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She leaves out the word “trophy,” but we can all hear the silent insinuation between the lines.
I point towards Katie but keep my eyes locked on Amanda.
“Katie built her business from the ground up. She’s an incredible woman, and a million times better than you are. I don’t want a stay-at-home wife. I want someone who challenges me, and who makes me better. Someone who has her own dreams, dreams we can work toward together. You don’t know anything about what I want or need. I want her. Not you.”
Amanda sniffs, but I know my words haven’t gotten through. This isn’t about me, it’s about her. She wants status and someone with a big wallet so that she never has to work, and she thought I would be that someone. Unfortunately, the blonde thought wrong.
“Meddling in my personal business is not part of your job, Amanda,” I rasp angrily. “You’re fired.” I’m sure I’ll have to deal with the aftermath, but I don’t care right now. I can’t have this woman on my staff. Not when she tried to keep me away from the woman I could have been with for the last year.
Amanda’s jaw drops, but she doesn’t try to fight it because she knows she doesn’t stand a chance. I turn to Katie, vaguely noticing Amanda stomp away in tears.
“I’m sorry,” I say, reaching for her. She lets me put my hands on her arms.
“It’s not your fault,” Katie says quietly. “I’m just so sad that we lost all this time together.”
“Me too.”
She looks up at me then, her eyes wide, almost like she’s scared.
“Trent,” she says, a tremor in her voice. “We really need to talk.”
I nod and sling an arm around that curvy form. Whatever it is, I’m not afraid anymore. Because with this woman at my side … anything is possible.
Chapter Eleven
Katie
All this time, I’ve been furious with Trent, thinking he’s been screening my calls, and it turns out the bitch Amanda just wanted him all to herself. It’s all so surreal, I can barely process it, but a part of me is soaring: Trent wanted to be with me this whole time.
And now I have to tell him the truth.
My hands sweat and my heart races. I feel like I might be sick, but I take a few deep breaths to calm myself down.
Trent keeps his hands on my arms. They’re gentle but firm. He’s waiting patiently for me to talk, to tell him whatever it is that I need to tell him.
“What’s going on, Katie?” he says softly. “Have you found someone else? I understand if you have…it’s been over a year, I didn’t expect you to—”
“No!” I say quickly. “That’s not it. I haven’t. There’s no one else.”
He breathes a sigh of relief. “Good. There’s no one else for me, either. That night we shared together…it changed me, sweetheart. I don’t want anyone else but you.”
I start to cry. Maybe it’s this overwhelming moment, maybe it’s the residual hormones from pregnancy, but I can’t help it. The tears fall freely.
Trent moves his hand from my arm and wipes a tear from under my eye.
“Talk to me, Katie. What’s going on?”
Another deep, shuddering breath. I can’t stop the crying, but Trent deserves answers.
“Last year, I tried to find you,” I tell him through my tears. “It was two months after our night together, and you hadn’t called me. I thought you weren’t interested, but…I wanted to talk to you. I had to.”
Trent remains quiet, his eyes trained on mine, open and warm. The man in front of me is nothing like the man I read about in the papers. He’s giving and gentle when he’s with me, not the ruthless billionaire without a conscience.
“I…Trent. Oh god, this is so hard.” I cover my face with my hands.
“Shh, it’s okay,” he soothes, rubbing my back. “Take your time.”
“I’m so sorry,” I start again. “Two months after that night, I realized that I…well, I’d missed my period. Sometimes when I’m working an important party, things get so hectic that I forget to take my birth control. It usually doesn’t matter because I don’t usually…well, nothing ever happens, and then we… and it never even occurred to me to tell you to use a condom.”
His face flashes with recognition, guilt, and fear.
“You were pregnant,” he finishes for me quietly, eyes wide. “I got you pregnant. You tried to find me?”
I nod, wiping my tears. “I called you so many times I should probably be on a stalker list. Then I went to your house looking for you, but your staff wouldn’t let me in. They said they’d tell you I came by.”
“They didn’t,” he says, face clouding over with anger. “Amanda…”
I take his hand and squeeze it. “I know. This isn’t your fault. If she hadn’t…if she hadn’t meddled and forced us apart, you would have known.”
