Chapter 18
Cobra stepped back and let Desiree into his home. When he had walked into Sharpe Corporation and saw her again, he suddenly knew Tez had been right.
He loved her.
The impact of that realization had hit like a ton of bricks, nearly making him miss a step. And now that she was back here in his home, and she had agreed to talk, he had hope.
“I’ll take your jacket.” She slipped off the stylish blazer and handed it to him. Seeing the way her blouse fit over her breasts made his mouth water.
“How long will it take to thaw the pasta out?” she asked, standing before him in an oh-so-tempting beige blouse and an olive-green pencil skirt that clearly defined her curves and brought out the radiance of her hazel eyes.
He breathed in deeply, then said, “You’re in luck. I took some out of the freezer this morning to eat for dinner. At the time, I hadn’t known I’d be dining with Tez.”
“Are you sure?” she asked. “I wouldn’t want to take what could be your lunch for tomorrow.”
“You won’t be since I’m meeting a client for lunch.
” He shoved his hands in the pockets of his slacks.
It was either that or give in to temptation and pull her into his arms. But he knew the worst thing he could do was assume anything and rush her.
They needed to talk, so this sort of misunderstanding wouldn’t happen again.
“You look nice, Desiree. But then, you always look nice.”
“Thank you. So do you.”
“Thanks. Come on, I’ll warm up the pasta.”
“Alright.”
When they passed through the living room on their way to the kitchen, she paused for a moment, and he knew she had noticed the packet on the table, still in the same place she had tossed it. “Would you like a glass of wine?” he asked when they reached the kitchen.
“That would be nice.”
“White or red?” he asked.
“You decide.”
He nodded. “Since I cooked it with a tomato sauce, red is usually suggested. At least, that’s what Mom always says.”
After placing the food in the microwave, he reached into the cabinet and pulled out two wine glasses and a bottle of wine.
“And you’re sure that you’re not hungry, Cobra?” she asked.
He turned around and smiled. “I’m positive.”
If she only knew what he truly hungered for, she might just hightail it away from the brownstone. He had spent the last five days remembering each and every moment he had spent with her, starting with Colton’s wedding.
So, in a way, he should not be surprised that each time they’d been together had brought him to this moment. He had finally met a woman who could capture his heart. A woman he doubted he could live without. A woman he wanted desperately.
“I took full advantage of the fact that Cortez was paying the bill, and I ordered whatever I wanted. So, I’m not starving.”
She laughed, and the throaty, sexy sound touched him deeply. He had been so sure—and so afraid—that he would never hear that laugh again. Especially not here.
The microwave dinged, and he took out the food while she poured them both glasses of wine. He actually liked this. A woman sharing space with him in his kitchen. But this wasn’t just any woman. This was a woman who, without really trying, had done the impossible.
He had always figured that one day, like his brothers, he would eventually fall in love and get married.
After all, his parents had been childhood sweethearts who had gotten married after college and, to this day, still loved each other deeply.
His father had always said that there was a moment in every man’s lifetime when he’d meet his destiny, a woman who was meant to get into his soul.
And no matter what that man did, that woman would stay there, bound to him.
Of course, at the time, Cobra had assumed that his father had been speaking to Tez and Colt, since he was extremely doubtful that such a woman existed for him. And if there was someone who was meant for him, he was sure he’d be in his fifties—or even older—before he met her. Boy, he had been wrong.
After pouring the wine, Desiree followed him into the dining room. While she ate, he sipped his wine, thinking of everything he wanted to say to her. Things he had never said to a woman. But first, there was the issue of that damn investigative report between them. And that needed to be resolved.
They made small talk while she ate. She told him about a project Saul gave her to spearhead and how excited she was about it.
He told her about his best friend’s upcoming wedding, about how he and Sheriff Liam Strawberry had been friends since they were toddlers, and that their parents had been childhood best friends, as well.
Before she left tonight, he would ask her to be his plus-one for Straw’s wedding and hoped she would accept.
When Desiree finished her meal, she cleared the table and loaded her dishes into the dishwasher. Returning to the dining room, she picked up her wine glass and said, “Dinner was delicious. Thank you.” She paused. “You said we need to talk. Is this a good time?”
Nodding, he stood, and after grabbing his glass and the bottle of wine, they strolled to the living room, then eased down on the sofa. They were sitting in the same place they had been the last time she’d been here, with the sealed packet in front of them.
“As you can see, I haven’t read it.”
She nodded. “Thank you. I want to be the one to explain my actions and the reasons I felt they were needed.”
“Okay,” he said, not having any idea what she was talking about.
She took a sip of wine, as if to steel herself.
“When I left the States, barely a week after graduating from Rhodes, I had what I thought was a good reason. As I told you, I often felt lost and alone and needed to hear my grandfather’s voice, only I couldn’t get through to him.
Of course, now I’m a little suspicious that he never got my messages.
Still, at the time, I had no reason to think that.
I assumed he was just ignoring me because he disliked my mother.
And although you might think otherwise, Cobra, I still have no reason to think differently.
I always made good grades in school, and even after taking off a semester in college, I still graduated on time, at the top of my class, and with honors. ”
“I’m sure Richard attended your graduation,” Cobra said.
“Yes, he was there. And he even told me how proud he was of me, but I didn’t feel it was sincere.”
“Why?” he asked, reaching out and taking her hand in his. A part of him needed the connection, as well as to provide her with support.
“Mainly because Granddad is so reserved. I never know what he’s feeling. He’d never given me any indication that he loved me, so why should he be proud of me for doing something I knew he had expected? It didn’t add up.”
She released a frustrated breath. “So I went to Paris, fully intending to act like the party girl he thought I was.”
“Is that why it bothers you when people refer to you that way?”
“Yes. Because anyone who thinks that about me doesn’t truly know me. If they did, they’d know how focused and driven I am.”
After taking another sip of her wine, she said, “Anyway, I moved to Paris thinking I didn’t care anymore and would live the life Granddad thought I was living anyway. But when I’d been there less than two months, something happened.”
He lifted a brow. “What?”
A smile touched her lips. “I met Camille LeGraff. We met at a coffee shop, and immediately became the best of friends. A few months later, we moved into an apartment together.”
She paused as if remembering that time. “Cam was a psychology major working on her doctorate, and I would, more times than not, be her case study.” She chuckled and then added, “The sofa in our apartment is where we would hold our therapy sessions.”
“That sounds interesting.”
“It was. I had a lot of garbage to unload. As my unofficial therapist, she got me to see that, regardless of how my grandfather felt about me, I needed to live my life the way I wanted.” She chuckled.
“What’s funny is that according to her, Richard Sharpe and I seemed very much alike in many ways.
Cam got me to accept that being a ‘party-girl’ was not in my makeup, no matter what anyone thought.
However, being driven to succeed was. And I discovered she was right. ”
“So, what did you do?”
“I enrolled in the university to work on my graduate degree. I wanted an MBA. And I didn’t want to attend just any university; I wanted a degree from Harvard.
Not because that’s where Granddad had always wanted me to go, but because that’s where I always wanted to go, too.
I guess you can say that I decided to go to Rhodes College during one of my rebellious stages. I did it to spite Granddad.”
“And is that why you prefer to be called Desiree? Did you see it as a way to spite Richard as well, since you believe he didn’t like your mother?”
She shrugged. “I admit that was part of it, but the main reason is that being called Allison made me miss my grandmother a lot. I loved her so much.”
“How did you attend Harvard while living in Paris?”
“It wasn’t easy, trust me. I enrolled in the Harvard Extension School. Although the classes were online, they weren’t easy. It also required that I spend so many classroom hours in Boston.”
“You came to the States, and Richard didn’t know?”
“I didn’t want him to know. I figured he had already made up his mind about my worth.
I didn’t need anything to get me down, and I had to stay focused on my goal.
Getting that degree was something I wanted to do to prove a point to myself.
I even did my internship at the Sharpe Corporation in Paris.
They had no idea I was related to the CEO. ”
Cobra frowned. “How could they not know you were Richard Sharpe’s granddaughter?”
“I didn’t tell anyone, and all my employment records are in the name of Desiree Sharpe and not Allison.
So, as you can see, for almost three years I wasn’t living it up in the streets of Paris, Cobra.
I was working my ass off to get my MBA and learning everything I could about the company I will inherit one day. ”
He didn’t say anything. Desiree honestly believed she was a thorn in her grandfather’s side; a granddaughter he didn’t care about.
He hated that, but it would be up to Richard to prove otherwise.
The wedge between them was bigger than he had assumed, but Cobra didn’t see it as anything that couldn’t be repaired.
It would take effort and a willingness to meet each other halfway.
But more than anything, it would take open communication.
“That’s what I meant when I said that a lot about you didn’t add up, Desiree. I’ve dated party girls, and you didn’t fit the mold.”
He decided he might as well go all in. “So…how did you meet Aimery LeBlanc?”
“At the theater. Camille occasionally moonlights as an actress, and to support her work, I would often go and watch her perform. Aimery and I were together for only a few months.”
“Is he the reason you decided celibacy was a good idea?”
She nodded. “You heard what Aimery said that day.”
“And you heard what I said, as well. It’s obvious that he thinks a lot of himself,” Cobra said, refilling their glasses of wine. “Men like him will shift blame every chance they get—even about their failures in the bedroom.”
“It wouldn’t have hurt so much if he hadn’t invited another woman to come to his home to take my place before I could even leave. Not only was it hurtful, but it was also downright humiliating.”
“He’s a huge ass. You deserve so much better.”
“There is something that I need to admit to you,” she said, hesitantly.
He raised a brow. “What is it?”
She nibbled nervously on her bottom lip. “I didn’t like you, even before I met you.”
“Why?”
“Camille called it envious resentment syndrome. Those times when I did talk to Granddad, he would always mention you. I was jealous that you had the kind of relationship with him that I so badly wanted. He taught you how to play chess. Whenever I asked him to teach me, he would make up an excuse about not having time. So, I had to take care of it myself.”
“How?”
“I joined the chess club in college and got pretty good at it. Granddad doesn’t even know that I was part of Rhodes College’s chess team.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thanks. But my jealousy of you wasn’t just about chess.
You had access to Richard that I never had, and every time something happened that highlighted that fact, I would get angry.
The few times I did come home, he would always sing your praises, like you were the grandson he never had.
And yet, there I was, the granddaughter he had… and didn’t want.”
Hearing the hurt in her voice, Cobra honestly didn’t know what to say. Telling her that she was looking at things the wrong way would not help matters. There were just too many misunderstandings between her and Richard.
“I think you should share how you feel with your grandfather.”
“And I will one day.”
“I’d make it sooner than later, Desiree. That’s the only way to resolve the issues between the two of you and move on. You and Richard need to talk.”
“You’re right. I guess in a way, it’s about time.
” She sat back and took another sip of her wine.
“So what’s your story, Cobra? I’ve heard a lot of gossip about you, including from the women I overheard talking in the ladies’ room, but I want to hear the truth from you.
Why did you make a bet with your brothers that you could remain celibate for a year? ”
And then leaning in closer, she added, “And I want to know what diabolical role you thought I would play in it.”