The Billionaire's Second Chance (21 page)

With his free hand, Nick picked up one of her unruly curls and wrapped it casually around his f
ingers. S
till staring
her
down
he said softly
,
“I just thought since you need to take care of your family business and I live, more or less, where you need to go that we could continue what we’ve started here. I’d like very much to meet your family Shannon.” that last said in a fading whisper as he seemed to lose himself in the feel of her hair in his hand.

Later she would think back on this moment and arrive at the conclusion that if he hadn’t been sitting so close to her and smelling like the most forbidden delicacy on the planet she might have handled what came next in a more graceful way. Instead she waded into an ocean of immaturity and let a gross ton of verbal nonsense come spewing out.

“Continue what we’ve started? Oh, you mean continue taking care of poor me because you feel bad
?
” She lifted her shoulders as if to say she didn’t care.

“I can take care of myself, as I keep telling you, and have done so every minute since we went our separate ways!”

Pulling her hair from his grasp she attempted to go nose to nose with him but since he was so much bigger she could only turn her face up to his, giving her an up close view of his oh-so-kissable lips. Yikes! Screwing up her resolve and shaking her head to dispel the sudden vision of him lowering his head and taking her mouth with those incredible male lips, she went for broke.

“Please don’t think you have to involve yourself any further in my everyday life. You have important things to take care of I’m sure and besides, you’d be bored or at the very least put off by my parents and their posse of university friends. A bunch of self-professed nerdy academics are hardly in your league and I wouldn’t want them mad
e to feel somehow lacking or
déclassé
in your presence.”

Stunned by her response Nick struggled to understand why she was being so belligerent.  “Come on Shannon, that’s rubbish and you know it. I am not like that at all and I’d have thought that you of all people would know that.”

Was he kidding? She couldn’t believe any of this.  Sure, he’d done a damn fine job of explaining away what had gone on before but did he think she was stupid?  That she’d just forget the cruel way he’d thrown her away like a piece of annoying sticky paper that had gotten stuck on the bottom of his shoe?  Didn’t matter that it was a defensive act – he had shown it was possible for him to simply walk away from her and
THAT
is what was really standing in their way.

Straightening suddenly and drawing herself up to very one of her five feet eight inches Shannon momentarily shocked Nick with her lightening quick physical response
when just moments before he’d seen a smoky sensual light in her usually vivid eyes and wondered what had been going t
hrough her mind as she had star
ed at his mouth.

Who the hell did he think he was?  Well she’d had enough of this.

“Why the hell should I of all people as you put it know that?” she all but hollered.  “Why Nick
?  B
ecause you deemed to slink away from your family castle and play in the dirt in a third world country?  Is that the grounds you are basing
this argument on?” she hissed “B
ecause perhaps you want to re-think that position.  Especially considering that you tossed me aside like a used handi-wipe once you’d returned to your silver spoon life.”

He watched her outburst through hooded eyes, hi
ding his true reaction from her,
completely thrown by this vehement outburst
.
She’d gone from zero to complete bitch in less than 3 seconds.  In the next breath she continued only she’d moved to within inches of his face so he could not turn away from the cold truth in her eyes as she spit at him in unrequited pain still languishing after having lain dormant for  years

“After all, the great and mighty Nicholas Temple Barrett couldn’t possibly have been doing anything other than slumming during that period.”

             
At her use of the word
slumming
and the way she made it sound
,
like the vilest of swear words, Nick felt the color leech from his face and knew what was coming next. “Cause after all, isn’t that what you so specifically told me you were doing while you availed yourself use of my body?”  The last few words were dripping with so much anger and pain that Nick felt as though she had stabbed him straight in the heart. “Did you think I’d be unable to remember what you said? For real? Well
,
let me tell you something Mister Tycoon, I’ve had eight very long years to go over that statement in my mind and if you think
I’d
ever
forget
you’re crazy
”

His worst nightmare, the lowest moment of his life was
on a
constant
loop
in her mind and there was nothing he could do about it.  She had been on the receiving end of a powerful, calculated slap in the face at his hands
.  E
ight years of remorse, denial, excuses and regret crystallized in his head.  He had
deni
ed their relationship and betrayed the love they’d shared. His foolish belief that his deliberate cruelty when they parted would somehow set her free to go on and live a full, productive and happy life had been a sham from beginning to end.

His safety net, that ridiculous notion that he alone had martyred himself on the altar of family responsibility had been totally eclipsed by the realization that he’d ripped open a wound in her soul that still festered.  His words and actions that horrible autumn day came back to him in vibrant clarity.  The look
of pained
anger burning in her eyes right now made a neat segue to another memory when those eyes, in which he’d liked to lose himself, had projected back at him a depth of emotion so perfect and loving that no length of time nor separation could erase.

With each step forward they seemed to also struggle with several moves back. Just when he felt that a stumbling block had been cleared, another one, sometimes more deadly than the previous
,
lurched into view. As if the hurried farewell letter offering no clear explanation of his behavior weren’t enough to dig his grave that blasted phone call when she’d tracked him down in those first days after Randolph’s death certainly was.

Caught off guard he had been juggling waves of desperation when first he heard her voice. What unfortunately followed was a blistering, snark-laden put-down intended to set her free. He’d said all sorts of stupid, hurtful things, any cliché ridden response he could muster. He knew he was destroying what they’d shared but such was his mindset at the time.  To learn now how the words he had used had been tearing her soul to shreds all this time was a bitter pill to swallow.

Spreading his hands wide in a gesture of supplication, Nick said the first thing that came to his heart.  “Shannon, I can’t keep apologizing for what happened. At some point you have to decide whether you can forgive my …..
hurtful
…. actions.” His anguished voice and eyes blazing with unwavering regret made her take a mental step back.

He was right. She kept hurling bombs his way of raw emotions and hurt which she’d been nursing since that last horrible encounter. She was mad for sure, but not completely blind. Everything, absolutely everything he’d done and said since the moment when they’re worlds collided again had been an attempt to right the terrible wrong he had wrought. He allowed her to say some beastly things to him, things which were not in her character at all, and took it all with a tortured acceptance because he knew he deserved whatever she could dish out.

She thought back over all which he’d told her since they’d been forced together in this surreal, emotionally difficult reunion. If he hadn’t wanted to make amends he could have dumped her at the front door and taken his leave. Instead, he was still here. Still trying to explain. Still trying to show her something that she was going to great pains to deny.

It hadn’t been the money which had taken him from her. The words he used had been spoken in haste, during a time of confusion and stress. She had to see beyond that horrible frozen-in-time moment or else there would be no future for them. The thought of going back to her empty, isolated existence made her stomach sink. In the final analysis though she was terrified that if she opened her heart to him again, there was still a chance, he could just walk away as he had shown her he could before.

Releasing a heavy sigh laced with anxiety Shannon looked away and shrugged. “I shouldn’t be sorry for telling it like it is Nick, but I am
.”
Fixing her attention on the suddenly fascinating floor, she scrunched up her face and grimaced “Can’t seem to help
it
.
” she whispered.

Nick watched silently, hoping she could find a way to allow some light back in to their tortured relationship for all this dark, negative energy was chipping away at the tiny gains they’d been forging, thrown together as they were in this unusual situation.

Flexing her ankle while she studied the movement, Shannon finally looked up at him after several tense moments of loud silence saying
,
“It doesn’t hurt as much today, you know.”

Accepting the change of subject as her way of defusing the emotional conversation Nick moved the stool next to where she was sitting and lifted her brui
sed foot to his lap. H
e began gently massaging her calf and lower leg, while they both sat in thoughtful silence and let the calm return after the storm.

H
ours later
she heard him
rattling around in the kitchen doing god only knows what. Judging by the impressive delivery of groceries that had appeared a while
ago
she sensed he had also taken control of her pantry as he had with everything else.

They needed to talk, she knew that; but every time they attempted to open the lines of communication in any real way, her anger or hurt would overtake the conversation ca
u
sing them to carefully retreat to a tense politeness that couldn’t stand forever.

At some point a suitcase
had appeared, probably sent over from his hotel. She had sat in overwrought silence while he availed himself of the shower room and changed at last into fresh clothes. Shannon’s tortured attempts to ignore the image of a very naked Nick washing his impressive body in her wide open shower were pathetic at best.   

When he had emerged from her bedroom she’d seen that he’d chosen an informal outfit with another pair of snug jeans topped with an old t-shirt that for some reason set her nerves twitching. It would have been easier to hang on to her angry feelings toward him if he’d been dressed as the ruthless business tycoon she knew him to be. She couldn’t quite muster that same incandescent bitterness when he appeared before her, barefoot and casual.

Reflecting on her own choice of attire, Shannon had opted for serene and relaxed by dressing in soft and comfy yoga pants and a baggy shirt. The clingy stretch pants outlined her womanly curves in a way that perhaps was not wise in this situation and the loose shirt did more to accentuate her bountiful breasts than she
first
realized.

While he had been in the shower she had ruthlessly braided her wavy tresses in a long, tight plait which hung over her
shoulders while
a pair of warm, bright pink socks covered her feet. Well, she sniffed in irritation, she might look comfortable but this odd state of affairs was anything but.

In the kitchen Nick was going through the motions of preparing a hearty dinner for the two of them as though keeping busy and paying attention to domestic detail was going to magically stop the chaotic emotions churning inside him.

Somewhere
during
the hours of quiet introspection he had realized that just a few weeks ago he’d been locked in intense negotiation with a powerfully connected Asian tycoon over a deal worth hundreds of millions which came with global political ramifications. Hell, the damn State Department had even sent discreet inquiries his way to find out what was or wasn’t developing.

He’d been prepared, had done months of intense research. With a touch of ruthless arrogance he’d approached the negotiating meetings with a singular focus; to simply throw down his requirements and then say
,
“In or out?” That Nicholas Barrett dealt from a hand of supreme self-confidence with never any doubt whatsoever that he would walk away with his desired outcome realized.

He’d come to California on a high, the deal having turned out even better than he’d hoped, looking forward to some much needed down time. Sun, fun, family.
It all seemed so simple and yet,
now
look
,
Nick thought.

Mr. High and Mighty with the swaggering overconfidence was without warning or expectation, up to his eyeballs in the most important negotiation of his life and feeling like he didn’t have a leg to stand on.

As if all of yesterday wasn’t enough with its dramatic reveal
,
medical crisis and
the
emotional
ly
overwrought
,
explosive aftermath.
No, heaven forbid! Let’s add some more, he bit out in his rampant thoughts.