Page 40 of Not So Happily Ever After (British Bad Boys)
I glance through the medieval oriel bay window by our side, which gives a fantastic view of the duck pond, and an unintentionally loud sigh escapes me.
“Hey, are you okay?” He reaches across the table and squeezes my fingers, which totally doesn’t fit if he really has changed his mind about our arrangement.
“I was about to ask you the same thing.”
“Huh?” An adorable frown creases his forehead.
“You’ve hardly said anything since we left Oakland. Are you getting cold feet?”
He grins, and the tension vanishes. “About us? No way.”
I’m relieved he doesn’t want to back out. Must be something to do with the meeting, then. “What’s the problem?”
“Sorry. It’s just business. Didn’t mean to spoil your day. Do you want to stay here for the morning then have a tour of the site this afternoon?”
Wow. Talk about trying to change the subject. I lean across the table but don’t give in to my urge to kiss him. I’ll dothatin a minute. “Tell me what’s bugging you.”
He sighs, and I kiss his fingers, anyway. “It’s not bad news. It’s good for Oakland. We’ve landed a great sponsorship deal which means we can expand earlier than we originally anticipated.”
“But?” I prompt.
“There’s always abut.” His smile is kind of sad, and an odd little pain drives through my chest. “They want to get things moving within the next six months, or the deal’s off. Which means I won’t be able to spearhead it.”
“Well, that sucks. Isn’t there any way they can extend their deadline?”
“We’ve been working on it for months. The final offer came through yesterday, and there’s no more negotiation. We’re going for it. Obviously.”
I’m indignant and upset for him, and I don’t even know what exactly he’s talking about. Not that it matters—it’s a big deal for him and that’s all that counts. “What kind of expansion?”
“Back in Uni, when we were first talking about opening a place like this, it was my dream to have a program for sick kids. Somewhere they could experience the kind of adventures that wouldn’t usually be accessible for them.”
My heart aches. This isn’t anything like I’d imagined, but it makes so much sense. Although he’s never had health issues in all the years I’ve known him, he did when he was a kid. According to things Lucas said back in the day, it’s the reason Will had such a hard time persuading his parents to let him try anything that had even a minimal risk factor.
Just over a week ago, I thought I knew all there was to know about Will Hamilton. How could I have been so wrong? “But this is your baby. It’s not right if you can’t front it.”
“Not much I can do about that. It’s not as though I won’t be involved at all. Just not the way I always expected.”
My mind’s racing ahead. “What’s so important that you can’t leave the company for another few years?” Reason catches up with me, although it doesn’t stop the sense of injustice burning through me on his behalf. “Unless there’s something top secret going on that you can’t discuss.”
“Nothing as dramatic as that. Just the usual shit.”
“It’s not like you’re in the middle of a big deal that might fall apart if you’re not there to see it through, are you?”
“It’s complicated.”
Is that a euphemism formind your own bloody business, Mac?
Maybe. But he sure isn’t giving off an irritated vibe. “If it’s a contract issue, seeing as you’re the CEO, I should think you could findsomelegal loophole to get out of it.”
“That’s not the problem.” He frowns, and I have the mad urge to climb onto his lap and kiss away his worries. I compromise by pressing his knuckles against my lips. “After Mum had her stroke, she was paranoid about the company collapsing. I promised I’d stay on for four years, to maintain stability and offset any concerns about her no longer being in the public eye.”
“Oh, right.” I sure as hell understand why he feels stuck, and guilt eats through me. Not just because I forced him into a corner where he had to tell me that, but because it reminds me of the promise I made my own mum. But unlike my situation, his mum isn’t dead, and he didn’t make a lifelong commitment. Maybe he just needs to take a step back to look at things more clearly. “No wriggle room now that she’s so much better?”
He gives a faint smile. “I can’t let her down, Mac.”
I know that. “It’s so unfair, though, having someone else come in and take over your dream.”
“I’m still a consultant. It’s not like I’m being shoved out in the cold.”
