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He could not change the past, only work on their future. And they did have a future. Together. Because apart, they were both only partial people.
“I don’t want to talk anymore.”
“You need to rest, but I do not want to leave you.”
“You have to leave.”
He was not so sure about that, but he said nothing. He would talk to her father after he left her to rest.
He leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss to her soft lips. “We will talk more tomorrow.”
“No.”
“Sleep,” he said instead of answering.
There was no point in arguing something he was determined to win.
When he went downstairs, they were all waiting for him in the living room.
Ellie, the sister, was looking expectant. Her husband faintly menacing and her father much the same. Helen Taylor looked like she was terrified to hear what he had to say and just as frightened of leaving it unsaid.
“I would like to stay here, if I may,” he said, coming straight to the point. It felt like begging, but he had to stay near her. He and Amber had too much to work through. And after learning he had almost lost her to starvation, he could not make himself leave her…even to find a hotel.
“Did she talk to you?” Ellie asked when her father didn’t answer Miguel’s request right away.
“Yes, her guilt over the baby is immense, but I’m determined to help her work through it and come to see that she is not at fault.”
“Baby?” her mother asked in a voice similar to the one he’d used upon hearing.
And it was only then that he realized none of these people had known. Damn it, if he’d been thinking straight, he would have wondered…been circumspect until he could ask her. However, even knowing how devastated she had been, he was stunned to realize she hadn’t shared something so shattering with her beloved mother.
The words could not be unsaid however. The only choice was to move forward. “I think perhaps there is a great deal we need to tell each other.”
Amber woke to her alarm the next morning having slept fourteen hours straight. She had forced herself to sleep since the accident, but had not rested so well since returning from Spain.
She showered in her en suite and dressed in a f
aux suede pantsuit in alligator print by Tesori. It was only a little loose, which filled her with satisfaction. She was getting better physically. That was good for her family.
Maybe even for her.
She wasn’t completely shocked to see Miguel at the breakfast table, though the way he and her father were chatting like old friends took her aback.That she had not expected.
Both men looked up on her entrance and smiled.
Her dad’s expression mirrored a lack of tension she only now realized had been there because it was gone. “Good morning, Amber. You look like you slept well.”
“I did.” She returned his smile.
“That is good to hear,” Miguel said, his expression a little more difficult to read than her father’s.
“Where’s Mom?” she asked as she sat down and waited for the housekeeper to bring her breakfast.
“Right here,” said a feminine voice from the doorway.
She came over and hugged Amber before kissing George’s cheek and then sitting down. She nodded at Miguel. “Good morning, Miguel. I trust you slept well.”
He gave a noncommittal shrug. “I hope to spend the morning with Amber. Will that be a problem?”
