Chapter 49
OLIVER
I press my hands to my hips and arch my back, which has more kinks than Fin, currently. With a murmur of thanks, I nod at Ronald, my driver. Not that he’s paying attention as he stares at his newly acquired Patek Philippe. But at least we’re here.
Unless I’m about to be sold to criminals.
I wonder if anyone would pay the ransom?
“Oliver?”
My head snaps right, and oh, what a sight. Eve stands in the doorway of a ramshackle hut, a million emotions flickering and fading across her face, none of them settling. She looks so lovely, her face dappled with freckles she didn’t have before, her hair more golden than red, even in the fading light.
“Oh, thank God.” I don’t recall moving. All I know is I’m peppering her forehead and her face with kisses, my hands sliding over her as though she might not be real. “Darling, I’ve missed you so much.”
“What are you doing here?” She begins to push at my chest as though just coming to her senses. A pity for her that I’m senseless to everything as I tighten my arms, not giving an inch.
“Everything okay over there?”
I turn my head to the deep voice and the pair of men looking toward us. They’re wearing the same khaki-colored outfit as Eve, and just as crumpled, though one man has the addition of a pistol holster. I tighten my arms, pulling her impossibly close, because fuck that and fuck you , Tucker the nonfucker. Eve is mine.
“Yeah, it’s fine,” she begins. “This is Oliver. He’s ...” Her eyes dart to me, uncertain. “A friend.”
My stomach pits. “Eve, I love you. And I swear to you, I’m not guilty of ... well, not directly responsible for all of it.” So much for preparation of eloquent declarations.
“You’re guilty for crimes against fashion.” Her eyes flick down to my nipple-chafing T-shirt.
“A baby vomited on me.” Keeping one arm around her, I yank at the hem, which has a habit of creeping up. “This was all I had in my carry-on.” My talisman. “You bought it for me in the charity shop, remember?”
“Yes, I remember,” she answers softly.
“My jet was ...” I make a gesture, my heart hammering as my words begin to tumble over themselves. “Then my luggage went to Guangzhou. Not that I blame it, because I wouldn’t want to be seen with me—just look at the state of me.”
“I am.” She fights a smile, not quite giving in. “But what are you doing here?”
“Eve.” Her name brims with emotion. “I’ve flown not only commercial but coach across the world, hurtled through a mountain range in a tin can piloted by a madman. I’ve endured a three-hour ride in an ancient Land Rover that has probably given me brain damage, thanks to a lack of shock absorbers and unpaved roads. I’m certain I’ve left the shape of my skull in its roof. I have a very nasty case of tropical swamp arse thanks to the heat, and—”
“Oliver?”
“—I’d do it all again because, well, because of hope. And love.” I take a breath, pulling it deep. “Eve. My darling, I have been such an idiot on so many fronts.”
“I know.”
“You do? I shouldn’t have kept Lucy secret from you. I’m sorry. I was so ashamed.”
“Of her?”
“Of myself. Of how I behaved. Through all of it.”
“Think you can say that again?” she asks, pulling back.
“Yes, of course, I’ll say it again and again, but please—” But then her fingers are sliding into mine, and she’s leading me to a shack.
“You’d better come in.”
My heart pounds painfully at her solemn expression. At what, or who, I might find inside.
“You still there?”
My blood freezes as I steel myself. It doesn’t matter. Tucker the fucker could never love her like I will.
“Still here and glad to hear you haven’t been carted off by the raskols .”
Lucy?
“I googled that,” my sister adds, her tone tinny. “I suggest you don’t do the same. Please tell me you have an armed escort.”
“Well, I have an escort.” Eve reaches for her phone, holding it up. “And he has arms. Say hi to your brother.”
“Oh my God—you’re there!” My sister’s smile is so wide.
“How?”
“Brought to you by the magic of Google and an email or two,” Eve says.
“And lots of telephone calls,” Lucy laughingly puts in.
And then I’m looking at her, my sister. The internet connection is poor, but it doesn’t stop me from noticing how glossy her eyes are. Mine too.
“How your ears must’ve burned,” she says.
“You put in a good word for me, though, I’m sure.” My words are all bluster as gladness rushes through me.
“I told her the truth.”
“Which is what I deserve,” I answer in a more serious tone.
“That you deserve happiness. You both do. I love you, Oliver. Now, stop being a prat, and give Eve a proper kiss.”
“Luce!” Eve exclaims.
“I’m ending the call now, but I expect to hear from you both soon.”
The call ends, and Eve puts her phone back on a grubby, makeshift dresser. “I like Lucy a whole lot.”
“She inherited the good traits,” I answer, swallowing thickly. I can’t believe they’ve been in contact, that they’re ... friends? “I miss her.”
“She misses you.” She folds her arms, not exactly defensively—more like she’s trying to hold herself together. “You have to get over the past, Oliver. Make things right.”
My heart gives a little pang. Just like Eve, putting others first.
“I will—I am,” I insist, desperation poking me in the ribs. “I got over Atherton.”
Her gaze lifts, but not her head, as she eyes me skeptically.
“It’s true. I was blinded for a while, but you brought me into the light. You’re more important than revenge, more important than anything. I didn’t try to steal Nora’s land. I just made a pig’s arse out of myself trying to impress you.”
“Impress me?”
“I wanted to make up for all I’d done to you. Hell, it’s not even that. You make me see things differently, Eve. You fucking inspire me. You are so kind and so lovely.” I close my eyes, not quite believing what I’m about to say. “Damn it, you make me want to be a better man!”
“Wow. That’s quite an accusation,” she says, her words as tremulous as her expression.
“Not that I’m all bad.”
She pulls a face as though considering this. “Maybe not even half-bad,” she eventually says with a shrug.
“Good.” I blow out a breath. “I mean, thank you.” She smiles, and I find myself rushing on. “That auction lot—a night with me? Does that strike you as something I’d ever be into?”
“Not for charity, at least. That was meant to be a joke,” she adds quickly. “I know it wasn’t you, but at the time ...”
“I gave you a thousand reasons to worry, I know. Eve, I’m—”
“All I could see was how you’d manipulated me. You were about to propose, and even that felt the same. I told myself you were just like Mitch.”
“—so sorry.” But it isn’t enough. Not after those words. God, I’ve made such a mess of things.
“I was so confused. I had so many thoughts swirling through my head. Everything you’d done, everything you’d said. The good and the bad, all of it.”
“Darling, I’m so sorry. I was wrong about so many things.”
“You’re not listening, Oliver. I couldn’t trust myself to stay, but I should have. I should’ve trusted my heart—it’s there where I know who you truly are.”
My throat aches, and my own heart twists, half with hope and half with agony.
“Leaving you was wrong. It felt wrong. Feels wrong now. I just didn’t know what else to do.”
Relief. Oh, fuck, the relief as I reach for her. “Give me this chance, and I’ll never give you cause to doubt again. I promise you things will be different.”
“That’s just it, Oliver. I’ve come to realize that people don’t change.” She looks sad as she brushes the backs of her fingers across my cheek. “Their masks just slip a little.”
“No, that’s not true.” I haul her closer, pulling her body flush with mine, my thoughts thundering, even as her eyes soften with a tender warmth.
“Oliver.” My name is a soft breath on my cheek. “Your masked slipped. You were showing me glimpses of who you were all along. You’re not just Oliver Deubel, the autocratic, blackmailing, asshole tycoon. You’re also the man who loves me beyond anything else.”
“Eve.” Pure joy floods through me, my arms fusing in their hold. “Oh, God. Eve.” Finally. “I love you so much.”
“I know,” she whispers, her eyes bright and wild, glimmering like stars in the night sky.
Our mouths meet. A touch. A slide. It’s everything.
“Why didn’t you come home?” I demand, taking her face between my hands.
“I needed space. Maybe I needed you to come for me. And you did.”
“I’ve got the mosquito bites to prove it.”
Laughing, she buries her face in my chest. I hold her tight, screw my eyes tighter. “I’m so sorry—I must stink. But I’m not letting you go. Not now, not ever.”
Her laughter trembles, tears fall, as she pulls me to the tiny bed. Our legs tangle, and my heart feels fit to burst when I tip her chin. Brush her cheek, stare into the face of my everything. She is perfection and sees me, loves me despite my flaws. Fuck. Love might be the ultimate risk, but I understand now why people seek it, fucking die for it. The payoff is sublime. The connection ...
And then her hand slides between us and connects with something else.
“Here?” It’s not really a question, more a husky confirmation.
“Note how I pulled you onto my bed?”
“I love a decisive woman.”
“Oh, yes, you do.”
“But darling, I have one last confession to make before you can have your wicked way.”
She groans and drops her head back to the mattress.
“I’ve done something.”
“Please don’t say I have to get Pieter to shoot you. Not after you’ve come all this way.”
“Pieter?” My gaze shifts briefly. “I thought the other one must’ve been Tucker.” I give my head a quick shake. “Actually, I don’t want to know. I don’t care what passed between the two of you.”
“Between me and Tucker?”
“Not my business.”
“You’d still have me?”
“In a heartbeat. Though the first time of having you might only last ninety seconds.”
“That’s the best you’ve got?” she whispers, drawing my lips down to hers. “Because Tucker is a hunk of loving no girl can resist.”
“Eve.”
“He likes to pet my face while he curls his long tail around my butt.”
“I don’t need to—” I hold a finger between us. “Wait. His tail ?”
“It’s huge! So, so long.” But she’s chuckling.
“But is it pretty?” I demand.
“Not as pretty as—”
I slide my fingers under her shirt, and oh, fuck , her skin feels like silk, a moment later her breast filling my hand. And then we’re kissing. God, how we kiss.
“Tree kangaroo,” she rasps, pulling at my T-shirt. She yanks it over my head. “Tucker is a tree kangaroo.”
“Deviant,” I growl, making her laugh again. “But you still might need your friend with the gun.”
“You’re jealous?” Her eyes are bright as I push up onto my palms.
“I think I might have rabies. I’m definitely stark raving.” I drop my hips, and we both gasp at the contact. “Because I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“That’s not ... very complimentary,” she rasps as she undulates against me. “Wait,” she demands, pushing at my shoulder. “That’s it? That’s your confession?”
“That, darling, and I bought you a Pemberley.”