A Deal With De Niro

Chapter 10

Shannon pulled away quickly, her heart racing. She wasn't expecting anyone. Who could it be? She walked to the door and looked through the peephole, then felt her stomach drop.

It was Marcus.

"Who is it?" Blaine asked, standing up and walking over to her.

Shannon opened the door slowly, trying to keep her expression neutral. Marcus was standing there holding a bouquet of yellow roses, the ones she'd told him once were her second favorite.

"Shannon," he said, his voice soft and sad. "I'm sorry. I know I said I wouldn't come, but I had to see you. I just... I miss you so much."

His eyes landed on Blaine, who was standing right behind her, his hand resting lightly on her shoulder. Marcus's face hardened, and he took a step forward.

"Who is this?" he asked, his voice sharp now.

"This is Blaine," Shannon said quickly, moving to stand between them. "Blaine, this is Marcus."

Blaine extended his hand, his expression cool and professional. "Nice to meet you, Marcus. I've heard a lot about you."

Marcus didn't shake his hand. Instead, he looked at Shannon, his eyes full of pain. "So it's true. You're really marrying him. I thought... I thought maybe you were lying, maybe there was another way."

"There isn't," Shannon said quietly. "You know why I have to do this, Marcus. My family. Our company, they need me."

"So your family is more important than us?" he asked, his voice breaking a little. "Than me? Than everything we had?"

"It's not like that," she said, reaching out to touch his arm. He pulled away from her, and she felt a sharp pain in her chest, the same pain she'd felt when she'd broken up with him.

"Isn't it?" he said, looking from her to Blaine and back again. "You're marrying a man you just met, a man who's known for breaking hearts, and you're telling me it's not about choosing them over me?"

Blaine stepped forward, his hand still on Shannon's shoulder. "That's enough, Marcus. She's made her choice, and it's not fair to come here and make her feel bad about it. She's doing what she thinks is right. You should respect that."

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" Marcus shot back, his face red with anger. "You don't know anything about us, about what we had."

"Maybe not," Blaine said calmly. "But I know that she's hurting enough as it is, and you coming here like this isn't helping anyone. Why don't you leave? We can talk about this another time when everyone's calmer."

Marcus looked at Shannon one more time, his eyes full of tears. "I love you, Shannon. I always will. Even when you're married to him, even when you forget about me, I'll still love you."

Then he turned and walked away, slamming the door behind him.

Shannon stood there for a long moment, her hands shaking, tears streaming down her face. She'd known ending things with Marcus would be hard, but seeing him like this, so hurt, so angry, was almost more than she could bear.

Blaine put his arms around her, pulling her close to his chest. She leaned into him, sobbing against his shirt, letting him hold her while she cried out all the pain and guilt she'd been holding in.

"It's okay," he whispered, stroking her hair gently. "Let it out. I've got you."

They stood like that for a long time, until her sobs slowed down and she was just quiet against him. Blaine led her to the couch, sitting down with her and holding her close.

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice muffled against his chest. "I didn't think he'd come here. I thought he'd moved on."

"He's in love with you," Blaine said quietly. "You don't just move on from that. Trust me, I know."

Shannon pulled back to look at him, her eyes red and puffy. "Do you?"

He nodded, a sad look in his amber eyes. "There was someone once - when I was in college. Her name was Andrea. We were together for two years, thought we'd get married someday. But then my father's affair came out, and I broke up with her. I told her I couldn't give her what she wanted. A real family, real love. I was too scared of ending up like my parents."

"What happened to her?"

"She married someone else a year later," he said, looking away from her. "She has two kids now, lives in Rome. I saw a photo of her on social media a few months ago. She looks happy. I'm glad she found someone who could give her what she deserved."

Shannon reached out and touched his face, her fingers resting lightly on his cheek. "You could give someone that, Blaine. You're not your father. You're kind, and caring, and you know how to make people feel safe."

He turned to look at her, his eyes full of emotion. "Do I?"

"Yes," she said firmly, leaning forward and kissing him gently on the cheek. "You do. I know you think love is dangerous, but it's also beautiful. It's worth the risk."

Blaine looked at her for a long moment, his eyes moving from her eyes to her lips and back again. Then he leaned forward and kissed her. A soft, gentle kiss that made her heart race and her skin tingle.

It was over before she knew it, and he pulled back slightly, looking at her with a mixture of surprise and something else - something warm and hopeful.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I shouldn't have done that - you're still hurting from Marcus, and we have a contract, and -"

"It's okay," she said, cutting him off. She leaned forward and kissed him again, this time more confidently. He kissed her back, his arms wrapping around her and pulling her closer, his lips soft against hers.

When they finally pulled apart, they were both breathing heavily, looking at each other like they couldn't believe what had just happened.

"What does this mean?" Blaine asked quietly.

Shannon thought for a moment, then smiled. "I don't know. But I want to find out. Together."

Just then, her phone rang - her father's ringtone. She sighed, pulling away from Blaine and picking it up.

"Hello, Dad?"

"Shannon, princess," her father said, his voice serious. "I need you to come to the mansion tomorrow morning. Blaine should come too. We have something important to discuss - about the merger, and the wedding."

Shannon looked at Blaine, who was watching her closely. "Okay, dad. We'll be there."

She hung up the phone and looked at him, her expression worried. "Something's wrong. I can tell by his voice."

Blaine nodded, taking her hand and squeezing it gently. "Whatever it is, we'll face it together. That's what partners do - right?"

Shannon smiled, feeling a sense of hope she hadn't felt in a long time. "Right. Together."

They sat there in silence for a while, holding hands and looking at each other, knowing that everything was about to change - and that for the first time in their lives, they weren't afraid of what came next.