“Hugo has the charter information and documentation required. He will accompany you to Tiburon.”
My brows scrunch. “I don’t need Hugo to go with me.”
His furious glance has my pulse quickening and my knees curving inward. “You take Hugo, or you don’t go, Isabelle.” His voice is clipped and stern. “This term is non-negotiable.”
I nod. It would have taken a lot for him to agree to let me go to Tiburon without him, so I don’t want to push his boundaries even further by refusing his request to take Hugo.
He works his jaw side to side before saying, “I'm giving you a week, but I can’t give you any more than that. If you aren’t back in a week—”
“I’ll be back,” I speak through the lump in my throat, and the hurt in his beautiful eyes relodge. “I don’t need any longer than that. I’ll be back within a week.”
The cloud of pain hampering his eyes lessens, but his anger remains firmly in place. “You better go pack. Your plane leaves in an hour.”
He takes a seat in his chair before pulling it in close to his desk, dismissing me from his presence without speaking a word. That hurts. I hold in my tears until I enter the hallway, but even then, I have to fight to keep them to a bare minimum since Hugo is pacing behind me.
I pack the barest necessities, wanting Isaac to be aware I’m planning on coming back. If he looks in our closet, it’s hard to tell I packed. I’m even taking a new toothbrush, so my current one stays next to Isaac’s in the ceramic holder on the vanity in the master bathroom. I want it to be a silent reminder to him that I’m still with him, and I will be back.
“Is that it?” Hugo queries when I hand him an overstuffed carry-on luggage bag.
I nod.
His lips curl into a rueful smirk. “All right. I’ll meet you in the foyer. Roger will take us to the airport.”
Not waiting for my reply, he heads down the stairwell. I exhale a big breath to settle my nerves before ambling back to Isaac’s office. When I enter, he’s once again on his cell phone, standing near the arch window. When he notices me leaning in the doorjamb, his gaze shifts to me. His brows furrow when he spots my tear-stained face. His clipped tone advises his caller that he’ll call them back before he disconnects and puts his phone away.
My pulse quickens when he shifts on his feet to face me. “If you cry, I won’t let you leave.”
I bite the inside of my cheek, giving it my best shot not to let my tears fall. As much as me going back to Tiburon will hurt my relationship with Isaac, I need to do this. I need answers to a whole heap of questions hazing my mind, and the only place I can get those answers is in Tiburon.
Not giving him a chance to reject me, I finalize the last steps between us, then throw my arms around his neck. I burrow my nose into the crook of his neck and inhale deeply, absorbing the delicious scent of his skin. My heart hammers my ribs when he pulls me in close like he doesn’t want to let me go. He's gripping onto me for dear life, afraid I might vanish.
I place a kiss on his ear, his ticking jaw, then his mouth. “I love you.”
Feeling my composure slipping, I whisper a faint goodbye, then race to his door. Before I can exit, he seizes my wrist, yanks me back, then seals his lips over mine. The salt of my tears enhances the flavor of our kiss. It’s a lush, mind-spiraling embrace that’s packed with emotion. I project my sorrow for my cruel words as well as my love.
By the time he pulls away, I want to forget everything. I want to sweep it under the rug and act as if it never happened, but I can’t. I need to do this, or our relationship won’t be built on a solid foundation. It will be once again founded on lies and secrets.
When Isaac cups my cheeks so his thumb can rub away my tears, I urge my tears to stop falling. I can’t leave him crying, or our time apart will hurt him even more—he doesn’t deserve more pain.
I impress myself with how quickly I can rein in my tears when it’s for Isaac’s benefit. I’ve never been able to stop my tears flowing before, but I'd do anything for the man standing in front of me—even breaking my own heart.
The concern in Isaac’s eyes lessens when he notices mine are no longer welling with tears. After rubbing his thumb over the cupid’s bow of my lip, he places a kiss on my temple, then abruptly pulls away. His fluid strides have him standing back near his office window quicker than the blink of an eye.
“Go now, or I’ll never let you go.”
Pivoting on my heels, I rush out of his office, not risking the chance of looking back because right now, if he asked me to stay, I'd never leave.
Chapter 27
Isabelle
Igrunt while increasing the pressure on the door. Because of the build-up of mail placed in the slot, it’s jammed with envelopes and catalogs.
Hugo’s soft chuckles echo through my ears before he pushes on the door with one hand, opening it with ease.
I roll my eyes. “Thanks.”
Tears prick in my eyes when I walk into the place I called home for eighteen years of my life. It looks the same as it did when I left. Even the wooden leg on the dining table still has the drawing I made one evening when Uncle Tobias and his friends were playing poker. I was supposed to be asleep hours earlier, but I hid under the dining table when no one was looking. I learned a lot of new Russian words that night—none worth repeating.
