by Bella Andre
While she sketched, several men tried to catch her eye. One asked her outright if he could buy her a cup of coffee. Having spent most of her life dealing with these kinds of interruptions, she let each know she wasn’t interested with a small smile and a shake of her head. Fortunately, none was especially pushy today. Sometimes, a man would sit down and try to start up a conversation even after she’d made it clear that she wasn’t interested, which was never a fun situation.
And then, she felt it. The air in the room actually seemed to change.
Duncan must have arrived.
Everything stilled inside of her as she looked up from her notebook, instantly attuned to his large, strong presence as he walked in. Her heart raced as she couldn’t help but drink him in, broad-shouldered and strikingly handsome in his dark suit and crisp white collared shirt.
And yet, where once everything had felt so right between them, now nothing did. She had a million things she needed to say. But as she looked at him, all she could wonder was how she could have been so terribly wrong as to trust him.
She took a deep breath to try to ground herself before she spoke. “I didn’t want to ever see you again.” Though she knew her blunt statement had hurt him, she wanted him to know exactly where she stood. She also needed to remind herself that she hadn’t come back to forgive him. “But I had to come to Boston to make sure that you give Moira everything she should have gotten five years ago.”
His normally tanned knuckles were white as he tightly grasped the back of the chair, then slowly sat across from her. “I promise I will do everything I can to help her. That’s precisely what I’ve been working on since I returned to Boston—solidifying my relationships with manufacturers, retailers, suppliers, and other important contacts on her behalf.” He paused a beat before adding, “I know I don’t deserve a chance to explain, but now that you’re here, Lola, I hope you’ll reconsider giving me that chance.”
She hadn’t planned to give him anything. Especially not a second chance. But hearing that he was already working to fix things for Moira softened Lola’s heart before she could stop it.
Then again…what if he was telling more lies to try to convince her that he wasn’t a bad guy? And here she was, a fool to believe anything that came out of his mouth. How many times was she going to get her heart crushed by Duncan before she actually learned her lesson?
She shook her head. “I can’t trust you anymore.”
A muscle jumped in his jaw. “I can understand why you feel that way. But I swear I’m telling you the truth when I say that I plan to help Moira however I can. I’ve spent five years wanting to find her so I could make things right.”
Despite knowing she needed to stay completely shut down, Lola couldn’t stop herself from saying, “Then why didn’t you? Surely you could have found her contact information before now.”
“Brilliant Funds was my brother’s pet project, one that he insisted he didn’t need any help with. By the time I finally copped to the fact that he was embezzling the initial investments into the fund, my access to the records—along with anything with Moira’s name and company information on it—was revoked.”
“Are you really asking me to believe that you couldn’t find any information about Moira or her company because your brother shut you out of the company? The one you ran with him?”
“Yes.” Frustration played out across his face as he explained, “Until now, I’ve never been able to discuss this situation with anyone except my lawyer from that time, who turned out to be dirty, as well.”
A part of her—a huge part—was desperate to hear more. Especially given the fact that Duncan had previously told her his brother had erased him from his life. Was this why?
But she was afraid that if she opened herself up to him, even the tiniest bit, he’d somehow spin everything around so that she’d end up forgiving him…and foolishly fall back into his arms.
Which was why she made herself remind them both, “Like I said, the only reason I’m here today is to make sure you provide Moira with the funds and contacts you should have given her five years ago. That’s as far as anything goes between you and me. I don’t care about your past anymore. And as for your future?” She forced herself to harden her heart, expression, and tone. “Your future is definitely not going to have me in it.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Duncan was overjoyed to hear Lola’s voice again—and to see her beautiful, expressive face. But even as he gave silent thanks for this chance to be close to her one more time, his chest squeezed tighter and tighter as the ache inside of him grew.
She wanted nothing to do with him. And she’d made it perfectly clear that there would never be a future for them.
It was no less than he deserved. The perfect karmic payback for not stopping his brother from hurting so many others.
But it still hurt like hell.
“Would you consider coming back to my office to go over the plan I’ve been putting together for Moira and her company?”
He could see Lola weighing the benefits of being surrounded by strangers versus being alone with him. Finally, she nodded. “The less distractions there are, the sooner I’ll be able to go home.”
Duncan hadn’t been looking for love when he’d walked into Lola’s class. But meeting her, falling for her, had changed everything. Loving Lola—and being loved by her—had started to heal his wounds, even the deepest scars. Now, losing her love had torn those wounds wide open.
Whoever had said it was better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all was wrong.
Dead wrong.
Walking toward his office with Lola beside him, her hand no longer in his, was a brutal contrast to days when they’d taken any excuse to touch. To laugh. To share dreams and plans. Now there was a block of ice between them. One that would never melt.
The silence was oppressive. Duncan had never felt the need to fill empty spaces with conversation. But now he found himself asking, “How was your drive to Boston? Or did you fly?”
“The drive was fine.” Each word was sharp. “I was so furious, though, that I wasn’t paying as much attention to the road as I should have.”
While he didn’t like knowing how angry he’d made her, he was glad that she was at least sharing her feelings with him. “I take it you met Gail and Anita?”
“They both seemed nice.” She sounded surprised. “Is Anita the person you hired to take over for you?”
“Yes,” he said, happy that Lola was even the slightest bit interested in his life.
“You should know that I told her you’re not the man she thinks you are.” Lola was beautiful even when she was furious. “I told her you have plenty of skeletons in your past and that she and Gail should be wary of trusting you.”
Duncan’s heart sank even further, but not because he was angry at Lola. She wasn’t trying to get revenge on him. She was simply concerned about Anita’s and Gail’s welfare as his employees.
His voice was low, and as even as he could hold it, when he said, “While I’ve only ever spoken to my former lawyer about what happened with Brilliant Funds, I swear to you that I have been absolutely forthright about everything else with Gail and Anita and my clients. I’ve done everything possible to make certain that my past mistakes have not and will not affect them or their careers.”
Lola’s eyes blazed as she stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. “You have the audacity to ask me to believe that you’re doing a good job of keeping your employees out of harm’s way? When all the while you’ve kept them completely in the dark about the Brilliant Funds embezzlement scheme that destroyed Moira’s business and anyone else who was unfortunate enough to sign on with the incubator!”
There hadn’t been a day that went by when he hadn’t wanted to come fully clean with his staff. But his brother was too powerful, too vindictive, too vicious.
“If I could tell them everything, I would. But I know how far my brother is willing to go to stay in power. If any
of them said a single word against him—to a colleague, a family member, the press—he wouldn’t blink at destroying their careers and turning their entire lives inside out.” Duncan ran a hand through his hair, wishing for the millionth time that things were different. “And you’re right. Moira wasn’t the only company owner harmed by the incubator. A half-dozen companies shared the same fate. The only difference is that I was able to locate the owners of those other companies to make amends.”
Neither Gail nor Anita were in sight when Lola and Duncan entered his building and headed into his office. Lola was clearly still brimming over with indignation, her body practically vibrating with it. As grateful as he was at being given the gift of this extra time with her—he would happily take Lola’s scowls over nothing at all—knowing that this was likely the very last time he would see her made it brutally bittersweet.
“Can I get you anything to drink before we start?” he asked.
“No, I just want to get to work.” Lola chose the farthest possible chair from his desk.
As he sat, he worked to corral his emotions so that he could focus. But nothing he did made it any easier to know how much Lola hated him. “Over the past forty-eight hours, I’ve learned that Moira had a solid domestic customer base when she first joined Brilliant Funds. Within six months, however, her customer base had dwindled to almost nothing.”
“She said the fund manager insisted that she change her designs.”
Duncan nodded. “I’m guessing my brother was behind those changes, because he wanted to make sure her company didn’t meet the bar required for the half-million investment promised to her if she could prove the marketability of her product.” Lola continued to look absolutely furious as he spoke, and he didn’t blame her. He wanted to tear his brother apart for what Alastair had done to so many unsuspecting people. “The good news is that five years on, Moira seems not only to have built her business back up, she has also expanded to retailers across the United States. I believe international expansion is the obvious next step, either in Canada or the UK, depending on how potential customers respond to her products in those territories. As I suspect she won’t want anything to do with me or my current firm, I would like to give her the funds she was promised in her original contract—adjusted for inflation, of course—along with introductions to potential business partners in each territory.” He looked at his notes one last time to make sure he hadn’t left out any details, before lifting his gaze back to Lola’s face. “How does my proposal sound to you?”
Lola looked surprised by his offer. Surprised enough that she was uncharacteristically fidgety, smoothing a hand over her hair, straightening her skirt, licking her lips. “It sounds pretty good,” she finally replied. “But I also think it will be important for Moira to weigh in on whether she needs a similar influx of funds in the United States. That is, if she’s even willing to go for this deal.”
“I would agree with that. Although I’m afraid that even with no strings attached, convincing Moira to accept the funds and contacts from me won’t be easy.”
Lola didn’t disagree. “Before I leave, I want you to put everything you’ve offered in writing and then sign it.”
After quickly typing up his offer, and getting Lola’s approval on the verbiage, he called in Anita. “Could you please witness my signature on this agreement?”
If Anita seemed surprised by the terms he’d laid out on the document, particularly the fact that all funds were going to come from him personally, she didn’t let on.
Lola had just put the signed agreement into her bag and was standing up to leave when Gail poked her head in the door. “I’m sorry to interrupt,” she said, her gaze shooting to Lola before moving to Duncan. “My babysitter just called to let me know George isn’t feeling well. I’m afraid I need to head straight home.”
“Of course,” Duncan said. While he didn’t have any children himself, he imagined there was nothing worse than one’s child being sick. “Is he going to be all right?”
“He threw up, and he’s got a temperature, but evidently the stomach flu has been going around his school. I’m sure he’ll be fine in a couple of days.”
“I’m glad to hear that. But please let me know if I can do anything for you or your family, Gail.”
“I will, thank you.” But instead of turning to leave, she said, “There is one big problem, however. I was supposed to help out at Serafina’s fashion show tonight, and now I won’t be able to attend.”
Serafina was one of their most promising clients. A pioneer in sustainable fashion, she traced the provenance of every spool of thread and swatch of fabric, while also hiring women in disadvantaged communities to do her cutting and sewing.
“Don’t worry,” Anita offered. “I can rearrange my plans for the night and attend in your place.”
“Normally, that would work,” Gail replied, “but in this case, things are a little more complicated. I’m supposed to close out her fashion show in a wedding gown that has been fitted to my measurements.” Gail looked doubly worried now, not only about her sick son, but also about a client they didn’t want to let down. “I know how hard Serafina has worked for this opportunity to showcase her work to a broader pool of buyers, and I can’t stand the thought of doing anything to ruin that.”
“I wish I could do it,” Anita said, “but you’re right. There is no way I could fit in a dress made for you. I’m such a string bean the dress wouldn’t fall right.”
Gail looked worried as she asked Duncan, “What other options do we have?”
“I’ll do it.”
All of them turned to Lola in surprise, stunned by her offer to help a stranger.
Duncan wanted nothing more than the chance to spend a few more hours with her. It was beyond tempting to snatch at her offer and hold her to it. But trying to chain her to him by any means possible definitely wasn’t the smartest path to reclaiming her heart.
“Thank you for the offer,” he made himself say. “But we can find another solution.”
“Gail and I are close to the same size,” she countered, “and I hate the thought of a designer not getting the chance that she’s worked so hard for.”
Duncan warred with himself. A better man wouldn’t let her make this sacrifice for him. But in the end, he couldn’t find the self-control to let her go. And not just because of Serafina’s fashion show.
The truth was that, despite knowing Lola deserved a man with an unblemished past, he wanted to fight for her. Wanted to do whatever it took to win her heart again. Even if it took him the rest of his life. Even if it ended up being impossible.
Because even the slightest chance of winning Lola’s trust, and love, would be worth a lifetime of trying.
“Thank you so much for offering to help tonight.” Gail gave Lola an impulsive hug. “You’re a lifesaver.”
“It’s my pleasure,” Lola said with a small smile. “Now go home to your little one, and don’t give another thought to tonight’s fashion show.”
Soon, Lola and Duncan were alone again. “I can’t thank you enough for going above and bey—”
She held up a hand. “I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing this for Gail and for your client. All I need to know is where to find the designer so that she can do a fitting before show time.”
“I was planning to head over to Serafina’s show in a couple of hours anyway, but I can go with you now.”
“No need,” she replied in a curt voice. “I’m sure you have important meetings or phone calls you need to make.”
“I canceled my meetings to work on Moira’s plan.”
Lola frowned. She’d been frowning nonstop since the coffee shop. He hated seeing her look so unhappy. All he’d ever wanted was to bring the same joy into her life that she brought to his. Not sadness.
“I’m still happy to go on my own,” she insisted.
Knowing better than to keep pushing her when she was already selflessly saving the day, he said, “I’ll call Serafina to le
t her know.”
The phone rang only once before Serafina picked up. “Gail just told me you’re sending someone else to wear the wedding gown.” She wasn’t bothering with pleasantries, and he didn’t blame her. This was surely the last news she wanted to hear mere hours before her biggest-ever show. “I hope you’re already on your way.”
“Lola is going to head to the venue now,” he clarified.
“Wait, you’re not coming with her?”
He was about to explain that he would arrive closer to show time, when Lola put her hand on his arm. Obviously able to hear their conversation through his phone’s speaker, Lola had a resigned look on her face as she mouthed, You can come too.
“I’ll come with Lola right now,” he said, his heart suddenly feeling a million times lighter than it had since Friday night, despite the fact that Lola still despised him. Five minutes ago, he’d been braced to watch her leave his life for good. Now, he would get a few more hours with her. “You’re going to really enjoy working with her.”
“I sure hope so.” Serafina sounded frazzled, the way any designer would hours before a big show. Even before Lola had stepped in, he had been making plans to calm her nerves. He had a feeling, though, that Lola would know exactly how to make Serafina feel better without any help from him. She had a knack for making people feel comfortable, welcome, happy.
Just the way she’d made him feel happier than he’d ever been before.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Lola couldn’t believe how badly her day had spiraled out of control. She’d been so clear about her purpose when she’d been driving hell for leather to Boston. Find Duncan, convince him to do right by Moira, then get the heck out of town without being wowed by his charm, his gorgeous face…or by how much she wanted to feel his arms around her.
She wasn’t anywhere near keeping to her plan, damn it!