Convincing Lina: A Bachelor of Shell Cove Novel (The Bachelors of Shell Cove Romance Book 2) (33 page)

“That’s not necessary, my attorney will contact Ian.”

“You sure, boo boo?” She said with a plastered on smile

“Quite.”

“I appreciate you stopping by. Don’t we, honey?” Lina turned to Gideon.

“Hell no.” He spat out.
 

“Gideon, the language.” Lina closed the door and stood still. Maybe if she remained still, her world would stop spinning off its axis.
 

“What was all that?” Gideon prodded.

“It’s a woman thing, you wouldn’t understand.”

“You are even more beautiful when you’re fighting alongside your man.” Her man? She didn’t know he was married. She didn’t know they had to leave his house.
 

“I never imagined I’d have to fight, especially over the man I agreed to marry.” She slid his ring off her finger and held it out to him. Gideon stared at the ring. Horror and alarm clear in his stormy gray eyes. Eyes she had been foolish to trust.
 

“You already have a wife.”
 

“No, I don’t. I was married, but I never had a wife. Not in my heart the way you are, Lina.”

“I don’t think your heart condition is legally binding. Take your ring.” She slipped the band off her finger, holding the small circle out to him.

“I should’ve mentioned I’d been married before, but…put that ring back on your finger.” She didn’t argue. Sidestepping him, she placed the ring on the cocktail table and collapsed onto the couch. Gideon settled beside her on the couch.

“Sweetness.” Even now after his betrayal, his voice made her insides tumble over themselves. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was divorced.”
 

“I get it now. You don’t want a past.”

“Because it doesn’t matter. I have you now.” Oh he had her. She’d delivered herself into his arms with a big, naive bow superglued to her forehead.
 

“The drive back to Shell Cove. You were afraid Ian had mentioned Monica. That’s why you were quiet.”

“My life with Monica is over.”

“Apparently not, you have unsettled dealings with your wife.”

“This house was the last link between us. I told Ian to give it to her.”

 
“I’d rather not go all General Hospital with the two of you.”

“This is the last of it. I gave her the house so you and I can move forward with our plans, Lina.”

“Your plan, not mine. You told me what you wanted me to know, so I’d fit into the perfect plan you have for your life.”

“You agreed to marry me, so that makes it our plan.”

“What do you want from me Gideon?”

Her question stopped him cold. Did she not know how he felt about her? Had she been hurt so many times, that she didn’t recognize love, his love?
 

“I want you to love me.” Her eyes widened in shock.
 

“Love me enough that you trust me to make this right. I am finishing this business with Monica once and for all. That’s why I told Ian to give her the house while we were in Waverly Falls.”
 

“I agreed to marry the man I thought I knew. You aren’t him,” she added the eye and neck roll for emphasis.
 

“You are no different from Jace or Troy. You told me what I wanted to hear, to get what you wanted from me. Well done, Doctor Rice. By far, you are the best I’ve ever encountered.”

“You are comparing me to all the people in your life that don’t love you. People that should have treasured you as the precious jewel you are. I’m right here Lina. I love you. I’ll always love you. Don’t throw away what we have because of my mistake.”
 

“Grabbing the wrong laundry detergent is a mistake. Failing to mention you have a wife is a blatant lie. I can’t do this Gideon. It’s time for me to leave.”

 
“No.” His tone determined.

“What do you mean, no?” She stared at him.

“I mean you are not leaving me. We were fine before Monica arrived unwelcomed at our home.”

“Apparently, it’s her home!”
 

“I have explained the situation with my marriage to you.”

“Did you?” she narrowed her eyes. “Because I remember walking up to the door and being confused with the maid.”
 

“I apologize for not telling you that I was married before. She told me she was pregnant with my baby. I married her without asking any questions. Later, I discovered it was a lie. I thought we were in love. In the end, I wanted a wife, children, and my own family. She didn’t. I filed for a divorce. We were still fighting over my house until I met you. I don’t care about the house any more. We’ll build a new one, together. This is a misunderstanding.”

“I would have to know the facts to misunderstand them. You are a series of illusions Gideon, and I fell for it.”

“I made a mistake. Forgive me, please?”

“You were never going to tell me, were you?”

“My marriage ended years ago, I have a new life with you.”

“Gideon, I just learned that my mother and Troy have known each other for years. That they have been in communication since the day he disappeared on me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“When I discovered their betrayal the first thing I wanted was you.” She laughed, a bittersweet sound at the irony. “I thought if I could just get home to you, I would be safe from their lies. But I was wrong.”

“I’m here for you.”
 

“But you lied, and I don’t need another man like you.”

“Lina, you can’t mean that.”

“I…do.”
 

“I am not losing you. I’m not losing us because of an ex-wife. She is my past. You are my future.” He cradled her face in his powerful hands.
 

“I love you Lina. Please focus on my love for you. Not on old hurts and disappointment. I want to be here for you. I want to wake up and snuggle into your warmth. I want you to wake up every morning to find you wrapped around me like a second skin.” She pulled his hands away from her face.
 

“You taught me to pick my battles. Fighting with an ex-wife that obviously has feelings for her husband is a battle I’ll leave for another woman.” She pulled the phone from her purse and keyed in a number.

“I am not her husband,” he continued. His tone was dark, but then gentled, “I’ll be your husband in four days.”

“Don’t count on it, slick,” she said with her hand covering the phone receiver. “Janna, stop whatever you’re doing and come and get me. I’ll be waiting outside of Gideon’s place.”

“Don’t leave me. We can work through this hiccup.” She studied him for a brief moment before giving him a slight nod. Lesson learned from Jace, apply honey not salt.
 

“Sure, let me put away my props in the bedroom. I need a moment by myself,” she said before standing up, pulling her spine tall. He pulled her into his body, cradling her face in his hands. She felt the slide of his tongue against her lips. The familiar rush of warmth in her veins, heating her insides as he savored her mouth. She couldn’t give what he wanted. Not now.
 

He pulled his lips away from hers, searching her face.

“Lina, I love you.”
 

“I know you do.” She wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight. “And only God himself, loves you more than I do.” She released him. Stepping back, she grabbed her cell phone and disappeared from his sight. She had spoken the truth. She would never love anyone more than she loved Gideon.

Lina could see the light of hope in Gideon’s eyes. Thank God he hadn’t tried to stop her when she stood to leave the room.

 
She retrieved her overnight bag from the closet. She cleaned up the bed before clearing out the drawers he’d given her. Lina took one last look around their bedroom, and then put the bag on her shoulder.
 

The smile on Gideon’s face fell away when he spotted the luggage on her shoulder. She heard him suck air into his lungs.
 

“Lina, no.” He moved toward her and she held up a hand.
 

“I held you to a higher standard, but I should not have.” To be with Gideon, she’d broken every rule she’d set in place to protect her heart. He’d convinced her he was different.

“Lina, give me a chance to fix this.” He pleaded.
 

“I’m sorry, Gideon. I can’t be your wife.”
 

“You are still in danger. You promised you would stay with me. I will keep you safe.” His jaw hardened.

“I can keep myself safe and I don’t want you.” She needed him like she needed her next breath. The hurt in his eyes was a scalpel to her heart. But, she couldn’t continue on like he hadn’t lied to her. Like the past didn’t exist.
 

“That is a lie. You promised to be mine, to be my wife.”

“Yeah…well, those were just words.” Turning on her heel, she walked out the door.

Chapter 21

Lina’s life was in shambles. She was a revolving door of bad decisions, each one more costly than the next. Her very existence was a series of interconnected lies with the people she cared about the most at the center of everything. Even her home wasn’t really hers. It belonged to Troy. Another pathological lie linked to a man she’d welcomed into her heart. She loved her condominium, but she would let it go. Because of her decision to become involved with men she worked with, her job was tied to Jace and Gideon. Gideon owned her heart. She had nothing left to take or to give. Her independence, the life she’d built, all of it was a lie. The pride she took in her accomplishments was an illusion.
 

“You okay, sister?” Janna asked, feet dangling over the chair arm in Lina’s bedroom. Lina released a sigh at the thought of never being okay, again.
 

“Nope.”

“Things will get better, maybe not anytime soon.”

“Thanks, Janna. Your nursing expertise is definitely not psyche related.” Lina fell back on the bed pillow, arms folded over her face.

“I leave the country in five days. If it’ll make you feel better to toilet paper his house, spray paint butt wipe on his front lawn, or throw doggy turds in his pool I’m game.” Lina looked at her and laughed, as the tears rolled down her cheeks.

“I have other ideas if those don’t appeal.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” raising her arms enough to make eye contact, Lina recognized that Janna was genuine in her offer to help. Lina was thankful for the light-hearted reprieve.
 

Janna took what the world offered, never expecting anything lasting in return. Hit it and quit it was her motto. Lina wished she had heeded Janna’s advice at the engagement party.
Ride him like Seabiscuit, and then leave him in the stall for the next jockey
. A choked sob escaped as she replayed their conversation.
 

“Good ideas, all of them.” She didn’t think she could mend the pieces of her heart this time. A million pieces of shattered dreams, hopes for her future had dissipated with three words,
I’m Gideon’s wife
. Promises of a lifetime of forever, gone. A promise of unconditional love, gone. He promised her love, but he lied to her. Kept the details of his life from her. How many times could she be open to love before her actions were considered blatant stupidity? She had the answer, thrice.
 

“How about I hang out with you tonight?” Janna asked.

“I want to be alone.” Lina never thought she would utter those words. She hated being by herself. She’d better get used to it.

“I could make that Hanoi fish with stir fry veggies that you like,” Janna coaxed. “Exemption from chopping up the vegetables, since you’re all snotty and wet.” Janna wrinkled her nose. Even a broken hearted fool needed to eat.
 

“Sounds like a plan,” Lina sniffled. “Hospital food is worse than the patients ever tell us.”

After dinner, Lina walked the beach, but it no longer held the illusion of peace and safety. The warm breeze, didn’t chase away the bone deep chill. In the past, the crest of the setting sun was nature’s usher to the night. Now, she felt violated. Unseen eyes stealing her private moment, sharing in a pain that was hers alone. Looking at the waves rolling in, feeling the foamy coolness soaking underneath her feet Lina let the tears fall. She walked the beach when she needed to think. It used to be her peaceful place, not anymore. She missed Gideon and the mountains of Waverly Falls. Their mountain. Heartbreak was an understatement. Her heart had disintegrated, ashes floating in a watery grave.