Chapter 27
Devon
To protect me? What in the hell is she talking about?
“What are you saying? Protect me from what? Spending the rest of my life with the woman I love? Having a family?” I ran a hand through my hair in frustration. The woman wasn’t making sense. “What is going on, Abby? Why did you leave?”
“Oh god…” She backed away from me and sat on the edge of the large free-standing claw tub.
Not sure what to do but feeling the need to comfort her, I sat next to her and slipped my arm around her shoulders. “What is going on? I thought we were good together.”
“Amy. I left because of Amy.”
“I don’t follow.”
“She came by your place the day I left with a copy of the contract we’d signed. She said if I didn’t leave that night, she’d give it to the press. That once it became public, you’d lose control of your company.” She leaned over and grabbed a tissue from the box sitting on a brass stand by the end of the tub and blew her nose.
Her nose honked loudly, making me chuckle. She looked up at me, though teary eyes, and the grin left my lips as what she’d just said began to process in my head.
“She said that she’d just resigned,” Abby continued, “and that she had nothing to lose. She said I couldn’t tell you, I had to just leave and never speak to you again.”
That fucking bitch! Clenching my jaw, I worked to keep my anger in check. It wasn’t Abigail’s fault, even though her thought process was seriously misguided. She did what she thought was right. It was indeed a really fucking bad call, but she had done what she’d thought was best for everyone.
Turning on the edge of the tub, I took her shoulders in my hands and urged her to face me as she sniffed. There was a little shine under her nose, so I leaned forward, grabbed a tissue and gave her nose a little wipe.
She laughed and moved away, giving my hand a bat. “I’m fine. Stop.”
Crumbling up the tissue, I chucked it in the brass waste can, sitting just behind her.
“If you’d told me, we could have worked through that together.”
She lowered her gaze, starting at some random spot on the floor between out feet. I refused to allow her to not look at me, grasping her chin in my hand and forcing her eyes to line up with mine.
“Talk to me. God knows, we have a fair amount to go over.”
“I was scared. Carrie confirmed that it would be possible, and I couldn’t let you lose the thing you care about more than anything else.”
“I did, when I lost you and Isabella.”
She huffed and rolled her eyes, but a hint of a smile began to form on her lips. “I think you’re overstating a bit.”
“I’m not. I may love my company, but I’m in love with you. After our last night together, I thought we’d gotten to the point where we could talk about anything.”
“We had. I thought it was for the best. And I was scared.”
“Of what?”
“Of being hurt.”
“Fuck, Abigail,” I growled. “Why would it be so damned hard to believe that I was in love with you.”
“You’d never said it.”
“Neither did you, but I still knew it!”
She bowed her head, not speaking.
Shit.
Okay, I needed to get my temper under control. This whole thing was beyond frustrating and a tad overwhelming.
“Abigail. Let’s just simplify this a tad.”
She looked up and stared at me with teary eyes. “Okay.”
“You should have come to me. Had you come to me, you would have known that all my lawyers sign a non-disclosure agreement and are legally obligated to keep all contracts, even the iffy ones to themselves. She would never risk a lawsuit. She was just hoping you’d buy her threat – which you did.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“I am too.” Leaning towards her, I took a chance and brushed my lips across hers. Her body tensed, but the tension lasted only a fraction of a second before she responded, inviting me to deepen the kiss.
~*~ TT ~*~
Abigail
Even though I’d been staying in this beautiful resort, enjoying amazing scenery and trying to distract myself with activity after activity, I’d felt empty. I’d kept thinking about Devon and what he was going and what he may have been thinking. I’d seen the calls and messages coming and it killed me a little more each time a new one came in.
I hadn’t received a message or call from him in several days. A part of me had been relieved, thinking he’d given up, while another part of me wept over the fact he had. But how long did I expect him to keep trying? Though I should have known that he wouldn’t give up that easily.
As I sat there, basking in the feel of his lips on mine, I was grateful that he’d come for me. I should have known better then to leave. I’d put so much unnecessary stress on everyone, it would take a long time before I stopped kicking myself over the hasty decision.
When the kiss ended, I sat up straight, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand. “So, what now?”
He smiled as he ran the back of his hand down my cheek, lightly grazing it. The simple gesture made me gasp and I returned his smile. I felt so good to be with him again.
“What now is that I’m going to book a flight for Nina and bring her here, and then we’re taking Isabella boating.”
I frowned. “Don’t you have work to do?”
“I can work anywhere, and considering I’ve been running around like a madman trying to get you off my mind the past month, I need a break. And what better place to have that break then in Bermuda?”
Laughing, I nodded. “I’ve done about everything on the island. I can show you all the best places.”
“I bet you can.” His mood turned grave suddenly. “I do need to talk to you about something.”
My mood immediately sunk. I should have known that it wouldn’t be this easy and that women like me didn’t just get fairy tale endings. “What’s that?”
“I want you to keep the baby.”
The tension within me deflated and I smiled. I may have just found out I was pregnant, but there was no question in my mind that I was keeping it, with or without Devon. “I wouldn’t consider anything else, Devon.”
Leaning forward, he pressed his forehead against mine, as he pulled me into his arms. “Good… Good. I have another question for you.” He pulled away again, his expression had turned unreadable.
“What’s that?”
“Will you and Isabella come to live with me, permanently?”
My smile widened. “Like a big, happy family.”
A smile broke out his stern façade. “Exactly, like one big, happy family. I didn’t fly all the way here to give you some lukewarm offer. I didn’t expect the baby news, but that’s just all the more reason for you and Isabella to move in with me.”
I hesitated. “I want to make sure that - ”
“You’re exhausting, do you realize that?”
“I don’t mean to be…”
“I love you, you crazy woman. I flew here because I love you and don’t want to go another day without you with me. Is that clear enough for you.”
Laughing, I nodded, throwing my arms around his neck and holding tight to him. “It’s clear.”
“I think this is the part where you tell me you love me back.”
My heart soared. Looking into his eyes, I had a million things I wanted to say to him, but those could all wait until later. There were only three words that mattered right now and they were something I should have said to him a month ago instead of running away. “I love you too. Always and forever, I love you too.”