"I have Ms. Bailey on the line for you, Sir," Taylor appears from down below, phone in hand.
Edward rolls his eyes, his expression darkening just a touch. "Do you mind?" he asks.
"Of course not," I wave him away.
He returns twenty or so minutes later, just as I'm about to go look for him. He's definitely stressed again, and obviously trying to hide it. Ryan has conked out on a lounge chair in the shade.
"What's up?" I ask.
"Nothing you need to worry about, baby."
I roll my eyes. Edward's expression darkens, and conflict rings in his eyes. "I don't like it when you do that," he says, casually.
"Do what?"
He stares at me for a moment, and then shakes his head. "Never mind."
"No, seriously, what?" I really want to know.
His breaths intensify. "Can't we just have a nice day? No questions? No interruptions?"
"Edward?" I step closer to him. "What's going on?" I ask softly. He seems to respond better with gentleness. If he sees through the tactic, I can't tell.
He grasps my hand when I reach for him, placing my palm flat against his chest. This touch must be deeply meaningful to him, something related to the cure from his tactile phobia. His breathing softens slightly.
"I don't want to burden you," he tells me. It doesn't feel like a preface to an explanation, rather, it feels like the explanation.
"I'm more burdened by not knowing," I say. "I can't help you if I don't know what to do."
He shakes his head. "There isn't anything for you to do, baby. I appreciate that you'd want to do something, but honestly, there's nothing."
"Then just let me be here for you," I prod. "I may not actually be able to do anything, but whatever it is, you shouldn't be alone in it. I understand your need to be the protector and provider, and I can't begin to tell you how reassuring that feels. But just the same, you and I are a team. I want to pull my weight. Please let me."
He sighs, closing his eyes briefly. "You're right. God, I love and I hate and I love when you're right." The sentiment seems familiar. Hmm...
"Last night, you reminded me more than once that you're overwhelmed by all this drama, but I unloaded on you anyway. I'm dealing with several feelings I don't often have and usually work very hard to avoid. That's one." He runs his free hand through his hair. "And two, Ros and I need to be in New York for a meeting tomorrow morning."
My heart leaps at the first revelation and sinks at the second. I cling to the spirit of the first. "I'm glad you told me," I reassure him. "I'm not upset; I hope that's not why it was so hard for you to talk to me."
He shrugs. "A little, I suppose. I'd rather not leave you on your own. We've spent enough time apart as it is."
"Just for instance, if things were what you'd think of as normal, would you be so reluctant to go to this meeting?"
He looks conflicted, as though this hadn't occurred to him. "I'm always reluctant to leave you, Krissy. I want your face to be the first and last thing I see every day."
My whole being brightens. "And this is why we have Skype."
He shakes his head, but his lips twitch. "Not the same."
I flex my fingers at his chest. "I know. But you should go. I'll be here when you get home."
"With any luck, I'll be home for dinner tomorrow night."
"And if it runs long?"
"No later than Saturday."
I smile bravely. "Then I'll hope for tomorrow and plan for Saturday."
Edward pulls me in for a hug, resting his chin on my head. "How do you always see the silver lining in everything?"
I shrug. "Maybe you bring it out in me."
He chuckles. "Maybe."
I hear and feel the engine hum to life. I assume he's already given the order to take us back; if he has a business trip to attend, surely he needs to get packed and out the door.
"So what's this meeting about?"
"I just need to appease some suits, and light fires under a few others. It's a relatively small merger that's been in the works for some time, but the products they hold have far-reaching potential in a number of projects. I actually explained it in detail to you while you were sleeping."
I laugh. "Did it occur to you that it might have been better to wait until I was awake?"
He looks hurt. "I was trying to wake you, baby. It was when you were in the hospital... I'm sorry, I should have been specific."
My heart both bursts and breaks for him. "You talked to me?"
He nods. "Of course. I'll never know if it helped, but it was better than doing nothing."
"Edward... that's so incredibly sweet, I don't know what to say."
"You could promise never to wind up in a hospital ever again," he suggests.
"Scouts honor," I give a two-fingered salute. "Although there are a couple of good reasons to be there."
"Such as?" he demands, incredulous that I should suggest such a thing.
"We'll, you could bring your mom lunch occasionally once she goes back to work and the two of you could finally talk," I suppose. "Or... when we have more children?"
He blinks. Perhaps he didn't hear me, or maybe he's processing. His brain could also be stuck. He blinks again.
"Edward?"
I have no warning. In an instant, his mouth seals over mine, lips moving reverently with my own. His tongue flicks into my mouth, stroking fire over mine, sucking and biting my bottom lip. His breaths are fierce against my cheek, his palms planted firmly over my spine, pressing me to him. My hands are trapped against his chest, and they snake their way up to tug his hair.
The spark in my belly has ignited, flames licking from my core to my extremities. There's a hint of his hardness pressing into me. Edward's groan is barely audible. Oh, I want him.
"Not here," he breathes. "Not now. Soon. I promise." He seals my lips with another kiss.
"I'll hold you to that," I say breathlessly.
"Were you serious?"
"About what?"
He pulls back just slightly, enough to meet my gaze. "The part about children."
Was I? I suppose I was. It just feels natural that we'd have more one day. Ryan deserves a sibling. Or two. Or five…
"Why not?" I shrug.
Edward's lips softly brush mine again. "Mrs. King, it would be an honor to have more children with you." He sighs. "You constantly surprise me. I'd never have expected such a thing to be on your mind."
"Well, it wasn't, until you brought up hospitals. Which brings up the other suggestion; you do need to talk to your mother," I remind him.
He sighs. "My mother decides when it's time for us to talk. Believe me, I've already tried."
"Does she know about Lily? The whole story?"
He nods. "Dad told her after we left yesterday. I imagine the revelations of the past week aren't settling well with her. At least I'm out of bombs to drop on them." He squeezes me, hard. "Do you think she'll still love me?"
Oh, Edward. His voice is so desolate. I run my hands up and down his spine. "She's your mom."
~ EDWARD ~
I find myself easily distracted from the projection reports laid out before me, and instead, I take in the transition of the sky from sunset to starry blackness out the window. My fingers reach up to touch the layered glass, and it's cold, as I suspect the exterior of the plane has dropped below freezing. Such is autumn in the northern sky.
I can't get over what Krissy said to me this afternoon. More children. She's willing, as ever she was. After everything that's happened, after all she's been through, she wants more children with me. My heart flutters at the thought, of Krissy round and ripe with my child… and then sobers a bit when my thoughts turn to Phoebe. I'm not naturally a praying man, but there are some things I'll leave to the heavens. My sweet angel, she'll keep an eye on things. She'll help me keep our family safe, watch over them the times I can't.
Krissy's just getting into bed when I Skype her from the Fifth Avenue apartment. Her sleepy, smiling f
ace is comforting, even at this distance. I don't keep her long.
I'm overprepared for tomorrow's meeting as it is, so I call my father.
"Edward," is his standard greeting of late. Always formal, and to my advantage now but to my dismay and detriment as a youngster, he's in his home office late nearly every evening.
"Hi, Dad. Has the Jackson firm been in touch?"
I put a few things in play immediately after the ruling, not the least of which is a countersuit against one Mark Kane. I intend to take the bastard down for what undue suffering he's caused my family, and I couldn't very well do that and appear to be a saintly family man in the last round of proceedings. I now have an intimate understanding of why some revenge is best served cold. I can't say I'll take a great deal of pleasure in it, but at the very least, due process and common sense might be properly observed in the future.
"They have. I suspect we'll have little trouble getting him disbarred. His partners aren't happy with the way this played out. It seems they've given Mr. Kane far too much latitude with little oversight in the past, probably due to his overwhelming success up to this point. As for having his detective credentials revoked, that's a different matter. Unless we can prove that he's broken the law, and neither you nor I were able to gather anything to suggest that he has, the best we can hope is to call his methods into question."
"Whatever we have to do. I appreciate this, Dad." And I mean it, wholeheartedly. My father has graciously undertaken this legal clusterfuck as a favor to me, to keep the thundercloud of weirdness that hangs overhead from raining my secrets all over Seattle and beyond. I am thankful that the trouble wasn't what I'd originally thought, and it made telling Mom and Dad about much of my past unnecessary, but I'm oddly comforted it's out. I'm grateful that I no longer have to hide it from them. I'm relieved that they have the understanding of me that they've always needed, but I hope it doesn't have a lasting effect on their affection for my wife and son. If they want to write me off, I'll... understand. But I hope they won't write Krissy off for staying by my side. Only time will tell.
"Dad, listen, um… about all that stuff I had to tell you. Or didn't, rather…" I stumble. "I realize now that I could have come out the other side of this without spilling my guts to you. But…" I swallow. "… thank you, for not resenting me."
There's a short silence before my father speaks. "I can only imagine what courage it took for you to reveal what you did, Edward. Some of it," I hear him sigh "I don't think I'll ever wrap my head around certain details. But it's helped me understand a bit better why you were as you used to be, and as I said the first time… you're still my son. And you'll always be that."
Another silence, followed by some uncomfortable throat-clearing.
"Did you talk to Mom?" I ask.
"I did."
"And?" Does she hate me?
"And... I doubt there's anything else about you that could surprise her at this point."
I fight to keep from audibly blowing out a breath. A poker face is just as valuable over the phone. "There's nothing else of consequence hiding under any mattresses. I promise you both."
"Hmm," he grumbles. "Your mother always wondered why Beth Woods froze her out. And Carl was a good golf buddy of mine. You understand that we've only just come to the realization that you made us look like fools."
"I know, Dad. I truly am sorry. If I'd known, I'd have handled things differently."
"She tried to tell you, son. Don't forget that."
"I know."
"What's the likelihood there are other little Greys running around that none of us know about?"
"Whoa, Dad!"
"It's a legitimate question."
I suppose it is... but I'm still reeling from the borderline accusation. "Honestly? You want to know?" If we're going there, we're going there.
"I do, in fact. Your reputation not to mention your bottom line could one day be at stake."
I finally blow out the monstrous sigh I've been holding. "All right, Dad, I warned you." This is humiliating. I fist my hair with my free hand and flop back on the meticulously arranged decorative pillows. "I was still in a relationship with Mrs. Lincoln at the time of Lily's and my… coupling. I came clean to her about the indiscretion. She... disciplined me. Foremost, for disrespecting her and our… relationship. I won't beat around that particular bush; however wrong our liaison was, it was immoral of me to flout my commitment to her. And rest assured, I never thought twice about using protection again. Both were hard lessons, and I learned them well the first time."
"Glad to hear it." My father's voice oozes sarcasm. "Which brings me to my next point. Judge Matthews requires our input on how to proceed, else he'll make his own ruling on Miss Woods' sentence." I've never heard my father address her so formally, even during proceedings. I suppose he's chosen to distance himself. She's always been 'Mia's friend, Lily' to him.
"I've made my intention clear to Krissy; we'll speak on it again tomorrow and I'll let you know what we decide."
"By three o'clock, if you please. And Edward, when you do decide, call your sister. She deserves to hear about her best friend's fate from you."
Shit. "I will."
"I'll give your mother your regards."
And he ends the call. Yeah, Dad. Make me feel like the errant teenager and then hang up on me. Love you too.
It's too late to call Krissy back. It's well past midnight here, as it is. I really want an answer from her; I can't fathom how to even approach an apology to Lily. Sure, I could try to come up with something in the meantime either way, but Krissy's indecision hangs over me. She doesn't have a vindictive bone in her body. Jealous, yes, but never vengeful. Even during Hyde's trial, she wanted to be as far as possible from all that shit. As long as he was no longer a danger to anyone, she didn't care what happened. And she was pregnant at the time, so it could partly have been that she just didn't want to pile added stress on the baby. Completely understandable.
But this is different. This has more to do with me than it does her. And Lily's not a danger to anyone. Not in the sense of bodily harm, anyway. I don't have to be a shrink to see that.
I dial Flynn, and bask in the marvel that is Caller ID when he skips the formal greeting, as usual.
"Evening, Edward. What can I do for you?"
"Hope I didn't wake you." I'm not sorry if I did, for what I pay him, but I at least acknowledge that I'm aware of the inconvenience.
"Never an issue. What's up?"
"In short, Krissy knows everything. My intention is the same as when we spoke on Wednesday." It seems a lot longer ago, already. "I want Krissy's direction on how to proceed, but the judge needs a decision by tomorrow afternoon."
"And you don't want to press Krissy, but you need an answer. Why don't you just tell her that?"
"Just like that?"
"She understands that the legal system has deadlines. Give her a little credit."
"But she doesn't know that she has any experience with this sort of thing, I mean, she doesn't remember the Hyde mess, and I'm not about to open that box."
"Edward, just tell it to her straight. When do you talk to her next?"
"In the morning."
"You're sure she's not awake now?"
"We chatted on Skype for a few minutes, she was getting ready for bed. I spent about twenty talking to my father. She's probably fast asleep now."
"Try this… send her a text, if she's up, she'll call you back. If not, catch her in the morning. Just give her as much time as you can, be calm and patient, but make her aware of the deadline. And then leave the decision up to her."
Wait… what? "Leave it up to her? All of it?"
"That's right."
"But…"
"Edward, she's never disappointed you, has she?"
He's got me there. Krissy and I have always been like-minded where it really counts. It astounds me sometimes. "No. She's hasn't."
"So trust her now. And get some sleep."
"Thank
s, John."
"Anytime."
I text Krissy.
If you're still awake, I'd like to talk to you.
If not, don't worry. I'll catch you in the morning.
I love you.
My phone rings not thirty seconds later.
"Did I wake you?" I ask.
"Not really. I was mapping the swirls in the ceiling. Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine, baby." Well, sort of.
She waits. "So… you wanted to talk."
"I did. I do."
"Should I brace myself?" she asks, trying to mask the apprehension in her voice. Good job, King. You've scared her.
"No, baby, it's nothing like that," I promise. "I didn't mean to frighten you. Rather, I'm trying to think of a way not to sound like a pushy asshole." Which you are, but you want Krissy to think you're God in human form, the way she used to.
"Noted. Mind wide open."
Here goes. "I just spoke with my father. He gave us a deadline on determining Lily's punishment. Tomorrow at three... Well, today, I suppose, now. I'd like it if you decided what we should do."
"You want me to decide?" she balks. "I thought you already did?"
"I said I wanted your thoughts, if you recall. And then I realized that stance isn't entirely fair... you and Ryan were most affected by all this, so it stands to reason that you should decide." As the words pour from my lips, I realize how true they are. "And whatever you decide, I'll stand behind you."
"Um… okay," she stutters. "I think we should do what you originally wanted to do."
"You do?" Flynn, you bastard, how do you always know?
"Yes. I thought about it a bit more, and you're right. She shouldn't have done what she did. At the same time, she's been hurting too, for a long time it seems. She should be made to pay the community back for the county's time and tax dollars wasted, at the very least. Since she apparently comes from money, her payment ought to be in the form of service, right? So long as she goes to counseling as well."
I don't think you'd be so generous if you really knew her, baby. "That's very charitable of you, Krissy. Yes, I'll insist on the service and counseling as mandatory. My father and Dr. Flynn can calculate just how much of each is warranted, and make their recommendation."
The Billionaire's Marriage: A Romance Novel Page 47