Page 45 of The Second Ending
“I heard… Is it about the land sale? Do you need me to try to speak to my father again?”
He looked hurt in the flickering candlelight. “Is that what you think of me?”
“I spoke to my father.” Her voice sounded flat to her own ears.
“As did I.” He captured her eyes with his regard.
She stopped mid-swallow. Now for the truth, the twist of the knife that dealt the fatal blow.
“Come closer,” he breathed. “You won’t like this, but I need to tell you.” He shifted towards her until their knees were touching. “Your father, bless his tiny little stone heart, spoke to me. Came to my office, actually. He showed up like he ownedthe place, and demanded to see me. He had an offer I couldn’t refuse.” Marcus paused.
What was this? Confusion raced through her, as she shook her head in disbelief. In a moment, Marcus went on.
“He told me he would honour the original agreement and sell me the property at the agreed-upon price, on the one condition…” he took a deep breath, “...that I never see you or speak to you again.”
Now she sat bolt upright, fury once more replacing every other emotion. “Hewhat?” She spat the words like nails from a gun.
“He tried to bribe me. He’s as cold as a dead fish. I’m sorry, Ash. I know he’s your father, but he’s a bloody ass.”
“I won’t argue. What did you say?”
Marcus reached his closest arm towards her along the back of the couch, letting his fingers trace the faintest of patterns on her cheek. “I’m here with you now, aren’t I? He was adamant. He said if I didn’t agree to his terms, he’d never complete the sale, and that he’d ruin me. There was no room for negotiation. His way, or the highway. I didn’t have to think about my answer. I told him to fuck right off.”
Ashleigh stared at him for a moment, paralysed in place. Then a dam burst, and she buried her face in her hands as the tears she thought were over flooded her again. Was she weeping with pain or with joy? It was impossible to separate the two.
“Ash? Are you alright?” He sounded concerned. “I’m no saint, and I’ve been a bit of a jerk, but you need to know this: there is only one person in the world who can order me never to see you again, and that person is you. If you tell me to go, I’ll listen. My heart will break, but I’ll do what you say. But if you want me to stay, I’m yours for as long as you’ll have me.”
She forced out words through the waves of emotion that were overtaking her. “I thought you just wanted what I could give you,like influence with my bloody father, or a foot in the political door, like blasted Sebastian.” She’d told him about Liora’s report. He understood her.
“You’re wrong. Maybe this is the first time, but you’re wrong. I was such an idiot eight years ago, thinking that if you really cared, you’d never have believed your parents’ lies. But I believed them, too, at first, and then I didn’t let you back in when you returned. I was a fool, and I’ve suffered. I have missed you every day since. There was never anyone other than you. You filled my heart so much, there wasn’t space for anyone else, ever.” He shifted a bit more until he was facing her completely, his hand now cupping her cheek with tender care.
“I love you, Ash. I loved you then, and I never stopped. Can you possibly think about loving me too?”
Every care in the universe was gone. Her father, the development, Masako, her cases, all vanished into the ether. She threw her arms around this wonderful man before her, and kissed him with everything she had.
“Always. I love you always!”
CHAPTER 24
TRIUMPH
What a differencethe passage of a couple of days made.
From abject misery to sublime happiness, and it was all because of Marcus.
Now, instead of forcing herself to struggle through a blanket of desolation and self-doubt, her challenge was to keep from floating to the ceiling. She had pulled herself from Marcus’ arms with the greatest difficulty, and if not for a scheduled tribunal for one of her cases, she would have ditched all her duties for the day. Her files could wait. The forms and documents she had sitting on her desk could wait. The letters she needed to give to the social worker could wait. But her client, alas, could not.
“That’s one of the things I love about you,” Marcus had whispered in her ear as they cuddled together for that brief moment of bliss before rising to face the day. “You’re selfless. You don’t always put yourself first. There are so many selfish people about, and you are my oasis in a desert.”
They stopped at a convenient coffee shop for breakfast, promising each other to stock up each kitchen with the other’s preferred breakfast foods. This little gesture, this assumption of permanence, did more to buoy Ashleigh’s spirits than any longspeeches of undying passion ever could. Actions, not words, were what mattered for her.
Marcus had beenloath to leave Ashleigh’s bed that early Friday morning, but he, too, had a great deal of work that really couldn’t wait. For one thing, he had to tell Nick about the lost sale of the property. Damn Lynch, the vindictive creep.
God knew, he’d much rather spend the day staring at her beautiful eyes and tickling her toes and remembering all those tiny details that made her smile. But some things would have to wait, and he knew Ash understood. That was what made her special.
He threw back the last drops of his coffee and waited for her to gather her bags from the empty chair beside her at the coffee shop. What luck that their offices were reasonably close to one another. He’d driven to her place last night after Gordon had called, and now was able to drop her off at work and still get to his own desk in time for a first-thing-in-the-morning phone call.
He punched in the numbers with leaden fingers. Telling Nick would somehow make the failed purchase real, but he could think of no excuse to delay. Best get it over with, like ripping off a bandage, or stabbing yourself in the gut.
