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“Here,” Damian said gruffly as he dug into his pocket. “Take the Ferrari.”
He tossed the keys, and I caught them. “Thanks.”
“Call us,” Leo called after my retreating figure.
“And don’t drive like a lunatic,” Damian added.
Like I was actually going to take that advice?
Right now, my sole purpose was to get to Kylie before she had a chance to run any further away than she already had.
My drive from Surrey to London was made in record time, but as I pulled into the drive right behind the Ghost, I realized that Kylie must have packed even faster than I’d driven because she was at the end of the driveway with her bag and carry-on.
My driver was standing beside the Rolls like he had absolutely no idea what to do because I’d told him in my text not to take Kylie anywhere.
Apparently, she’d decided to take matters into her own hands and call for a ride.
I threw the vehicle into park and jumped out of the car, trying to force myself to be calm as I approached her.
“Going somewhere?” I asked, my voice rough.
She didn’t say a word, nor did she even acknowledge my presence. Her head stayed down as she looked at her phone.
I scanned her face, looking for any hint of how she was feeling. She wasn’t crying, but her eyes were red and swollen, and just knowing that she had been crying made an invisible vise start to tighten around my chest.
She’d changed out of her formal dress and into a casual sundress and a pair of sandals, obviously so she’d be more comfortable traveling.
Desperate, I plucked the phone from her hand, and quickly canceled the taxi she was waiting for, and then handed the phone back to her. “I’m not doing this at Heathrow like Damian did, so we’re going to talk right now.”
Christ!I wasn’t going through the same scene that Damian had gone through with Nicole. I didn’t have the patience for it, and knowing Kylie, she wouldn’t bother to come find me. Judging by her expression right now, she’d board her plane and probably never look back if I gave her a choice.
I picked her up, threw her over my shoulder, and headed for the house before she had the chance to summon another ride.
I called for my driver to bring her bags inside as I jogged up the steps.
“What in the hell are you doing?” she squealed. “Damn you, Dylan Lancaster, put me down.”
Well, at least she was speaking to me now, even if she was cursing at me.
I didn’t stop until I reached the living room, where I finally put her back on her feet again. “Can you tell me what possessed you to take off like that? You took several years off my damn life. You didn’t answer my texts or my calls. Nobody knew where you were. What in the hell happened?”
She folded her arms across her chest, her eyes flashing daggers at me as she answered, “You know what happened. Why didn’t you just tell me that you were buying ACM instead of doing it behind my back? Were you even planning on giving me my old job back or just bringing in a whole new crew to build up some kind of super PR company?”
Christ!How had she heard about that?
I cleared my throat. “I wasn’t planning on doing either one of those things.” Did she really think I was out to steal her company? Why in the hell would I do that?
“Then why?” she asked with a choked sob. “Why would you do that to me? You know how much that company and that partnership means to me.”
I raked my hand through my hair, so flabbergasted that she’d ever think I’d do anything to intentionally hurt her that I was feeling wounded myself. It was pretty damn obvious that she didn’t trust me and that instead of asking, she’d just chosen to think of the worst possible scenario and run, just like she always did when she didn’t trust someone.
“Do what?” I growled, so damn tired of not telling her exactly how I felt that I just gave up trying to dance around the topic anymore. “Yes, I was buying ACM from Nicole, not to steal it from you, but so I could give it to you as an engagement present—if you’d accept it. Nicole doesn’t want or need to run that company anymore, nor does she think she has the talent to develop it for future growth. She’s a corporate attorney, and she wants to go back to doing what she loves to do, what she’s trained to do, but she doesn’t want ACM to go to anyone but you. Apparently, you shot down her offer to simply gift you that partnership. So, I decided to buy the entire company and give it to you. Fuck the partnership. To expand internationally, you need control, not a silent partner you have to check with every time you want to make a decision. Nicole said she’d be thrilled if you had complete control of the company. She doesn’t want to own it, nor does she need it to keep her mother’s memory alive anymore. The only reason she’s hanging on to it now is for you.”
I walked to the dining room table, plucked up the paperwork laying there, and handed it to her. “Read this copy of the contract yourself. The funds are coming from me, but sole ownership of the company will be yours. If you refuse, the sale won’t be finalized. Whatever you heard was misunderstood or just plain incorrect. I would have hoped by now that you’d realize that I would rather die than hurt you, Kylie. Apparently, you don’t comprehend that. Nor do you trust me.”
I reached into the pocket of my tuxedo and pulled out a black velvet box. “If you need further proof, this is the ring I’d planned to propose with at the lake. I thought it would be a romantic spot to ask.” I popped the lid open and heard Kylie’s swift intake of a breath. “I had it custom made. It’s not the traditional diamond center stone because I thought the emerald would look better with your skin color and that flame-colored hair, but I was willing to make any changes you wanted.” I closed the boxed and shoved it back into my pocket. “I’ll cancel the sale and transfer of ACM, and things will go back to exactly as they were before. Maybe it was a ridiculous expectation to hope that you’d trust a guy with my past in such a short period of time.”
I turned my gaze to her face, taking in her wide eyes and astonished expression.
