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“You’reannoyingme.”
“Call me whatever you like. As long as you eat, I honestly don’t care.” He threw me an arresting smile, loving the irritated look on me as I grudgingly chewed another biteoflamb.
I inwardly sighed. Even when vexed, his gorgeous smiles still made me feel faint. Grieving or not, Jared’s effect hadn’t dissipated. It was strong as ever. “You think you can throw me a gorgeous smile and it would make me less annoyed? You can thinkagain.”
His maddening grin widened before he guffawed. “Gorgeous you say?” he intoned. It made his Australian accent much more pronounced. “If you think you can flirt your way out of this, you can also think again. You’re cute, but I’d rather have you cute and satisfied.” His face lit up, and for a second, he and I shared a moment, one that said we were grateful to have each other toconsolewith.
My inner bitch began to dissolve. Pacified by faith, I trusted everything would eventually fall into place. Then the heavy ache in my heart would ultimately vanish, and I’d learn how to be ecstaticagain.
“I forgot to say thank you for everything you’ve done. I hope you don’t deem me ungrateful. There’s been a lot on my mind...It’s beentough.”
Jared cast a thoughtful gaze. “I don’t need your thanks, Gisele. You’re family. We’re a unit. We’re business partners as well as friends. And at the end of the day, I’m also your husband. It’s my obligation to catch you when you fall. When you’re blinded with pain, it’s my duty to be your pillar of strength. Ours is unconventional, but the last few days led me to believe we’ll do fine. We have a legacy to uphold, a company to protect, and I won’t be able to accomplish that without you. Once you find your footing, I hope you’ll try to come twice a week so I can show you what our purpose is. There’s a mammoth task ahead of us. But so long we’re on the same page, we can conquer whatever difficulties are headedourway.”
I merely nodded, understanding his plight. Jared would be in my life through thick and thin, through heaven and hell. Come what way, we were going to work together. His positivity somehow made me feel less down and out. He showed me a glimpse of a future, one that entailed I’d actually be a part of my father’s company. Why hadn’t that thought truly entered my mind? Maybe it was due to my father. He never did broach such a subject with me. Well, apparently Jared thought otherwise. The idea of being a part of their world, my father and Jared’s, made me feel as though I could somehow feel my father’s presence. The brightness of hope, of the future, and I craved moreofit.
After dinner, I headed upstairs to shower before bed while Jared went into the library for a quick conference call to our Hong Kong headquarters. The hot shower calmed my nerves. Once finished, I changed into a slip before lighting a candle. The scent of plumeria was heaven to my deprivedsenses.
Feeling quite satisfied, I padded across the room and slid under the comforter. I made use of my time responding to messages. A couple of them included Wyatt andDexterBerg.
After quickly replying to Wyatt’s inquiry about my present sad state, I hastily read Dexter’s message. His conveyed the same sentiment as Wyatt’s, but it added how glad he was to be back and how he hoped to see me soon. We were childhood friends, but after the rift between our fathers, I only saw him through social gatherings and private parties through friends we had incommon.
I pondered a moment before finally deciding that it was best to respond to him tomorrow. The thought of entertaining old friends so soon after my father’s passing was just too much to comprehend for the time being. Carefully placing the phone back on the side table, I heard Jared enter thebedroom.
“I hope you’ve dried your hair this time,” I muttered my blatant protest of his wet hair dripping on the back of my neck. The man had a habit of loving to put his wet hair on my skin after he showered in his suite, one that I wasn’t such a hugefanof.
“Why do you do this to me, woman?” he groaned in the background, making me secretly smile. Though he wasn’t thrilled, I could hear him towel his hair dry in the bathroom. “You’re becoming a nightmare,” he loudly mused upon joining me in bed before gathering me in his arms. An action he’d freely indulged in on a nightly basis. At first, it was rather odd, but as the nights wore on, it became a normal thingbetweenus.
“What the hell!” A deafening shriek escaped me when he audaciously rubbed his cold damp hair on the back of my neck. I tried to get away from his tightened grasp, but he was way too strong for me. His roaring laughter so close to my ear sent goosebumps all over me. “What is wrong with you? I was so looking forward to sleep, but I’m wide awake now. I doubt I’ll be able to sleep even if Itried.”
“Apologies…” he murmured before he imparted a soft kiss on my shoulder. “Want to talk about it?” his breath teased the skin where he just plantedhislips.
“Notreally.”
The sudden intimacy between us made me beyond dizzy. Sure, he’d slept with his arms around me, but we never shared this…whateverthiswas.
What is he doing?I nervously thought when his lips brushed against the back of my neck.Again.Fuck!!! Alarm bells rang in my ears. If he thought of toying with me, tonight wasn’t the best time. Our emotions were so highly strung. My defenses were down, and baiting him surely was out of the question. Biting the bottom of my lip, I shut my eyes and commanded myself to breathe evenly. It lasted for a few seconds until I felt his hand, which normally didn’t touch my stomach, had actually pressed against it as if drawing me closertohim.
“You can comfort yourself that he’s ecstatic to be with your mother,” he said mesmerizingly. The notorious hand on my stomach began to mindlessly circle about my abdomen. “Your father was devastated when Edna died. He’s where he wants to be, Gisele. We can’t begrudge him his happiness, even though I blew up when he confessed he abandoned all notions of treatment. For the past years, he quietly began to set a plan in motion. I was with him almost on a daily basis. How’d you think I felt when he told me of his fatal illness? My failure to unravel his secret is a burden I no longer carry. Peter made sure I forgave myself before he died. He’s with your mom where he belongs. And instead of wallowing, we should be grateful for the time we hadwithhim.”
His words pierced through my fog. He blew up on Peter Weber? My, that must’ve been quite a sight. I could readily see him blowing a gasket while my father remained calm and composed, as if he hadn’t declared he was leaving us soon. Jared’s enlightening revelation made me feel like less of a heel. My conversation with my father wasn’t so impassioned compared to his, but that didn’t mean the same emotions didn’t coursethroughme.
For a while, I found myself livid when I let my emotions get the best of me. But each time I had seen his deteriorating state, all of those ill feelings had evaporated, only to be replenished with sorrow and profoundagony.
“If your wife died, would you wish the same fate?” I found myself asking, wondering what his thoughts were on thesubject.
“If she was my world like how Edna was to Peter, then, yes, withouthesitation.”
My stomach churned at the idea of him falling madly in love with a woman, so much so that he wouldn’t think twice before following in my father’s footsteps. Someday, I hoped to find someone to love me just as fiercely. Jared wasn’t the man for me, even though my heart and body protested at the very thought of another man. “Your future wife’s one lucky lady,” I stated without malice but withsincerity.
He chuckled with delight. “You say it as if you aren’tmywife.”
I rolled my eyes, quite glad I wasn’t facing him so he couldn’t catch my contorted face. “Stop patronizing me, Jared. You know what I mean. The woman you’ll love until you die, not the woman you presently married for businesspurposes.”
My statement rendered him silent. Good, he realized his joke was lostonme.
My phone beeped, and I reached out for it to find Wyatt’smessage.
When can I take you out for breakfast? I could give you a tour of your campus. I’ll be a perfect guide, I promise. How about it,beautiful?
