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He pushes past me and stumbles enough to show me how drunk he is, but his threats are the same. As the door closes, my knees give way and I sink to the floor. My worst nightmare has come to pass, and it’s my own fault. I’d known it was a possibility, but Linc had won me over, convincing me that our marriage was the answer, that I could solve my financial worries by handing over twelve months of my life.
He’d been right, but it had opened up a bigger nightmare and I have no idea how to get out of it without sacrificing either my baby brother, who was so innocent and sweet, or my husband, the man I’m desperately in love with.
Tears sting my eyes and blink them back wishing like hell I could go back and make better choices, but I can’t and now I have to find a way out of this mess.
Standing, I head quickly back to the ladies’ room and thankfully find it empty. I splash cold water on my face and suck in some calming breaths that do nothing for my equilibrium. I look at the woman in the mirror and she looks like she’s seen a ghost and it feels like I have. The ghost of my mother’s rapist and I had to make the right choice now.
Although it wasn’t a choice. Linc will recover but Eric, in the clutches of that evil man, will not. Smoothing my dress, I take several breaths and exit the bathroom running right into the man who I was going to have to deceive and the only man I want to hold me while I fall apart.
“Lottie, where have you been? I was worried sick.”
I smile wide and let him haul me against his body as tears prick my eyes. Savoring his strength and the scent of his cologne and wishing I had another way. Maybe time will give me that, I need to think. I need space but selfishly I need him to hold me and bolster me more.
“Sorry, I was chatting with someone I knew from the charity, and time got away from me.”
“That’s okay, sweetheart. Are you ready to leave now?”
“Yes, take me home and do the things you promised me.”
His grin is devilish as he leads me to the car and he makes good on his promise, making me forget everything but his touch, and I selfishly absorb it, tucking away each memory because I know it’s only a matter of time before everything comes crashing down around me.
Later as Linc sleeps, I get up and slip his shirt over my naked body. I sneak out of the room and go to the large terrace that overlooks Manhattan. Tucking my legs under me, I huddle on the outdoor day bed and wish I could cry but even my tears have abandoned me. My mind goes over my options again and again, finding no alternative except one and I’m not sure I can do it. That I can trust someone with my secret. The sun is coming up, basking the sky in the orange hues of a new day when I feel him.
“Lottie.”
His warm body wraps around me and the tears that had been absent want to make an appearance at the soft question in my name.
“Sorry, I couldn’t sleep.”
“You should have woken me. You’re freezing.”
He holds me tighter, wrapping his arms around my waist as he settles my back against him, tangling his legs with mine, his warmth thawing my chilled skin.
“You looked so peaceful. I didn’t want to disturb you.”
“You could never disturb me, Lottie.”
His kiss on my shoulder makes me want to cry more, but I bite it back, not wanting him to know that something is up. He probably already suspects. Linc is too perceptive not to have noticed. “Linc?”
“Yes?”
“Do you enjoy your job at Kennedy?”
He chuckles. “That’s what’s keeping you awake?”
“No, I just wondered.”
He settles back, laying me across his chest as we both watch the sun rise.
“Kennedy is more than a job to me. It’s a legacy, a family that employs thousands of people and it’s my honor to hold that legacy and nurture it to growth and health so that those people can feed their families and put roofs over their heads. It’s not something I take lightly. It’s in my blood and it’s a privilege that I don’t take for granted.”
“Did your father?”
I feel him stiffen.
“Take it for granted?”
“Yes.”
