Lay it out logically. Men understand logic. “My job’s over. I finally have a little money in the bank. I even have another place to stay.”

“You already have a place to stay.”

“A better place. Amber’s leaving in a couple of days for a tour with her choral group, and she isn’t coming back to the Lyric until December, so I’m going to stay at her place.” She hadn’t talked to Amber. Hadn’t even thought about staying there until this very minute.

His frown deepened. “Completely unnecessary.”

“I’ve done what you hired me to do.”

“Which doesn’t have anything to do with the two of us.”

She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Sure it does. The job’s over, and so are we.”

His hand curled into a fist on the table. “What are you talking about? We’re both having a good time. Great sex. You’re the woman I want to be with.”

“The woman you want to be with right now.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

Another piece of her heart crumbled. “For you, nothing. But there’s a lot wrong with it for me.” She could only nudge at the corners of the truth. “I can’t keep hanging around all your razzle-dazzle. That’s not my world. I’m a homegrown Chicago girl. You’re... the stars.” She managed a creaky smile. “‘Star light, star bright,’ and all that.”

“That doesn’t half make sense.” His hand opened. Pointed. “You’ve told me how you see things, so I know you’re not looking for an engagement ring.”

The way he said it was a knife through her heart. She wasn’t a romantic. She wasn’t. She didn’t want rings and bridal veils. That wasn’t her. But his casual dismissal of any kind of future made her throat close up.

She had to be tough. That’s who she was, and that’s what he expected. She pulled in a thread of air. “A woman’s never dumped you, has she?”

“We’re not talking about dumping.”

“In other words, no. You’re the one who does the dumping. You don’t know how to deal with any other scenario. Don’t you see? This isn’t about me or about our relationship. It’s about your need to win.” It was the truth and maybe he knew it, too, because he grew hostile.

“I don’t need you psychoanalyzing me.”

“It’s for your own good, and, yes, I really am breaking up with you.”

His lips thinned. “You’re a quitter, Piper Dove. I never thought I’d say that about you, but you’re running away from the two of us like a scared teenager.”