Loving Shade
Page 13
Grinning around my cigarette, I nod.
It’s a warm, breezy summer day, yet not many people wander on the streets.
I let out a stream of smoke, my eyes still soaking her in.
Silky strands of hair fall over her cheeks.
She flicks her head back as she brushes her hair out of her eyes, and lets it drape over her shoulders.
The sunglasses slide down her nose slightly.
She pushes them down even more and shoots me an intense gaze from above the rim of her glasses, smiling.
She’s so beautiful.
I never thought I’d say that, but for once in her life, Elia was right about something.
She is like a pussycat. Her blue-green top sets off her eyes, the brown curtain of hair framing her sun-kissed face.
A strange sensation washes over me.
I’m gonna miss her...
Holding my duffel bag in one hand, I jog down the few short stairs, leave the bank behind, and stride to the car.
Her head flicks to the side as she shifts in the driver’s seat, and searches for something on the back bench.
She brings her phone to her ear, her expression changing dramatically as she starts to talk on the phone.
The way she cuts her eyes to the side and then to me, makes a wave of panic surge through me.
She slides her sunglasses up her nose, and covers her eyes, hiding her expression.
From where I stand, it all looks grim to me.
I near the car, yank the door open, toss the bag on the back seat and slip inside. Still talking on her phone, she turns her face to me, so slowly and so heavy with sorrow, it’s painful to watch.
She looks at me, her lips parted in a surprise, disappointment flowing through her veins.
“Who is it?” I mouth to her.
She holds her finger up and looks away again, not fast enough, and I get a glimpse of a tear coming down her face.
I grip her shoulder, but she snaps it out of my grasp with so much anger, I’m taken aback.
And then I know exactly who that is.
With one curt gesture, I snatch her phone from her and bring it to my ear.
She doesn’t even fight me, only lets her hand fall to the steering wheel as her tears start streaming down her face.
“What the fuck do you want, Elia?” I bark.
Laughter fills my ear.
“Well, darling... I guess Tara, your real love,” she mocks, “can’t bear a dose of the truth, can she? So much for true love these days. Being who you are––straightforward and ballsy, I was convinced you told her by now. She deserves to know the truth, Shade. You put yourself through misery for her. You’re out of this home, and now out of our will as well.”
“Go to hell.”
Tara glances at me.
She pulls the sunglasses off and lays them in her lap, her eyes red from crying.
“She’s not the reason,” I growl through clenched teeth. “She was only a pretext to do whatever you wanted to do. You would’ve done it one way or another, Elia. We both know it.”
“She’s not a pretext, Shade. And you could’ve seen her for what she was if you weren’t so smitten with her. Think for a moment like a business man. You must know that your stubbornness makes no sense. Particularly when it comes with such a tremendous cost. Even if you’re convinced that she is the woman for you and also the real deal, you can’t tell for sure if this thing you have with her will stand the test of time. It’s stupid to throw everything out the window for what you call love. I’m sure she has more sense than you. She’ll understand what you can’t get a grasp of. It’s not too late, Shade. You can still have your old life back. Your money, your cars, and even the women that you crave. Our company. And since I feel extremely generous today, I’ll sweeten the deal for me. You can have it now or whenever your infatuation with her wears off. I’m patient. Besides, Roger and I are still young. Whenever you come to your senses, it’s all here, waiting for you. I can’t imagine, you’d be so dumb, and incapable of seeing that sooner or later the end will be the same. If I were you, I would do myself a little favor and spare the aggravation for everybody else while you seemingly need to learn your lessons.”
“You know nothing about me, Elia,” I say deadpan.
She sighs, preciously.
“Well, maybe... But I know enough about people. Whether you grasp it or not remains to be seen, but she probably would. No woman wants to carry that kind of burden. She’s not only a liability. She’s a billion dollar liability. Think about it. I’m sure she ponders over it as we speak,” she says.
I hang up and toss the phone on the board.
My hand threads through my hair as I take a long breath, my body tense as hell.
“Tara?” I call her softly.
Her forehead leans against the window, her tears trickling down her face.
Blankly, she stares at the view outside, disconnected, and so far away from me.
I feared this the most.
“Tara, baby?” My hand goes to her shoulder. She’s cold. Motionless. “She’s a liar... You can’t listen to what she says.”
She turns her head to me, a sad smile clinging to her lips.
“It’s not a lie, Shade. They took you out of their will. They took everything away from you,” she says, her voice breaking.
Biting her lips, she tries to push her tears back as she continues.
“She’s not lying. And they’re not playing games. They’re doing what they think is best for you and them. There’s no point in lying to me. You know it’s true. You knew it all along. You should’ve told me how bad it was.”
“They would’ve done it one way or another. It has nothing to do with you.”
“Yes, it does. And you don’t know if they would’ve done it differently or not,” she says bitterly.
She tips her chin down, slowly shaking her head.
Her tears fall on her lap, a few more moments of silence passing by.
“I’m sorry, Shade. I can’t be that woman...”
My fingers slide into her hair. All her fire is gone. I feel nothing. As if her heart is gone. As if there’s nothing left inside her, and I stare at an empty shell.
“What are you saying, Tara?”
I grab her hand, and more death comes to my touch.
Her lips quiver, wet from tears.
“It’s not about money, baby... I don’t care about their money. I’ll make my own.”
My voice struggles with emotion.
She turns to me, and I pray for a sliver of hope.
“You don’t trust me?” I ask.
Dull eyes fall into mine, and my heart screams as I feel her pulling away from me. Slowly, breaking me.
“I do, baby... I do,” she says, but her voice no longer brims with love, only sorrow.
She gives me nothing. Her voice has become a lifeless sound, stripped of the warmth of her heart.
Her hand slides to my face, softly brushing my skin, her eyes so sad, it kills me. I know what this is.
And I know that it’s done.
It’s not her fault or mine. And there’s nothing I can fucking do. Because nothing is on my side. And certainly not the time.
“I can’t be an obstacle, Shade.”
“You can’t say that,” I argue uselessly.
She shakes her head and tries to hide her eyes, her tears hurting me inside.
I cup her face and she leans against my touch, both aware that this could be our last memory.
“You’re going to hate me, sooner or later...” she says through soft sobs. “This thing that they did to you will shape your life for a very long time. It will always remind you of me. And not in a good way. I don’t want to be that woman. I love you too much. I don’t want to taint that love. I can’t have you look at me that way.”
My heart slowly dies.
“Like what?”
“Like the woman because of whom you’ve lost everything. I can’t... I’m so sorry.”
She looks at me, broken and rueful, and my eyes fill with tears.
“You can’t do this to me, baby. Please don’t do this.”
She shakes her head again.
“I don’t want to do anything. And I won’t do anything. I will wait for you for as long as it takes if you still want me. But I want you free and clear and for good. I want to make things right because I want it all. All right?”
“That’s not how it works. You must know that. A lot of things can happen when we’re apart. Besides, I can’t stay away from you for long.”
My words float in a space that’s been growing between us larger with every second. Cold and dark and so empty, it breaks my heart.
“There’s no other way,” she says the words that I’ve dreaded the most.
Her eyes glimmer with tears, her voice fading into a soft whimper.
Blinking my tears back, I clench my teeth and tear her hand away from my face. Without a word, I peel my gaze away from her as well while a sharp pain slices through me. I bolt out of the car, the door slamming in my wake with a dull, metallic sound. I shove my hand into my pocket and pull away from the car, rushing to the first crossroad.
Holding my free hand up, I hail a cab.
As soon as I sink into the backseat, I pull out my phone and make the first call.
“Yes. You know where to send it.”
And then, I make a second call.
“Hey. I’m ready. I’m on my way.”
To be continued.
Thank you for reading LOVING SHADE, A Billionaire Romance (GOLDEN HEIR Series #2)
The rest of the series is available in the store.
The story continues with FOREVER SHADE (Golden Heir 3)
FOREVER SHADE (Golden Heir 3)
Also, Shade and Tara make a few appearances in the SHADES OF LOVE Series which is A Golden Heir Spin off Series that features a different lead man, but someone you know.
Shades of Love is a romance with dark tones.
Also by Shayne Ford
NIGHT OF THE DIAMONDS SERIES
A Billionaire Dark Romance
REMI (Night of the Diamonds #1)
LOVE IS WAR SERIES
A Billionaire Romantic Suspense
FALLEN (Love is War Series #1)
BROKEN (Love is War Series #2)
TAKEN (Love is War Series #3)
OWNED (Love is War Series #4)
NIGHT OF THE KINGS SERIES
A Billionaire Hot Romance
JAMES (Night of the Kings Series #1)
DARK JAMES (Night of the Kings Series #2)
TAMING JAMES (Night of the Kings Series #3)
ALEXANDER (Night of the Kings Series #4)
HARD LEX (Night of the Kings Series #5)
LOVING LEX (Night of the Kings Series #6)
EDWARD (Night of the Kings #7)
WILD ED (Night of the Kings #8)
TAMING ED (Night of the Kings #9)
FIGHTING ED (Night of the Kings#10)
LOVING ED (Night of the Kings #11)
CRAVING JAMES (Night of the Kings #12)
LOVING JAMES (Night of the Kings #13)
TIAGO (Night of the Kings #14)
DARK HEART SERIES
A Dark Romance
JADEN (Dark Heart Series #1)
WILD JADEN (Dark Heart Series #2)
JADEN’S HEART (Dark Heart Series #3)
SHADES OF LOVE
A Billionaire Dark Romance
DARK MCKENNA (Shades of Love #1)
REAL MCKENNA (Shades of Love #2)
MCKENNA (Shades of Love #3)
GOLDEN HEIR SERIES
A Billionaire Romance
SHADE (Golden Heir Series #1)
LOVING SHADE (Golden Heir Series #2)
FOREVER SHADE (Golden Heir Series #3)
WILD HEART SERIES, A Menage (MMF) Romance
JAGGER (Wild Heart Series #1)
LOVING JAGGER (Wild Heart Series #2)
LOVING BRAXTON (Wild Heart Series #3)
WILD NIGHTS (Wild Heart Series #4)
FINDING HOME (Wild Heart Series #5)
STEEL SERIES (A Rock Star Romance)
A Rock Star Romance
Layla’s Story
River Steel (Steel Series #1)
Loving River (Steel Series #2)
River’s Story (Companion Books to Layla’s Books)
River (Steel Series #3)
River’s Heart (Steel Series #4)
About the Author
Shayne Ford writes epic novels. Her stories feature hot-blooded men and adventurous, soulful women. She likes to write Series that are epic, layered, character-driven, have a dash of mystery and a lot of depth. She writes what she likes to read, and people who share her taste, devour her books. Her stories are not the typical romance, nor are they formulaic or fit a mold.
She likes her lead men hot, smart, and honest.
She's a fan of muscle cars, dogs, chocolate, flowers and quiet, starry nights filled with love.
Contact: shayne@shayneford.com
Website: www.shayneford.com
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www.shayneford.com
shayne@shayneford.com