“Oh, Drake. You’re so wonderful to me,” she said, on the verge of tears. “I can’t thank you enough for this. You’ll never know how much it means to me to be able to see them again. You’ve done so much for them already and now this.”
She lost the battle to keep the tears at bay and they slid freely down her cheeks. Drake gently thumbed them away and then pulled her into his arms, cradling her against his chest.
“I want to meet the people who mean so much to you that you’d put your entire life on hold in order to support them. They must be pretty special to you. And as you are special to me, then I think your parents and I will have at least one thing in common.”
She buried her face in his chest to stifle her sobs, but her shoulders shook, betraying her emotion. She curled her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.
“You are the most wonderful man in the world, Drake Donovan,” she choked out.
“No, I’m not,” he said in a hard tone. “Never forget that, Angel. I’m not a good man at all. I’m selfish and possessive and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you happy so that you stay with me. That doesn’t make me good. It makes me a self-serving bastard.”
She smiled at him through her tears, utterly unfooled by his gruffness.
“Oh, I can’t wait to tell them the news! Can we call them tonight after you get home?”
He smiled at her excitement and then kissed her before tucking her back into bed again.
“Enjoy your day shopping. I’ll take you out to dinner tonight and we’ll call your parents afterward if you like. I’ll make arrangements for their transportation to the airport and have my plane fly them to the city. I’ll have Silas and Maddox pick them up from the airport and I’ll put them up in a hotel in Times Square. Unless you’d prefer they stay here with us?”
He looked questioningly down at her as he said the last, and she realized just what he was doing for her. He had no desire to have his privacy encroached on by two strangers, and yet he was going to great effort to give her and her parents a Thanksgiving holiday to remember.
“I think they’d love to experience Times Square,” Evangeline replied casually. “We can always have them over for dinner and I can spend the day with them while you’re at work.”
There was a flicker of relief in his eyes, replaced quickly by warmth and approval. He kissed her one last time before heading to the shower.
“I’ll have the arrangements made. No expense will be spared in ensuring their absolute comfort,” he assured Evangeline.
Evangeline lay back on the pillow and closed her eyes, savoring the moment. Everything was so utterly perfect. Tears pricked her eyes again when she thought about seeing her parents for the first time in two long years.
They would absolutely love Drake. How could they not when he went to such great lengths to make their daughter happy?
She hugged herself and dozed, waking only when Drake leaned over to kiss her good-bye and to let her know that Maddox would arrive in half an hour.
She leaned up, the sheet falling to her waist as she hooked her arm around his neck and kissed him back.
“Ah, Angel, how you tempt me to stay home and let business go to hell,” he said, sounding aggrieved.
“Thank you so much, Drake. This is the best gift anyone has ever given me,” she said earnestly.
“You have until tonight to think of creative ways to express your gratitude,” he said in a teasing tone.
Her eyes narrowed and she cracked an evil smile. “Oh, don’t think I won’t be very, very creative.”
“I can’t wait,” he murmured, kissing her one last time. Then he patted her affectionately on the ass and said, “Better get out of bed so Maddox doesn’t see what only I get to see.”
“As if you have anything to worry about there,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“You don’t think every single man who works for me wouldn’t give his right nut to see you naked?” he asked incredulously.
She groaned and buried her burning face in the pillow. “Oh God, Drake. Stop! I’ll never be able to look them in the face now.”
With a chuckle, he walked out of the bedroom, saying he’d see her later in the day.
Evangeline lay there only a few moments longer, savoring her excitement and the acknowledgment that she was in love with Drake. Looking back, she realized she’d fallen in love with him from the very first. It was why she’d been so devastated the night she’d left him.
Refusing to spend another moment reliving the most horrific night of her life, she slipped out of bed and took a quick shower. She dressed casually in jeans and an oversized sweater and quickly brushed out her hair to let it air-dry while she waited for Maddox to arrive.