“W-what are you doing here?” I stammered.
She crossed her legs, revealing her expensive Louboutins. “Personal business.”
That personal business must be her parents.
“So where are your bags?” I asked.
“At my hotel, of course. Just seeing the surprised look on your face was worth every fee I’ve paid!” She giggled mischievously.
I took a place next to her on the couch. “You still haven’t answered my question.”
She took my hand and played with the silver rings on my fingers. “It’s time for me to settle my personal business.”
“For how long? I’m about to move to London. I’ll need—”
“Plans have changed.” The look she gave me was dead serious.
“Carlie.” Utter disbelief had me shaking my head. “You’ve thrown me for a loop a few times, but today’s surprise is beyond messed up. It’s borderline fucked up.”
She let go of my hand. “What’s messed up is how you left Xavier behind for me.”
“You’re my best friend. My family. We take care of each other.”
She smiled at me. “That’s what I’m doing right now, Sophie. I’m taking care of you. You’re staying here. You’re going to unpack your fucking bags and get back together with him.”
I rested my head against her shoulder, flabbergasted at what had just occurred. “That’s not possible.”
“Why the hell not?”
“He’s in Arizona now. More important, he wanted to give me the world and I want to conquer it myself.” I gave a half-shrug. “I’ve been feeling so lonely over the last month, I’ve been regretting my decision to leave him. At the time, it seemed like the best thing to do since I was moving.” Over the weeks I continued to rationalize what I’d done, but the part of me that felt carved out and empty seemed to grow emptier.
“Then call him after I leave and figure things out.” She gave me another look. The one where her sharp blond eyebrows lowered and her olive-green eyes darkened.
How many times had I checked the contacts on my phone? Countless times I’d browsed his profile. My feet wouldn’t fight me to walk over to my cellphone, but my heart balked. What if he didn’t want me back? I’d refused him.
She touched my bare wrist as if to further make a point. “I see you threw away those damn leather cuffs from Sato.”
“It was time. A long time ago.”
“He never collared you. If I would’ve had my way, I would’ve cut that shit into strips and watched how fast they burned in a garbage can on the curb.”
A laugh jumped out of me. “Say what you’re really thinking, Car.”
She rolled her eyes. “That was the tame version of what I was thinking.”
I made us two cups of Earl Grey and we sat together for a while, chatting about what I’d seen and experienced in Phoenix. I’d glossed over the details with my roommates, but Carlie got everything. For a brief moment, I felt like we were back in that minuscule Queens apartment sharing our experiences—both the good and the bad.
By the time I gushed about the ice cream–eating contest, she was smiling, but I could tell she was pained. I’d seen that look before. As hard as she was trying to hide it, I could see her discomfort simmering under the surface of her skin.
“You’re going to see him,” I said to her.
She didn’t say yes or no. No nod or anything. “It’s just for one drink,” she murmured.
“You two are like a metronome. Back and forth. One knocking the other off-kilter. Only to later have the same thing reciprocated.”
“It won’t be the same this time. We’re meeting once. That’s it.”
I snorted. “That’s what you think each and every time.”
“He’s the one who found the information about my parents.”
“You don’t owe him a damn thing. You two can’t make it work!”
“It’s complicated, Sophie.”
Wow, seemed pretty crystal clear to me after she came home crying for weeks all those years ago. “Bullshit.”
She glanced at the pink watch on her wrist. “My time is up.”
“How convenient.”
Her lips formed a straight line. “Don’t be like this. Not right now when I need you.”
“I’ve seen the aftermath—that’s all. It’s not pretty.”
She pulled me into a hug and I held her close.
Before she left, she whispered, “Before the aftermath, it was beautiful.”
Chapter 26
Xavier
Today was a day to celebrate. After two months’ worth of negotiations, Silver Sparrow Systems had a contract with Nakamura’s company for the use of their research and development facilities.
I couldn’t stop thinking about her.
This morning Ian was nagging me about the trip to Japan to meet with the development team. Ian had packed my bags and made all the arrangements, but I hadn’t left Phoenix and had no plans to do so.
Sophie wouldn’t let you drag your feet like this.
No, she wouldn’t. She would’ve found a way to manipulate me so I showed up at the airport. The minute I got on that jet, though, I would be adding thousands of miles between us.
Instead of dwelling on the issue, I went through my business for the day. My first email was from Ian. A property I’d put up for sale had sold quickly. The next one made me smile. My director of operations planned to offer a bonus to everyone. I was happy for my staff, but I continued to stare out the window from my office out to the desert. I took in the rocky landscaping, somehow expecting to see a bay, to feel the salty breeze from the ocean.
My phone weighed heavy in my pocket.
Turning from the window, I sent a single text message to Marcus:
meet me at the creek.
I waited for him to text me back and complain that I needed to go to Japan, but I got back a quick “K” instead.
By the time I got to the compound, Marcus was waiting for me out at the creek. The place couldn’t be called that anymore. The creek had dried up before we’d been born. My uncle talked about how he’d swum in the water as a kid with our dad, but I couldn’t imagine this place back then.
All you could do now was sit at the end of the dock and contemplate things that were lost and would never come back.
“Want a beer?” Marcus asked me.
“Naw, I’m good.”
I didn’t want alcohol to dull my senses. I was in pain and I accepted it.
“How you been holding up?” I asked. “Becca recovering all right?”
“Yeah, she’s sleeping off the last chemo session.”
I nodded. “You don’t have to worry about anything. I’ve got it all covered.”
Marcus patted my shoulder. “I know you do.”
The need to swing my legs was almost automatic, but I didn’t.
“So what’s on your mind? Aren’t you supposed to be on a plane in a few hours?” Marcus asked.
I took a deep breath. “I need you to tell me to leave.”
Marcus chuckled. “You want me to tell you to forget about her like Rosalie. You’re the smartest guy I know, but right now I feel like you’re stupid as fuck.”
I threw a dark glance in his direction. Marcus rarely talked to me that way.
“For the first time ever, you bring home a girl I can see you’re serious about and you just let her go.”
“She doesn’t want me. Not in the way I want her.” And I needed to let her go somehow.
“Are you sure about that?” Marcus asked.
“She left, didn’t she?”
Marcus chuckled. “I think you’ve forgotten how badass you can be. Look, I know a good woman when I see one, Xav. Get in that plane and fly to the U.K. if you have to.”
“It’s not that simple.” Nothing in life ever was.
“Do you love her?”
I immediately nodded.
“Then don’t let her go. What the hell are you doing here?”
&
nbsp; He did have a point there.
—
I grabbed my bags not long after I got back to the house. The place seemed cavernous, practically empty when everyone wasn’t gathered together. That was how I’d grown up, and I still didn’t like it. That’s why I had my own place in Phoenix.
One thing I had to do before leaving was say goodbye to Mom. If I was going after Sophie—and I wasn’t coming back without her—Mom needed to know what I planned.
She wouldn’t disrespect Sophie again, no matter how resentful she felt of me.
I found her in the sitting room reading a book.
“Hey, Mom,” I said.
She didn’t look up. “Xavier, I thought you left for the day.”
“I’m about to go back to the East Coast.” I sat down directly in front of her and she looked up immediately.
“What about the company?”
“I’m not leaving for long. I’m going back to take care of some business.”
“The girl.”
I smiled. “Did Marcus call you?” They talked on the phone all the time. As much as I tried not to be jealous, sometimes I got that way.
“No, he didn’t this time. I might be your mom, but I’m also a woman who walked away from the man who loved her.”
My eyebrow rose. “Dad always said you two had the perfect engagement and everything.”
She placed her book in her lap. Thinking about Dad always made her smile and the bitterness melted away a bit. “I sabotaged our relationship at every opportunity. Back when I was dating, most men would end everything before it began. I was never good-looking.”
“Oh, stop it, you’re gorgeous.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re a good son, but even I knew that most men never treated me well. I was forced to live in the moment.”
Like my beautiful Sophie.
She continued. “After dating your father for a year, I left Phoenix for Georgetown. I’d never been with a man for so long.”
“And he went after you.”
“August Quinn didn’t build companies only to have the woman he wanted walk away.” She examined me. “You and your dad are alike in so many ways. Driven to success but blind to matters of the heart.”
“That I agree.”
“I can’t keep you from going—you’re a Quinn, after all—but I just don’t want you getting into something you’re not prepared for.”
“I’m prepared to be happy. I’ve wanted to be happy even though you and Dad abandoned me after I stopped running. It was a lot harder without you.”
She looked away, her hands tightening on her book.
We’d walked into unknown territory. This particular conversation never had happened, unfortunately.
“Things never should have gone that way,” she admitted. “I have regrets.”
We were quiet for a while; the only sounds in the room came from the hum of the air-conditioning through the vents, and the light tick-tock from the clock on the wall.
I stood there for a bit, waiting, hoping.
Then she finally spoke. “Moving on is hard, you know,” she said gently.
The sigh I released was a heavy one. “Yes, it is. The past is dragging us down and even I will admit it’s time for me to move on.”
I turned to leave, but not without saying goodbye. A bridge had been built today between my mother and me. The structure wasn’t steady, but perhaps someday it would be.
Chapter 27
Sophie
Another day, another irate diva. Did I tell you that weekends had become my least favorite time of the week? My blissful yet tragic weekend with Xavier had been an exception, but as of right now, I wanted to jump into the bay and see how far I’d get swimming to the U.K. Even if Carlie wasn’t there.
“Miss Ashton,” my customer Pearl Donahue began, “I thought, when I hired you, you’d be on top of things for my friends. All this waiting is boring.” Pearl, who was fifty-six going on twenty-nine based on the clothes she didn’t have on, quirked a smile and adjusted her five-thousand-dollar sunglasses from Milan.
How did I know the price for those suckers? I’d made sure a pair was available for five ladies at the crack of dawn on the Donahue yacht. As well as gift baskets containing expensive soaps made of goat’s milk from Sweden.
“Now, now, Miss Donahue.” Jesse returned to the deck to meet us. He stood next to her spot on her deck chair and patted her shoulder. She giggled uncontrollably. “I spoke with the captain and he said all the traffic from the regatta has made leaving the marina difficult.” His words were smooth with Southern silk.
“I told you, sweetheart.” Pearl turned to him with appreciation, batting her eyes with massive eyelash extensions that resembled little wiggling spider legs. “Call me Pearl.”
Pearl? She’d been Miss Donahue to me since I made the arrangements for a girls’ weekend in Boston for the America’s Cup. The city was buzzing with the regatta going on right now. The America’s Cup hadn’t been here for the past five years, so the Who’s Who in the Boston celebrity circle could be seen partying on other yachts close by. It took Jesse and me more than an hour to reach the Donahue yacht.
As much as I enjoyed the festive mood around me, a part of me wished I were relaxing in a hotel suite off the bay watching the events with someone in particular.
“Don’t you agree, Miss Ashton?” someone on my left, one of Pearl’s companions, asked me. “Boston was so overdue for a regatta.”
I shoved my moment of reverie overboard to smile at the guest. “Of course. Valencia is nice and all, but there’s something special about the bay.”
Yep, there was something special about the bay. Briefly, I thought about eating fish tacos with Xavier. With his competitive spirit, he’d like seeing this scene with all these well-crafted sailboats with large corporate logos.
“Speaking of Spain,” Pearl’s friend mentioned, “this fall, Pearl, you should come to Porto Cervo with Carl and me. We’ll be spending the summer there while the kids enjoy Brussels.”
I kept smiling, not having the heart to remind her Sardinia was in Italy…
“If I have someone to enjoy the trip with, I might do that.” Pearl took in Jesse’s ass while he spoke with someone on the phone—most likely the caterer she flew in from Miami. As Jesse’s employer, I was horrified. As nice as his ass was, I was drawing the line if she grabbed it. Before my mouth opened to shift the cougar club meeting’s attention elsewhere, one of the skippers from below crossed the expansive deck and approached me. “Are you Sophie Ashton?” he asked.
I nodded. “Is something the matter?” Smile until your cheeks go numb, Sophie.
“We have a boat off the stern that has requested your presence.”
“Excuse me?” From where we stood, with the tallest part of the yacht in the way, I couldn’t see anything behind us.
After excusing myself, I followed the skipper around the side of the ship. As another yacht, a bit bigger, came into view, my heartbeat quickened along with my steps. Soon enough, I passed the skipper, practically running up to the back of the boat to see the most beautiful sight.
Across the deck of the other boat was a sea of moonflowers. Beautiful white and pink flowers swaying with the ocean’s breeze.
And there he stood in the middle of them, waiting for me.
The skipper had caught up to me and he had a wry grin on his face. “I assumed you’d want to see this.”
“I hope it’s for me. Would be awkward otherwise,” I murmured.
Xavier and I stared at each other for a bit, before the skipper tapped my shoulder. “Unless you plan to fly over there, Mr. Quinn has a boat waiting to take you.”
I nodded. While I headed over I sent Jesse a quick message:
Heading to see someone very special. Take good care of Miss Donahue. Keep your clothes on, please.
The small boat couldn’t take me to see him fast enough. My whole body sang with excitement, but then as we approached the back of his yacht where I
could board, fear and doubt crept up my spine. He’d finally come to see me, but what did he want this time? What demands would he make to upend my life?
Wave after wave of the wonderful scent flowed through my nostrils. The whole place was like heaven. I reached out and touched a few flowers. As expected, their petals were closed. Their time to bloom was coming soon.
As much as I wanted to put my arms around him, I kept my distance.
“Xavier.” For a couple of breaths we stared at each other. “What are you…?” I knew the obvious answer, but I wanted to hear it from him.
“I came for you.”
I briefly closed my eyes. Even though he was standing a few feet away, I could feel him. The breeze brought his scent to me, too, and my body immediately responded.
But I didn’t know what to say.
He reached out to brush his fingertips against mine. “I’m not leaving until you agree to be with me.”
Then he glanced down and saw the hand he’d brushed against. “You’re wearing them.”
He ran his hand over the brand-new leather cuffs I wore. His leather cuffs.
“Yes.” I wore his heart on me now—even before my little talk with Carlie. I had been for a while.
Nervously, I shifted from one foot to another.
“I sold my building in Phoenix,” he finally said.
“Why?” He’d spent so much time on making it a home.
“I did some thinking. It’s just a place to lay my head. I had to let it go if I wanted to start fresh with you.”
I only nodded.
“I’m glad you didn’t leave,” he added.
“But I left you and I said no to us, too. I distinctly remember you saying you never take no for an answer unless there is a good reason. There must’ve been a very good reason back then. So why now?” I asked.
I had to know. Missing me wasn’t good enough.
“I always work to get what I want so that I hear yes.” He closed the gap even more. I wanted him to touch me so badly. “I wanted you to be happy and I didn’t want to be the one to hold you back. I let you go because I love you, Ashley.”
Bound to You Page 20
