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Chapter 1
AS THEY SAY, LIFE AS we know it really can change in the blink of an eye. I never really believed or understood that until it happened to me, until...now.
The next few moments passed in a blur, like a parade of stilted snapshots, each more surreal and confusing than then last. First, there was Max, a giant Italian and a stranger to me. He literally appeared out of thin air the second he saw that look of panic on Nick’s face, and I would later be informed that he was a bodyguard. He was almost invincible and incredibly loyal, an unbeatable enforcer who had been around so long that he was practically part of the family. The second Nick raised a finger, Max was by our side, angled protectively between our tiny group and the swarms of paparazzi that were already closing in.
As if someone had flipped a switch, Abby went from billionaire’s wife to billionaire’s former publicist. Half a decade of training kicked in as she swept bravely forward, slipping beneath Max’s restraining arm. In what looked like slow motion, she lifted her hands to command silence, quieting the ever-growing horde of cameramen and drama junkies, so she could deliver what I was sure was the world’s most tasteful back-the-fuck-off speech.
I didn’t hear a single word of it though. From the second Ferdie walked down the steps and delivered that fateful news, I only had eyes and ears for James.
“It’s your father. I’m so sorry, James. He’s dead.”
Wait. Dead? Dead, dead...dead.
The grim word laced with horrible finality echoed over and over in my head, growing louder with every pass. Benjamin Cross. Founder and CEO of Cross Enterprises. International tycoon, global humanitarian, and quite possibly the most significant mover and shaker the corporate world had seen in the last half-century was gone. The world had just lost a giant, and things would never be the same.
Of course, while the world would mourn that loss of a great businessman, James would mourn the loss of his father, and by the looks of things, that loss had yet to fully register.
There was shock, and then there was shock; James was infected by the latter. There was a strange tension in the way he was standing, as if he might leap from the ground and take flight at any moment. His eyes, which usually sparkled like the brightest of gems, were dull and glassy, and, no matter the chaos around him, he kept those eyes locked on the exact place where Ferdie had stood when he delivered the news. His lips parted just a hair, as if they demanded to free a gasp he couldn’t let go of, and I could have sworn he hadn’t even taken a breath in far longer than humanly possible.
“James...” I said quietly, slipping my hand into his with a gentle squeeze. “Honey, we should probably get inside.”
Abby did a fine job handling the crowd, but realistically, she could only control them for so long. Already, the security personnel who worked in James’s building was discreetly placing barriers along the sidewalk, and Max was about two seconds away from just lifting Nick off the ground and carrying him into the lobby.
Nick, however, wasn’t about to leave James’ side. He knew full well that in that moment, he was probably the only person who could get through to him. Surprisingly enough, James wasn’t the only person worthy of Nick’s concern. I had no idea when it happened, but I’d obviously made it onto that short list as well.
“Della...”
I literally jumped when he said my name, then turned around to stare into a pair of anxious blue eyes.
“You and Abby should get inside. This is bound to get worse before it gets better.”
“But I want...” I trailed off, my eyes flickering between James and the giant, pulsing crowd that was straining to close in on him. I wasn’t sure what was more frightening, the rabid, frantic faces of the media that flanked him on every side or the fact that James seemed paralyzed in front of them. “I want to help. I can’t just leave him—”
“You can help by getting Abby inside,” Nick said firmly, an unexpectedly cool head in times of crisis. “Don’t worry about James. I’ve got him.” Then, without another word, Nick bypassed his own security and strode forward to place his body squarely between his friend and the cameras. He turned to face him with a look of unshakable calm as a halo of electric blue illuminated his face.
At the same time, I hurried to do as he asked, darting toward the impromptu security barriers to retrieve Abby. My fingers wrapped around her thin wrist, and we shared a silent look. A second later, she was thanking the various news outlets, and the two of us were storming through the double-doors, walking double-time. It wasn’t until I was safely inside that I realized Nick didn’t just send me after Abby for her protection. In doing so, he was really looking after me as well.
“Hey, are you okay?” she said, and before I even realized what was happening, she had pulled me into a tight embrace, turning me away from the flashing cameras and toward the dimmer lights of the building.
It took a second for my eyes to adjust, for my racing heart to return to normal, for me to realize I was trembling. “I... Is it always like this?” I asked, shaking from head to toe. “They just pop up out of nowhere, and...”
Abby took one look at me, her eyes brimming with sympathy, before she pulled me in for another hug. “Yeah, hon’, always. It takes a little getting used to. Trust me on that.”
“Nick...” I said in a daze, my ears still ringing with the screams and shouts of 100 people I’d never know and didn’t want to know. “H-He asked me to get you inside.”
A rather tender look swept across Abby’s face as she glanced outside at her husband, then turned that gentle smile back on me. “The first time I set foot in Nick’s world as something more than his publicist, as his actual girlfriend, I just... I completely froze.”
Abigail Wilder, renowned PR maven extraordinaire, just froze? It didn’t seem possible. Then again, I had made speeches and presentations in boardrooms full of a lot more powerful people than the paparazzi swarm on the street, so I didn’t know why I froze either.
“It’s a specific kind of shock,” she explained, g
uessing my thoughts, “not something you can really prepare for, but you’ll get used to it. I promise.”
