The Devil of Downtown (Uptown Girls, #3)

by Joanna Shupe

“Justine, I’ve never met anyone like you. There’s never been another woman in my life, not in this way. Not someone I cared for and trusted as I do you. Who knows what would have happened after my injury if you hadn’t looked after me? This isn’t all one-sided. I feel just as off-balance and unsure of myself around you. But, I don’t want to give you up. Please, cara, do not leave me.” She sucked in a ragged breath and he could see the moisture gathering in her eyes. “I don’t wish to make you cry,” he whispered and dragged his knuckles over the tender skin covering her jaw. “Je ne peux pas vivre sans toi.” Sniffing, she put a hand to her mouth. “Do not say that.” “It’s true. I cannot live without you.” A fat tear rolled down her cheek, the effect like a punch to his stomach. “You are killing me. Say you’ll stay.” Silence stretched. He couldn’t read her expression and his anxiety mounted. Noise from the club below echoed, the familiar sounds of his life usually reassuring. Now they only served to accentuate the quiet in this room, the momentous decision being made outside of his control. After what seemed like a decade, she shifted to cup his cheek in her palm. “I cannot. This is not my world—it’s yours. And I do not like who I am becoming by remaining in it. Thank you for everything you’ve done, for every minute we have spent together. I’ll never forget you.”