CHAPTER 19
Angela stared blankly at the computer screen in front of her on Monday morning. She’d been trying unsuccessfully to put together a launch for a new listing Daniel wanted her to work on, but her mind wasn’t on it.
Ever since meeting Daniel’s ex-girlfriend at the nightclub, she’d been distracted. Distracted by Farrah’s words. And her predictions.
Was Farrah right?
She knew Daniel’s reputation, but she’d always thought it was because he didn’t know love or hadn’t seen it to recognize what might be staring him in the face. Instead, she was faced with the knowledge that perhaps he had already seen it—when he was younger. And now he’d found every woman since Mia Landers lacking.
Oh how she wished Daniel had shared this information with her himself. Wished she hadn’t heard this news from Farrah, but she had. And there was no going back. She had to know the truth.
Clicking on her mouse, Angela finally did what she’d been wanting to do since yesterday. She researched Mia Landers.
Ten minutes later, Angela was confused. According to what she read online, Mia Landers had been engaged to Ashton Rollins when she’d died in a car crash. Where did Daniel fit in? Had Mia left him for Ashton? Or had she been cheating on Ashton with Daniel? Angela didn’t understand.
It didn’t make sense.
Why would Daniel still carry a torch for another man’s fiancée?
And did she have the guts to ask him about it in person? Angela rose from her chair and paced her office. She hadn’t asked for this information, but now that it had been laid at her feet, she was curious. What did it all mean? And how did it affect her relationship with Daniel?
Only Daniel could answer these questions. And she had to know the truth. She was just afraid of rocking the boat. Everything was going so well between them. If she brought up his past, a past that he’d chosen not to share with her, would he consider it an invasion of his privacy?
Before she blew up a promising relationship, she would take some time to think about it. Another day wouldn’t hurt…
* * *
Daniel was irritated. He’d arrived home later that evening with his dry cleaning and went to put it away only to find some of Angela’s clothes hanging up in his closet.
Had he told her she could make herself at home? She hadn’t even asked him. Perhaps if she had, he wouldn’t feel like the walls were caving in on him, but he did.
He hated that he felt this way.
Angela was a good woman, but their relationship was moving at a galloping rate. He just wished he could slow it down so he could catch his breath and figure out what was going on. Before long, she would be moving in, and he wasn’t sure if he was ready for it.
He hadn’t even gotten this far with Farrah because he’d made sure to keep their two worlds separate. The only reason Farrah had even known about Mia was because an old college buddy had mentioned her name during a dinner, forcing him to discuss her. Daniel sure as hell wouldn’t have confided in Farrah otherwise. He’d kept his feelings for Mia to himself. It was one of his greatest failures, and he wasn’t happy to reveal them to anyone.
But Angela… She was changing everything. She was getting under his skin and slowly burrowing her way into his heart. He wasn’t sure he could deal with putting himself out there again and risk losing his heart. He’d kept his heart shuttered for so long, he had to protect himself.
So when Angela came over later that night, he did what he did best. He turned the tables.
“Hey, babe.” Angela’s lips brushed his cheek as she walked past him carrying several plastic bags to the kitchen counter. “Hope you’re hungry and don’t mind Italian. I brought takeout from Mariano’s.”
“That’s fine.” He closed the door behind her and followed her into the kitchen. He sat on one of the stools in front of the island.
“How was your day?” she asked, removing the jacket that matched her suit. She was wearing a simple Dior pantsuit and looked sophisticated and sexy, and Daniel’s heart turned over in his chest.
This woman was starting to make him feel something he wasn’t sure he was ready to face. When they were together in each other’s arms, he wanted to stay with her forever.
He couldn’t breathe.
He loosened his tie around his collar, desperate for air.
When he didn’t answer, she glanced in his direction. “Daniel? Did you hear me?”
“Yes, I heard you,” he replied tightly. “My day was fine.”
She frowned at him. “The second ‘fine’ in a couple of minutes. It doesn’t sound like your day went very well.” She stopped unpacking the foil tins from the bag, moved away from the island and came toward him. Before he could stop her, she walked between his legs and slid her arms around his neck. “I’m sorry if you had a bad day. Is there anything I can do to help?”
She lowered her head to nuzzle his neck.
Daniel shook his head. “Just a lot on my mind, preoccupied with work.” He pushed her away from him. He couldn’t think with her hot lips on him.
She stared at him, looking into his eyes, and he knew she knew he was lying. “No, that isn’t all, is it?”
He pushed off from the stool. “Just let it go, Angela.”
She frowned, folding her arms across her chest. “Is it me? Have I done something to upset you?”
“No. Can’t we just drop it?” He walked to the cupboard and began removing plates. “Let’s just eat dinner.”
Angela placed her hands on her hips. “I couldn’t care less about dinner, Daniel. I’d like to know what it is I’ve done since I’ve only just arrived.”
“You left your clothes in my closet!” Daniel said in a rush.
The moment he said the words and saw the subsequent hurt look on her face, Daniel instantly regretted it and wished he could take it back, but it was too late.
“Oh, I see.” Angela’s voice was shaky as she responded. “You don’t mind having sex with me any day of the week, but heaven forbid I leave a change of clothes in your closet. Is that what you’re telling me, Daniel?”
“Don’t put words in my mouth.”
She glared at him. “I don’t need to.” She stalked up the stairs to his bedroom and Daniel rushed to follow her. He knew what she was about to do and he was right. When he arrived, he found her in his closet snatching her clothes off the hangers and stuffing them in a bag. He stepped in her path, but she merely brushed past him and stormed into the master bathroom, taking her toothbrush from the holder next to his and throwing it in the bag.
“Angela, wait,” he said as she stalked out of the bedroom and rushed down the stairs.
He watched her eyes dart around his penthouse and when she found her iPad on the settee next to the couch, she threw it in the bag.
“Angela, stop. You don’t have to do this.”
She stood still and glared at him. “Of course I do, Daniel, because I wouldn’t want to crowd you. You’re used to your bachelor lifestyle where women are interchangeable, and I’ve crossed the line.”
“You’re overreacting,” Daniel said. “And I’m sorry if I’ve made you feel unwelcome. That wasn’t my intention. You know I enjoy your company and I’ve always treated you well, haven’t I? You’ve been happy with me?”
Angela laughed. “Of course, Daniel, you know I have. It’s been nothing but the best Miami has to offer, but there is more to life than fancy dinners, private jets, beachside cottages and front-row seats at Heat games.”
Daniel glanced at her warily. Where the hell had that come from? “You’ve never complained before.”
“And I’m not now, Daniel. You’ve been nothing but generous. What’s not to like?”
He heard the sarcastic note in her tone and ignored it. “Then why are you angry at me? Because I was
just being honest. Our relationship is moving at an alarming rate and I hadn’t realized we were at the stage of leaving our belongings at each other’s place. We haven’t talked about where this is leading. What exactly are you looking for?”
* * *
Was now the time to tell Daniel how she truly felt? If she didn’t, Angela would never get another chance. She had to be completely honest with herself and him about what she wanted—no matter the consequences. Even if it meant losing him. Because hadn’t she already?
Dropping her bag to her floor, Angela turned to face him. “Well, it’s not what you think, Daniel. You can relax. I don’t need a ring on my finger or a Mrs. before my name.”
She couldn’t read his expression. Was it a look of relief or disappointment on his face that she wasn’t ready to throw herself headlong into marriage? Angela wasn’t sure.
“What do you need?” Daniel queried.
“I need,” Angela responded softly, “all of you.”
“You have all of me. What you see is what you get, Angela. I’m not hiding anything from you.”
“C’mon, Daniel,” she said on a sigh. “You share only what you want me to see, what you share with the rest of the world—a perfectly polished Daniel Cobb with your shiny glass penthouse and your well-ordered life. And what have I brought into it? Chaos. I’ve interrupted your carefully constructed life. Well, guess what, I think there’s more to you than this.” She swept her arm around the room. “And I want that, Daniel. I want the full, unvarnished, unedited Daniel Cobb.”
His brown eyes darkened as he held her gaze. “I’m not hiding anything.”
A painful knot formed in her stomach, but she asked the question she’d wondered about since her encounter with Farrah. “Who is Mia?”
Daniel gave her a fiery, angry look that she’d never seen before, and his nostrils flared with fury as if she had just struck him physically. “What the hell does she have to do with anything? And who’s been talking to you about her?”
A lone tear rolled down Angela’s cheek at the realization that Farrah was right. A heaviness filled her belly at the thought that she’d been foolishly wasting her time thinking that Daniel might come to love her as she loved him. He was stuck in the past. “Not you. Why is that, Daniel? Why have you never shared your and Mia’s love story?”
* * *
Daniel stared back in disbelief at Angela. Who told her? Farrah. Deep down, he’d had a feeling Farrah had told Angela of his history with Mia. It’s why she’d been withdrawn after the club. But when she’d responded to him in bed, he’d thought he might be wrong. But he wasn’t. Sex was never their problem; communication was.
“I don’t want to talk about this,” Daniel stated. He walked over to the glass patio doors and stared out at the dark night sky.
“Why not? Who was Mia to you?” Angela pressed, coming up to stand behind him. “It’s been over a decade, Daniel. Why can’t you talk about her now? Is it because you’re still in love with her and you’ll never love anyone else?”
Daniel spun around. “Stop it, Angela.”
“Why?” she wailed. “I have a right to know. We’ve been sleeping together for over a month now and if this relationship isn’t going anywhere and is a colossal waste of time, then I need to know. I need to know, Daniel.”
“Why do you need to know?” He walked as far away from her as he could, to the opposite side of the room. He couldn’t think when she was that close, pressing her lush breasts against his back. “This has nothing to do with you. It was another time and place. It doesn’t matter now.”
“You’re fooling yourself, Daniel, because you’re not over Mia, and that hurts because you won’t share it with me even after everything we’ve been to each other.”
His head began to pound at her anguish. “I don’t want to hurt you, Angela.” He massaged both of his temples with his hands. “Why are you making this harder than it needs to be? Can’t you let this go?”
“I can’t because I—” Then she stopped midsentence and her eyes implored him as tears slid down her beautiful cheeks. “Please, I—I just need you to talk to me.”
“No!” Daniel walked toward the door and, grabbing his keys off the nearby hook, he opened the door. “I will not talk about this.”
Seconds later, he was slamming the door shut and heading for the elevator. He knew it was a coward’s way out—to walk away from Angela with no explanation—but he couldn’t talk about Mia with Angela. It was all jumbled in his head and he needed time to sort through his feelings.
CHAPTER 20
Angela was so devastated she took the day off. She’d foolishly been banking on one thing: that if she showed Daniel who she truly was, if she was there day in and day out, supporting him, caring for him, loving him, he’d see they shared something real. She wished he could see through her eyes that they had something special to build on. But he couldn’t or wouldn’t see anything except his past love and hurt.
She didn’t know what happened between Daniel and Mia and doubted she ever would. Daniel had closed himself off to her. He’d walked out on her after she’d begged him to let her in. How much more could she put herself on the line and get nothing back in return? How many more times was she going to beat her head against the wall and expect a different result?
It would always be the same.
Daniel was still in love with Mia.
Would always be, just as Farrah had predicted.
Angela had foolishly thought their relationship might be different, but as soon as she’d begun trying to break through the barriers he had around his heart and show him she was there for him and not going anywhere, he’d predictably run scared. A few little items of clothing in his closet had sent him into a panic that she was trying to become a permanent fixture in his life.
And that, Daniel couldn’t have.
He wanted to be alone to wallow in his misery of a love gone wrong, or a love unrequited or some other cliché.
She was going to have to move on, but that was going to be difficult given that her professional career was tied to him. She’d only been at Cobb much less than a year. How would it look to a new employer if she bailed so quickly on such an elite firm? They would probably think she couldn’t cut the mustard, but she would have to take that risk.
There was no way she could continue to work for Daniel given the state of their relationship. She couldn’t bear to watch him date other women and hear the office gossip of the infamous love-’em-and-leave-’em Daniel Cobb. It would crush her spirit if she did.
She needed to figure it out and get her life in order. Facing Daniel would be difficult, but Angela was prepared to do it.
But she didn’t have to.
When she returned to work on Wednesday, Daniel didn’t show up. She learned from Myrna that he hadn’t been there the day before, either. Angela was thankful for the reprieve because it gave her time to put out feelers for a new job. Her old boss had even graciously agreed to allow her to come back if she wanted to. He’d heard how well she was doing at Cobb, but she wasn’t keen on that option. The only thing she did know was that she couldn’t work at Cobb any longer and would turn in her resignation letter.
She typed it up and had it with her the next morning, prepared to share her decision with Daniel, but he didn’t show up. She was worried. Daniel hadn’t been absent from the office for three days in the company’s existence. She hoped and prayed he was okay.
Everyone in the office was buzzing that no one had heard from him other than a cryptic text he’d sent to Mary to cancel his appointments for the remainder of the week. Despite the heaviness in her chest, Angela knew that she had to leave.
So on Friday, she arrived early before everyone in the office, dressed in jeans and a sleeveless top, and brought boxes with her to pack up her office. She was nearly done
when Myrna stopped by her door.
“Do you know what’s going on with Daniel?” Myrna inquired.
“Why would I know anything?” Angela asked curtly.
“C’mon, Angela.” Myrna closed the office door behind her and came toward her desk. Her blue eyes peered into Angela’s. “I know you’ve been seeing Daniel.”
Angela stopped packing up the box. “You’re mistaken.”
“Well, for starters, Daniel’s been MIA for days and you’re in here packing. And you don’t think I haven’t noticed the dark circles under your eyes the last couple of days?” Myrna asked quietly. “Or that you’ve been crying?”
“Is it that obvious?” Angela reached for her drawer, grabbed her purse and pulled out her compact mirror, searching for any signs. She didn’t realize she’d just confirmed Myrna’s suspicions until Myrna sat down in front of her.
“Oh, Angela.” Myrna shook her head.
Angela glanced up from the mirror. “Please don’t say I told you so, because I really can’t hear that right now. I know what you said and I didn’t listen, okay? So you’re right. There. Are you happy now?”
Myrna frowned. “Of course not. I didn’t want you to get hurt. Which obviously you are.”
“It’s my own fault,” Angela said, “for wanting more than was on the table.”
“Don’t blame yourself, Angela. You’re a wonderful woman and Daniel is a fool for not realizing that.”
“I’m no fool,” a masculine voice said from behind them.
Angela glanced up and was startled to find Daniel standing in the doorway of her office. “Daniel!” His name whooshed from her lips.
He was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. His eyes were bloodshot and there was more than a five o’clock shadow on his jaw. It looked like he hadn’t shaved in days. And his eyes were darkened with pain.
“Mr. Cobb.” Myrna rose to her feet. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean—”
He held his hand up, halting her speech. “Myrna, I need a word alone with Angela, please.”
Harlequin Kimani Romance June 2017 Box Set Page 35
