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After another pause, he finally sighed. When he spoke again, he sounded resigned. “When will you be home again?”
“I’m not sure.” Her brain was scrambled. “I may request a leave of absence from work.”
“You really need that?”
“I really do.”
“I’ll arrange it.”
“Thank you.”
He didn’t respond for a long moment. The silence was thicker than the band of scar tissue she hoped would someday build around her heart, to seal in all the emotions she had for this wonderful man, and to keep out any painful ones that might threaten to invade in the future.
Finally, to her relief and her great sorrow, he gave in and stopped fighting her. “Promise me you’ll take care of yourself.”
“I will.
“In fact, let Jed take you to union Station and put you on the train. Will you do that much for me?”
“All right. Thank you.”
Another pause. An ocean of unspoken dreams, and she wondered how this could have become so damn complicated. Then again, she supposed, love always was.
She was about to hang up, wondering if they’d exchanged their last words, when he made a small noise. After it came six whispered words that shattered her heart completely.
“You said you wouldn’t leave me.”
And the call disconnected.
* * *
DAMIEN SPENT THE rest of the day, and much of the next, in a fog of denial. He wasn’t just brooding over the incredible story his mother had told him when he’d demanded the truth about why she resented him, but also about Viv’s shocking and sudden departure. He’d never been so blindsided in his life—and it had happened twice in the space of a few hours.
“Why did you go?” he mumbled Friday evening as he poured himself a drink at the penthouse bar, smelling roses and her perfume.
At first, still stunned by the bad news hitting him left, right and center in terms of the business and the team, he’d misunderstood. He’d thought she was only leaving early, but she would expect him to show up the next day. But she hadn’t invited him. And when he heard what she was actually saying—the way she made it sound as if she might not be returning—his confusion had deepened.
It had been all he could do not to race up to the penthouse to stop her, but there’d been the strangest tone in her voice. She’d sounded...brittle, hanging by a thin thread. Aware of how close she was to her parents, he could only assume that her second phone call with her mother had instilled a deep hunger in her for their comfort and support.
He had to take her at her word that she wanted time, even though he was incredibly impatient and wanted nothing more than to go up there and be with her. Hell, he hadn’t had the chance to reveal to her the amazing truth he’d learned about his life.
Worse, he hadn’t had the chance to tell her he loved her.
He did love her. He was certain of it now. Which was, in the end, why he’d been able to let her go.
Because he knew—down to his soul—that he would get her back.
Of all the things his mother might have expected when she’d spilled her guts, it probably hadn’t been that her ugly story would have the opposite effect than she’d intended. That was, though, what had happened. When he’d sat down and examined the sad, tarnished truth, he’d realized she’d been wrong. So very wrong.
Damien was capable of love, of commitment, of a lifelong devotion. Just as his father had been.
They were both just one-woman men, however. That lifelong devotion would only ever be directed at a single person.
His father had lost that person.
Damien didn’t intend to. He’d witnessed his father endure a lifetime of regrets; Damien wouldn’t make the same mistake by letting Viv get away.
“Are you actually going to drink that or are you just going to stare into the glass?” Sam asked, gesturing toward the Scotch Damien was holding in his hand.
Against his better judgment, he’d allowed Sam to come up for a drink that evening. They’d talked about the legal issues, and Sam had insisted that Damien stop worrying about any threats from Bruno Neeley. Especially now that the hotel security tapes had gone to the police, proving beyond any doubt that Bruno had brutally attacked Viv, and Damien had saved her.
Damien hadn’t watched the tapes. He didn’t suppose he’d ever be able to. Just the memory made his stomach churn.
Aside from the security footage, they had the video that clearly showed what had inspired the slap at the press conference. Sam was confident that Neeley’s threats and bluster would go nowhere. There was no risk of Damien being sanctioned by the league, and almost no chance Damien’s investors would try to wrest control of the franchise.
