Chapter Twenty-Nine

Amber

I had to go to work today. I had holed up at home for three long days. Courtney had come by yesterday to make sure I was alive. I was definitely alive, but I felt I had been dropped in some kind of strange hell. How could I want something so bad, get it, and then hate it? Courtney had assured me everything would work out, but I needed to decide where my heart lied.

“How are you feeling?” Misty asked me as I walked down the hall.

“I’m feeling much better. Thank you.”

She leaned in close. “Are you pregnant?”

“No!” I said with more force than I should have.

I couldn’t even let myself think of that nightmare. I was on the pill, but I knew there was always a chance of accidental pregnancy. I prayed fate wouldn’t do that to me. I didn’t think I could handle that.

She laughed. “I was just asking. It isn’t like you to be sick.”

“I’m fine. I think it was something I ate. I’m fully recovered.”

“Good. The boss has been in a much better mood,” she said with a smile.

I nodded. “Good to hear. I’ll see you later,” I said and made my way to my desk.

I took a couple deep breaths and focused on the mountain of work on my desk. It was going to take me days to get caught up. Staring at it wasn’t going to make it go away. I dug in, thankful for the distraction from my personal problems.

“Hey.” William’s voice startled me.

I looked up and smiled. “Hi. You scared me.”

“You were very focused. I thought you heard me. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s okay. How are you?” I asked.

“Good. Great, actually. Have lunch with me today?” he asked.

I hesitated. “Yes. Sure.”

He smiled, and his eyes lit up. “Great. I’ll be ready to go in about two hours.”

The man was prompt. He showed up exactly two hours later.

“Let’s go,” I said.

His driver took us to an upscale restaurant. He had called ahead and made reservations, which meant we were immediately shown to our table. On our way through the restaurant, I noticed he didn’t touch me or stand too close. Harry had a habit of keeping his hand on me whenever we were together. It was something minor that meant very little in the moment, but I realized now how special it had been.

“I need to tell you something,” I said.

“Oh? What’s that?”

“I broke it off with Harry.”

He smiled. “Good.”

“You were right. It wasn’t real.”

He chuckled. “I knew it. I’m glad.”

I shrugged. “It was silly.”

“Why did you do it? Was it his idea or yours?”

I shrugged. “His.”

“I knew it.”

“You couldn’t have,” I said, laughing. “You suspected, but you couldn’t have known.”

“I know my brother is not the type to propose marriage, and I know you love me. So, how did he get you to go along with the whole thing?”

I sighed. “That’s a long story. Basically, your dad told him if he didn’t settle down and get married by the time he was thirty, he would be cut off. He asked me to pretend to be his fiancée long enough to get your dad off his back.”

William was shaking his head. “I’m not surprised. Harry is always trying to find a way to stay rich while doing absolutely nothing to deserve it.”

“I don’t know if that’s true. I mean, has he ever been asked to work in the family business?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. He’s never shown any interest, and I don’t really need his help. Why do you care?”

“I don’t think he’s as bad as you have made him out to be. You painted a very unflattering picture of the man. I think a lot of what’s been written about him is a lot of silly gossip.”

“He’s my brother. Trust me, I know him a little better than you do. Harry is exactly what they write about.”

I nodded, dropping the topic. I wasn’t going to get into the family dynamics or dig into the problems between the brothers. I was in deep enough trouble with the family as it was. I certainly didn’t need to meddle in their private affairs. William was right. I didn’t know Harry like they did, but the Harry I did know was nothing like what I had heard.

“Now that you’re no longer engaged to Harry, we can be together,” he said with a smile.

I cringed. “William, I don’t know. I think we need to take things very slowly.”

He looked confused. “Why? Haven’t we waited long enough?”

“We haven’t waited at all. We only started, uh, seeing each other a couple months ago, and you have only been unengaged for a few days. And no one even knows I’m not engaged anymore. Harry wanted to wait a few days before he told your parents,” I explained.

“My parents will get over it. I don’t want to wait. I want us to be happy,” he said. “We can tell people. I want people to understand why I couldn’t marry her.”

“I don’t want anyone at work to know. Not yet anyway.”

“Why not? I’m not exactly chopped liver. There are plenty of women who would love to be in your shoes. I’m William Martin,” he said smugly.

I took a deep breath. Arrogance was not an attractive quality. Well, it was attractive in Harry, but that was an entirely different situation.

“I’m going to look like a complete slut,” I hissed. “The gossip is going to completely ruin my reputation. No one will respect me.”

His brows popped up. “Excuse me? Why would anyone think you were a slut?”

I wanted to shake him. How could he not understand how jumping into his bed would not look the best?

“What are people going to think of me? I’m engaged to your brother one week and then jumping into a relationship with you the next. That is going to make me look really bad. No one knows about us and that we were together before. They’ll assume I chased after you while we were both engaged to other people,” I said slowly.

“If anyone says something that offends you, tell me. I’ll fire them,” he said easily.

I guffawed. “That isn’t necessary. I don’t want you going around firing people.”

“I don’t want them talking poorly about you. I won’t allow that. It is none of their business.”

“William, I need some time to think all this over,” I said, hoping he would understand.

“Think about what? You said you ended the engagement. There’s nothing more to think about.”

I sighed. “It isn’t that easy.”

“Actually, it is. We’ll go out on a date or if you want. We can keep it quiet. Whatever you want. I’m ready to do this.”

I shook my head. “I don’t know what I want to do. I need time to sort some things out, please.”

There was a flash of anger in his eyes. “Think about what? I don’t understand what you need to think about. You wanted me to end it with Tiffany, and I did. Now you’re saying you don’t know what you want? I don’t like games, Amber.”

“I’m not playing games. I’m sorry. I know what I said, and at the time I meant it. Things have changed.”

He smirked. “What’s changed? Your fake engagement?”

The way he said it struck a nerve. Maybe I was being oversensitive, but the man was grating on my nerves. He was being very callous, and I didn’t like it.

“Actually, yes. I mean, the engagement was fake, but I have to admit the feelings were real.”

He was shaking his head. “Unbelievable. You think Harry cares about you? You don’t truly care about him. He was a fill-in for me. I’m here. You don’t need him anymore.”

“I only know what I feel, and I’m not willing to jump into a relationship with you. I thought it was what I wanted. I truly did. Then—I don’t know, things changed.”

“Well, you need to make a decision. I’m not going to wait around forever.”

“I know. I understand. I’m not trying to be difficult. I don’t want to rush into anything and have regrets.”

The waiter stopped by, delivered our meals, and then moved on. William was angry. His earlier smile was gone. His movements were jerky and his jaw was tight.

“I’m telling you I want you. Shouldn’t that be enough?” he finally said.

“William, I’m sorry. It means a lot. I just need some time to work things through. Please, try to understand. I’ve been on a bit of a rollercoaster ride these past few weeks. I thought we were together and then you were engaged. I spilled my guts to you, and you offered to let me be your mistress. I’m nervous about jumping into something so soon after you broke off your engagement,” I said in a gentle voice.

He shook his head. “I had my own problems I was dealing with. I explained to you why I had to marry her.”

“I know you did. Then you suddenly decided those things weren’t important and I was. It’s a lot for a girl to take in,” I said with a smile, hoping to lighten the mood.

It didn’t work. He still had a sour look on his face.

“I can’t believe you are telling me you are considering my brother. Do you know how insulting that is?”

I scoffed. “Do you know how insulting it is for you to sleep with me one week and then propose marriage to another woman the next?”

“We’ve been over this,” he said, growling.

“Yes, we have. It doesn’t mean it doesn’t still bother me or that I’ve forgotten the hurt you caused.”

He rolled his eyes. “We weren’t together.”

I hated how blasé he was being about something that had hurt me deeply. The more time I spent with him, the more I was beginning to see how cold and detached he could be. I hated comparing the brothers, but Harry was definitely more attentive. He had a way of making me feel special. It was the warmth in his eyes and those subtle touches I had taken for granted. I realized how much I liked them.

That wasn’t to say William was a cold fish. I knew he could be attentive and loving as well—behind closed doors.

“We should probably get back to the office,” I said. “I have a ton of work to catch up on.”

He nodded. “Fine.”

On the drive back to the building, he was tense.

“William, please don’t be mad. I’m only asking you for a little time. It will be better for you as well. Your family needs time to adjust to the abrupt end of your engagement.”

“My family is my problem,” he grumbled.

“I understand that. I only meant I didn’t want to make things worse for you. I mean, what are they going to say when you announce you’re dating your brother’s ex? Won’t that raise some eyebrows?”

He shrugged. “I don’t care. They need to understand I’m my own man and I make my own decisions.”

I bit back the retort that came to mind. He hadn’t been his own man two weeks ago when he had tossed me to the side for Tiffany because I didn’t have the right blood flowing through my veins. Now he expected me to believe he had completely changed who he was.

I smiled, thinking about something Harry had said. He had insinuated William didn’t have the balls to defy his parents. It was as if he had suddenly grown a pair.