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He hit the volume up button asMamásaid, “Look,Mijo, she’s still wearing the necklace.”
He’d missed that, butMamáwas right. The cluster of diamonds shown like hope against her breasts.
“It is with a heavy heart,” she said into the microphone, “that I stand before you in the wake of a tragedy that will affect not only Whitlow Group but the Whitlow family itself. Just moments ago, Phillip Whitlow, son of Whitlow Group’s founder, was arrested in connection with a plot to frame his nephew and stage a coup against his brother for control of Whitlow Group.”
The bones in Noah’s legs suddenly felt as if they’d been replaced by cooked pasta. “Uncle Phillip did this to me?”
Papádidn’t speak, merely placed a hand on Noah’s shoulder, anger ravaging his face.
“This plot was brought to light by the diligent work of Reynolds, Clark & Morgan, Whitlow Tower Security, and an anonymous source,” Emma continued. “Reynolds, Clark & Morgan is working with this individual, as well as Franklin Bishop and Noah Whitlow the Third. The attempt to frame these men was nothing short of deplorable, and we will work tirelessly on behalf of our clients to assure each man sees justice served and has their reputations restored. Good men nearly had their lives ruined but make no mistake: we intend to see justice done. That is all for now. Please forward any further questions to Reynolds, Clark & Morgan’s Human Resources department. Thank you.”
Although reporters tossed questions at her, Emma turned from the podium and retreated inside Whitlow Tower.
Noah muted the TV as he tried to wrap his head around what he’d learned. His uncle had tried to frame him. Worse, he’d put Emma’s life in danger when he’d paid that maniac to throw gas bombs into her home.
An even darker thought struck him. What if Phillip hadn’t stopped with just the fire? Hadn’t the police initially thought the perpetrator had been in Emma’s house?
Noah pressed a hand to his chest. What if the original plan hadn’t been the fire but to physically attack Emma just after Franklin Bishop had left the camera’s range, but then, Noah had shown up, and the fire had been a rush job to accomplish a similar thing?
“Excuse me,” he said as he retreated to one of the suite’s bedrooms. He needed to hear Emma’s voice.
She picked up on the third ring. “Hey.”
“Hey.” He fought for the right words, but he had so much he needed to say. Where did he begin, especially when the most important thing he wanted to tell her he needed to say face to face? “I saw your news conference. You’ve been busy.”
“Yeah, you know me. Saving the world one client at a time.”
He laughed, and he was pretty sure it was the first time he’d done so since she’d walked from the precinct.
A long moment passed before she spoke again. “Well, Noah, it’s been an exhausting couple of days, and I want to go home. If it’s okay with you, I was thinking we could have pizza, followed by conversation. There are things I need answers to.”
And there was plenty he needed to answer for. “Pizza sounds perfect. Just tell me where you’ll be, and I’ll be there.”
“Noah, I’m goinghome.”
At the soundof approaching footsteps, Emma looked up from Rosa. The horse had trotted over for attention the moment Emma had stepped into the barn, and Emma had been content to stay with the horse as she’d waited for Noah.
His steps were hesitant, but that was okay. It gave her time to savor him and figure out what to say. Even if she hadn’t learned the truth of his innocence before now, seeing him like this just might have been enough to convince her he cared for her after all. Their separation had weathered him. Oh, he was still gorgeous, but he looked as if he hadn’t slept the entire time they’d been apart. Obviously, he hadn’t handled their separation any better than she had, which strangely made her feel better.
“Was anything between us real? The last time I asked you that, I’m pretty sure you lied to me. I’m trying to figure out why.”
On a long exhalation, he dropped his head. Shame rolled off him in black waves, and she closed the distance between them so that she could place a hand on his cheek, connecting them after so long apart.
He covered her hand with his. “Yes, I lied to you before, but it wasn’t out of spite or malice, but pain for what I’d done to Amanda. Reliving her death always cuts deep, and to be ambushed by it, to have Hill throwing that pain in my face… it just brought it all back with a vengeance, and I felt the same way I had as a kid: hurt and guilty, like I deserved the pain. So, in a move to punish myself all over again, I did the one thing I knew would hurt me more than anything ever has.” He lifted pain-filled eyes to her. “I sent you away.”
Her heart broke even as she fell more in love. “It’s clear Amanda’s death pains you. What isn’t clear is why exactly. I read her journal, so I know she loved you. Help me understand, Noah.”
“I will, but not here, okay?”
“How about in the garden?” she asked. “The last time I was there with you, I was happy. You seemed happy, too.”
“I was.” After bringing her hand to his lips, he interlaced their fingers, and they stepped into the sunshine.
He stopped beside a bush of yellow roses and eased the tip of his index finger along one bloom. “My mother planted this here as a housewarming present. It’s from a seedling she planted in her garden.”
He was trying to find the words to begin their conversation, she surmised, so she let him avoid a little longer. “You brought me yellow roses the night of the fire, then gave me more the morning after. Were they from here?”
He nodded. “You always smell like wildflowers, so the gift seemed appropriate.”
