by Mia Caldwell
“So you’re sure that Blanca wrote that letter?”
Colin frowned. “Yes. I don’t know why you would —”
“It’s nothing. I appreciate you telling me the truth,” Sabela said.
The truth. She believed him. That’s what it had to mean. His spirit soared. “I’m sorry for everything. I should have been honest this morning, when I realized I was in too deep, and I had to change.”
“I wish you would have.”
There was still awkwardness between them, but Colin was ready to prove himself to her. “I’ve told you everything,” he said.
“You’ve told me enough. I don’t know that you’ve told me everything, but I understand the motivation of your actions even if I don’t agree with them,” Sabela said.
It was fair. Colin bobbed his head, relieved that she’d taken the time to listen. It was more than worth the price. She could have walked out of his life forever, and he would have let her. And he still would. He owed her that.
He pulled the paper excusing her debt from his pocket and handed it to her. Sabela had held up her end of the deal, and he intended to hold up his. “Thank you for listening to my side. If you want, we can get out your actual signed contracts and toss them in the fireplace.”
She took the paper and rolled it in her hands. “I don’t want to sound like I don’t trust you, but … yes, I’d like to see the actual contracts tossed in the fire.”
An unexpected smile lifted his lips. “Well said. Smart woman, and I’m proud of you. I’ll get them.”
It was a moment’s work to retrieve the papers from the safe in his upstairs office and return to the downstairs lounge with them. Sabela sat unmoving on the sofa, exactly as he’d left her, patient and primly positioned, back straight and knees together.
He handed her the papers and admired her as she leafed through them. “They’re all there.”
“Just making sure.”
“Good.”
She took her time, going over each page of each contract one by one. When she was finished, she stood and headed to the big fireplace. Colin pulled the screen away, and she tossed the papers into the fire.
They burst into brilliant flames immediately. Colin stood beside Sabela and watched the firelight flicker across her lovely features. Within moments, the unholy contracts were destroyed.
Colin swallowed. It was time to be bold.
If he didn’t tell her what he felt now, she might never know. He couldn’t stand the thought of bringing about his own unhappy ending because he hadn’t had the guts to talk to the woman he had feelings for.
“Sabela, I can’t tell you what the last few days have meant to me. It’s going to sound strange, but I need you to hear this, too. You can leave if you want to. I told you that you could, and I’ll honor my word … but I would like you to stay, for a while.”
He looked her in the eyes only to see her turn her head.
“Stay with me. Please.”
“Why?” she asked, her voice strained.
If his heart were made of glass, her words were a sledgehammer.
“Trevor knows I’m here with you,” she said. “He’s upset and probably worried sick about me, so you accomplished your twisted goal, I think.”
“I regret ever thinking it was okay.” Colin ducked his head. “If I could go back in time, I’d stop myself.”
“And I’d go back in time, too,” she said. “I was stupid and naïve to think that there might have been something real between us. You played a make-believe game with me from the beginning, and I didn’t want to see it.”
Did she mean what she said? While it had all been an act at first, none of it was an act now. Colin felt for her.
“I’d go back and tell myself to stay away from you, Colin,” she said. “I’d tell myself to never get involved. Why would you want me when you clearly are still so in love with Blanca?”
Colin could see her internal struggle written plainly on her face. Pain, and jealousy. He could understand that. “Blanca had been my world from childhood. But she’s been gone for years now, and even if she had lived, she had made her choice not to be with me. I would have had to accept that sooner or later.”
It wasn’t quite what he wanted to say, but Colin’s thoughts were scrambled as his mind worked to find a way to make things right with Sabela.
“I’m older now, and I’m different,” he said. “I don’t want to live in the past anymore. I would like you to stay because I feel a connection with you. I know you aren’t Blanca, and I don’t expect you to pretend to be anyone else but you from now on.”
He took a breath before continuing. “And no more pretending on my end, either. From here on out, everything between us is honest. That’s all I want.”
Sabela shook her head. “We’re so different. We come from two different places.”
Colin reached over and took her hand. To his surprise, she didn’t try to pull away.
She trembled at the touch of his hand.
“We came from exactly the same place. Brent Grove was my home, too.”
“No, I meant more like —”
Colin knew what she meant, and he cut in before she could fight him on it. “And I grew up with nothing, just like you. I wasn’t made of money, and I had to work hard to get to where I am. I fought for my future, just like I want to fight for you.”
Her eyes flashed upward to stare at him, and he felt like he’d hit the mark.
“Let me prove that I can move on. Let me prove that I’m serious about you.”
A soft smile teased at the corners of her lips. His heart begin to pound as he waited for her response.
She motioned to him to wait and then pulled her purse into her lap. From it, she took her phone.
What was she doing?
Sabela dialed a number and held the phone to her ear. The call connected, and he heard the other party answer.
“Trevor,” she said, gaze locked on Colin, “I wanted to call you to let you know I will not be coming home after all. I’ll be staying in Switzerland for a bit.”
Trevor was yelling, Colin could hear it through the phone.
Sabela shook her head as if Trevor could see her. “I appreciate what you’re saying, but I’m staying with Colin. What I do with my life is my business. I’ll make sure the nurses keep coming. Take care of yourself, and I’ll be home before you know it.”
The call ended, and Sabela tucked the phone back into her purse.
This was her way of saying that she was giving him another chance, and Colin wasn’t about to waste it. He swept her into his arms and kissed her passionately.
He’d show her what she meant to him. He’d show her that he was serious about their future.
Colin pulled Sabela up from the couch and hugged her tightly. She nestled against his chest, the perfect fit.
Heart brimming with the budding warmth of something a lot like love, though it was far too early for that, Colin led her from the lounge and to his bedroom, the letter hanging limp, nearly forgotten, between his fingers.
It was time for a completely different kind of conversation.
One with a lot less clothes between them.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
FORGIVING COLIN HAD BEEN DIFFICULT, but when he spent the rest of the evening showering her with affection and proving where his allegiances lay, Sabela had an easier time of it.
But she did not forget. There were only so many times she could forgive a man who had wronged her, and she wasn’t interested in continuing a relationship if Colin gave her reason to believe he was being untruthful again.
Two days passed, and Sabela spent most of her time with Colin, both in and out of bed. Her feelings for him became more powerful with each passing hour. They were in their own little world, not needing anyone else, except Marie to keep them well-fed.
Sabela had done some sketching and found her creative burst hadn’t deserted her. How could she not be inspired in such a place and with such a man? She found
herself imagining what it would be like to be with Colin forever.
On this day, Colin had gotten up early to work. While he took care of some neglected business, Sabela lay in his bed and reflected on how happy she was.
Happy. Not an emotion she’d been familiar with these many years.
She didn’t regret her decision to stay and listen to Colin’s side of the story. Now that her debt was cleared and Colin had no leverage on her, she was here entirely of her own volition, and it was liberating.
Neither of them had a leg up on the other, and she liked it that way.
Colin wanted her because of who she was inside, not because she owed him money, and not because she was a Vaughn.
And she wanted him, not because of her debt, but because of who he was … not the least of his attributes being that he was a masterful lover. Her body still tingled in memory of his touch.
This was just the beginning, and everything about their new relationship was shiny and fresh.
She was realistic enough to know it wouldn’t stay that way forever. There would be fights and flared tempers and disagreements, she supposed. If they cared enough about each other, though, they’d get through it, assuming they’d be together long enough to get to that point.
Sabela curled up into a ball on the bed and pulled the silky sheets and blankets tightly around her. Colin mentioned that he was entertaining clients that weekend at the chalet, and he had confirmed that she was comfortable staying on through the visit, but that’s as far as their plans for the future had gone.
There was no mention of girlfriend, no mention of spending time with each other back in the States, at least, not yet.
On the bedside table sat the fabled letter from Blanca. Colin had placed it there the night he’d let her read it, and he hadn’t touched it since.
Sabela wasn’t sure what to make of it.
The contents of the envelope were the embodiment of the thorn she’d been looking for, but now that she knew what the issue was, she wasn’t sure how to best go about fixing the problem. Apart from offering her support and being understanding, there seemed to be nothing she could do.
Sabela looked up as she heard the doors open. Colin strolled into the room. He smiled at her, and she smiled back.
“I thought you’d be back later,” she said. “I wouldn’t have been such a couch potato if I knew you’d be back so soon.”
“It’s cute,” Colin said, smile growing. “You look hot lounging on my bed. I wonder if I can convince you to spend more time there.”
Sabela shot him a playful look. “You do have a talent at persuasion.”
He laughed and came over beside the bed. “I wanted to set things right, and I made a decision while I was working that I couldn’t wait to act on, so here I am.”
To her surprise, Colin plucked Blanca’s letter from the bedside table and held it out to her.
“Um?”
“You want to confirm that the letter is inside that envelope?” he asked.
What a strange request. Sabela sat up and took the envelope from him, then verified that the letter was still inside. She handed it back. “It is. What are you about to do, a magic trick? You sound like a magician.”
“We’ll go with that,” Colin said with a nod. “Magician works well.”
He was being so strange. Sabela squinted at him, but Colin didn’t explain himself. Instead, he crossed the room and approached the lit fireplace.
“Now watch as I make my past disappear.”
Sabela gasped.
With a flick of his wrist, Colin tossed the envelope, letter and all, into the flames.
The old paper burned easily. It curled and caught, searing black before crumbling into ash. The last mark of Colin’s past was gone, all of his own volition.
Sabela caught his gaze, stupefied. “Did you just do that?” she asked, breathless.
“Nothing up my sleeves,” Colin promised, shrugging off his suit jacket. He unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt and showed her his wrists. “I just did that.”
He crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed. “I don’t want the past anymore. I was serious about what I told you the other night. I want to focus on the future, and I want that future to be with you.”
Heat rose to her cheeks. To drive his statement home, Colin reached out and laid his hand on top of hers. Sabela couldn’t stop looking at his lips, eager to feel them against hers again.
Her heart beat a rhythm for him and him alone. “Colin, I … Thank you.”
“You’ve freed me.”
He squeezed her hand, and Sabela leaned in, craving his kiss, when there was a soft knock at the door.
Colin sighed. “Bad timing.” He raised his voice to be heard outside. “Yes?”
“It’s me, Sir, with lunch,” Marie called from the other side. “May I come in?”
“You may.”
Wrapped up in one of Colin’s shirts, Sabela sat up. She wasn’t embarrassed anymore around Marie. She was a grown woman, after all, and she was proud to be Colin Morgan’s girlfriend.
Marie set up their lunch at the end of the bed, then bowed her head and left, all smiles. She’d been smiling a lot in the last few days. Sabela figured Marie must approve.
Sabela was glad, too.
As they ate, she thought about the letter, now turned to ash. There was something about it that didn’t seem right, and she wasn’t convinced that she had all the facts.
“I know you said you’re done with the past, and I am, too. But would you mind if I asked you a few questions? If I’m reopening old wounds and you don’t want to answer, I understand.”
The fork paused halfway to Colin’s mouth, and he set it down again to give her his full attention. “I guess I can understand why you would be curious given the circumstances. It’s okay. Ask away.”
“How long did you say you dated Blanca?”
“That’s a hard question for me to answer. I never dated anyone but Blanca, so I felt like I had been with her forever. Our friendship grew into something more without really being defined, but I knew her since grade school, if that helps,” he said.
“And both of you knew my brother?”
She could see the lines tighten on Colin’s face. She wondered if she would regret asking him these questions and dredging up the past when he had so firmly tried to tell her he was done with it.
“Yes. I knew Trevor almost as long as I knew Blanca.”
Colin hesitated and sighed. It was difficult for him, but Sabela was proud of him for pushing through his discomfort to be open with her.
“Trevor always had a thing for Blanca,” Colin said. “She was softhearted, and she could never be unkind to him, even when he deserved it. I told her that she was stringing him along by not being clearer about her feelings, but she used to laugh at me and say they were just joking around as friends. Trevor, of course, took Blanca’s kindness as romantic interest.”
“The letter from her made it sound like she had been with Trevor for a while. You had no clue about any of that?” Sabela asked.
Colin’s brow furrowed. “Is there some point to these questions? Maybe you should just ask me what you want to ask me.”
Sabela shook her head. “I’m sorry. I realize that this is painful for you. I’ve been thinking about it ever since you told me your story, and it just seems so strange.”
How was she supposed to put what amounted to little more than intuition into words? “I didn’t know anything about my brother being with Blanca. I just would have thought that if they were together, I would’ve seen them. But I guess if he was trying to keep it under the radar, secrecy would make sense. They must have been sneaking around to hide their relationship from you. I apologize for bringing it up.”
Colin’s jawline twitched. “Well, they definitely did a good job of being together without anyone knowing, especially me. Perhaps if you’re done asking these questions then, we can move on,” he said.
“Of course.” Sabela thou
ght she shouldn’t have brought it all up. It didn’t serve any purpose, did it, really? She told herself to leave it alone.
Colin had laid everything out in front of her. She understood that he’d been hurt and felt betrayed, and he’d been lonely for a long time. Now he was taking a chance on her.
He was opening up to her.
She wanted that, and she didn’t want anything to get in their way.
What she thought was a ruined moment mellowed quickly. Colin turned to her, and she saw that the agitation was gone.
“I’m sorry for getting defensive,” he said.
Sabela couldn’t believe how quickly and easily he apologized. It was progress of the most promising sort.
“And I’m sorry for bringing up the past when you’re trying so hard to bury it,” she said.
Colin leaned over and brushed her forehead with his lips. “I have another conference call I need to get on. Finish your lunch and enjoy the rest of the day. Maybe we can hit the slopes again tomorrow.”
“Joy, oh joy,” Sabela replied dryly, but she followed it up with a wink. “Will you be more patient this time?”
“I’ll do my best. I’m determined to make a skier out of you yet.”
She groaned. “Believe me, your time is better spent elsewhere.”
“Baby, any time spent with you is the best.” He gave her a sexy wink, and left her with a silly grin on her face.
She sighed, thinking about how tight his ass looked in the jeans he was wearing. Later, she’d be wanting a handful of that. She tittered and snuggled back under the covers.
Chapter Forty
COLIN’S DAYS PASSED IN LAZY moments spent with Sabela in bed and around the chalet and Andermatt.
Colin couldn’t remember a time when he’d been happier.
Waking up next to Sabela every morning was a treasure he cherished, and the laughter she brought into his life had no equal.
Burning Blanca’s letter was the best decision of his life to date, and he knew that from it, other wonderful opportunities opened themselves up.
He hoped to share some of the best moments of his life with Sabela.
Colin’s associates were expected to arrive the next day, and Sabela had been delighted to help both him and Marie with the planning. They tested dishes, discussed plans and in general got to know one another better.