The Billionaire's Forbidden Desire (36 page)

“Sophia, no! No way!”

“Libby, listen to me. The real reason I had to leave Seattle in such a hurry was George. He…” Sophia looked for words to soften the blow, but there was nothing she could do. “He tried to rape me.”

“No…no…” Libby sobbed. “You have to be mistaken.”

Sophia laughed hollowly. “I’m really sorry…but there’s no mistake. I managed to get away by hitting him on the head. But otherwise…” Sophia swallowed. She didn’t have to finish.

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“I just…couldn’t. I didn’t know how to tell you.”

“What am I going to do?”

“Libby, I don’t… I guess just…leave it up to his lawyer.” Sophia hesitated. “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry? My brother tried to…
hurt
you.” Libby cried harder. “I can’t believe this. I had no idea.”

Sophia closed her eyes as her friend’s sobs rang in her ear. She’d been deluding herself. The real reason she hadn’t said a word wasn’t because she didn’t know how. Seeing her friend hurt felt terrible, and there wasn’t a thing she could do to lessen Libby’s pain.

She let the tears fall as her heart ached all over again.

* * *

“Well, well. Who would’ve thought?” Ceinlys’s droll voice came from the office door.

Dane glanced at her. “You don’t have an appointment.”

“I’m your mother.”

He should toss her out. He never allowed people to drop by unannounced. On the other hand, this was a special case; she might have some news about Sophia.

It had been two weeks. Sophia had cut all communication with him, and every day something inside him withered a little bit more.

“I have to admire your restraint.” Ceinlys took a seat. “Mark made a national spectacle of himself to woo Hilary. Iain bribed André from Éternité for a chance to talk to Jane. Shane apparently had some sort of physical altercation with Ginger’s brother to win her back—although I’m not quite clear on how that proved his love for her. But you! I understand you’ve made hundreds of millions more since Vanessa had her baby.”

“You understood wrong. Sixty-two million,” he said, hating her presence and blithe tone.

Ignoring him, she crossed her legs. “During the welcome home dinner for Shane—which you missed—Vanessa said that Shane was the most perfect of my sons. Apparently you, Iain and Mark were practice tries.” Amusement lit her eyes. “But you proved her wrong. You are the most perfect one.”

He ground his teeth. “Would you prefer that I drown myself in scotch? I have people depending on me. Like the employees you just passed by when you invaded my office so rudely.”

He rose and walked around the desk to kick her out. His mother had worn out her welcome the moment she’d opened the door. His knees popped and ached, abused from miles and miles of running every night. He should let them rest and heal, but he couldn’t stop. It was that or drinking, and he didn’t think Sophia would approve of him getting shit-faced.

Or kicking his mother out.

Sighing, he rubbed his face. “You need to go. I have an appointment.”

Ceinlys stood and put her hands on his cheeks. “You have to take better care of yourself. You think you can pretend, fake your way through this, but I can see what’s happening. You’ve lost weight. Your complexion’s awful. Are you sleeping at night?”

“Worry about your divorce. Finalize everything before Salazar changes his mind.”

“I’m not worried about the divorce. Be kind to yourself, Dane. Everyone makes mistakes.”

“Tripping and falling is a mistake. Playing roulette is a mistake. Ruining somebody’s lifelong dream is not.”

“So prickly. So proud. Do you know why your father’s and my marriage failed? It wasn’t because we didn’t love each other. We simply couldn’t bear to make ourselves vulnerable. And I don’t know if you’ve ever been that way with Sophia. Just feeling love for someone isn’t enough if it doesn’t come with action. One of my…friends told me that love requires the merging of two souls in order to be complete. But how can you merge them if they’re encased in stiff, stony shells of pride?”

“If you know so much, why can’t you fix your marriage?”

“Because it’s too late. I lie at night thinking about why I was so foolish. Why Salazar and I let our pride and fear get in the way of true happiness. I wish I could go back in time. I wish I’d been braver and we could start over, but your father and I have done and said too much at this point. But it’s not too late for you and Sophia.” She took one of his hands in both of hers and looked up into his eyes. “She’s in a very, very vulnerable position, Dane. I know it’s difficult—even frightening—but if you don’t take the leap, you’ll lose her forever. Don’t end up like your parents.”

He said nothing.

“Now, I really must go. You’re not the only one with appointments to keep.” One final hand laid gently on his cheek, and then she left, the door shutting with a click behind her.

Dane sat heavily in his seat, dropping his head back. Did his mother think he hadn’t done anything? He’d called. Texted. Sent letters. Sophia wouldn’t respond to anything from him. It was difficult to “merge souls” when one of them wouldn’t agree to meet. He was running out of options, but he also knew he couldn’t continue like this.

As he spun around in his chair, a fancy white envelope on his desk caught his eyes. The delicate loopy handwriting on the outside meant it came from Elizabeth. Probably hitting him up for more mon—

The donation!

He jumped to his feet. God, why hadn’t he thought of it earlier?

So much time wasted.

He dialed Mark. Time to call in a favor.

* * *

“Favor my ass,” Mark said on the phone. “That was an act of sabotage.”

“You would have preferred Hilary to get in a car with somebody like Ryder instead?” Dane arched an eyebrow.

“Of course not.”

“I drove her back to L.A. safe and sound from the grove. You owe me.”

“No. If I do this for you,
you
owe
me
because there never was a debt between us.”

“Is that what Hilary thinks?”

A long pause. “Fine, you can borrow André. Jeez. He’s going to filet my face for this. Can I ask what you want him for?”

“A date at my penthouse. Very private. Very romantic.”

“Oh.” Disapproval came through strong and clear. “You found a blonde you like?”

“Something like that,” Dane said. He wasn’t telling his brother he was in love with Sophia when he hadn’t told her yet.

“Fine. But it can’t be on a weekend. A Monday would be best.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll let you know the time and date.”

Success is the best revenge
.

Sophia repeated it to herself as she forced down a breakfast of scrambled eggs and yogurt under Chad’s watchful eye. Even if she had no appetite, she shouldn’t neglect her health. It was practically all she had left.

Until Huntington’s disease got her.

No
.
Not going to think like that
. The disease might not even manifest itself. She had a fifty percent chance. Given all that had gone wrong in her life, surely she was due for a break.

Except the universe didn’t care about fair.

She pushed the thought away. The possibility of a debilitating disease wasn’t going to stop her from living her life the way she wanted to live it. She wouldn’t give anything that much power. She was going to pretend she was all right until she knew otherwise.

Still, it wasn’t easy to fake it, not when there was a big gaping hole in her heart.

It’d been three weeks since she’d walked out on Dane. She should feel fine by now. She told herself she was all right, but the hole wouldn’t close, not even a little. If anything it’d gotten bigger. But how could that be?

At least she had plenty of things to fill up her time. She’d started a new job at Omega Wealth Management, and that kept her quite busy. Apparently there had been an opening for an assistant, and Hilary had passed along Sophia’s name to HR. She’d learned how to manage five ultra-busy associates’ calendars and make killer coffee.

“If you want to climb the ladder fast, you have to make the best coffee in the office,” Hilary had said. “Every person at OWM can do important things well. Bosses appreciate subordinates who can do everything—even the mundane stuff—well.”

“Are the eggs not to your liking, my dear?” Ceinlys asked, walking in. As usual she was dressed elegantly; today it was in a cream tunic and a skirt. Sophia had never seen her less than immaculate.

“No, they’re fine. Thank you.”

Chad gave Sophia a meaningful look that said,
Then eat
,
champ
.

The older woman took her coffee and had a sip. “I saw Dane last week.”

“Oh?” Sophia couldn’t choke down the eggs. Suddenly, they tasted like sawdust.

Chad got up, mumbling something about needing more coffee, and disappeared into the kitchen.

“How was he?” Sophia tried for a polite curiosity, even though her heart had picked up its pace.

“Quite well, apparently. He made a few million dollars.”

Bitterness coursed through Sophia. “Good for him.” So it was business as usual for Dane. But then it made sense. All he’d ever felt for her was guilt, so without her around to constantly remind him of what he’d done, it was inevitable he’d go back to the way things had been.

“And whatever diet he’s on seems quite effective,” Ceinlys continued. “He’s lost at least fifteen pounds.”

Sophia’s fork clattered on the plate. “
Fifteen pounds?
” He’d never had an ounce of fat to spare.

Ceinlys nodded. “At the rate things are going, he’ll have to get his clothes altered.” She set her coffee cup neatly in front of her. “I know he’s been calling you. You should at least hear what he has to say. That way, you won’t have any regrets down the line.”

“Ceinlys…I know you mean well, but it’s too late. He should’ve told me the truth when he found out.”

“Do you know why people hide the truth?”

Sophia wanted to squirm under the older woman’s gaze. “For their own convenience? Because they’re horrible?”

“Fear.” A long sigh. “Dane was never afraid of the truth. It was his bluntness that often caused friction with the people around him. The fact that everything he said was true upset them more because they had nothing to fight back with, so they complained that he wasn’t kind enough.”

Sophia stared at Ceinlys. “I know that.”

“So think about what sort of fear could make a man like that act the way he has.”

Loud knocks came, sounding like gunshots. Ceinlys frowned. “What on earth could be so urgent at this hour?” She got up and went toward the door.

Sophia moved the scrambled eggs around on her plate. To imagine a man like Dane having any kind of fear was ludicrous. He’d always been driven, focused, cutting through everything like a shark’s fin across a lake.

But maybe he was afraid of hurting you
…
the way you were with Libby
.

Sophia hadn’t been able to say anything to her best friend…even though she herself had been the victim. And Dane had
caused
the accident in Paris. It must’ve been a hundred times worse for him.

But even if she could forgive him for withholding the truth, she wasn’t okay with the situation. She pushed herself away from the table. She’d thought he cared for her. That what they had was genuine and real and affectionate even if he didn’t love her quite yet.

A dark scowl marred Ceinlys’s forehead as she came back with an envelope.

“It’s for you.”

“Me?”

“You’re being served.”

* * *

Dane kept glancing at his phone while reviewing a report on the latest business idea he’d backed. He’d laid the slim unit on his desk to make sure he didn’t miss it when it buzzed.

Eight o’clock
.

She should be calling by now.

Come on
.
Come on
.

Sighing roughly, he turned a page. Had Ceinlys interfered? He ground his teeth. It was quite possible. He could just imagine his mother telling Sophia, “Here’s my lawyer’s number. Have her take care of the matter.”

Damn it.

His phone buzzed, and he almost jumped. He almost snarled when he saw Blake’s name on it. “What do you want?”

“Hello to you too. Who moved your chee—?”

“I don’t have time for this.”

“I was going to ask you to—”

Another call. Sophia. His heart slammed against his chest. “Can’t talk.” He killed the line with Blake on it, then breathed in through his mouth. “Hello, Sophia.”

“
What is the meaning of this?
”

He couldn’t help but smile. Her voice sounded glorious, even in anger. He closed his eyes, savoring it. “The meaning of what?”

“You’re
suing
me? Along with Elizabeth and her foundation?”

“Ah. That.”

“
Yes
. Ah. That.”

He opened his eyes. “You owe me a date which you refuse to honor—by failing to return my calls or texts to set up a time—despite the fact that I’ve upheld my end of the bargain by writing Elizabeth’s foundation a check for five hundred thousand dollars…which she has cashed. I was misled and defrauded.”

“Misled and defrauded? We’ve had all those dinners and outings together.”

“And? You never said any of them was the date you owed me for the bachelorette auction.”

“You. Are. Unbelievable.”

“But not unreasonable. I’m willing to drop it. All you have to do is agree to a date with me. Alone.” He wasn’t about to have Chad hanging around in the background.

“Or what?”

“‘Or what’ is, presumably, in your hand right now. There will be no settlement. I want my money back, plus interest and attorney’s fees.”

“Interest and attorney’s fees? Are you insane?”

He went on like she hadn’t spoken. “Every penny Elizabeth uses to defend herself and her foundation means one fewer penny for feeding hungry children and building schools for them.” He paused for dramatic effect. “A tragic outcome.”

He could almost hear her jaw creaking with anger. “Fine,” she said. “Lunch. Today. One hour.”