlier discussion.

He released her hand and relaxed into his seat. "Because I don't have to."

There was no way he'd tell Genevieve she was part of the reason he was quitting. Judging from that conversation with his father and the type of personality the man had, continuing in Dominic and Dimes meant a gradual but inevitable relinquishing of control over his life. And the thought of exposing Genevieve to his father's mean streak. That will never happen.

"I don't get you, Ray." Genevieve pushed around what remained of her chocolate mousse with a spoon, a look of contemplation on her face. Finally, she looked up and met his eyes. "But I trust you got this."

Raymond wasn't prepared for the surge of warmth her affirming words stirred in him. "Thanks."

During his trip, Raymond had contacted his former partner; Mark was more than eager to have him back on the team. Leaving Dominic and Dimes has to be worth it. He had never been more motivated to extricate himself from a person in his life.