Текст книги "The Taming of the Billionaire"

Автор книги: Jessica Clare

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Текущая страница: 13 (всего у книги 16 страниц)

Chapter Sixteen

Gretchen Petty was a good friend.

She didn’t ask questions when Edie stood on her doorstep, utterly miserable, knee swollen, tears running down her face, vomit on her shirt. She just folded her arms around her friend and ushered her inside. After Edie had taken a nice long bath and changed into Gretchen’s pajamas, Gretchen ordered a pizza and slowly coaxed the story out of Edie. Of Bianca’s betrayal, followed up by the fact that Magnus had been lying to her, too. Gretchen was appropriately horrified, and insisted that Edie stay with her until things were sorted out.

“But my cats,” Edie protested. “They need medication and Bianca won’t take care of them, and—” Fresh tears erupted.

Gretchen patted Edie’s good knee. “Give me your house key and a list of their meds and I’ll handle it.”

Edie gave up the keys without protest.

Hours later, Edie woke up from a nap to find that Gretchen had arrived with one of Hunter’s new assistants named Darcy. Between the two of them, they’d rounded up all seven of Edie’s cats, brought bags of cat food and litter, and proceeded to set up the largest room in the guest wing for Edie. Gretchen had also packed up Edie’s clothing so she’d have something to wear and not have to worry about returning home.

Edie cried some more, because she had such a good friend in Gretchen. She was the only person who had kept her word at all.

As she settled her cats into the new, unfamiliar surroundings, Edie ignored her phone. It had been ringing off the hook all afternoon, and vibrating with incoming texts. Gretchen had reported that Bianca was beside herself, weeping and full of excuses, and followed Gretchen around the apartment until Gretchen threatened to deck her. It seemed that someone had let Bianca in on what was happening, and her sister was upset that Edie knew the truth.

Good, Edie thought cruelly. Let her stew. Let her know how it feels for a change.

Magnus had been calling, too, but she ignored those. Instead of the rage she felt at her sister, there was just a dull ache where Magnus had betrayed her, a dull ache right where her heart should have been. She wasn’t as angry at Magnus as she was at Bianca. Her anger at Bianca was mostly anger at herself—she should have known better. Bianca had always been selfish and controlling growing up. Her change-about should have made Edie question things. Instead, she’d simply allowed Bianca to slowly take over her life.

Magnus’s betrayal she’d never seen coming. Maybe that was why it made her just want to cry instead of punch things. Maybe because she so desperately wanted to believe the words he’d been saying—I love you—and she just couldn’t.

If everyone lies to you, how can you possibly know what the truth is? Edie had no answer for that. And as she hugged Chunk’s ragged fur against her, she let the tears flow.

Because she’d let herself fall for Magnus. She’d let herself believe in love again.

That probably made her the stupidest one of all.

“You want something to eat?” Gretchen asked as Darcy left, carrying out the empty pizza box. “You hardly touched the pepperoni deluxe, and I know it’s your favorite.”

Edie held Chunk close, feeling the elderly cat tremble in fear out of her new surroundings. “I’m fine. I’m not hungry.”

“Most people pork up when they have a breakup,” Gretchen told her. “If you want to have ice-cream sundaes and a pork-rind pig-out fest, I’m your girl. You just let me know.”

“I know,” Edie said softly. “Thank you.”

“All right. Just text me if you need me. I’m a wing away but it might as well be miles in this place.”

“I’ll text.”

“Okay,” Gretchen said. “Leaving now. For real.”

“Bye.”

“This is me leaving,” Gretchen echoed again, stepping slowly to the door. “This is me checking to see if you want anything else before I leave. Anything at all.”

A ghost of a smile touched Edie’s face. “I’m good. I promise.”

Gretchen sighed. “All righty, then. See you in the morning.” She closed the door, and Edie pressed a kiss to Chunk’s soft head. Alone with her thoughts at last.

A knock sounded at the door. Gretchen again? “I’m fine,” Edie yelled. “Seriously, Gretch.”

The door opened and to Edie’s surprise, Hunter glanced in. “Is this a bad time?” His voice was deep, gravelly, almost raspy, as if not used often. His face was a bit fearsome in the shadows, and his mouth was pulled down heavily in one corner. No, Edie realized, it was scarring that made it seem as if he were permanently angry.

She sat up, and Chunk leapt away. “No, of course not. This is your house. Thank you for letting me stay here.”

He nodded and opened the door a bit farther, but didn’t come inside. Instead, he glanced around the room, at the cats hiding in corners, shivering in their carriers, and she knew at least one was hiding under the bed. Cats never did well in a new environment, and hers would need a little time to adjust. He looked around, then back at Edie.

“You’re very dear to Gretchen,” he said in that strange, low voice. “I just want you to know that if you need anything, all you have to do is ask. My resources are at your disposal.”

Fresh tears threatened again. She knew Hunter was a recluse based off of Gretchen’s comments, knew that he hated to be around people unless he absolutely had to. For him to come and offer this was touching. “I appreciate it.”

He gave her a stiff nod, then shut the door. She heard his footsteps down the hall as he walked away.

Edie lay back down on the bed again, grabbing a pillow and hugging it. On the nearby table, her phone buzzed with an incoming text.

She ignored it and closed her eyes, willing herself to fall asleep.

Didn’t work.

***

Magnus was ready to kill someone, starting with his brother, Levi. No, he decided, Bianca would go first.

Both of them were completely useless when it came to finding Edie. All Bianca did was sob and ask what it meant for her, and Magnus wanted to wring her pretty neck. She wasn’t concerned about her sister as much as she was concerned about herself, and that just increased his rage. Levi was also equally useless. It seemed that the fair Bianca had dumped him and now he was inconsolable.

Misery loved company, but this was ridiculous.

In the meantime, he’d texted Edie a ridiculous number of times, called her just as many, but she wasn’t answering. Bianca wasn’t answering his calls, either, so he’d taken to driving around the city, in the hopes that he’d catch a glimpse of a woman with a unique gait and two short brown braids that she wore tucked behind each ear. When it got dark, he decided to give up and headed back to his new place, just in case she changed her mind and came home.

He considered it “their” home, even if she wouldn’t live there. He’d bought it thinking of her, and he saw her in every room, every piece of new furniture picked out with the thought of pleasing Edie. Now all of that might be for nothing, and the thought made him feel hollow inside. No, fuck that. He wasn’t going to allow that to happen. Magnus was a doer. It was Levi who was the emotional one, the dreamer. Magnus got shit done. If getting Edie back was something that needed to happen, well, he’d get that shit done, too.

He was just pulling up to his new Park Slope place when his phone dinged with an incoming text. Nearly jumping the curb in his haste to answer, Magnus parked the car and flicked his phone on.

Hunter. Damn it. His momentary disappointment gave way to relief when he read the text. Edie is here, with Gretchen. She has her cats with her and will be our guest for a few days as she settles in.

Thank god. Magnus tilted his head back with relief, eyes closed. As long as she was safe and with friends, that was all that mattered. He immediately dialed Hunter. “She’s there? She’s safe?” he asked the moment the phone picked up on the other end.

“Yes and yes,” Hunter said.

“Thank you,” Magnus breathed. “Thank you for being there for her.” He felt so fucking guilty that he was part of this nonsense. That he’d allowed himself to get swept up in Levi’s stupid games. Edie was right; it was an awful thing to do. He just hadn’t given any thought to how Edie would feel about being manipulated because he hadn’t cared as long as he’d gotten what he wanted out of things.

And the moment that had changed, he was trapped. He could have left things as they were, gone on with his new life with Edie, had her move in with him, and hope she never found out the truth. But then wouldn’t he have been just as bad as Bianca? He suspected that the secrecy hurt much worse than the betrayal.

And that was why he’d had to tell her the truth, even if the timing was shit. Because everything needed to be out on the table.

“I’m afraid you can’t see her,” Hunter said.

“What?”

“Gretchen won’t allow it. Not while Edie’s this emotional. She needs time to adjust to everything she’s been told recently.”

“Fuck that—”

“I just wanted to let you know as a friend.” Hunter’s voice was completely emotionless, as if they were discussing business. “My security staff has been apprised of the situation and both you and Levi are forbidden from the grounds until further notice.”

“Some friend—”

“I am your friend,” Hunter stated. “That hasn’t changed. But Edie is Gretchen’s friend and she is in greater need of a friend and a stable environment at the moment, would you not agree?”

His jaw set. “She’d want to see me.”

“I’ll let her decide that for herself.”

“She won’t answer my calls.”

“Gretchen told me she has gone to bed for the night.”

Magnus wanted to bite out that Gretchen could fucking go wake her up, but he knew the fastest way to get Hunter pissed was to disparage his fiancée. And he understood that. Hunter was utterly protective of Gretchen like Magnus was of Edie. Except they weren’t letting him protect his woman. He couldn’t get to her.

He gritted his teeth, frustrated. “I’ll be there in the morning. Tell Edie.”

***

Edie picked at her oatmeal, her appetite non-existent. It wasn’t that the food was awful—Gretchen was a terrific cook and this was one of the recipes from the cookbook she was putting together. It was that her stomach felt as unhappy and depressed as the rest of her. It was torture trying to get anything down, even though she knew she should eat. It was just . . . difficult. Eating felt like one of those functions you did when life moved at its regular pace, and for Edie, life had pretty much ground to an abrupt halt.

So she sipped her coffee and moved her spoon through her oatmeal, and tried to feign interest in the conversation Hunter and Gretchen were having over breakfast. Even though the huge manor had a dozen dining rooms, the happy couple liked to eat breakfast in their favorite kitchen. There was a cozy wood-block table directly across from a wall of windows, and the three of them sat and ate breakfast as a heavy rain pattered on the window. It seemed that Hunter had recently acquired a castle in the UK that had been put up for sale, and Gretchen wanted to keep it and restore it, whereas Hunter wanted to flip it and sell it to a friend who’d been looking at unique residences. They laughingly bickered over prices and contractors and Edie stared at her plate, wishing she could retreat to her room without upsetting her hosts. Instead, she glanced out the window in the tiny kitchen at the miserable weather.

Gretchen looked over at Edie. “Something wrong?”

She fixed a smile to her face. “No, I was just looking at the weather. It’s one of those curl-up-in-bed days today, isn’t it?” And man, she sure wanted to curl up in bed. Hopefully with the covers over her head and hiding from the world.

“It is pretty damn nasty outside, isn’t it?” Gretchen’s tone sounded mysteriously gleeful. “All that rain and cold, and if we’re lucky, we’ll even get hail.”

“Gretchen,” Hunter murmured.

“Oh, fine.” Gretchen gave a mock pout to her fiancé. “Can I help it if I’m having a good gloat that he’s standing out there in the rain?”

Edie turned to them, a puzzled look on her face. “Who is standing out in the rain?”

Gretchen picked up her cup of coffee and gave it a loud slurp, her expression overly innocent. Hunter just shook his head.

“Who?” Edie asked.

“Magnus,” Hunter said after a moment, and earned himself a playful slap on the arm from Gretchen. “My gate guards have orders not to let him in, so he’s sitting on the hood of his car in the rain and waiting for you to come out and talk to him.”

Edie’s jaw dropped. “He’s here?” She got up and went to the window, peering out into the rain. The gardens were a foggy blur, but in the distance, was that the gate? Was that dark form a familiar Maserati with a man on the hood? Or was it all in her imagination? “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Hunter and Gretchen exchanged a look. Gretchen squirmed awkwardly in her seat, and then shrugged at Edie. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted to know. I mean, sitting out in the rain like a sad panda doesn’t take away the fact that you were a douche, you know?”

“It doesn’t,” Edie agreed. “But we can let him in. I’m not a child. I’m an adult, and I can have an adult conversation with him.”

“I guess,” Gretchen said. “I was just trying to help.”

“I know,” Edie said, a hint of a smile on her face. “I’m glad that at least someone has my back. But really, I can handle this. I’m a big girl.”

“Let’s finish breakfast at least,” Gretchen said.

Hunter got up out of his chair and kissed the top of Gretchen’s head. “You ladies finish breakfast. I’m going to go and phone down to the gate so they’ll let the man in.”

“Party pooper,” Gretchen told him affectionately, and squeezed his ass as he walked past.

Edie choked down a few more bites of oatmeal, then excused herself. She ran to the bathroom to fix her hair and makeup. Oh damn, she looked like a hot mess. Her hair was wild and she had dark circles under her puffy eyes. She washed her face again and toweled it dry, then used her damp fingers to smooth her hair as best she could. She bit her lips to make them plump a bit, then squared her shoulders to go out and face things.

Truth was, she shouldn’t have cared how she looked to Magnus, but she found that she did care. She didn’t want him to see her and think she looked like hell. Why, she had no idea, but it was important to her.

Gretchen was hovering outside the bathroom door as Edie emerged, and she produced a tube of concealer, some mascara and a pot of lip gloss. “If you’re going to meet the ass, at least look your best,” she grumped.

Edie hugged her. “You’re the best friend a girl could have.”

“I know,” Gretchen sighed.

Five minutes later, a freshly mascaraed, lip-glossed, no-undereye-circles Edie emerged from the bathroom again, slipped into the sweater Gretchen handed her, and went into the Blue Library, her heart thumping wildly in her chest.

There, seated on one of the ridiculous, tiny settees, sat Magnus, his big shoulders squared. His bristly, short hair gleamed with dampness, and he had a towel over his shoulders. Sitting across from him in one of the Louis XIV chairs was a sullen Levi, his lip swollen and split.

At the sight of Edie, Magnus jumped to his feet. He started to approach her, and she raised a hand, stopping him.

“Why are you here?” Edie asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I needed to talk to you,” Magnus said, slinging the towel off his shoulders and moving toward her again.

“You needed to do a lot of talking a long time ago,” Edie agreed, promptly dropping into a nearby chair that sat alone in a corner. It was a deliberate choice—she didn’t want Magnus scooting closer to her. She didn’t want to get cozy with him; she wanted them to keep their distance, because it made it easier to be mad when she didn’t have to smell his aftershave, or see that gorgeous greenish-gold color that his eyes were.

“That doesn’t change the fact that we need to talk now,” Magnus told her.

“I can’t disagree with that,” she said, clasping her hands in her lap. “Go ahead. Talk. Please, try to make this better.”

Magnus rubbed a hand over his short hair. “I don’t know if I can make it better, but I can at least give you the full picture.”

She forced herself to keep smiling, as if this were a normal conversation and her heart wasn’t breaking at the sight of him. “Go on.”

He gestured at his brother. “I brought Levi, because he needs to do some talking.”

Levi just glared at Magnus, slumped in his chair. For a moment, he looked like a sulky little boy and not like an adult.

“Talk,” Magnus growled.

“Where do you want me to start?”

“The beginning.”

“Fine,” Levi said, clearly exasperated. He straightened in his chair. “I met Bianca at the bridesmaid-and-groomsman-introduction party. I fell in love at the sight of her.”

Edie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She knew from conversations with Magnus that Levi had a flair for the dramatic.

“Bianca was utterly beautiful,” Levi said, and then he rubbed his eyes. “Sorry. I need a moment.”

Magnus’s jaw set, annoyed. He looked over at Edie as if to say, Do you believe this shit? His expression was met with her utterly blank one, and she heard him sigh.

“Anyhow,” Levi said, exhaling. “Bianca was beautiful and charming and so wonderful. We really clicked that night and we started texting and Skyping. You guys lived a few hours away but I wanted to see her. She told me she couldn’t, that she was utterly devoted to you and that you could need her at any moment, and that she would never leave your side because if you got stranded, she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself. She selflessly gives up her time for you.”

“Selflessly,” Edie murmured. What a fucking colossal joke. If there was a selfless person around, it sure wasn’t Bianca.

“I couldn’t work without Bianca,” Levi said, and she saw Magnus roll his eyes. “I wasn’t getting anything done. I had to see her. So I told Magnus I couldn’t work unless there was a plan to distract you. He said he’d participate as long as I got back to work. So I went and had our assistant get the worst-tempered cat from the shelter and bring her home. Magnus called you, and I got to go out with Bianca.” His expression became dreamy. “One time wasn’t enough, though. I needed her, so we kept coming up with ways for Magnus to distract you. We told him he had to take you out on a date.”

“And this didn’t strike you—either of you—as cruel? Or ridiculous? This isn’t the sixteenth century.” Her hands were clasped so tightly in her lap that they ached. “Bianca can go out on a damn date without asking my permission.”

“But she wouldn’t,” Levi said dramatically. “She refused to leave your side.”

Right. Because Bianca had that ridiculous martyr complex where she couldn’t leave Edie alone, because she was too busy proving to herself that she was a decent person despite fucking Edie’s ex.

Her sister had some serious issues.

That didn’t excuse it. “But . . . dating me? Really?” Edie’s lip curled with disgust for Levi. “It couldn’t have just been work related? You couldn’t have set up calls at a shelter? Something to keep me occupied? Why drag your brother into this?”

Levi gave Edie a flat look. “We thought you’d be less of a bitch to everyone if you were in love.” To Edie’s surprise, Magnus turned and hauled Levi out of his chair so fast that her head spun. Magnus had his brother by the collar and was lifting a fist to deck him when Levi threw his hands up. “Wait, wait—”

“We?” Magnus growled, a furious look on his face.

“Me and Bianca,” Levi said, cringing away from Magnus’s fist. “Jesus, bro, calm down!”

“You don’t call Edie a bitch,” he said in a dangerous tone. Then he released Levi, throwing his brother back down in the delicate chair. “Apologize.”

Levi gave Edie an incredulous look, then sighed. “Sorry. You’re not a bitch. You’re just . . . difficult sometimes.”

Magnus raised his fist again.

“Sorry, but she is!” Levi yelped.

“It’s okay,” Edie said, biting the inside of her cheek to not show emotion. She was rather difficult at times. “Please go on.”

“Tell her about your change in plans,” Magnus said. His gaze rested on Edie, and she felt her nipples prick under the intensity of his gaze. He was devouring her with a look, one full of need and yearning and a silent demand for her to yield. “Tell her, Levi.”

Levi made a frustrated noise. “Bianca kept wanting Magnus to distract you more but Magnus came back to me and said he wasn’t going to do it. Said he didn’t want to hurt you.”

And Magnus just kept gazing at her with those hungry, hungry eyes.

“When was this?” She forced herself to look straight ahead, at Levi’s pretty-but-sulky face.

“Couple of weeks ago,” Levi said with a shrug. “I don’t know. Then Bianca freaked out and told me to tell Magnus to back off. Said you guys were getting too close and she didn’t like it. I told Magnus that he needed to stop spending so much time with you.” He gave his brother another wary look and edged back in his seat. “He told me to go fuck myself.”

That time, Edie couldn’t keep the twitch of her lips to herself. “Did he, now?”

“He’s kind of a dick when it comes to you,” Levi said accusingly, then gave his brother a glare. “Don’t deny it.”

“I don’t.” He continued gazing at Edie, still out of his chair and standing in the center of the room. Still watching her, every muscle in his body tense with emotion. “I don’t deny it. I’m protective of Edie. She needs someone who takes care of her. Who has her best interests at heart.”

And now her own heart ached, because the things Magnus was saying were sweet . . . but she couldn’t believe them. She gave a small shake of her head.

“Levi, leave us alone for a few,” Magnus said in a soft voice, and Edie knew if she looked up, he’d still be staring at her. She didn’t look in his direction. Couldn’t. Her gaze remained focused on Levi, her hands still clenched painfully in her lap.

Levi looked at his brother, then at Edie, then flung himself out of his chair. “You two are fucked up,” he said angrily. “I blame you for making Bianca break up with me. Now my muse is gone and I can’t get her back.” He swiped an arm over his eyes again. He seemed to wilt before her eyes. “Edie, I’m sorry. You’re not fucked up. Just Magnus here. I need your help, though. Will you . . . will you put in a good word with Bianca for me?”

“Nope,” she said, voice light, pleasant. “You can go fuck yourself.”

He gave her an indignant look and stormed out of the room.

Then it was just Edie and Magnus, alone in the library. The tension was so thick she could practically feel it prickling over her skin. If he moved a muscle toward her, she was going to fling herself in his arms and either punch him in the face or kiss him on the mouth. She hadn’t quite decided.

After a long, tense moment, Magnus spoke. “He asked me to leave you alone over two weeks ago. I told him I couldn’t. That I wouldn’t ever leave you alone.”

“But . . . why?” Why all the games? Why all the stupid, stupid games?

“Because I love you,” Magnus said, voice full of emotion. “Because somewhere along the way, I fell in love with you and haven’t looked back. Because you’re mine and you belong with me. I won’t let you go without a fight.”

She didn’t want to fight. She was just tired. Tired, and full of hurt. “I can’t believe you, Magnus. It’s hard for me to trust people, and now both you and Bianca have utterly betrayed me. It feels like everyone I trust is out to hurt me. Sometimes I look at Gretchen and I wonder when she’s going to shove a knife in my back, and I know it’s not her. It’s me.” She touched a hand to her breast and looked at him. “I can’t do this.”

“Edie, baby. I do love you. Please believe me.” His green eyes were so full of need, of longing. He practically vibrated with tension. “Come home with me. Let me show you that I love you. That I want you.”

“Prove it,” she told him in a soft voice. “Prove that you love me.” He moved toward her, and she raised a hand again. “Not with touches. Not with words. Prove it with something concrete.”

“How?”

That one despairing word made her eyes fill up with tears. “I don’t know. I don’t know how you prove it.”

“Edie, I love you,” he started again.

“I know, but that’s your problem,” she said quickly. “My problem is believing it.” Edie stood up, brushed off her jacket with clammy hands, and forced herself to stand straight and tall, and not cave at the wounded, hurting look he was giving her. “And until I can believe it, we’re done. I’m sorry.”

And she turned and left the room, even though she wanted to stay. Staying would be easy. She could fling herself into his arms, cover his face with kisses, and let him take her home and make love to her. And over time, the doubts would creep in and bother her. Was he really with her, or was this more playacting? Was he just pretending when he told her he loved her?

She’d had enough people faking shit in her life. This time she wanted something real.

So she left.