AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I don’t care,” he said evenly. “You didn’t do it.”
“There are plenty of people who believe I did. People who’ve known me a lot longer than you have.”
He shrugged. “Some of them are idiots. Others may not necessarily disbelieve you, they just don’t want to get involved.”
“That’s exactly what I got from a lot of them. As if my bad luck would rub off on them if they stayed too close to me.”
He reached out to cover her hand with his. “I’m sorry. You must have been feeling very alone.”
“Not so much lately,” she admitted, and he was pleased that she left her hand in his. “Thank you for that.”
“It was, quite literally, my pleasure.”
She released a long, pent-up breath. As much as she still obviously hated the way he’d found out, he wondered if she felt some relief in having him know the truth about what had happened to her.
“Let us help you, Natalie.”
“You don’t even know if your cousin would be willing to help,” she pointed out a little shakily.
“He’ll help.”
For the first time since he had arrived that evening, she smiled, though weakly. “Why do I have a sudden mental image of you putting your P.I. cousin in a headlock until he agrees to help me?”
“If that’s what it takes,” he said lightly, grateful that her tension was easing, if only a little. “I’ll bring the twins over first thing in the morning. You can tell Andrew everything that happened, everything you’ve found out since you left the firm, and we’ll see what he has to say. If he has any questions, he can tap the resources of our fathers’ firm. We’ll figure out what’s going on, Natalie, and we’ll prove that you had nothing to do with those leaks.”
She looked up at him searchingly. “Why would you do this?”
He smiled. “You really have to ask?”
Lowering his head, he gave her a long, achingly tender kiss. She was clinging to his shirt by the time the kiss ended.
As much as he wanted to keep kissing her, he knew this was the wrong time. She was too vulnerable tonight. For that matter, he was, himself, a bit. They both needed some time to regroup. He made himself draw back, and she didn’t try to detain him.
“You’ll let us help you?” he asked.
She swallowed and nodded. “I’m willing to try, if your cousin is agreeable. And if Beecham doesn’t come through first.”
He allowed himself one slow stroke of her cheek. “Get some sleep tonight, Natalie. We’re going to take care of this.”
“You’re leaving now?”
He nodded. “I’ve gotta go yell at my cousins some more for invading your privacy. And then I’ll tell them that to make up for it, they’re going to help you.”
“Don’t you want to ask me any more questions about what happened?”
“I’ll wait until you tell Andrew in the morning. There’s no need for you to have to go through it all twice.”
She drew a deep breath and nodded. “All right. I’ll tell Andrew everything I know.”
“Sounds good. See you in the morning.” He looked at her for a moment longer, then moved toward the door.
“Casey?”
Already halfway outside, he looked around to see her standing beside the couch, Buddy at her side as they watched him walk away. “Yes?”
“Thank you for believing in me.”
He smiled and stepped outside, closing the door behind him.
