Chapter 21
Sienna stood quietly under the rose-covered arbor at the entrance to the garden at the rear of Max’s family mansion. She’d been there awhile, watching him pace, with his phone glued to his ear, most likely calling his investigators again and demanding information they still didn’t have.
Her heart hurt for him. Three days had passed, three painful and uncomfortable days, in which she had watched him do everything he could, call every business contact he had, hold meeting after meeting with his security staff, as well as several private investigators, both here and in England.
And still, there was nothing.
The night before, he had sneaked into her room, which was down the hall from his, and fortunately some distance from that of his parents. She had worried a moment as he had clambered into bed with her, because she was loath to do anything that would further alienate his mother or disrespect his father’s wishes, but all he had wanted to do was hold her, rest his head on her shoulder and try to sleep.
She couldn’t imagine the torment he was going through; the anguish of knowing his child was out there, but not knowing where he was. “I have no idea what else I can do,” he had said in a choking voice. She’d turned around, and then she was the one that did the hugging.
Now, she stepped forward, knowing that he could easily hear her footsteps on the short grass, but he didn’t turn towards the sound. He just stared out over the rows of flowers and fruit-bearing ornamentals. When she was standing right behind him, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed his back.
In response, he clasped his hand over the one she had splayed across his chest. “The agency is still checking hospitals and birthing centers, but from what they could find, nobody by her name has checked in in the last couple of days. Either she hasn’t delivered yet, or she has found a birthing center that isn’t on the radar.”
“She could have had him at home, with a midwife,” she said, and immediately regretted it as she felt the tension rise in his body. He was dealing with so much. On the flight over, he had broken the news to her about his mother’s cancer. She’d comforted him as best as she could.How much pain could one man stand in such a short space of time?She wondered. And how could she help?
“I wish there was something I could do.”
His fingers stroked the backs of hers. “You’re here. That’s enough.”
“You’re a good man, Max. I know you’re doing everything you can. It will be okay.”
He snorted in doubt. “Maybe not so good. I have to confess that the first thing that went through my mind when my mother called to tell me that Éloïse was gone was relief. Maybe it was a blessing, I thought. Because she and the baby would no longer be my problem.” He dipped his head in shame.
“It’s a natural response,” she began to say, but he cut her off.
“It’s not. It’s selfish and cruel.”
“You had a lot dumped on you,” she tried to reassure him. “You tried to help your brother, but there was no way you could have predicted the outcome. Now, all of a sudden, this huge responsibility is upon your shoulders. It’s a lot to process.”
“So far, I’d been trying not to think about the child, or about what I would do, about whether I would or should raise him. But now, he is all I can think about. I’m scared for him, truly scared.” She could see in his eyes the depth of his emotion. “I need to get him back, Sienna. I will do my utmost to raise him right. It’s what Julien would have wanted. And it’s what I want. I’m sure of it. Now my son is in the clutches of this hostile woman, and here I am, powerless.”
His son.She felt a smile creep up on her face. This was the first time she had heard him use those words. From his stunned expression, she could tell that he had heard himself say it too, and could hardly believe it.
She stroked his cheek, smiling the happiest smile she had managed since they had arrived. “Did you hear yourself? You called him your son.”
“He is my son.”
“I’m so proud of you.”
“I never thought about him as such; he was always something far off, an abstract. But now I want him desperately. I don’t think I would be able to live if any harm came to him.”
“You’ll find him, Max.” She hoped against hope that what she said came to be true.
He stared at her, searching her face. “The amazing thing is, you actually believe that. You see something in me I can’t even see in myself. Something nobody else sees. That’s part of the reason I love you.”
This was the second time he had said this, but the effect was no less shocking. The words hung between them like a vapor at dawn, one that slowly fades in the warmth of the sun. She sucked in a breath, overwhelmed with gratitude and emotion. Sensing that he was waiting tensely, wondering if she would say it back to him.
But she had been through so much before, been let down so many times, that this thing between herself and Max seemed frighteningly pure and simple. Was there any such thing as too good?
She couldn’t return the words, not now. Not until she was able to explore all these complicated feelings and understand them for herself.
So rather than speak, she wrapped her arms around him, pressing herself against him, and reveling in the embrace that he returned. She hoped that would bring him comfort.
The phone he was clutching began to buzz. She wished he could decline the call, and let them have this moment, but he knew that things were critical. Maybe his detectives were calling him back with news.
He looked at the screen and frowned, not recognizing the number. Then he clicked it on and raised it to his ear.
Sienna watched as his expression hardened. Probably not one of the detectives, she thought.
He silently mouthed a single word to her:Éloïse.