AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He stood with hands by his sides and his eyes hooded from her beneath the brim of his hat.
Damn sexy.
A handy trick when you didn’t want to show any emotion. Why the heck was she here if he didn’t mean what he’d said and only brought her out here to humiliate her? She dashed her silly thoughts to the side. Anxiety and nerves kept her from thinking straight.
He spotted her and palmed his hat.
Her steps faltered in the sand and he held a hand out to her.
“Marshall, what are you doing? What’s all this about?”
Her pulse quickened and quivered all at once until tiny dots filled the fringes of her vision.
“I wasn’t sure you would come, sweetheart.”
“Me either, to be honest.” She looked into his eyes and told him the truth. “If it wasn’t for my friends and family, I’d still be huddled under my blankets.”
She glanced over her shoulders and noticed everyone had disappeared, even the cameramen and news anchor.
“Where did everyone go?”
“I didn’t want any interruptions for this.”
“For what, Marshall Blackwood? What game are you up to?” The pain caused by Priscilla didn’t fade overnight and she could feel the burn just as badly this morning as she had last night. More if she focused on it which she would do after Marshall said whatever he had to say and she could go back to sulking and her pity party for one.
She turned back to Marshall. “Why did you sign away your company? What about your family—what will they do now?”
“I did. It’s the only way you would know this comes from the heart with no strings attached. BlackCo is in good hands with Shawn.” He held up a hand when she moved to counter his protest.
“I found that loophole, after all. It was right in front of me all the time, I just didn’t see it for the trees in the forest.”
“But what about ice bitch princess Priscilla? What would you do without your place in your company? I’m confused. I thought you were mad at me?”
He cupped her face and she sighed from the warmth of his touch.
His eyes darkened at the mention of the woman’s name.
“I returned the money you sent for the bank payment. I didn’t feel right taking it,” she continued softly. “I don’t know where that picture of us kissing came from, but it wasn’t me. I was a little tied up at the moment if you know what I mean, and she mentioned you were going to sell an exclusive and—”
That only deepened his scowl. “I know about the money and I called your banker this morning. Vows from Juniper is yours, free and clear. And about the exclusive wedding photos. I had Stella set that up with all the proceeds to go to charity and all the names on the angels I collected.”
Understanding dawned. Her eyes widened. “Marshall.”
He held his hand up again for her to wait. She clamped her lips shut but didn’t like it.
“I did it because I wanted to from here.” He held her hand over his heart. “For the friend you’ve become and as the woman I love. You’ve started a fire in me and the second you’re not there, it dies.”
That had her own heart stopping mid-thud, but she could sense he had more to say so she kept her lips sealed and waited. Not patiently, but she managed.
“That whole ploy of the picture and the newspaper was all Priscilla’s underhanded way to force my hand into doing her bidding. She’ll be dealt with for forging my name and trying to blackmail me and the company.”
Her mouth formed into an O. “I see. I tried calling.”
“I’m sorry. In my hurry to catch Shawn and the whole family and explain my discovery of the loophole and my plan to do anything and everything in my power to convince you of my love, I left my phone on the plane. As for Priscilla, she won’t be back to bother you or me anytime soon, if at all.”
“And the Masterson deal?”
“It appears the apple didn’t fall far from the tree there. Both conspired to blackmail me and BlackCo by any means necessary that would have me marrying Priscilla. Her father only wanted to dig his fingers into our pockets using his daughter and thought he could pull out of the deal if I refused. Needless to say, we’ll have to find another way to become the number one oil company in the U.S. But that’s nothing to worry about today.”
