Chapter 26
TWENTY-SIX
FREEFALL
Taylor
A crowd of expectant faces turned my way as I took my place on stage. Cameras snapped, reporters hovered, and Theo made a move to join me, but I put up a finger to pause him. He blinked but remained on the floor, his confident smile unwavering under the venue’s bright lights.
Over the last thirty minutes I’d shaken hands with multitudes of Dad’s colleagues. They all knew what was coming and were out en masse, jockeying for position ahead of the election announcements that tied our two families, placing Dad as Theo’s father’s running mate.
What a night to declare a second tie—their two kids’ engagement. I could see the appeal for sure. What a coup.
At the back of the hall, I caught sight of Karen, Theo’s girlfriend, in a pale-pink dress.
She had her brother at her side, but heartbreak played out across her face.
Earlier, when Theo had introduced us, he’d winked at her like this was all some sort of game.
I remembered the look in her eyes when I saw her in his hotel room, and it was there times a million now.
I guessed she must really love him to agree to what he’d asked her to do.
Stay home and be the little wife while he married me.
Funny, the things people did when in love.
And also funny how, under the glossy exterior I’d put on tonight, I looked so different to the old me, the shell. Everything had changed.
I cleared my throat and raised a hand. The murmuring stopped.
“Hi, everyone. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Irene Taylor Vandenberg, and I’m so proud to be here tonight. It’s a special evening, and I’m sure you’re all excited about the announcements to come, but first, I have an announcement of my own.”
Dad moved purposefully in the middle of the crowd, drawing my attention. He stared right into my eyes, and I gave him a wide smile. Theo’s dad stood at his side. This was perfect.
“Dad. There you are. Can you see him, everybody? My father has been a constant source of inspiration throughout my life. He taught me to go after what was important, and he showed me the value of wrong and right.”
Dad’s eyes narrowed, but he kept up his fake smile.
A frisson of excitement bubbled inside me, and I stifled the urge to laugh. “Of course, you all know the sort of man my father is. But maybe there are one or two facts that might be a surprise.”
I paused for effect. Mastering the game he taught me.
For a second, I saw fear flicker over his features, and my excitement turned hard-edged.
“I have a relative named Charity.” I wrapped my mouth around her name.
“Aptly named as, in recent years, she’s been reliant on Dad to provide care for her.
She has motor neurone disease, and if any of you are aware of the condition, you’ll know how hard it can hit a person.
Charity is only ten years older than me, but thanks to Dad, she’s receiving the best care money can buy in a facility in the Hamptons.
He’s never sought publicity for his act, but doesn’t this deserve recognition? ”
A round of applause rippled through the crowd. Someone palmed Dad’s shoulder, and his cold, crocodile smile returned automatically.
But his gaze held only danger for me.
It didn’t matter. I was freefalling without a parachute. I knew in doing this, there was no way Dad could withdraw Charity’s funding now. The press would want the story, and Dad would spin it because the eyes of the voting public would be on him.
She was safe.
I couldn’t say the same about me.
“Irene.” With his gaze dark, Theo took another step towards the stage.
“My second announcement.” I snapped my attention back to the crowd, not focusing on anyone for fear of losing my nerve.
“You might have heard rumours of my engagement. Well, they’ve been a little premature, but they’re true.
I’ve been lucky enough to fall in love, and tonight is all about celebration, so forgive me if I want you to share in my happiness. ”
People gasped; happy sounds abounded.
Then I saw him. The one person who shouldn’t be here.
Dad crossed the floor to where William stood. He placed a hand on his shoulder, and the message couldn’t have been clearer.
Even so, not for a second did the name on my lips waver.
“Theo, would you come up here for a second?” I said.
William’s green-eyed gaze held mine, but I pushed on.
“With our dads being such good friends, Theo Miller and I have spent time in each other’s company. We’re lucky to have a lot in common.”
“That’s right. Which is why—” Theo started.
“The rumour mills have it wrong.” I spoke louder and bolder, my crescendo of freedom crashing over. “We’re very happily engaged. But to other people. Karen? Why don’t you come on up?”
The crowd gasped again and babbled and, from the back of the room, Karen took a visible inhale.
Then she gave a broad smile. I wouldn’t have done this, outed her, if I didn’t know how wrong Theo was about her happiness.
Her sole crime was coming from a poor background.
A non-political family. I pitied her for falling for a douchebag like Theo but, in a way, I pitied him, too.
He was stuck where I had been. Before life and love had opened my eyes.
Still, I didn’t dare look at William.
Karen wove through the crowd and joined us on stage.
“The happy couple!” I raised an imaginary glass.
Karen smiled shyly at Theo, but he, to his credit, took her hand and forced a smile in return.
“Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m sure you can’t wait for the rest of the evening to begin.”
With that, I left them to it and hopped down from the stage. Blood rushed in my ears from my reckless act, and I crossed to where William still stood with my father.
Pointedly, I offered my back to Dad and my smile to William.
“Call that a proposal?” he said, his voice taut with stress but his gaze full of love.
I didn’t dare answer. We needed to leave, and fast, before Dad made a threat he couldn’t take back. Slipping my hand into William’s, I led him out of the hall.
Halfway across the room, I spied Pippa. I approached her and held my hand out. “Phone,” I said with as savage a smile as I could summon.
Stony-faced, she took it from her bag and handed it over. I snatched it and marched on, not sparing her a second glance.
My spine tingled with the daggers Dad threw, but there was nothing he could do. Not in this public place. Not with the cameras on us and his colleagues around, let alone his own big announcement due.
We had time to get away. But after that? “I might have just brought a shitload of trouble down on our heads,” I murmured to the man I loved as he threw open the exit door.
“Wouldnae have ye any other way,” he chuckled in response, then we were outside in the fresh air, free and flying.
Across the carpark, Dad’s driver waited by his car, smoking.
“Terence!” I gulped and ran to him. “For old times’ sake, can you give us a ride? Fair warning, Dad’s beyond pissed at me.”
Terence tossed his cigarette to the ground and tipped his head at the car. “When was he ever not? Hop in. Where shall I take you?”
I gave the hotel address. “Do you need to go back to work?” I asked William, suddenly waking up to the fact that he was meant to be at the gig.
“Let’s go to the airport,” he replied. “As fast as we can. Getting a country away from your father will help my thumping heart no end.”
After we merged into the traffic, I made the introductions. William wrapped an arm around my shoulders, holding me close.
“I’ve already met this man. Your dad was kind enough to come get me and bring me to ye.”
I couldn’t even imagine how that happened. “We have so much to catch up on.”
Between them, Terence and William shared a look. Then we were at our hotel, William darting inside to grab our bags.
I hugged our driver. “I’m not sure I’ll see you again,” I told him. “At best, Dad will disown me after what I did, so I won’t be visiting for a while.” I didn’t add the ‘at worst’, because it didn’t bear thinking about.
“If I can, I’ll send on your clothes. And if I’m ever in your neck of the woods, I’ll give you a call.
” He meant that he’d let me know if Dad came looking for me.
That would help. “But there’s something you should know.
” The kindly man I’d known all my life leaned in and whispered a secret and, by the time William had reappeared, my whole viewpoint had changed.
Terence drove us to JFK, and we booked onto the next flight to the UK. William called his family so they were expecting us, and I just watched him.
“What did Dad do to get you to the stadium tonight?” I asked as soon as we had a second to talk.
“He showed up at the gig, threatened me, then offered me twenty grand.” William polished his knuckles on his jeans. “Not a bad offer, considering.”
I snorted a laugh. “Cheap if you ask me.”
His gaze turned serious. “I had to find you. Don’t think that I took the money.”
“I didn’t. Not for a second. To be honest, I haven’t had a coherent thought in the past few hours. I’m acting on instinct.”
An announcement had us joining the queue for the plane. I considered it from his point of view. “Did you think, when you saw me, that I was going through with Dad’s plan?”
William shook his head. “Naw. I knew. I could see it in how your hand shook. And in how you gazed at me.” He gave me the once-over.
“You’re stunning, if I didn’t already say.
You stood there like an angel and said your piece.
You claimed me and told the world that we were in love, even if ye didn’t name me.
” He shook his head. “And I didn’t even take a single photo. ”
I pulled out my phone and took a selfie of the two of us.
“Is that an engagement photo then?” he asked, a new kind of tone to his question.
I stared up at him, at the gorgeous man. Without the beard and thick hair he used to wear, he was on display. Uncovered. Vulnerable in loving me. “I’ll do better,” I said quietly.
“Can’t wait,” he replied.
Then we were on the plane and in the air, heading for home.