Charles nodded and started the car. As they drove he said, “I’m sorry about your uncle and aunt.”
He knows.“Thank you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you were related?”
“It’s by blood only. We were nothing to him.” Other than an embarrassment. “I actually feel bad for all the other employees. I have no idea what will happen to Grayson Corp now.”
“I’m sure they will find jobs. And probably with someone who appreciates them.” He turned to her and said, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that about him.”
“That’s okay. I don’t want you holding anything back. Actually I don’t want to either. I’m sorry I said what I did the other night. I was hurt and . . . confused. I was going to call you and let you know, and then all this went down.”
“I was a jerk. I said that because I was too afraid to say what I wanted to.”
“And what was that?” she asked.
“I wanted to ask you to live with me. But I kept telling myself it was too fast. We needed time. We needed space. The truth was, I was scared.”
“Scared? Of what?” He didn’t strike her as someone easily scared of anything.
He pulled into the parking spot and shut off the car. Then he turned to face her. “Of what I was feeling. It felt too good to be true. And I was trying to hold on to it without crushing it.”
“You mean me?”
“I mean us. I fell in love with you, Rosslyn, and had no idea how to deal with it. And in trying to keep control, I lost it all. So when you didn’t answer your phone, I went to your apartment and found the owners there. I knew where you’d go. So here I am.”
That was the very short version, but there was only one thing she cared about at the moment. He loves me.
“Charles, can you back up please.”
“Sure. To where?”
Smiling she said, “To the part where you said you love me.”
He reached over and took her hand in his. “Rosslyn, love doesn’t seem to be a strong enough word. It’s like you’ve become a part of me, and when you weren’t there, I wasn’t whole. Nothing feels right without you. I love you.”
Her heart was beating fast and the words echoed in her mind. “Charles, I love you too. That’s why I left.”
He cocked a brow. “Shouldn’t you run to me, not from me?”
“Charles, I need to protect you.”
He laughed. “I’m almost twice your size and you want to protect me? From what?”
“The FBI. They are looking into my uncle’s disappearance, I mean death. They think you have something to do with it.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Because they were questioning me about you. About us. They said you were out to get my uncle.”
“Unfortunately, part of that is true. I was out to expose your uncle’s crocked business dealings. I have been working with the FBI, gathering information on him. I’m sorry to say, but he wasn’t a very nice man.”
She already knew that. “And they don’t think you had him . . . killed?”
“God, no. And I hope you don’t either.”
“No. I just . . . well I didn’t want to make you look guilty,” she admitted. Somehow she knew she’d be the one throwing him under the bus and purely by accident. “I’m not really good at dealing with their questions.”
“You don’t have to worry, sweetheart. I’m not a suspect. And actually my sources say that it was a lightning strike that may have taken out the jet. They don’t know for sure, but that’s their first thought.”