Billionaire's Second Chance (sam, bella and Kate Book 2) (6 page)

Looking over at Dante, his friend watched what was going on with a
surprised expression on his face, giving a small nod as Philippe told him that he had to check up on work.  Grabbing his jacket again, he moved from the club floor to the back room, not seeing the way Bella watched him go, her face a mask of misery.

“I can ditch Kurt and take you home if you like
.”  Looking up, she smiled at Kate who had sidled up to her as the music beat loudly, her friend’s face full of sincerity and concern.

“Thanks Kate
, but you deserve a night out – I’ll be fine.”

Kate savaged her lip as she looked back at Kurt.  “Are you absolutely sure?”, she whispered
, as Bella gave her a nod and reassuring smile.

As the dance finished
, Bella returned to the table, the sudden loss of Philippe – yet knowing that he was still in the building – suddenly crashing down on her.  She needed to get away, to find a small corner to curl up and cry.  Dante gently told her that Philippe was in the back, his look tender and understanding. Bella was sure that by now Sam would have told him what was happening.  The implication that he would be happy to see her was obvious as she shook her head.  “No... I don’t think so”, she murmured softly, giving him a thankful look.  Rising, she gave the couple beside her a tremulous smile.  “I’m tired.  Head is starting to hurt.  I think I will go back to the villa.”

Sighing, she saw the way the two looked at each other, groaning knowing that they would insist on accompanying her, born out as the two rose.  “We will take you”, Dante insisted softly, Bella nodding knowing that it would be useless to argue.

In the back room Philippe sat stiffly in the padded chair, his camera fixed on the blonde sitting so quietly at the table.  A myriad of emotions tore at him as he fought with the anger and guilt coursing through him; his finger rubbed his lips as he moaned softly.  She had not even been prepared to listen to him, Philippe knowing he badly needed to speak to her.  With a frown he sat upright seeing as she stood, lifting her wrap from her chair, Dante and Sam rising also – knowing that she was leaving, panic filling him.

As the three of them moved to the exit, Philippe appeared before Bella, his eyes haunted as he placed his hands on the top of her arms
. “Please... Let me explain.  Just give me five minutes.”  Dante and Sam threw each other uncomfortable looks as, clearing her throat, Sam told Bella that the two of them would wait outside for her.

Finally alone, she looked at the man who
was bringing such disruption to her, both in body and soul, once more swallowing at how handsome he looked, his jacket missing, his tie pulled down and top button undone.  It was however, those eyes that held her rooted to the spot, filled with sadness and fear.  She frowned as he grabbed her hand, pulling her through a door into a small room off the exit where they could talk without being overheard.  “I’m sorry Bella...Every time I made to call you... I didn’t know what to say.”

Looking down
, she gave a flippant reply.  “’’Hello’ would have been nice”, the attempt at humour falling flat as neither laughed.

His finger crooked under her chin lift
ing her head to him, his eyes trailing longingly over her face.  “Something happened.  I didn’t see it coming Bella, and I don’t know what to do.”

Despite her anger and hurt she sensed the pain in him, looking back into his eyes
, surprised to see the helpless desperation deep within them, the anger within her melting as her lovely features grew concerned.  “What could be so bad?”, she whispered, seeing the way he raised his head skyward, frowning seeing what looked like moisture in his eyes, his voice almost a whisper as he eventually answered her.

“My ex-girlfriend is pregnant
.”

Bella’s mouth opened in shock, her eyes
widening as the enormity of what he said thumped into her.

His head once more dropped, his look wildly locked on hers, his voice shaky, “I don’t know what to do.
  It is my child, but... I just don’t know what to do Bella.”  His eyes flicked over her face as though the answer would lie there.

Dropping her head she held down the tears; her heart seem
ing to shatter before looking up at him once more, her voice surer, “You do know what you have to do... We both do, there is a child involved.”

Philippe’s features were full of such pain and sadness as his hand cupped her cheek, “Bella...
I know we only met, but...”

Stepping back from him, she raised her hand to stop him, her eyes pleading with Philippe to see the effort it was taking for her to hold back the tears which shone so brightly.  “Don’t...
Please don’t.”

M
aking to turn, his hands shot out, pulling her in harder against himself. “No! I am not losing you.”

Bella looked back at him in shock, her arms between them as she shook her head forcefully, her voice not as strong as she hoped, a tremor deep within
. “Let me go Philippe... Just let me go.”

His head dropped to rest his forehead on hers, real pain in his voice
, “How can I let you go Bella?... I only just found you... How is this fair?”

Swallowing down the lump in her throat, her hands fanned over his chest, hurt filling her as she shook her head
“It isn’t fair Philippe... But we both know what has to be done... What the right thing to do is.  We have only spent two days together... You know your child is more important.”

His hands moved to cup her cheeks, raising her head to look up at him as his mouth hovered over hers, real
pain in his voice, “I don’t want to do the right thing Bella... Not when it means losing you.”  She remained still, not fighting with him as she knew she should.  As his lips touched hers the tears fell, his and hers, the kiss deepened as the two held each other for one last time, both knowing it, both devastated by it.

Bella had been the one to finally pull back, her finger rubbing away a tear on his cheek as his thumbs did the same to her.  “Goodbye Philippe”, the words
sent a flash of pain through his features.  “I know you will be an amazing father, and husband...”  Her voice faltered as she was unable to finish the rest of the sentence. 

“Bella...”
, she heard the desperation as she pulled herself from him.  Stepping back, she raised her head proudly one last time, “Be happy.”  Philippe closed his mouth, his hands moving to his hips as he watched her turn and leave, a hand banging the wall in both pain and frustration before dragging it over his face, calming himself for what had to be done.

Outside, the couple looked concerned, Sam opening her mouth to ask what happened, closing it seeing the look on Bella’s face.  She moved silently with her as Dante held back to answer his mobile.  Holding her arm Sam squeezed her comfortingly, rewarded with a small tremulous smile from her friend.  Catching up with them, Dante looked over at Bella.  “Philippe is going back to New York tomorrow
.”  Sam looked at Bella who remained tight-lipped, her face blank – revealing nothing, her tear-streaked face impassive as she kept walking.

Philippe sat in his office, the
whisky in his hand cold comfort as hurt tore through him.  He looked up in surprise seeing Dante enter, a frown on his face as he dropped his head to hide the tears in his eyes.  “Shouldn’t you be enjoying your homecoming with Sam?”  His voice had been bitter despite his efforts to sound calm.

“That can wait...
Wanted to make sure you were OK”, his friend responded softly.  Dante pulled a chair close to Philippe, his eyes rested on the bottle of whisky, already one quarter empty.  Silently, he pulled a glass over to himself and filled it from the same bottle.  “What’s going on Philippe?”

After a pause, Philippe raised his head to
look back at him, despondency etched deep within his features.  In all his life Dante had only ever seen that look on his friend at one other time, when his mother died, and he was filled with concern, concern which must have shown on his face.

“I screwed up Dante”, a moan of pain leaving him, “Allisa is pregnant
.”

With his lips drawn into a thin line
, Dante nodded softly, “I see... Are you sure it is yours?”

Philippe gave a small snort, a self-deprecating sound as he took another long drink from the glass
.  “Yeah.  I am sure, that plus...”, his voice trailed off as his hand once more closed over his eyes.  “Why the hell did I have to meet her now Dante?  I feel cheated.  All the years I played the field, and finally I meet someone like her... It’s not right”, his voice raised with anger, “It’s not damn fair!” 

He felt the comforting hand of his friend on his shoulder as the tears once more slid down his cheek, Dante’s voice gentle, “What did Bella say?”

Philippe’s tone held respect and admiration along with the pain.  “I told her I wanted her”, Dante frowned beside him, the look softening as his friend continued.  “But she told me that I had to do the right thing... That a baby was more important.”  Dropping his head again, he moaned, “I know she feels the same way Dante – I know it, but she told me to do the right thing.”

Beside him Dante patted his back, his voice full of respect for Bella Smith.  Just as Sam impressed him, so too had Bella.  “You know that she is right...
There is a child involved Philippe... And nothing is more important than a baby.”

Beside him, Philippe nodded, gulping down another mouthful of the golden liquid.  “Then why do I feel that I am losing something so special?”

With a sigh, Dante lifted his glass, his tone gentle, “To bewitching English girls.”

Philippe gave a half-laugh full of pain as he clinked glasses with his best friend
, “To bewitching English girls”, he repeated.

With only four days left of their holiday, the girls spent the days sunbathing and in the evenings Sam would meet up with Dante, their friend falling deeper and deeper in love with the Greek.  Kate had been a tower of strength for Bella, not once demanding to know what
had happened, just keeping her friend busy.  On their last night on the island, Sam dropped the bombshell that she was moving back to New York with Dante, Bella smiling happily for her even as her heart cried for the man who still filled her every thought.  It was clear to see how much Dante loved Sam, both Kate and Bella crying, both with joy and sadness that their group – together since high school – would be breaking up.  For the first time since they were children the three amigos would not be together, it was the end of an era.

Returning to the UK had been a relief for Bella.  She hoped that some normality might stop the hurt that invaded her each and every time Philippe’s face would  flash through her mind, most of the time when she was least expecting it, each time the pain that thudded through her a physical hurt.
  She told herself that she could never have been responsible for robbing a child of its father, but this helped little to lessen the pain deep within her, Bella not understanding why she could be reacting so badly over somebody she had known for only two days, her mind correcting her each time: two days and one unforgettable night.

A week after returning, Bella was surprised to receive the news that she had won the scholarship to Milan, Kate hugging her tightly as she cried, “Now who is going to keep me in line?”  Bella smiled at her.  “I am a short plane ride away
.  I can come and kick your butt anytime.”

Both girls cl
ung to each other as they laughed.  “I am going to miss you Bella”, Kate whispered, her voice full of honesty.

The next four years passed in a blur.  Bella shone in her apprenticeship, so much so that she was offered a full
-time job with the company after she completed the six months training.  Her serene air and calmness had been like a balm to many nervous brides, and her ability to organise and stay on budget a blessing for many grooms.  When she became a senior partner after two years, it seemed that Bella Smith had the perfect life.

She stayed in contact with Samantha and Kate, saddened when Samantha and Dante’s relationship ended after only six months, the effect it had on her friend devastating.  While Sam refused to talk about the details, as indeed Bella had when she ended her short-lived relationship with Philippe, both Kate and she were there for her, helping her to put her life back together and to start the company that she always dreamt of.  Bella was inspired by Samantha
’s success, and after nearly four years with the same company, saving her money all those years, she decided to set up her own business.

She returned to the UK where she started to build her reputation as a wedding planner, the jobs slow to start, Bella glad she
had put away so much money until she got on her feet and became an established name in the wedding circles.

Over the years she kept a watchful eye on Philippe, following his career through the internet.  Each time she searched, she would chastise herself for putting herself through the torture, each time still feeling the way her insides would jolt if she was to see a new picture of him.  When he married a month after the girls returned from their holiday
, she cried, her heart breaking once more from the rawness of the pain. 

The birth of his daughter six months after that had filled her with a bittersweet sadness, sadness that it was not her child too, frowning at the thought, angry that she should be so affected by a holiday romance.  The news of his wife’s death seven months after the birth of their child shocked her, Bella torn between contacting him and the realisation of how inappropriate that would be.  He
had married this woman and had a child with her.  An ex – frowning, she wondered if she had even been that, a one night stand maybe – contacting him would be unwelcome and thoughtless.