She would not break. She would not shatter or cry or flinch away. She would stand and speak her truth before she left his world forever.
Focusing her attention on Blake, she said, “It was all a setup. I lured him into making a deal with me because I needed proof of what I suspected. Ruining a man’s reputation and livelihood is something I don’t take lightly. And even though I had the data to make a strong case against him, there was absolutely no way to prove it. I recorded the whole conversation, which I have already sent to you. Yes, you’ll hear me say vile things, but I extracted the information I needed for you to make a solid case against him. To further prove that I am telling the truth, you will see that I have outlined the whole matter in my report, which I completed last night and printed this morning when I first reached the office, before I knew anything about being accused. If you read to the end, you’ll see that I recommend investing in both Elysian and Gourmands after booting Trevor out on his tail and siccing your lawyers on him.”
Jill watched with a detached, bitter sort of pleasure as Blake’s face tightened and paled. Then she turned to Mr. Johnson and handed him another report. “Here is everything you need to know, though if you want to see all the extraneous data, you may get it from Camden.”
Nate dropped a hand on her shoulder. “I have not fired you, Jill.”
She tried to smile up at him, glad for a friend in the middle of this horror, but she couldn’t manage it. “Thanks, but I’m resigning. I wouldn’t work for my father now if he offered me half the company.”
Desperate to leave before she broke, she turned for the door. Blake’s voice froze her in the doorway.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” His voice was a plea, and part of her ached to believe it meant he still cared.
“Because I knew you were jealous of him, and I didn’t want to influence your opinion further if I was wrong. I also didn’t know how you might react that evening if you’d known. I hoped you’d trust me that I’d never betray our relationship—whatever it was. I never thought you’d think so poorly of me as to believe I was capable of this.” She turned to Nate then, saying, “Can we get out of here? I can be packed in no time.”
***
By the time Jill arrived at Nate’s home in Alabama, she felt like a hollowed-out shell. How had so much hope and affection turned to dust?
Nate must have been texting with Charlotte, because she met them at the front door and wrapped Jill up in a tight hug that almost broke her, as frail as she felt. And that’s when the tears finally fell, washing down her cheeks in a flood it was impossible to see through.
“You poor thing. Come inside.”
Charlotte led her through their large Plantation home, into a cozy and private room on the ground floor. They sank down together, and Jill tried to tell her friend all that had gone wrong, made worse by all that had gone right. So very right, and now so very lost. But her words got tangled up with sobs and fragmented by her racing, jumbled thoughts.
“Okay, calm down, honey. Maybe you should wait to tell me after you’ve stopped crying.”
“I don’t think I ever will.”
But eventually, slowly, she did stop. There was an end to the amount of moisture her eyes could produce, but not to the well of hurt inside her. “I thought I loved him, Char,” she said a long while later after the whole long story had finally untangled itself.
“I hate to break it to you, but you probably still do. Trust me, love doesn’t just go away because someone hurts you. That would be too convenient.”
Jill gave a stuffy chuckle. “I was ready to give up everything to be with him. My job, my profession. But I messed everything up.” She sniffed. “And so did he.”
Nate came into the room then. “I thought I should warn you that I gave permission for Blake’s plane to land at my airstrip. He’ll likely be here in about thirty minutes.”
“You did what?” Charlotte asked, standing up.
Shrugging, Nate said, “I felt for the guy. I know what it’s like to royally screw up with the woman you love.”
Jill glared at the door as it closed behind Nate. “How dare he come here. Why won’t he just leave me alone?”
Charlotte sat across from her on the couch and Jill felt glad she had a friend, right up until Charlotte grinned at her. Narrowing her eyes, Jill sat up straighter and threw the pillow she’d been cuddling down on the floor. Then she braced herself for what she knew her friend would say.
“Oh my gosh! I can’t believe this! It’s too perfect. Do you remember how much you teased me about falling for Nate?”
“No. I remember encouraging you to go after him.”
“Yeah, but I mean after that. Like during the whole week before my wedding. You teased me so bad about marrying a billionaire. And now you’ve gone and fallen for one too.”
Jill glared at her. “That’s so nice of you to rub it in that you got your happily ever after.”
Charlotte wiggled a little like a kid with a new toy. “Yeah, well, why else would Blake fly all the way down here after the catastrophe he caused?”
Unable to deal with the stress and confusion, Jill stood up and walked around the room. “I’ve got to leave. I can’t be here when he arrives. Where can I go?”
“You aren’t going anywhere. You’re going to stay here and face him.”
“But what do I do?”
Charlotte shrugged. “I don’t know. It depends, doesn’t it?”
“On what?”
Meeting her in the middle of the room, Charlotte hugged her tightly again. “On whether or not you guys love each other enough to forgive. But, hey, one thing first.”
“What?” Jill pulled back to look at her wise friend.
“You might want to go do a makeup check.”
Jill reached up with both hands and rubbed under her eyes. Her fingers came away black, but before she could move, the door opened and Blake came in.
“Too late,” Charlotte said with way more humor in her voice than Jill thought the situation deserved.
But then she looked up and met Blake’s eyes, and all other thoughts fled.
“Can I talk to Jill?” Blake asked Charlotte. “Alone?”
Nodding, Charlotte left the room quietly with nothing but a knowing look thrown Jill’s way. Jill stood still, a whirlwind of emotions. “I was determined to never see you again.”
His somber mouth tightened. “I don’t blame you.” He stepped closer, but kept some distance between them. “I couldn’t let you go without begging for your forgiveness. I only waited long enough to get my legal team on top of the situation with Trevor before coming after you.”
“How could you believe I was capable of such duplicity?”
“I don’t know that I ever believed it. Not really. My instincts were screaming that Ivey was wrong, but then Rick heard it too. And you had been so secretive about Trevor. I felt as if my legs had been knocked out from under me. I’m sorry. I handled it all wrong.”
“You know what hurt me the most? When you cooperated with my father’s attempts to bump me off this job.” She thought she’d drained the well of her tears, but she was wrong. She could no longer see Blake’s features through the glimmer in her eyes, but she could see his familiar form standing so close she could almost reach out and touch him. Taking a deep breath to control the weakness in her voice, she said, “You knew how hard I worked to make that report.”
“I just wanted to keep you from actually going through with it. Jill, look at it from my perspective. After seeing what my own mother was capable of, fighting for years to undo the damage she’d done, I didn’t know how to cope with going through it again with the woman I love. If only I’d stepped back and thought through it better, I would have—”
“Wait.” Jill’s voice shook and her heart raced. Did you say the woman you love?”
His unwavering gaze sharpened. “Yes, I did, but you should hear that from a man who deserves you.”
Jill pressed her hand over her mouth. The tears running down her cheeks spilled hot across her fingers. Then, wiping her cheeks, she said, “No. No. I’m hurt and angry, but I know it’s more my fault than yours. If I had just told you everything from the beginning, none of this would have happened.”
“No, but you were right. I wouldn’t have been able to stand back and let you bait a criminal into exposing himself. Especially not one who lusted after you the way Trevor did.”
“I was always afraid you might pop him in the nose sometime.”
“He’s lucky I didn’t do a lot worse than that.”
Jill stepped closer to him. She couldn’t help it. “Blake, what are we doing? I’m so afraid this proves we shouldn’t be together, but that kills me. I love you, too.”
“Then what the blazes are we doing?” In less than a heartbeat, Blake closed the distance between them and gripped her shoulders. “Jill, we failed our first test, but that doesn’t mean this is over. Not unless you say it is. Please don’t say it is.”
Awash in hope, Jill clenched her arms around him and buried her face in his neck. She felt his hands run soothingly up and down her back and only then realized how much she was trembling. This man—this driven, strong, incredible man—wanted her. Surely her heart was too small to contain such joy.
“Jill, sweetheart, I can’t see your face.”
Laughing, she leaned back and looked up at him. “But I’m a mess.”
“Yes, but still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known. I know there’s a lot for us to figure out, but nothing else in my life makes sense anymore if you aren’t part of it. And if you’ll let me, I intend to bind myself to you in every way possible—with wedding rings and children and titles and deeds and bank accounts—”
“And muffins and hot tubs?”
Blake burst out laughing. “As many as you want.”
Her fingers tightened on his shirt. “What about Hayden?”
“Are you kidding? You two didn’t start off well, but she loves you. Having your help will save me from turning grey before she graduates next year.”
“Sounds like there’s only one more thing I could ask then. Will you teach me to ride a horse?
Jill thought she’d never seen such a blaze of attraction in any man’s eyes.
“That’s it.”
Without another word, Blake swept her up into a kiss that at once soothed and promised and set her afire. She clung to him, taking all he offered, and hungered for more. But when his kisses slowed, melting into sweet tenderness, she rose on her toes, giving in return, until Blake pushed back, his eyes so intense, she blinked under their fire.
“You keep kissing me like that, Blake McDaniel, and I might have to come back to Texas sometime soon.”
Growling softly, Blake shook his head. “You’re coming back now, and once we get there, I’m burning that blasted suitcase of yours.”
“What in the world for?”
“Because you won’t need it anymore. You’ll be home.”
Jill smiled as a rush of love radiated through her. “That sounds amazing. But you might want to wait till we get back from our honeymoon.”
“No way. You won’t need much for that trip. Take a smaller bag. Now, no more talking. It’s distracting me from my task.”
“Which is?”
“Proving how much I adore you.”