52. I already said yes

We drove home from the dinner in painful silence.

Josh hadn’t said a word to me since my tiff with his father. Was I in trouble for this bullshit? Would he leave me because I showed no respect to his father—his idol?

The day was starting to wear on me.

Easing into his garage, he parked, pulled up the handbrake, and turned to look at me. Expression was unrevealing.

I braced myself for the imminent explosion. Strange that hours ago I'd stared down the one man he, Josh, was afraid of, yet I was intimidated by the son.

Saying nothing, he just watched me, inexpressive.

My eyes dropped to my fingers restlessly fiddling with the edges of my purse.

"Look at me, Dalia," he said. "You just stared down one of the most domineering men I've ever known. A man who has intimidated some of the world’s most powerful

businessmen to capitulate to his demands. And you can’t look at me?" I didn't look up at him when I quietly asked, "Are you mad at me?" Silence.

When I risked a peek up at him, the apathy r