Always Mine

by Ruth Cardello

  In a warm, almost maternal voice, Sophie asked, “Can I make a suggestion? Why don’t you come to Boston and help me plan this? That way it’s exactly the way you imagine it. I’d love to see you again and, honestly, this is the time of year when I need to focus on happy things. So, you’d actually be doing me a favor.”

  Emily chewed her bottom lip. “I do have a friend in Boston I could stay with, and I could send a list of items to ship to Mr. Riggins.”

  “Oh, are you not in New Hampshire at the moment?” Sophie asked.

  “No, I’m . . . I’m . . . traveling, but I could be back in the United States by tomorrow if I can get a flight.”

  “Traveling out of the country. How exciting. I hope I’m not cutting your vacation short.”

  “You’re not,” Emily said awkwardly. “I was preparing to fly back soon anyway.”

  “Where are you?”

  “Right now?”

  Sophie laughed. “You don’t have to tell me. I’m simply curious. I used to love to travel.”

  Emily felt ridiculous, and she was awful at lying, so she said, “I’m in Paris.”

  “I adore Paris. My friends wonder how I could love that city and not speak a lick of the language. That never bothered me. Where are you staying? There are so many wonderful hotels.”

  “A friend of mine has an apartment in the city.” Emily rolled her eyes skyward. Please don’t ask his name.

  “Oh, I like that so much better than a hotel. My son Asher has a place in Paris. I haven’t stayed there yet, but I hear it’s beautiful. Speaking of Asher, have you heard from him since that initial meeting?”

  Emily covered her eyes with one hand. I can’t do this. “I have to go, Sophie.”

  “Wait, if it’s possible, I’d love for you to fly directly here so we could get the details of the exhibition hammered out. If you don’t have a flight already, I could call Asher. I heard he was over there for business.”

  “Sophie . . .”

  “Yes?”

  “Do you know where I am?”

  Sophie was quiet for a moment, then she said, “I’m afraid if I say yes you won’t agree to let me help you with your museum.”

  Emily lowered her hand and squared her shoulders. “If you’re offering because you think there is something serious between your son and me, you’re right, I can’t say yes.” I wish I could.

  Sophie cleared her throat. “Asher isn’t an easy man to love; you don’t have to tell me that, but he has his reasons.”

  The two sides of Asher began to make more sense to Emily. It was what she’d thought; something had hurt him deeply. One side didn’t necessarily make the other a lie. They were both within him. Conflicted, just as she was. “Asher wouldn’t want me there with you, and I wouldn’t want you to help me because you think I’m important to him.” Emily blinked back fresh tears. “I don’t think I am.”

  “That breaks my heart, but I know it’s not true. I know my son. He’s never called his sister for advice about a woman before you. He took you to Paris because he cares about you and doesn’t know how to say it. Every parent fails in some way. There were so many things I should have explained to Asher when he was young. I thought I could hide the ugly side of life from the children. I didn’t want to burden them with it, but when I see them close people out I worry that I taught them how.”

  Sophie’s words moved Emily. “I’m not sure what to say.”

  “Say you’ll come to Boston. Spend some time with us, and let’s get that museum of yours on the map. Have enough faith in my son to believe that even if he gets upset, he’ll come around.”

  “I don’t know,” Emily said slowly. She wanted to say yes, just as she wanted to believe in Asher. Both were scary leaps of faith.

  He’s said nothing about what he feels about me. He enjoys me sexually, and we actually have a lot of fun together—even if he can’t tell jokes. But he doesn’t want more than that, and I’m a fool if I let myself forget that.

  “Your visit would make me happier than you could ever know. This a difficult time of year for me, and I was serious that I need to keep myself occupied with good things. If you don’t end up with my son, Emily, it won’t change how much I want to see you succeed with your museum. Let me do this for you.”

  “I’ll pay you back, Sophie. Once my museum is stable, I’ll reimburse you for everything this costs you.”

  “We’ll talk about those details later when you’re here. Why don’t you pack your things and I’ll have a driver come around to pick you up in a couple hours.”

  Emily shook her head. “I don’t have a ticket back yet.”

  “I’ll have everything ready for you by . . . let’s say one o’clock. Try not to sleep on the flight back because it’ll be early evening when you arrive here, but I’d wait to sleep. We’ll send you out for a quick walk when you first get here and reset your internal clock. That’s my jet lag secret.”

  Still feeling stunned, Emily said, “I don’t know how to thank you for this, Sophie. It’s more than I ever imagined anyone would want to do.”

  She could hear Sophie’s smile in her voice. “See you when you get here. Emily. I just had a wonderful idea. Why don’t you stay with us while you’re here? The house is so empty with everyone gone.”

  “I—I . . .”

  “Perfect, I’ll have a room made up for you. Dale loves to have company. Don’t ask him about his golf game, though, or he’ll talk your ear off. I can’t wait to see you, Emily.”

  The next day Asher closed the door to his office in Trundaie and sat down on the couch across from his desk. He leaned forward and laid his head in his hands. He was exhausted, frustrated, and for the first time in his career uncertain of what his next step should be.

  He’d met Bennett Stone the night before, and Asher was glad he’d agreed to add him to his team. Bennett had the air of a former Special Ops Marine, but he was also surprisingly high-tech. He set up a base of operation in the office across the hall from Asher with monitors that displayed both live satellite feed and drone surveillance videos.

  He hadn’t come alone. The fifteen men he’d brought with him were plainclothes men with earpieces that allowed them to stay in regular contact. He stationed ten of them around the facility and sent five out into the surrounding area. The first twenty-four hours had been devoted to gathering intel.

  Asher’s meeting with Bennett regarding the findings hadn’t been good. Dominic’s sources had proven more reliable than his own. The rebels were hiring mercenary soldiers and an attack was imminent on his facility.

  “How invested are you in this location?” Bennett had asked.

  “Too invested to pull out now,” Asher had answered.

  Bennett had shaken his head slowly and said, “How far are you willing to go to defend it?”

  It was a chilling question, and one Asher hadn’t faced before. He had worked with countries with unstable governments before, but things had never progressed to this level. “What lengths are we talking about?”

  Bennett had met his eyes calmly as if he were setting the terms for a car purchase. “I’ll kill any man who steps onto this facility without permission. I’ll take the fight to where these rebels hide, but I won’t kill women, children, or innocents. If you need a real war, I can give you names of men who will do anything for the right price. Otherwise, we do it my way. Understand though, that weeding out the trouble from those they entwine themselves with can be tricky and time-consuming. A blunt blanket show of force is initially more effective, but in my opinion politically not advisable. That kind of blood on your hands doesn’t wash off easily.”

  Holy shit.

  “I’d prefer we keep the killing to a minimum,” Asher had said. Even as he’d said the words they hadn’t sounded real. He’d built his financial empire by crushing his financial opponents, but this was different. This involved people’s lives. “How dangerous is it for the men and women working here?”

  “On a scale of one to ten? T
welve. You picked a tough country to do business with.”

  “Can you stabilize the situation or not?”

  “How cooperative is your contact in the local military?”

  “It mirrors how well I compensate him.”

  “Be generous, we’ll need him. I’ll organize an initial strike, but it’ll have to look like a government action to optimize its effectiveness. We’ll scare these bastards where they sleep and spread the word that aligning with rebels is a deadly decision.”

  “Could this be done without casualties, on either side?”

  “Sure,” Bennett had said with a half-smile twisting his lips, “if you close up and fly everyone out tonight.” Before he’d left Asher’s office he’d added, “You don’t have much time to decide. I’ll be next door when you do.”

  Asher leaned back against the couch and stared at the wall behind his desk. He could have chosen a safer country to partner with, but the profit margin would have been considerably less. The Prime Minister of Trundaie was gambling that working with an American company would solve their impending economic crisis. As a small country that had aggressively gone through their natural resources, they needed a partnership with a sustainable export. Once B&H had the facility up and running, Asher’s people would be slowly phased out and the facility would belong to and be run by Trundaie. The proposed payout would be in the billions and surrounding countries were already lining up to sign with B&H if Asher could pull this off.

  He called his business partner on the encrypted wireless line Bennett had installed. “Brice, we need to talk.” Normally, Asher let Brice live in the bubble of his laboratory, but Asher’s next decision would affect both of them, as well as the future of their company. He updated Brice on the situation in Trundaie and the choices they were faced with.

  Brice was uncharacteristically quiet for several moments after Asher finished speaking. “Neither outcome is acceptable.”

  “No shit,” Asher said and rubbed his temple. He hadn’t slept in forty-eight hours and his head was throbbing.

  “I’m running scenarios in my head. Your present reactants will not result in a product that aligns with our vision for the company. Despite the variable of unpredictability you’ve described, the answer is simple.”

  “Now in English, Brice.”

  “Reconsider your process and each component of it. Remove the unacceptable and reconfigure with a substitution. Your brother Ian has a background in negotiating with countries. He has a skillset that could be the third option you haven’t considered. Perhaps a more diplomatic approach could convince the Trundaie government to step up in this situation. The rebels are their issue, not ours.”

  “My brother. He’s never shown any interest in working for B&H.”

  “Have you ever asked him?”

  “No.”

  “Make that call your next.”

  The more Asher thought about it, the less trapped he felt. “You’re a fucking genius, Brice.”

  “I know,” Brice said in a deadpan voice. “Now, do you have another question or can I get back to my work?”

  Asher called his brother next. “Ian, how do you feel about coming to Trundaie and risking your life for a good cause?”

  “Are you serious?”

  Asher spent the next hour outlining the situation to Ian. He didn’t hold back any part of it. Regardless of how they frequently differed in opinion, he trusted Ian with his life. He hoped Ian felt that trust because he was asking him to do the same. “I won’t lie; it’s dangerous here, Ian, but if you think you can do this, I need you.” Those final words hadn’t come easily to Asher and a long silence followed them.

  “I’ll be there tomorrow morning,” Ian said.

  “You understand how this needs to remain confidential, even within our family,” Asher stressed.

  “I understand.” Before he hung up, he added, “Asher, you’ve got a reputation for being ruthless. I’m glad the reality of it has been exaggerated. Men don’t always come back from what you were considering.”

  “I know. That’s why I called you,” Asher said quietly.

  After hanging up with Ian, Asher went across the hall and outlined a different plan for Bennett. His brother’s safety and that of the people working in the facility were top priority. Bennett’s role would be defensive only. Bennett didn’t argue, which meant the plan had a potential for success.

  A short time later, Asher kicked off his shoes and pulled a blanket out of the closet to throw over him while he catnapped on the couch. He lay back, closed his eyes, and tried to relax so he could sleep when an image of Emily popped into his mind.

  I should call her. He didn’t reach for his phone, though. He couldn’t imagine what he’d say, and he was too tired to field questions. He let memories of their two weeks together replace the ugliness he was facing in Trundaie.

  Paris with Emily had a dreamlike quality to it. He’d stepped outside of his life, away from those who knew him, and had simply been a man spending time with a woman he enjoyed. None of his previous relationships had approached the pleasure he felt simply by being with her. The sex was phenomenal, their conversations were always lively, and when he looked at the world through her eyes he liked what he saw.

  She was strong in ways he could admire and soft in ways that brought out a protective side of him. She didn’t hide what she thought or try to manipulate him. She was bravely, relentlessly herself, and she inspired him to be more honest with himself about what he wanted both for himself and his company.

  If he’d never met her, he might have agreed with Bennett’s methods. He’d like to think he wouldn’t have, but his father hadn’t called him the hammer because he’d spent a lot of time seeking peaceful resolutions to conflicts. He’d never killed anyone, nor ordered anyone killed, though, and thankfully that wasn’t about to change.

  Asher laid an arm across his eyes and took a deep breath. He could vividly remember every moment he’d spent with Emily. Every touch. Her sweet scent. The contented smile she shyly gave him when she snuggled to his side after sex.

  It wasn’t easy for him to admit the truth to himself: he missed her.

  She wouldn’t be happy with him for not calling, but he’d make it up to her as soon as he had the situation in Trundaie stabilized. She was in Paris, and he’d left instructions with Ryan to make sure she had everything she needed. He took another deep breath and fell asleep thinking about Emily and where he would sweep her away to as soon as he returned to her.

  Chapter Ten

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  Nine days later, Emily stood in the middle of the climate-controlled storage room in Sophie’s ten-bedroom home where over half of the Harris Tactile Museum was now stored in an endless number of crates. The movers had offered to store the crates in a secure location until the event, but Emily couldn’t imagine sending her mother’s work away, especially since she’d brought so much of it. She’d planned on bringing only a few pieces to Boston for the exhibit, but Sophie had talked her into showcasing the best of what she had. The idea of trusting anyone with the irreplaceable items was terrifying.

  Sophie was a soft-spoken woman, probably one of the sweetest people Emily had ever met, but she knew what she wanted and was gifted at working around the word no. Much like her son. On the flight over, Emily had planned how she would explain to Sophie that she’d be more comfortable staying with Celeste. Emily remembered starting that conversation, but it hadn’t gone anywhere. Sophie had met her in a limo at the private plane she’d hired. She’d taken her home for dinner with her husband, Dale, settled her into a bedroom she’d made up for her, and voila, Emily was staying at the Barrington family home.

  When she’d called Celeste to tell her of the change in her plans, her friend had been concerned. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

  Emily had sat on the edge of the bed, shaking her head. “No, I’m positive it’s a bad one, but what was I supposed to do? Wait in Paris until Asher came back?”

  “Has he
called you?”

  “No.”

  “Em, I know I encouraged you to go on this adventure, but it might be time for it to end. You said you had a good time in Paris. Sometimes that’s all it is, a good time that only gets ugly if you try to hang on to it after it’s done.”

  “You don’t think he was coming back for me?” That idea had occurred to Emily a hundred times already, but she’d pushed it away. He had been too good to her during their time together for her to believe he didn’t care about her at all.

  “Men are a different than women, Em. Many of them are not really good at expressing their feelings so you have to interpret their actions instead.”

  “You think it’s over?”

  “If he hasn’t called you, I’m afraid it probably is. Which is another reason why you shouldn’t stay at his mother’s house. If it’s over, Em, you need to go home or come stay with me.”

  Emily had sighed. “I tried to tell Sophie I couldn’t stay here. She’s impossible to say no to. And she’s helping me find sponsors for my museum. How can I walk away from that?”

  “I have a bad feeling about this, Em. Why is she being so nice to you?”

  “Because she likes me?”

  “I hope that’s what it is. You’re a good person, so you look for good in everyone. We don’t know these people. Be careful.”

  “If I was careful I wouldn’t have flown off to another country with a man I hardly know.” As she’d said the words, her voice had cracked with emotion.

  “I shouldn’t have told you to go. I don’t know what the right answers are in these situations. I don’t think it’s healthy to build your entire life around one goal. I thought if you went to Paris you’d remember what it was like to have fun.”

  I did. “Celeste, I don’t regret going. Yes, it sucks that he hasn’t called. Yes, it hurts. But you know what hurt more? Losing my grandfather and then my mother. That’s real loss. They loved me. You were right to encourage me to go away with Asher. I needed to step away from Welchton and laugh for a while. Seeing how others have made a difference makes me even more determined to do the same. Sophie said she wants to help me because I’m doing something important. I believe her.”