Chapter 14
Come back.
I stared at the words on my phone as I walked back to my hotel room in Rome.
The message was from Easton, another plea in a long string of them, urging me to return.
But I wasn’t ready. For the first time in my life, I was truly living—no responsibilities, no one to answer to.
After that heart-wrenching conversation with my mother, I knew I needed to escape, to be free, even if only for a moment.
I took an extended leave of absence from Ashworth Financial, leaving everything behind.
Vaughn had stepped in, ending the disastrous merger with Bass Banking.
Archie Bass had been hiding crucial information that would have sunk Ashworth Financial.
Vaughn had exposed him, and two days later, Archie was arrested.
He saved me from making a colossal mistake, and it was then I realized—I needed time.
Time to be alone, to breathe, to figure out who I was without the weight of the company, without Colson.
Late September had arrived, and with it, the warm summer air began to fade.
But I didn’t care. I set off on a journey, one I had only dreamed of taking.
Paris was my first stop, where I indulged in every culinary delight the city had to offer.
Lyon followed, and then Spain and Italy.
The paparazzi hounded me, spinning tales of how I was galivanting around Europe while my husband’s memory was still fresh. But that wasn’t the truth.
Despite everything I knew about Colson Ashworth, I still loved him.
I still missed him. There were nights I reached for the empty space beside me, yearning for the warmth of his body, the familiar sound of his breathing.
But he was gone, and that reality hit me harder than I ever expected.
I broke down more than once, the most intense being in my private cabin on the train from Paris to Florence, where I sobbed uncontrollably, mourning the man I loved and the life I had lost.
As I walked back from the small café across from my hotel, lost in thought, I bumped into someone.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured, lifting my head to apologize, only to find myself staring into a pair of brilliant blue eyes. Vaughn’s eyes.
“What…what are you doing here?” I stammered, my heart racing.
“I came for you,” he said simply, offering his arm.
I hesitated for a moment before wrapping my hand around his biceps. His presence was both comforting and disconcerting. He led me back to my hotel, the silence between us thick with unspoken words.
“Vaughn, why?” I asked as we reached the lobby.
“Why what?”
“Why did you come for me?” I pressed, needing an answer, something to make sense of the emotions swirling inside me.
He didn’t respond as we stepped into the empty elevator. The doors closed, and suddenly, I was trapped between him and the cold stainless steel wall. He caged me in, his eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that sent shivers down my spine.
“Because I need you,” he said, his voice low and fervent.
I laughed bitterly, the sound hollow. “You don’t. You remember what I did?” I challenged, meeting his gaze head-on.
“It was an honest mistake, Joey. Anyone could have made it. I only found it because I used back channels. Without those private investigators, there could be a lot of bad deals AFC made,” he admitted, his expression softening slightly.
I reached around him and pressed the button for the eighth floor. As the elevator began to move, Vaughn didn’t budge, keeping me cornered. My heart pounded, the danger of being drawn back into his orbit crystal clear. I pushed him back gently, and he relented, following me down the hall to my room.
“I don’t want to go home. I’m not ready,” I said as I swiped my card, my voice trembling with the weight of my confession.
Vaughn watched me, his expression unreadable. “Then don’t,” he said quietly. “Stay here. Be free. But know that when you’re ready, I’ll be here. Waiting.”
The door clicked open, and I stepped inside, the air heavy with tension.
I glanced back at Vaughn, his eyes still locked on mine.
For a moment, I considered asking him to stay, but I knew better.
I wasn’t ready to face what lay between us.
Not yet. I closed the door, shutting out the world, and took a deep breath, knowing that my journey was far from over.
When I stepped out of the elevator hours later, ready to head to one of the nearby restaurants for dinner, I noticed Vaughn rising from a chair in the lobby. My frown deepened as he approached me, his presence both unexpected and unsettling.
“Hi,” he greeted, his voice soft yet firm.
“I told you I wasn’t ready,” I replied, barely above a whisper.
“And I told you I’d be here waiting for you when you were.”
I looked up, meeting his gaze, the intensity in his eyes making my heart skip a beat. “And what about Ashworth?”
“We’re fine. Business as usual. The CEOs can afford a vacation,” he said, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
I smirked back, though my words carried a bitterness I couldn’t quite mask. “You’re CEO. I’m…nothing.”
He shook his head, his expression hardening. “I refuse to let you quit,” he growled, a fierceness in his tone that took me by surprise.
I laughed, though there was a hint of disbelief in my voice. “There was a time you didn’t want to share anything with me. A time you hated me.”
Vaughn’s hand reached up, his knuckle brushing tenderly over my cheek. The gesture was so gentle, so unexpected, that I felt my breath hitch. “There was never a time I hated you,” he murmured, his eyes searching mine as if trying to make me believe it.
Before I could respond, Vaughn took my hand and led me out of the lobby.
As we stepped outside, the flash of cameras immediately greeted us, paparazzi snapping pictures of us together.
I sucked in a breath, the reality of the situation hitting me hard.
It had only been seven months since Colson’s death, and any connection to a man so soon after would raise eyebrows—especially if that man was his son.
“You shouldn’t hold my hand,” I whispered, the weight of the potential scandal heavy on my mind.
“Fuck them, Joey. We’re not doing anything wrong. I care for you,” he said, his words blunt, yet sincere.
It was a stark change from the Vaughn I once knew—the man who had been so angry, so ruthless in his attempts to break me down and get me into his bed. But this Vaughn was different. He was softer, more vulnerable, and it both intrigued and terrified me.
“Excuse me if I find that hard to believe,” I said, trying to keep my tone light, though the doubt still lingered.
Vaughn didn’t reply, simply leading me down the street toward the trattoria we had agreed upon earlier. The scent of freshly baked focaccia bread and the promise of delicious cacio e pepe filled the air, but my mind was elsewhere.
As we walked side by side, the warmth of his hand in mine, I couldn’t help but wonder if this new Vaughn was real—or just another part of the game he always played.
We spent hours in the restaurant, lingering over empty plates and drained wine glasses until the staff politely chased us out.
It was late, and the wine had left us both a little tipsy, the conversation flowing easily as we delved into the past. Vaughn draped his arm around my shoulder, guiding me back to the hotel.
The cool night air sobered me slightly, but not enough to dull the warmth of his presence beside me.
When we reached my suite, Vaughn walked me to my door, his steps slowing as if he were reluctant to leave.
I hesitated for only a moment before pulling him inside with me.
The door clicked shut behind us, sealing us off from the rest of the world.
I shrugged off my coat, tossing it carelessly onto a side chair as Vaughn moved toward the window, his gaze distant as he looked out at the city lights.
“Want a nightcap?” I offered, nodding toward the fully stocked bar in the corner.
Vaughn glanced back at me, a wry smile playing on his lips. “Don’t you think we’ve had enough?”
He was right, of course. But the wine had given me a rare sense of euphoria, a lightness I wasn’t ready to relinquish.
I approached him, my mood shifting to a melancholy I couldn’t shake.
Sliding my hands around his waist, I rested my head against his back, seeking comfort in the familiar solidity of his presence.
“Joey,” Vaughn’s voice was a soft warning, laced with concern.
“Please,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “I need this. I miss him so much.”
Tears welled in my eyes, spilling over as my body shook with the force of my sobs. Vaughn turned slowly, wrapping his arms around me, pulling me against his chest. I clung to him, the flood of emotions too powerful to resist.
“You should come home,” he murmured, his hand stroking my back in soothing circles. “You need your family.”
His words struck a chord, but they also raised questions.
Did he know? Did he understand the tangled history between our families?
Did he know that his father had once been my mother’s lover?
That my father had been Colson’s best friend before everything fell apart?
The truth was twisted, layered in secrets and lies that went back years.
But in that moment, none of it seemed to matter.
I clung to Vaughn, letting him ground me as the storm of my emotions began to subside.
When my sobs finally quieted, he gently pushed me back, reaching into his jacket pocket for a handkerchief.
He wiped away my tears with a tenderness that took me by surprise.
“I should go,” he said, his voice low, as if he didn’t really want to leave.
I reached out, grabbing his arm, desperation creeping into my voice. “Stay. Just for a little while.”
Vaughn hesitated, his expression conflicted. “It’s not a good idea.”
A bitter chuckle escaped me. “There was a time when you would’ve jumped at the idea.”
His gaze softened, a hint of regret in his eyes. “But not now, Joey. Not like this.”
The truth in his words stung, but it was a different kind of pain—one that forced me to confront just how much had changed between us.
Vaughn wasn’t the same man who once saw me as a challenge, and I wasn’t the same woman who could pretend none of this mattered.
We stood on the edge of something fragile, something neither of us was sure how to navigate.
For now, in the quiet of my hotel room, with the night pressing in around us, I wasn’t ready to let him go. Not yet.
I groaned, turning away from the harsh sunlight streaming through the uncovered windows.
My head throbbed slightly, and as I blinked into awareness, I realized I was still in the dress I’d worn to dinner the night before.
The last thing I remembered was sitting on the couch, my head resting on Vaughn’s shoulder, our hands intertwined as we laughed and joked around.
“Vaughn?” I called out, my voice groggy.
Silence answered me. With a sigh, I pushed myself up and padded into the living area, half-expecting to find him lounging on the couch.
But the room was empty, the only sign of life being the faint scent of his cologne lingering in the air.
I figured he must have left early, probably catching the Ashworth jet back to New York.
Vaughn always had a way of leaving without a trace, like a ghost slipping through my fingers.
As I turned back toward the bedroom to get ready for the day, a sudden knock at the door startled me. My heart skipped a beat as I froze, listening.
“Josephine, it’s me,” Vaughn’s voice came from the other side, calm and steady.
A smile tugged at my lips, a flicker of excitement sparking in my chest. Despite everything, I was glad for the company. Traveling through Europe had been an incredible experience, but there were moments when I wished I had someone to share it with—the art, the food, the history.
Vaughn had always been my nemesis, the thorn in my side, but lately, something had shifted between us. Our fragile friendship had become something I was starting to enjoy, and the thought of spending the day with him made my heart race in a way that surprised me.
I yanked the door open to find him standing there, a smirk playing on his lips. His presence filled the doorway, making the room feel smaller, more intimate.
“Let’s get moving,” he said, his tone brisk but playful. “I take it you haven’t been to the Colosseum yet.”
I raised my eyebrows, caught off guard by his sudden enthusiasm. “I… well, no. I was planning to go.”
He nudged me gently, the touch sending a warm shiver down my spine. “Then get dressed. We’ve got a day to seize.”
A wide smile spread across my face as I hurried back to my bedroom.
I felt a ridiculous giddiness bubbling up inside me, like a schoolgirl with a crush.
Vaughn had always been the one person who could get under my skin, who challenged me in ways no one else could.
But now, as I pulled on a pair of jeans and a light sweater, I realized how much I was enjoying this new side of him—the Vaughn who made me laugh, who shared his time with me without the usual tension.
I glanced at myself in the mirror, smoothing down my hair.
My heart still fluttered in my chest, a mix of nerves and anticipation.
Whatever this was between us, it was fragile, like a delicate glass sculpture that could shatter with the wrong move.
But for today, I was ready to embrace it, to see where this newfound connection would take us.