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Chapter Twenty
Muriella
“They didn’t take it well.”
I dropped down onto the sofa next to Stone, my heart heavy.
“Mr. Jacobs, the itinerary has been amended. We should be ready for take-off in about ten minutes.” The steward silently offered a bottle of water, which we both declined, before he disappeared to resume pre-flight checks.
Stone had spoken to Daniel first thing in the morning to explain he had to go back to Texas. Naturally, Daniel had immediately given him the use of his plane and promised to have a team in place to help by the end of the day, even though it was the day before Thanksgiving.
But when it had come time to tell them I was going with Stone, I teared up and barely got the words out. They’d given me their blessing, but there was no mistaking the disappointment in their voices.
We’d said our goodbyes, but just before I hung up, I heard him tell Vivian he was sorry, that this was his fault.
But that wasn’t true; this was about me. And maybe more than that, I needed to support Stone. The more time I spent with him, the more my feelings for him started to trickle out of the box I kept them in.
I was beginning to see he was right about my need to protect him, which was silly. He didn’t need me. Not in that sense. Yet my instinct was to do it anyway.
All of these new things were dizzying. I’d ended up sleeping in his arms all night. I panicked when I woke up but did a decent job of hiding that from him. Having survived that challenge, I was torn between wanting to do it again and just checking it off the list of been there, done that, and never have to again.
“There’s still time to change your mind.” The offer was earnest and one I appreciated.
“No. I need to do this.” I left off the part that it was to support him. He needed me more than Daniel and Vivian did. I toyed with the fringe on a throw pillow. “You’re lonely, aren’t you?”
He adjusted his ball cap and spread his thighs. “That obvious, huh?”
I blinked back, shocked he admitted it so easily. “I feel it.” I rubbed my chest. “To the world, it looks like you’ve got everything. A great career. Fame. Fortune. But since that wasn’t what you wanted, it’s a curse.”
“You do feel me.” He kneaded his hands up and down his thighs. “I’m ready to go home, Muriella. Past ready.”
“If you need the money you’ll make from this film, I can give it to you. You could quit.” A simple solution that was worth any cost if it made him happy.
His head jerked toward me. “I made a commitment.”
“It’s nice to have options.” He could go back to the life he missed so much, be with his family and the horses he loved. I could make that happen. I wanted to.
“I don’t need the money. And I wouldn’t dare take yours anyway.”
“It’s Daniel’s really. He split everything he has right down the middle between me and Vivian. Can you believe that?” On the flight to New Zealand, I’d read the letter he’d written to me. I’d been dying to read it ever since Vivian had read hers, but my anger with him had stopped me. When I finally did, I saw that those words were written by the man I knew. I couldn’t reconcile that with the one who kept secrets.
“Yeah. I’d be surprised at anything else.”
I stared at him, wondering what he saw that I didn’t.
“I need to figure out a way to give it back. But the person who would know how to go about it is him. He’d never tell me.”
Daniel had always been generous. I’d never wanted for anything. He gave without me ever having to ask.
I covered my mouth with my hand, and my eyes stung as the realization hit me.
“Muriella?” Worry clouded Stone’s eyes.
“That was his way of telling me he loves me. He couldn’t say it, so he did it in the only way he knew how.”
Why hadn’t I seen it sooner? Right after I read the letter, I thought he was just being crazy, overbearing Daniel. But that wasn’t it at all.
“What would you rather have? Action or words?” He angled his body toward me.
