‘As time went on, I was starting to develop a good reputation in France and was slowly expanding into other European countries, particularly Switzerland. By then I’d also met Kelly. She was born in America but moved to France when she was five. I was smitten with her.’
Greta tried not to let the spark of jealousy at Jeff mentioning another woman’s name take hold. She may not have had a lot of long relationships, but she hadn’t exactly been a virgin when they’d met. She’d had her fair share of men. Her jealousy was irrational.
‘I thought she was smitten with me too,’ he continued on, oblivious to the turmoil and fight she had going on inside of her. ‘After a while, I found she was smitten with the fact that I knew royalty and the European upper class. Knowing me got her into all the right parties. It all came to a head when we were in Switzerland. I’d been commissioned to create a piece of jewellery for an anniversary celebration. The family invited us to ski at their chateau. Kelly came on to their son. Right in front of me and the rest of his family. I wasn’t prepared to confront her in front of the family; after all, they were being very welcoming in having us in their home.’
Greta felt indignant for him. She couldn’t understand why any woman would want to have anyone but Jeff. He was as sexy as sin and a true caring gentleman. She could also hear the strain in his voice; as if he was coming up to a part he didn’t relish telling her.
‘You really don’t have to say anymore, Honey. Not if it’s going to hurt you too much.’
He grasped her chin and lifted her head so she was looking at him. ‘To understand my life, what I’ve endured over the past few years, and me, I have to tell it all to you. Every single jagged edge. Even if those jagged edges hurt.’
‘Okay,’ she whispered, wondering just how bad it was about to get. Had he had a car accident? Had that caused the scars?
‘Kelly wasn’t aware of this, but I’d seen her kissing the son and dragging him into our room. I slept on the couch that night. Kelly didn’t even ask why I didn’t spend the night in our room. She greeted me the next day as if nothing had happened. As if she hadn’t slept with our host’s son. I knew she had because he couldn’t look me in the eye.’ He paused and took a deep breath. ‘Anyway, we were spending the day skiing and when we got to the top of our first run I confronted Kelly about it. She initially denied it, but then she said he was a lousy lay but she could now say she’d slept with royalty.’
‘That bitch.’ Greta couldn’t help the words bursting out of her. ‘Sorry, that’s probably not what you really need to hear.’
Jeff chuckled. ‘It’s the truth. What happened next made me wish I’d not confronted her at all.’
‘What happened?’
‘After she admitted to sleeping with him, I told her we were through and I wanted nothing more to do with her when we got back to France. She stormed off in a huff. She was pissed off at me when I was the one who’d been cheated on. She started skiing toward an area that had been roped off due to the overnight snowfall. The area was also susceptible to avalanches. No matter how I was angry with her, I knew I couldn’t let her ski that trail so I went after her.’
Dread pooled in Greta’s stomach. She knew what was coming. Like in a scary movie when you know the next person is going to be slashed by the slasher the moment they turn the corner. She knew Jeff’s story was heading around that corner.
‘Kelly saw me following her and screamed at me to stop following her. And that was when I heard the rumble and the warning sirens started. I knew we were in trouble but I hoped if I could get her to get back on the main trail we’d be okay. I reached her the same time as the snow came crashing down over us. I grabbed her hand but the force of the snow hitting us was too much and she was snatched from me. I tumbled for God knows how long before I crashed into a tree. I hit it at almost eighty kilometres an hour.’
‘Oh my God.’ Horrid images filled her brain. Of Jeff smashed against the unrelenting strength of a tree trunk. ‘How did they find you? I mean, wouldn’t you have been covered by hundreds of feet of snow?’
‘I’m a bit of a safety nerd, so I made sure I carried a beacon that can be activated if you get lost or caught in an avalanche. I activated it when I heard the first rumblings. It saved my life.’
Greta couldn’t stop the shudder of fear from racking her body. The thought of the strong man holding her not in her life was almost too much to bear. ‘What injuries did you sustain?’
‘The impact into the tree was like a head-on car crash. My lower body slammed into the tree. If I’d hit the tree anywhere above my pelvis I would’ve died. The trauma would have crushed my ribs and put too much pressure on my heart for me to survive. As it was, my pelvis was crushed and I shattered the bones in my legs. There was a while there where the doctors didn’t think I would be able to walk again.’
Her stomach rolled and tumbled and she wondered if she was about to be sick again. The images of an injured Jeff continued to play through her mind, on a continuous loop. She had no idea how she was going to stop it.
‘How long were you buried before they found you?’
‘Almost twenty-four hours. I was suffering hypothermia and they had to restart my heart once they pulled me out. I don’t remember anything. I was transported to the best hospital in Switzerland and spent a couple of months having surgeries and recovering. I stayed long enough to recover enough to travel. I wanted to come home. I needed to be away from the place where I knew my actions had caused someone’s death.’
Greta shot out of his embrace and kneeled in front of him, taking his face in her hands. ‘No, you can’t blame yourself, you were trying to save Kelly. You didn’t tell her to ski down that trail. You didn’t yell at her. She chose to go down that trail. She chose to scream at you. Who knows if that even triggered the avalanche? Nature works in a way that even the most educated scientists don’t understand.’
‘But if I’d waited until we’d returned to France before I confronted her, then none of this would’ve happened.’ Jeff pulled her hands away and got off the bed, standing by the side of it, his head hanging in despair.
Her heart cracked at the sight of the strong man seemingly broken in front of her.
No, she wasn’t going to let him walk away from her. She got off the bed and stood behind him, wrapping her arms around him.
‘Honey, it wasn’t your fault. Kelly’s actions led to her death. From you what you told me it sounded like she was a destructive type of person. She deliberately set out to destroy your relationship with her. Yes I’m sorry that she died in awful circumstances. You are not responsible for her death. It wasn’t like she couldn’t see the roped off area. If she’d lived in Europe most of her life, she would know the dangers of avalanches.’
Jeffrey turned in her arms and laid his head on the top of Greta’s, seeking strength to continue on. There was still so much to tell her. The hours of agony he’d endured to be able to walk again.
‘I suppose you’re right. We’ll never know. I still have to live with knowing, right or wrong, that my actions took someone’s life.’
‘I wish I could take the memory away from you.’
‘Angel, even if you could,’ he took her hand and rubbed it over the top of his thighs. His body remembering how it had felt to have her delicate hands massaging the puckered skin. ‘I will still have these as a constant reminder.’
‘How many surgeries did you have?’
‘Too many to count.’ Jeffrey stepped backward with Greta in his arms until the backs of his legs hit the mattress. He sank down and settled her on his lap. ‘When I got back to Perth I organised to have an assessment to see what treatments I could have. I was still in a wheelchair and had little mobility in my legs. I hated being in that chair and didn’t care what pain I had to go through. How much physical therapy, how many surgeries I had to have. I was going to walk again.’
He closed his eyes on the memories bombarding him. The countless hours he spent lifting weights. Walking be
hind a metal walker that the elderly used. ‘I couldn’t sleep from the pain some nights so I started to design again. Thank goodness my arms and hands were okay. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I hadn’t been able to draw.’
‘Where did you have all this treatment?’
‘Up here. I had a purpose-built facility constructed which had a design studio attached to it. It was basically a home away from home. I slept there. Worked there and recovered there. It was my salvation; it was tucked away from the world so no one could see how pathetic I was. The times I cried when the pain got too much. My physical therapist was a saint.’
He looked over at Greta, feeling bad that he was unloading so much on to her. Tears were tracking silently down her face. ‘Angel.’ He leaned forward and kissed the tears away. ‘It’s over now. As you can see, I’m okay.’
‘Is that why you locked yourself away from the world? So no one would see you? What about your friends, Luciano and Nick?’
Jeffrey ran his hand through his hair. It was hard to explain. ‘I needed to do it alone. Luc would call me and I’d talk to him but I never encouraged him to come up and see me. Nick was travelling for Luc so contact with him was spasmodic at best. Eventually though, once I was able to walk without a limp, I met up with Luc.’
‘What did he say when you told him why you’d kept yourself away from everyone?’
‘He said nothing because he doesn’t know. You’re the only person who knows the whole story.’
‘What? Why? Why wouldn’t you want to share it with Luc?’
‘Because I’m a man, Angel. I don’t do the girlie “let’s talk gig”.’ Although that wasn’t quite true. He’d had a girly chat with Nick not long ago about going after the person you loved. Nick had listened and had emailed him a couple of days later to say he had sorted things out with Pamela and was now getting married. Both of his friends had found love.
Jeffrey looked at the woman in his arms. Had he found his true love?
Chapter 20
There were so many thoughts clamouring for attention in Greta’s mind. But as she looked at Jeff, exhaustion tinged his features. She knew it wasn’t a physical exhaustion, more an emotional exhaustion.
He’d just shared his most deepest, darkest secret with her and only her.
‘Are you hungry?’ she asked.
Darkness had fallen around them while Jeff had spoken. From the moment Jeff started telling his story, she hadn’t give work a single thought. Jeff needed her and she wasn’t going to disappoint him. He was the man who, she acknowledged now, owned her heart.
‘Yeah, I could go for something to eat. Lunch was such a long time ago.’
‘Why don’t you take a shower and I’ll see what I can fix to eat.’
‘I think my cupboard is pretty bare.’
‘You should see my cupboard and fridge back at my apartment,’ Greta laughed and leaned forward, placing a soft kiss on his lips. His hand immediately went to the back of her head, holding her still against him. His lips roved over hers and heat pooled low in her belly, spreading out and through her.
There was a bed beneath them. Jeff was practically naked. She could feel his erection against her thigh. It wouldn’t take much for her to remove her clothes and his. Then he could take her. Maybe she could take away his pain and create a new memory.
She pulled her lips away from his. ‘Dinner can wait.’ She grabbed the hem of her tank and lifted it up and over her head. ‘I think we both need this.’
She pulled off her yoga pants and lay down on the bed. ‘I’m yours, Honey.’
A slow, sexy smile tugged at the corners of his lips. ‘And I’m yours, Angel,’ he murmured, before he recaptured her lips with his and took them to places where new memories were created.
Greta flipped the steaks one more time before turning the heat off. Her stomach grumbled as the aroma of the peppered steak filtered up to her.
Warm arms closed around her waist and she almost dropped the pan when warm lips locked onto her neck. ‘Something smells good.’
She slapped his hands away. ‘It was almost ruined because you scared me half to death.’
Jeff had the audacity to swat her on the butt before he looked over her shoulder at the steaks still steaming in the pan. ‘That looks good. What else have you got for us?’
‘Just a pretty basic salad. You were right when you said there wasn’t much but I made do. Now sit.’
Greta carried the pan containing the steaks over to the plates she’d set out on the island bench. She placed one on each plate and pushed the biggest steak toward Jeff.
‘Help yourself. I’m not sure how good it will taste. I wasn’t sure how you liked your steak. It should be medium to well.’
‘It will be perfect, I’m sure.’
Greta rolled her eyes. ‘You’ve got me in your bed already. You don’t need to flatter me.’ She placed a hand on her stomach. ‘We’re past the point of no return, I think.’
Jeff looked thoughtfully at her as he cut his steak. When he finished chewing, he placed his knife and fork on the plate. ‘Do you hate being pregnant?’
The question was so not what she was expecting from him. But did she hate being pregnant? Did she hate the fact that the life she had mapped out for herself wasn’t going to go as planned? She’d imagined she’d get married, but not for another couple of years. And then to a man who was happy if they didn’t have a family.
But then her mind drifted back to delivering Sheree’s baby Greta. Holding the sweet little soul in her arms. The picture Sheree had captured of her and the baby. With a flash of insight everything fell into place.
She may have thought she had her life planned out but it wasn’t the right life. The right life for her was the one she was living right now. She only hoped Jeff wanted to be a part of it.
Greta, too, placed her cutlery on her plate. ‘No. No I don’t hate being pregnant.’
‘I’m glad, and ...’ He hesitated, ‘I’m happy you’re pregnant. I never thought I would have a child.’
‘Join the club.’ She laughed. ‘I think we’ve had enough heavy discussions for one day. How about after we eat you show me around your studio? That is, if you’re comfortable having me in your design space.’
‘Sounds good, although it’s not that exciting.’
An idea burst to life in her mind. ‘Oh, maybe we could get some behind the scenes shots of you in your studio for the campaign. Seeing the master at work as he creates each piece.’
‘No.’
Greta was surprised by the fierceness behind one little word. ‘Why not?’
‘Angel, I will do anything for you. Anything. Show you around my studio. Let you watch me work. But it’s my private space. I’m not sharing it with the world.’
Greta could see there was no way he was going to budge and let her get her way. Really, it wasn’t important to her campaign. She was happy to let the idea go.
‘That’s okay. I got a little caught up. Happens sometimes when I get an idea in my mind.’
‘Thank you.’
The rest of the meal passed in silence. Jeff cleared the plates and placed them, along with everything else she’d used to prepare dinner, in the dishwasher.
‘Ready for your tour?’ he asked, holding out his hand to her.
Greta placed her hand in his, still surprised at the jolt that fired through every time they touched. ‘I can’t wait. Lead on.’
They stepped through the back door and a cool evening breeze wafted over her arms. She lifted her head up to the sky, amazed at what she saw. The stars shined brightly on a background of black velvet. This was something she never saw, living in the city. The bright city lights blocked out the beauty of a starry night.
‘You forget how gorgeous a night sky really is.’
Beside her Jeff paused and looked up as well. ‘The brightest of souls shining down on all each night. Reassuring us that we’ll never be alone.’
They continued walking, following the l
ine of the house until they reached a door.
‘Why couldn’t we walk through the house to your studio?’ When Jeff had walked her outside, she’d expected a separate structure for his studio. Not one that was part of his house.
‘I could say I wanted to show you the beautiful night, but the truth is, I needed to get some air.’
Greta stopped and tugged at Jeff’s arm until he turned and faced her. It was hard to make out what he was feeling and thinking in the dark night. The reasons behind his words and actions were as if he’d yelled at the top of his voice to her.
‘Come here,’ she whispered to him. When he closed the distance between him, she stood on tiptoe and kissed him. A slow, sweet kiss. It was a meeting of lips and fingertips. It was an honest kiss. A kiss that showed the depth of the changes happening in their relationship. The deepening of emotions between them after they’d shared dark, life-altering memories. Slowly their lips broke apart. A sigh of contentment escaped her.
Jeff smiled and brushed a stray lock of hair off her face. He opened the door to his studio. ‘Here you go. Welcome to my home away from home.’
Greta walked in and looked around. Not sure what she was expecting to see, but surprised at how neat the workbenches were. There was only one that showed any sign of materials on it.
‘You’re very neat.’
Jeff laughed at her comment. ‘Not usually. Usually I’m working on a few designs at one time. I’ve not been able to concentrate the last couple of weeks. You should have seen the benches when I was in the middle of The Angel Collection.’
Greta moved further into the room, noting how long the structure was. She spotted the gym equipment toward the back of the room. She turned to look at Jeff again. ‘When did you actually start to live in your house after your accident?’
If he was bothered by her question, he didn’t show it. ‘When I knew I wouldn’t fall down the stairs.’
Somehow she knew that was the only answer she was going to get. Greta made her way to the back of the room. It was a compulsion she couldn’t explain, but she needed to see the space where he’d recovered his ability to walk.
Bound by Their Love Page 14
