For Business...Or Marriage?
Page 13
She wasn’t going to beg, she wasn’t going to grovel. But she also wasn’t going to sit around and mope, feeling sorry for herself.
Abby let herself into her apartment and dumped her bags onto the sofa. She upended them, spilling out all the skirts, dresses, capris, tanks, halters and other goodies. She grabbed the first colorful, cheery top she saw and a pair of khaki shorts.
Starting right now she was going to make something of her life and come Monday morning, she’d hit the pavement once again to look for a job. But for tonight, she was going to have some fun.
Her thighs burned, her body ached, but she held on.
Abby tightened her legs around the bull as she jerked back and forth.
“Woo!”
“Go, girl!”
The cheers from the crowd added with her own determination had Abby holding on until the end.
She’d beaten the bull again.
“A new record for Bulls ’N Beers,” the DJ announced. “Twenty seconds!”
Abby gripped the outstretched hands and hopped off the stage. She slid back into her wedged sandals and smiled as people patted her on the back and offered their remarks of amazement.
Making her way over to the bar for a drink—her first of the night—Abby felt a small tingle of victory for setting a record on the bull.
“I’ll take whatever you have on tap that’s light,” she told the bartender.
“Put it on my tab.”
Abby turned to the sound of the voice she’d tried for days to get out of her head. Unfortunately, seeing the man was much, much worse than hearing him.
And he looked agonizingly good. Did she expect anything less than perfect from Cade Stone?
With his tan, bronzed skin against his baby blue polo, he looked like a beach boy taking a break from CEO life.
“Here you go, young lady.”
Abby turned to get her drink and pulled a five from her pocket. “I pay for my own drinks. Keep the change.”
Cade slid his fingers around her arm and turned her back to face him. “Come with me.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
He ignored her glare—which she thought was her meanest look—and tugged her with him. Since she didn’t want to cause a scene, she went along.
But he didn’t go outside as she’d thought he would. He waded through the crowd and went down a narrow, dimly lit hallway and into an office. Once he ushered her inside, he closed the door.
“What the hell are you doing?” she demanded.
“I’m making you listen to me.” He reached out, took the beer from her hand and set it on the glass-top coffee table. “And I want you lucid when you do.”
Lucid? Had he thought she’d been drinking all night? Hmm…funny.
Without a word, Abby crossed her arms and waited. Please, please don’t let him say how sorry he was for their time together and that this was for the best. She would absolutely crumble right here if he announced their brief relationship was only a fling.
“Can we sit?” he asked, gesturing toward the old black leather couch against the wall.
For a second she thought about ignoring his request, but if he was going to hammer home the fact he had to marry Mona, Abby wanted a firm foundation beneath her.
She walked around the coffee table and sat on the far end of the couch, thankful that Cade sat at the other end.
“Everything that has happened since we were in Kauai has been one misunderstanding after another,” he explained. “I couldn’t approach you until now, now when everything was chaotic around me.”
Abby’s heart started beating again for what seemed like the first time since Mona’s voice mail. But she didn’t want to get her hopes up. She couldn’t stand another blow mentally.
He ran a hand through his hair and Abby’s anticipation kicked up a notch. He was nervous.
“First, let me say that Mona and I aren’t getting married.”
“Because of what happened between us?” Abby asked.
“Yes and no.” He eased forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “I’d been calling her while we were gone last week to explain I couldn’t marry her while I was having strong feelings for you, but she never answered my calls. Finally I left a brief message on her voice mail telling her I had to talk about the engagement and I needed her to call me.”
Because she couldn’t sit still, Abby crossed her legs, pleased when Cade’s eyes followed her movement and his jaw clenched.
“A few days after that,” Cade went on, “I called her father and told him that I was sorry, that I couldn’t marry Mona, but if he’d still like to work out a deal, I’d be willing to listen.
“I didn’t think he’d go for it, but this morning Mona brought papers by my office.”
Abby allowed the excitement to build within her. There was no way he would be telling her this if he didn’t want to be with her. Would he?
But, since she’d suffered, she allowed him to go on. This was petty, she knew, but he deserved it.
He eased over a bit on the sofa and stared into her eyes. “Mona also came to tell me she was going to call off the wedding, as well, because she’d found someone. She wasn’t sure how to tell her father or me, so that’s why she called you and sent the dress. She felt as if she had to keep this up until she could confess.”
Abby wasn’t quite sure what to think. But she did have some questions.
“Would you have given in and married her if her father had turned down any other idea?” she asked.
“No.”
He didn’t hesitate and his eyes never wavered from hers. This was a good sign.
“So why are you here? And how did you know I was here?” She held up a hand. “The owner called again, right?”
“Yes. I asked him to watch for you. I thought you might come here since this is where you came when you found out about the wedding initially.”
He knew her so well.
She swallowed. “What do you want from me?”
“Everything.” He came to his feet, reached in his pocket and pulled out a small, black pouch. “You left these.”
He pulled the strand of pearls out and took her hand to pull her to her feet. “I want everything from you, Abby, that you are willing to give me. Your life, babies, your love.”
Abby’s knees shook, her eyes filled. “What will you give me in return?”
He clasped the necklace around her neck. “My life, babies. My love.”
Abby closed her eyes, absorbing the moment. Tears slipped out and down her face. When the softness of Cade’s fingertips swiped at the moisture, she opened her eyes and met his.
“I love you, Abby. Realizing that was worth so much more than a multi-billion-dollar deal.”
She smiled and knew he meant every word.
“Say you’ll marry me,” he whispered as he placed his hands on her shoulders. “I don’t want to go another night without you.”
Abby stepped forward, slid her arms around his neck and said the only thing she could choke out through the tears.
“Yes.”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-5211-4
FOR BUSINESS…OR MARRIAGE?
Copyright © 2010 by Jules Bennett
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Table of Contents
Cover
Dear Reader
Title Page
Books by Jules Bennett
About the Author
Dedication
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Copyright