Chapter 84
The next day, Amaya reread the same paragraph for the fifth time before leaping up from the keyboard. It was her promotion. And now she doesn't know what to do or how to feel.
Her son and her work had succeeded in distracting her from losing Chase before, but it wasn’t doing a thing for her now. She’d scanned her emails, managed to form coherent replies for the important ones, read the documentation Allen had forwarded from Human Resources, and toyed with an idea to grab the lucrative contract.
All perfectly stimulating stuff she would normally thrive on, but today she couldn’t concentrate for more than a few seconds at a time, her mind constantly drifting to Chase. To their son, and to their marriage, to their relationship.
Where was he?
What was he thinking?
Why had he run out on her when they needed to discuss this like two normal people?
She understood that he needed time. But the fact that he’d barely spoken since she’d dropped her bombshell didn’t bode well.
Bombshell? She’d detonated their relationship clean out of the water; first, with the news she was leaving, then with her follow-up declaration, she’d give up her dream job to be with her dream man.
Was she crazy?
Yeah, crazy about a hottie billionaire with molten-blue eyes and a smile that made her belly clench with desire.
Heading for the window where she could waste another half-hour or so staring at the killer view without really seeing it, she stopped as she heard the door open and swung around in time to see Chase burst into the suite, his hair dishevelled and his expression wild.
“Chase, what happened? Are you okay?”
His eyes lit up as they fixed on her. “I am now.”
“I heard you went to Greece. What’s all this about—?”
He crossed the room in two seconds flat, swept her into his arms, and crushed his mouth to hers, effectively silencing her and annihilating the need to talk with a frantic, hungry kiss that wiped every sane thought from her mind, let alone the questions that had plagued her for the last few hours.
After an exquisite eternity, they came up for air, and she clung to him, needing a steady anchor for her boneless legs. “Chase—”
“Hmmmp?” He’d always had the ability to do this and turn her into a quivering, love-struck girl, but she wasn’t a naïve young woman any more.
She needed more than a ride on the back of his bike and a roll on his private road. She needed a guy willing to accept her for who she was. She needed him.
“I’ve been doing some thinking,” he added.
She smiled. “I figured that, considering you tore out of here like a cane burnout, it was sparking at your heels.”
He grimaced, releasing her to run a hand through his hair. “Sorry about that. I needed space. You know I need time out when things get tough.”
“Tough? You ain’t seen anything yet.”
She smiled while her belly twisted in an agony of nerves. Now that he was here, she wanted to shake the truth out of him; she wanted him to tell her exactly what he was thinking and put her out of her misery once and for all.
“You should take the promotion; it's okay. I can find a new secretary.”
“Oh.”
Disappointment ripped through her, and the pain of losing him again cleaved her heart in two.
She’d made the pitch of her life—and failed.
“But only if we work out a way to spend at least six months of the year together. It’s going to be hard enough letting my wife out of my sight for that long as it is.”
Her gaze flew to him, seeking some hidden meaning behind his words, not daring to believe her dream could still become a reality.
“Are you saying—?”
“I don't want a divorce, Amaya. I can't. I can't let you go again.”
“Chase…”
“I’m saying this marriage is as real as it gets, my dear. I can't let go of the woman I love.”
“You love me?”
“Yes, to the moon in back!”
“I love you too.” She let out an ear-splitting squeal as he picked her up and swung her around until she was breathless and laughing and crying all at the same time.
“Hey, don’t do that.”
His tenderness in swiping her tears away only made them fall faster, and he bundled her into his arms, stroking her hair as she burrowed into her favourite place in the world, inhaling the pure ambrosia of fresh air, the ocean, and Chase.
She couldn’t get enough of him, and the thought they had a lifetime together ahead made her light-headed with joy.
“About this marriage—”
The funky tune of her mobile vibrated against her thigh, and she fumbled for the phone, switching the darn thing off with a flick.
“You were saying?”
He grinned. “That could’ve been important.”
She smiled and said, “Nothing’s as important as hearing you talk about our marriage.”
“Well, then, let’s—”
She let a curse slip as the suite’s phone rang, loud and jarring, and she laid a hand on his arm as he reached for it.
“Leave it.”
Sweeping a swift kiss across her lips, still tingling from his recent sensual assault, he said, “Maybe someone’s trying to get hold of you? First the mobile, now here? Just answer it, fob them off so we can get to the good stuff.”
Chase nuzzled her neck, and she moaned, trying to block out the incessant jangling of the phone before giving in with a reluctant curse and snatching it up.
“Hello?”
‘Ms Lloyd? It’s Nurse Peters from the special accommodations facility. I’m sorry to say your father has had another stroke. It’s best you come as soon as possible.”
“I’ll be right there.”
An instinctive response, a response she might not have given if she’d had time to think, but once it had slipped out and she’d hung up, she knew she had no other choice but to go, regardless of her ambivalent feelings towards her dad.
Chase frowned. “What’s wrong?"
Twisting her hair into a knot at her nape before letting it fall, she said, “It’s my father. He’s had another stroke.”
“Hell.”
Chase turned away, but not before she’d glimpsed a flicker of guilt she didn’t understand.
“I have to go, Chase. I mean, I know... he is, um, I'm sorry, but he is still my father.”
“Of course. Want me to come with you?”
She shook her head and laid a hand on his arm. “No, I’ll be fine. Do you think it's a good idea to bring Tommy?”
“I don't think so. It's easy for him to use Tommy against you. We should, um, be careful.”
She nodded her head. “You’re right. Are you sure you'll be okay?”
“Of course, it's time me and Tommy talked about his new set of Paw Patrol.”
“Stop spoiling him too much, okay?”
“Yes, sweetheart.”
Her hand drifted upwards andand stroked his cheek, her heart swelling with love for her husband. Her husband. Amaya had the right to really call him now, and she couldn’t have been happier.
“You stay here with Tommy, and I’ll be back as soon as I can, and we can talk some more. Okay?”
"Sure." He pulled her in for one last, hungry kiss before releasing her, and she hurried out the door.
The faster she paid her father an obligatory visit he’d done nothing to deserve, the faster she could start the rest of her life.