My throat tightened at the pain in her words.
I indicated the box. “What is that?”
“My nana’s wedding ring. It is the only thing I have that holds any value. If I was desperate and needed cash, I could sell it.”
I lifted the box and flipped open the lid. A thick band of gold was nestled in the dusty velvet. Highly sentimental, yes, but hardly worth much if sold, I doubted.
I sat back, looking at her. I stared at the few possessions she held most dear. None of them, even the ring, was worth anything, but they were all she had of a lonely life and childhood. Small mementos of people who never loved her enough to stay. They were a reminder of what she had lost.
Understanding dawned on me.
She was terrified of losing her rucksack, because if she did, she was going to lose them all over again. That was why she clung to it so fiercely. She felt it was all she had in the world, and the small items she had defined her.
The way she saw it, she had never been enough for any of them to stay. She wasn’t enough to be truly loved.
She had to be the one to leave.
But she was wrong.
I shifted forward, and held out her things. She slipped them into the bag, and placed it by her feet. Reaching out, I grasped her hands in mine.
“Emmy, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what you went through, and I’m sorry about my outburst earlier.” I shook my head before she could speak. “I know what your rucksack represents to you now, and I understand. I won’t give you a hard time about it anymore.”
Tears glimmered in her eyes.
“I need to ask you something, though. Please be honest with me.”
“Okay,” she whispered.
“Do you trust me, Emmy? At least as much as you trust, say, Cami?”
She hesitated, then nodded.
“Does that scare you?”
“Yes.”
“I want to tell you something, and I want you to listen, okay?”
She squeezed my fingers, and I lifted her hand to my mouth and pressed a kiss to the skin.
“You are such a light in my life. You have brought me so much . . . joy. I can’t imagine my life without you, anymore. I’m not going anywhere, and I don’t want you to either. I want you here, with me, as much as possible.”
Her hands began to tremble.
“I know it’s difficult for you to believe, but it’s true.” I inhaled a long breath. “I never want you to leave. Ever. You can rely on me, because I am not leaving you.”
A tear ran down her face.
“I know you’re not ready, but when you are, I’ll make you a place where you can put your rucksack and it will be safe. You’ll never have to carry it with you because you’ll know you never have to run.”
“W-why?”
I slid my hands up her arms, to her face, cupping her cheeks. “Because your home will be with me, Emmy. Always,” I murmured as her tears fell thicker. “I love you.”
She stared at me, blinking and shocked.
“I love you so much the thought of you leaving me makes me crazy. I want you here.”
She began to shake her head.
“I know you don’t think you’re worthy of being loved, baby, but you are. You’re more worthy than any person I know. How your brother and parents acted was wrong. You didn’t deserve that. No child deserves that.” I wiped her tears. “One day I’ll make you see how much you’re loved. And maybe you can love me back.” I held her face tighter. “Because that would be the greatest gift I ever got. You.”
“I have n-nothing to . . .”
I shook my head, knowing what she was trying to say. “Yes, you do. My wealth doesn’t make me deserve your love, Emmy. The kind of man I am, that I want to be for you, does. I’ll keep you safe; you can keep me grounded. I’ll buy you lots of shawls, and you can make me scones. We’ll take care of each other.” I smiled at her tenderly. “We could build a great life together, baby. No one gets me the way you do. I need your loving, forgiving heart in my life. I need you. And I think, if you let yourself feel it, you need me, too.”
“I’m scared.”
“I know. I am, too. I never thought I could love someone like I love you. I do, and I want you to know it.”
“If you walk away, I’m not sure I’ll survive it,” she confessed. “Not this time.”
“You will never have to find out. I swear to you.”
Her breath stuttered out of her throat, nervous and tense.
“I-I love you, too, Bentley.”
Her words filled me with hope, and I felt everything else drain away. They banished all else in the world, making all of it unimportant. I had her, and that was all that mattered. Not a business deal gone bad, or a shitty day. Her.
I pulled her to my lap and kissed her. It was a kiss filled with adoration and hope; one that promised something we both needed: love.
I tucked her head under my chin. “We’ll figure this all out, Emmy. One step at a time. Just promise you’ll talk to me. Don’t run. Don’t ever run.”
“I promise.”
I sighed, holding her close, needing to break the intense bubble surrounding us. I wanted to make her smile and find her feet. “I have one more thing to ask of you tonight.”
She tilted up her head. “What?”
“Can we go downstairs and have tacos now? I’m starving.”
She grinned, her dimple popping on her cheek, her response simple and perfect.
“Yes.”
Chapter 14
Bentley
I didn’t go in the office the next day. I decided not to return the rest of the week. I texted Aiden and Maddox, told them to take the time off, and instructed Sandy to get one of the interns to man the office and take the days, as well. We all needed to regroup.
When I told Emmy, she flashed me a grin and said she was taking advantage of my “un-rigidness” and staying home with me. She would get her classmates to take notes and would do her work online. I called down to Andrew, telling him to have the entire weekend off, too. I knew he’d love the time to spend with his daughter and grandkids, and it would give me the time alone with Emmy. At least, so I thought.
I answered some emails, shut the laptop and sat back, wondering if I should take Emmy away for the weekend. Maybe a break would do us some good. She walked in, holding a steaming mug of coffee and a plate piled high with pancakes. She had a bottle of syrup tucked under her arm. She set the plate and mug on the desk with a grin, then crawled onto my lap.
“I brought you breakfast.”
I slid my hand along her leg. “You or the pancakes?”
She chuckled, drowning the pancakes in syrup. “You already had me in the shower, so you’ll have to make do with the pancakes.”
I nipped at her ear. “I bet you’d taste damn good with some syrup.”
“Messy.”
“But so sweet,” I whispered, swirling my tongue on her skin, sliding my hand higher.
“Not happening,” she replied in a singsong voice.
I pulled back with a frown. “Why?”
“Because Aiden and Maddox are in the kitchen eating pancakes. I doubt you want them witnessing your, ah, syrup fantasies.”
“Why are they here?”
She cupped my cheek and lifted a mouthful of pancakes to my lips. “Open up.”
I chewed the sweet, thick offering, licking my lips in appreciation.
“They were worried about you, Rigid. They came to check on you and I offered them breakfast.”
“That’s like feeding a stray cat. They won’t leave.”
“I promised them brunch on Sunday if they ate, checked on you, and left.” She fed me another mouthful and took a smaller one for herself. “For the record, when they saw I was here, they offered to leave.”
A dribble of syrup leaked down her chin, and I grasped the back of her neck and licked it off her skin, fighting the groan when she whimpered. My already hard cock twitched at her breathy sound.
&nb
sp; “Why didn’t you listen to them?”
She tilted her head. “Because I wanted you to see you have people who care about you. Not your business, but you. They’re here because they love you.”
“Is that why you’re here?”
She traced my jaw, her touch feather light and warm on my skin. “I love you very much.”
“Good. They have to go, though. I want you alone.” I traced over her lips with my tongue, tasting her and the syrup. “I want you to show me how much you love me. Then I’ll show you. It’s going to take all day, Freddy. All damn day.”
She grinned. “One track mind.”
“Two track actually. I want more pancakes, then I want you.”
She slid off my lap, taking the coffee cup with her. “Eat up then.”
I watched as she moved around my office. She rarely went came in, and I had to admit her lack of curiousness was a surprise. She never snooped, or pried. When we talked about work, it was more concern if I was working too hard, or was too stressed. She listened when I ranted on occasion, and always seemed interested in the projects or meetings, but more about me in the scope of it all, not what I did. It was as if I was more important than my money or work. A feeling I found strange, yet endeared her even more to me.
She paused by the concept model of the project that was now dead. She studied the display for several moments, not saying a word. Finally, she spoke. “This is quite the project. The scope is enormous.”
Wiping my mouth, I stood and crossed the room to stand beside her.
I ran a finger over the mock-up. “Was, you mean.”
“Are you going to sell the land?”
“If the offer is fair, I think so. There is no point in sinking more money into a project that hasn’t panned out.”
“Won’t you know who is behind the scenes once they start building?”
“No. I’m certain they’ll pass it all along to various companies they own, all numbered and anonymous, and finally, sell it to a holding company that will build. The layers will be too costly to peel away and figure out where it all started. Walking away makes the most sense now.”
“Is that your only option?”
“I could still build the condo towers once the land is cleared. It wouldn’t be what I envisioned, but could still be profitable.”
She made a funny noise, and scowled.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
I grew impatient. “Emmy, you obviously have something to say. Just say it.”
“How rich are you, Bentley?”
That wasn’t what I expected from her. She never asked or seemed to care about my wealth.
“Rich enough.”
“Are we talking millions?”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Hundreds of millions, actually.”
“Huh.”
I narrowed my eyes. She was going somewhere with that line of questioning, but I wasn’t sure what point she was trying to make. “Huh, what?”
“Can you spend it all?”
I shook my head. “Only if I were an idiot. I have enough if I never did another day’s work I could live very well, as could my children and even their children.”
“So when is enough—enough?”
“What are you getting at?” I demanded, not understanding.
She indicated the design. “You said this was about making your mark first. Money second.”
“It is.”
“Then change your design.”
“What are you talking about?”
Maddox spoke up from the doorway. “This I want to hear.” He sauntered in, sipping his coffee, looking relaxed. However, I knew him, and I saw the interest in his eyes.
Emmy hesitated, and I squeezed her hand. “It’s okay, we want to hear what you have to say.”
“This piece. . .” She pointed to the end of the property. “It’s not developed yet?”
“No. It’s all trees and wild growth.”
“What if you built a condo tower here?” She indicated the land close to the road. “Then instead of adding a second one here, made it into a private park?”
“What? What good would that do?”
Maddox edged closer. “Keep talking.”
She worried her lip. “I saw something once, on TV, about a building where all the units face frontward; the only things on the back of the building were the hallways. If you designed it like that, then every condo would have amazing views of the park and the water, right?”
She kept going. “And if the park was private to the condo tower, it makes it even more exclusive. You could have woods, a playground, barbeque areas. Make it a real family kind of place.”
“Family?” I questioned.
“Even rich people have children too, Bentley. Think about it. Has anyone ever done something like that?”
Maddox sat down his coffee cup. “No,” he replied, excitement filling his voice.
“No one has.” Aiden’s voice suddenly joined in the conversation as he appeared beside us.
I leaned forward, looking at the mini structures. “They could do the same thing.”
“They could, but we have the advantage,” Aiden mused. “They wouldn’t have the park. Or the views. They either look into the city, or the back of our building.”
They both began to speak.
“With the bylaws, they can’t build higher than ten stories, so they’re screwed.”
“Even if they got it changed, we could, too. We could build higher.”
“We need to get the building designed so it’s one of a kind. All front facing, individual towers with separate entrances, and elevators. Custom layouts for different sized families.”
“Single people would like it, too,” Emmy offered. “The park setting would be a huge draw in the city.”
“We’d lose revenue without standard sized units and plans. Expensive to build.”
“No,” Aiden said. “What we’d lose in number of units, we’d make up for with the price on the uniqueness of it.” He chuckled. “I bet our profits go up. We add all sorts of amenities.”
“Underground parking.”
“Two pools. Other family activities only residents have access to.”
“Like a resort on a daily basis.”
“Let’s not get carried away,” I protested, but I had to admit, it was an intriguing idea.
Aiden grinned at me. “Not billions, but we’d kill it.”
“And we keep it,” Maddox stated firmly. “BAM owns it. No investors. Just us.”
“Or I sell it and walk away.”
They looked at me.
“You could,” Aiden drawled. “This is an interesting concept, though. We can find other land to develop like the original concept. Try something totally distinctive.”
“We could lose our shirts.”
Maddox shook his head. “No, Emmy is right. Lots of wealthy families love condo living. Give them the best of both worlds and it will explode. I’m sure of it.”
“We would have to make the back of the building into something unique. Eye catching.”
“Mosaics.”
I looked at Emmy.
“Use stone, hire artists. Make it beautiful. A focal point.” She grinned. “Your mark.”
I returned her grin. She was glowing, her dark eyes excited.
“I can see it. A haven inside the city.” Maddox eyes combed over the model, nodding. “An escape without leaving home.”
Aiden pointed to the layout. “We could build up this area here, like an embankment. It would cut off noise from the road, and offer even more privacy. Add trees and flowers to make it scenic.”
Emmy giggled and I glanced at her. “Like a ridge,” she explained. “You can call it Bentley Ridge Estates.”
I started to laugh, remembering her remarks the first day. “Where the living is easy.”
“That’s not bad. We could fine tune it.”
I shook my head. “It’s a joke.”
“No, B
ent.” Aiden shook his head. “It could work.”
Emmy grabbed a piece of paper and sketched furiously. “If you made 3 separate towers with arches between them for the entrances and elevators, you could name them.”
“Name them?”
“Towers B, A, and M.”
Aiden grinned. “I like it.”
**
I looked around the room, only to realize Emmy was gone. She must have slipped out at some point.
Aiden followed my gaze. “I think she thought we needed some privacy.”
I shook my head. “This is her idea.”
“I don’t think she thought you’d take her seriously.”
“I think we should,” Maddox observed. “This is what we needed. Fresh eyes.” He met my glance. “She’s totally amazing.”
“She is.”
I glanced at my watch, shocked. It was past three. We had come into the office at ten. Where had the hours gone? I glanced around to notice the piles of paper, and notes we all scribbled, assembled together. It had been a productive planning session.
“You really think this could work?”
Aiden nodded. “It’s a great concept. We need the right architect, and planner.”
“It would be easier to sell and walk away.”
“When have we ever done the easy thing?”
I looked back at the mock-up. Aiden followed my glance. “We can do that elsewhere, Bent. Let whoever bought the other land develop it without this piece. They won’t get the impact they wanted, in fact they might end up selling and moving on. Whatever idiot develops around us can have the hassle of the business permits. We can do this and sit back and relax. The more I think about it, the more I like it.” He grinned. “Think about it—it will piss off whoever thought they could get the better of you.”
I smirked at the thought. “Greg expects me to tell him to sell the land this week.”
“Too bad. Change of plan.” He tapped the pile of papers beside him. “It’s a good plan. A brave one. Something we can all be proud of.”
I nodded in agreement. He was right.
“This nightmare would be over. No more extra security. Back to business as usual.”
“I think I’d be cautious a little while longer,” Aiden advised.
“If I do this, if we do this—we won. I lost the battle, but I won the war. They don’t get what they wanted, and there is nothing they can do about it.” I warmed to the idea. “We go with the new plan, we get the best design and soak some serious cash into it, and go for it. They’ll want to sell to us.”
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