AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She liked that she was able to have input still. He’d been true to his word, and she still maintained control and he’d switched the dog food supplier back as requested.
Will’s phone rang and he pulled it out, a slight frown appeared as he looked at the screen and it took everything in her not to reach up and smooth away the crease. She had struggled without him last night and although he wasn’t being distant, rude, or mad, he was being different. He wasn’t himself and she didn’t know why.
By New Year’s Eve she realized why he was so down. There was a bone-deep sadness in him that he was trying hard to hide and it was tearing her up inside. She didn’t know how to make it better so she decided to confront him.
Rebelle found him in the cattery with the feral kittens who hadn’t stayed feral for very long once Will had gotten his hands on them. He definitely had a talent for taming wild things, her throat closed when she realized that included her. She had amazing self-preservation skills and she had managed to avoid thinking about him leaving. She could tell from his deepening sadness that the day to say goodbye was fast approaching.
“Isn’t life better when we’re not all grumpy and hissy anytime someone touches you? This way you get treats and cuddles but don’t tell Mommy Rebelle just how many treats you’re gettingor she’ll think I’m spoiling you.” Her heart lurched as she overheard him. She didn’t want children but the idea of fur babies and lots of them with this man suddenly sounded like her idea of heaven. She pushed away the vision of them adopting all the strays and needing a second home just for animals.
“Will?”
He turned to her, one kitten perched on his shoulder, patting at his ear lobe, two climbing up his pants legs and one clinging to the back of his shirt. She burst out laughing at the sight of this formidable Viper covered in howling kittens. His phone rang and he extricated the tiny felines before pulling out his phone and silencing it.
“Who are you ignoring?”
“Everyone,” he muttered and turned away, putting the kittens back in their bed and closing the pod door. Tension radiated from him, and she hated seeing him so tense, it wasn’t good for him. They had switched roles, he was the surly one and she was the one who would do anything to make him smile.
“Will,” she pulled his arm, turning him to face her. She reached up to cup his cheek, standing on her tiptoes. His eyes met hers and she saw the sadness churning away in the ocean depths.
“What’s going on? Talk to me.”
“What’s the point?” he shrugged.
“Because you’ll get it off your chest and go back to normal.”
“No, I won’t. Because going back to normal is the fucking problem,” he said, pulling away from her and shoving a hand through his hair in frustration.
She shrugged. “So then don’t go back to normal. Stay.”
He scoffed and spun away, bracing his hands on the table against the wall that they used for prepping food and giving the cats medication. “I can’t stay. I have to get back, there’s too much riding on me.”
“Like what?”
“Businesses, all these small businesses that aren’t getting the support and attention I promised them. Charities, fundraisers I haven’t attended. The show, my colleagues, my mom,” he ticked off each one on his fingers. “They all need me, need my money!”
“But what doyouneed?”
He paused, stumped by her question. His lips rolling inwards, and he made a dismissive noise in his throat.
“Come on Mr. Billionaire. What do you need?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Then what do youwant?”
“It doesn’t matter,” he gritted out.
She watched the wretched expression on his face and took pity on him. “It’s okay to not want that life in L.A. anymore. If you want to stay, then stay. Choose yourself. You need to pick you because no one else can make that decision for you.”
He looked about him, his hands flailing with all the words he didn’t say.
“Haven’t youearnedit by now? Haven’t you helped so many people that you can rest easy now?”
He shook his head. “There’s so much more that I could do.”
“Why is it up to you?” she burst out.
“Because that’s what happens when you have lots of money, you’re successful and you have fame. Everyone wants a piece, a small chunk of it. Of you. And you can’t escape. You have a responsibility to help those who don’t have those things. I won’t turn my back on them like others would. Like my father did.”
