Words of Seduction
Page 17
Jean sighed. “There’s a quote by Voltaire that I’ve always liked. ‘We are all full of weakness and errors, let us mutually pardon each other our follies—it is the first law of nature.’” She held out her hand. “I was wrong about a lot of things and I’m sorry.”
Rick looked at the offered hand, knowing how much humility and courage it took for her to come to him. He stood and shook her hand. “It’s okay,” he said with sincerity, letting his hatred for her melt away.
Jean tightened her grip then released her hold. “Thank you.” He nodded and she turned. “Let me know when your brother is up for parole. Perhaps we can have him home by next Christmas.”
“Momma would like that.”
“But you don’t think Suzanne will?”
“Let’s just say it might make things awkward.”
“Suzanne is a strong woman and, unlike her parents and some of her friends,” Jean said with some chagrin, “she’s not a snob and she’ll stay by you no matter what. This last trial opened up a lot of old wounds in this town again, but it also healed some. Perhaps in the future we won’t be so quick to judge each other.”
“I hope so.”
“Me, too,” Jean said, leaving.
Rick sat back in his chair and thought about the judge’s words. Had things really changed in Anadale now? Could his brother come home and not be seen as a degenerate Gordon, but rather a man who’d made mistakes and needed redemption? Could he raise his son to be proud of being a Gordon rather than the stepson of a Rand? Could Suzanne live in peace now instead of in the chaos that always seemed to surround his life? He rested his head back and imagined their future life together.
Miles away Suzanne imagined their lives apart. The events of the past several weeks had changed her. She stood outside 468 Trellis Court and stared at the snow covering the rooftops and railings like extra frosting on a cake. She watched Frieda and Luke, who was on winter holiday, build a snowman off to the side and knew that Neena would soon call them inside for dinner.
It was a beautiful image of home and family, but she felt as though she was staring at it through a looking glass as an outsider. She couldn’t be part of that picture because she knew she could no longer live there. To her the house held too many painful memories—arguments with her father, the tears she’d shed over Melba’s trial, Wallace’s death, and how it had been like a prison during Frieda’s trial. Suzanne knew she could never find happiness there.
She had to leave it and the town, even if it meant losing all that she’d come to love. Her heart ached with pain. She knew that she would be leaving by herself because Rick loved the town in spite of its flaws and he’d worked all his life to own 468 Trellis Court. He needed the house, not her.
“Don’t scream,” a deep voice said from behind her.
Suzanne’s heart leaped with delight at the sound of his voice and she spun around. She saw Rick looking very much the self-made success he was, wrapped in a dark blue cashmere coat and matching scarf. He looked worlds apart from the jeans-clad man who’d reappeared in her life months earlier. But she knew they’d both changed. “I didn’t hear you drive up,” she said.
“You were lost in thought,” he said.
“Yes,” she agreed. “You’re home early.”
“I wanted to surprise you.” He pulled out a brochure and handed it to her.
Suzanne opened it up and stared at the stunning colonial house portrayed and its many rooms and enormous property. “What’s this?”
“I thought it could be our new home.”
She looked up at him, startled. “What?” She glanced at the house behind her then stared at him with confusion. “I thought this was what you wanted.”
“No,” he said softly, his eyes melting into hers. “I’m looking at what I’ve always wanted. I just didn’t know it at the time.”
Suzanne gripped the brochure in her fist as tears gathered in her eyes. She stared at him speechless.
“I wasn’t going to pay Wallace the blackmail money, but I was willing to do whatever I needed to in order to make sure you never found out the truth because I didn’t want to face losing you. I love you. I don’t think I ever stopped and I tried.” His voice grew rough. “God, did I try, but I couldn’t stop. You once accused me of stealing your heart, but you stole my very soul. Forever and always I will be whoever you need me to be—whether it is your protector, your friend or your lover. I won’t let anyone hurt you.” He cradled her face in his hands. “You’re safe now.”
Safe. She’d never felt safe before. Not with a man. With her father it had always been a battle. With Wallace it had been a game. With John, her agent, it had been betrayal. From Melba to her mother she’d learned that men weren’t to be trusted, that they only broke your heart. But this time as she looked into Rick’s eyes her heart knew he spoke the truth.
“I know.”
“I’ve lied about some things, but never how I feel about you. When I read your book I saw that you didn’t let the Melba character die in the end. She got paroled and started a new life and had a bright future.”
“I wanted her to have a happy ending.”
“But you didn’t give Donna and Roland one. Roland eventually leaves Donna and we don’t know what happens to him and she decides to never love again.”
Suzanne glanced away and saw a sparrow sitting on the bare branch of a tree in the distance as she thought about the sad ending for the two lovers. “It seemed the right ending at the time.”
“Do you think they’ll get a second chance?”
She looked at him, unsure. “I don’t know.”
“What about us? Do you think you can give us a happy ending?”
Suzanne bit her lip, the winter air chilling her tears. A happy ending? Did they happen outside of books? Could she allow herself to believe in them? She turned to Frieda and Luke who were now throwing snow at each other, the white powder glistening like diamonds in the sun. Then she stared down at the brochure in her hand and all the possibilities it offered. She looked up at Rick.
He was a man women found deliciously appealing; the man some men trusted and others feared. Suzanne realized she had come to love these attributes instead of despising them. A woman’s second glance didn’t bother her anymore because she trusted him. People’s prejudices were no longer an issue because she knew the truth—that he was solid and fair and generous. She’d come to adore his sly grins and intense eyes, his dark secrets and tender heart. She loved him with every fiber of her being and this time the thought didn’t terrify her at all.
Suzanne put her arms around Rick’s neck and pressed her mouth against his, exploring the velvety warmth of his lips that made her forget the cold winter frost. When she drew away she caressed his cheek and said, “No, I can’t give us a happy ending because we’re not ending anything. We’re at the beginning of our story and it begins with ‘Once upon a time…’”
Claudia Madison was on her first cup of coffee when she checked her e-mail and saw Suzanne’s message. She quickly read it then called Noreen Webster.
“Yes, I read it,” Noreen said before Claudia could say anything.
Claudia laughed. “This would be perfect for one of your books.”
“Almost too perfect,” Noreen said, ever cautious. She cupped her chin in her hand and again read the note she’d just printed, unable to stop a smile.
Hello you two!
Right now I’m in Bermuda and as I sit next to my mother-in-law on the beach (I’ve taught her to crochet to keep the agility in her hands) and watch my husband and son in the distance, I know that true love is sweeter the second time around. So I tell you, my dearest friends—continue to write, continue to laugh and continue to love. It’s definitely worth the risk. Suzanne
ISBN: 978-1-4268-5015-8
WORDS OF SEDUCTION
Copyright © 2010 by Sade Odubiyi
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