“I believe you could be the woman who brings me to my knees. I could love you one day, Raven. Hopelessly.”
My heart races, and my stomach skydives into my core, leaving me nearly panting. I can’t believe he’s saying these words to me.
It all happened so quickly, and the odds have been stacked against us.
I feel like we’ve gone from zero to a hundred in just a few weeks, but it doesn’t matter. I feel the same.
Say something.
I will my mouth to move—for any words to come out—but I’m too scared to speak. Too scared to learn that this is a dream. One I’ll come crashing out of, destined to hit rock bottom and die from a broken heart.
Just like Mom warned.
I want to take things slow. As wonderful as it is with him, we still have a lot of obstacles to maneuver. He’s my boss, and I’m very aware that being with him could impact my career. It could create problems for the whole of Cavendish.
Getting swept up in the moment would be so easy. So... foolish.
I don’t want to say anything and ruin the moment, so I say the first thing that comes to mind.
“Thank you.”
So many emotions cross over Charles’s face, finally hardening into stone. His eyes darken like they do when I know he’s angry.
He clearly hoped that I would say more, and at this moment, I wish I had.
“I think I’ll go change,” he says, his voice flat and emotionless.
Without another word, he leaves me sitting by the pool, the setting sun my only company.
40
Charles
Who the fuck says that?
Thank you.
Those words gnaw away at me, reminding me of another time right here in this very fucking place when I was crushed.
This house was my mother’s sanctuary. My father thought staying here would be beneficial to her while she was undergoing treatment at Sloan Kettering for her first bout of breast cancer. She couldn’t travel back and forth from the United Kingdom because she was too weak.
She loved the ocean, and my father thought the sea would help cure her.
He was desperate.
We all were.
We tried to make memories that would last a lifetime, knowing we didn’t have much time with her.
The last time I was here was right after she died. I told Tabitha I needed to get away.
I wanted to be somewhere I could feel close to my mum.
Tabitha and I were already engaged, and I’d been considering breaking it off. Right before my mum died, she begged me to find love. To be happy like she was with my father.
I’d promised, and I’d planned to truly give things a shot with Tabitha. We’d been happy enough. I enjoyed her company, and she enjoyed mine. Surely, we could fall in love if I allowed myself to be open to it.
And I was.