Chapter 31
“Noah?”
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“Tell me about this T-shirt.”
They’d been back in Miami for less than a day, and it looked like Leia had found her favorite item of clothing again. And fuck if Noah didn’t feel stupidly light-headed with happiness from seeing her in it.
His heart thumped hard at her beauty framed in the early morning light. He held out his hand to her. When she reached where he sat on the terrace, he pulled her into his lap.
Clearing his throat, he played with the soft hair above her ear.
“It’s my father’s. He wore it the day he proposed to my mom.
He wore it the days my brother and I were born.
He jokes that if it could withstand not being ripped apart by my mom when she was in labor with me, it can survive anything.
” Noah shrugged. “It’s his lucky shirt.”
Her fingers traced his brow. “Why do you have it?”
“He… he gave it to me the day I left New York two years ago. I guess he could tell I was in a dark place and needed something to hold on to. I didn’t want to take it, but he insisted, said I needed it more than he did.
And he was right. It brought me luck. It brought me you.
” He nuzzled her cheek and she melted into him.
Noah was sure in that moment there was nothing more beautiful in the world than the woman in his arms.
She took his face in her hands and kissed him. “I’m so glad.”
He reluctantly pulled away when things started to get heated. “You need to get dressed, baby.”
“Why?”
“Paddy’s on his way over. Or he’s probably already inside, helping himself to my most expensive booze again.”
She yelped and jumped off his lap. Peering cautiously into the living room, she looked back at him with relief before disappearing inside.
Paddy walked out onto the terrace three minutes later.
Noah sighed. “You do know that the day you see Leia anything less than fully dressed is the day you die, right?”
His PI grunted. “Relax, I have impeccable timing.” He sat down and patted his pockets restlessly.
“You lost something?” Noah asked.
“Yeah, the Marlboros I quit smoking five years ago.”
“Any reason you want to light up now?”
Paddy shrugged. “It’s still morning. According to my daughter, every time I take a drink before noon, a fucking hamster dies.”
Noah’s brow rose. “And you happen to love hamsters?”
“Yeah, go figure.”
“We have coffee,” Leia said as she walked back onto the terrace. She’d taken his T-shirt off and replaced it with jeans and a tank top. Her hair hung loose and silky around her face. She sat next to him and put a hand on his thigh. His heart swelled larger. “You have news for us?” she asked Paddy.
He nodded. “We’re almost sure we’ve tracked Snyder down to a lake house in Maine.”
“Almost?” Noah asked.
“He’s also been spotted in Montreal, Canada, where he’s originally from. Snyder was his mother’s maiden name. His real name is William Bouchard. He grew up on the streets of Montreal and got caught up in a crime syndicate there. He disappeared real quick after some money went missing.”
Leia’s hand trembled and Noah covered it with his own. “You’ve informed the detective?”
Paddy nodded. “From the information Willoughby gave us, he thinks there’s enough to arrest Snyder, but it would be better all round if he’s arrested on US soil. We have people watching both residences.”
“Be careful. He’s… clever,” Leia cautioned. Noah knew she was blaming herself for being fooled for so long by the man she’d called her savior.
The PI rose. “He may think he’s clever, but I’m badass.” He stared down at Leia for a moment. “Sorry to hear about your production issues. Do you want me to look into it?”
Her eyes widened. “You think it’s suspicious?”
“Everything’s suspicious. Until it isn’t.” He left as silently as he’d arrived.
Noah saw the anxiety on Leia’s face and silently cursed his PI. It was clear Paddy had a soft spot for Leia. Which made his veiled implication grate on Noah’s nerves.
“You think he’s right?” she asked.
“Paddy’s suspicious about his own shadow. He’ll look into it whether we want him to or not. If he finds something, he’ll report it. ”
She nodded. “I have to go into the office for a while, make sure everyone knows what’s going on.”
Noah rose with her. “I’ll drive you. I’m headed into the office too.”
They left after a quick breakfast. He spent an inadequate ten minutes double parked outside her building, kissing her goodbye. She was blushing profusely by the time she slid out of his Maserati.
“I’ll pick you up at five. Dinner at Pietro’s?”
She gave him another of those spectacular smiles. “Yes. I love you, Noah.”
“I love you.” Three simple words that filled him with awe, trepidation and endless happiness.
He strode into his office with a huge grin and ploughed through the mountain of work that had piled up in his absence, starting with drawing up a contract for Tim and Harry. The boys’ effusive chatter when they’d received his email made his grin widen until Noah thought his face would crack.
His desk was clear by four. On a whim, he grabbed his keys and headed down to the private garage. His phone beeped as he gunned the engine. Ignoring it, he floored the car all the way to Leia’s office. As he alighted, his phone beeped again.
Deciding to wait for Leia outside, he leaned against his hood and pulled his phone out of his pocket.
Missed call from Dr. Franklin, Ashley’s OBGYN.
A shiver raced over his skull.
He dialed.
“Mr. King, thanks for calling me back?—”
“What’s wrong?” he cut across her .
“It may be something, it may be nothing, but I had a call from a colleague at a private clinic in West Palm Beach. It seems Ashley checked herself in this morning for a procedure. I only know because she listed me as her physician.”
His blood ran cold. “What sort of procedure?”
Silence.
“What sort of procedure?” he yelled.
“Mr. King… Noah, I suggest you get over there as soon as possible.” She rattled off the name of the clinic and hung up.
God no. His vision swam and he closed his eyes.
“Noah?” Leia stood in front of him, her face creased in worry. “What’s wrong?”
He shook his head. “I think…” He stopped and swallowed. “I think Ashley checked herself into a clinic this morning to get rid of my child.”
Noah had little memory of driving to the clinic and virtually no memory of calling his attorney. But Sam Ferranti was waiting for him outside the clinic when he arrived with Leia.
“Sam?” He frantically searched the other man’s face.
His lawyer’s expression confirmed his worst fears. “I’m sorry, Noah.”
First he went numb. Then a well of hatred and fury cannonballed through his chest. “Is she here?” he rasped.
Sam nodded.
“What room?”
“I don’t think they’ll let you?—”
“The bitch just aborted my child. She’ll damn well see me!”
“She’s upstairs. Room 21. We’ll go together just in case…”
Noah’s feet pounded up the stairs. He had a vague notion that Leia trailed him with Sam, but his mind was refusing to work properly. And the ache taking root in his heart grew by the second .
He located the private suite and yanked the door open.
Ashley lay in bed with her face turned toward the window, her expression as serene as a mountain lake. At his entry, she turned her head and her eyes bulged in alarm.
“You. Fucking. Bitch.”
“Do you blame me? When you can’t do anything right?” she snarled.
He struggled to speak through the tentacles of pain and anger. “Excuse me?”
She shook her head. “I told you there was something wrong. While you were gallivanting all over the world with your little whore, I had the baby checked out. Turns out there was a 5 percent chance it would’ve been born with birth defects.”
“What the hell are you talking about? Dr. Franklin never mentioned anything?—”
“She wanted me to wait and see,” Ashley sneered.
“As if I wanted to be saddled with a defective kid. I really don’t know why I chose to overlook the fact that you’re not normal.
I think I fooled myself into thinking you were worth considering for a relationship.
I supposed after Taylor died, I panicked.
I was the last of my family. It made me forget that there’s something broken in you.
Hell, your genes aren’t even up to creating anything but a deformed baby! ”
He sucked in a shocked breath. “My God, are you for real?”
“I don’t know what my brother saw in you, but before he died, he convinced me to give you a second chance.
God, how I wish I hadn’t. I’ve wasted far too much time on you.
I’m going back to New York. You can carry on hiding away here where everyone around you is just as depraved as you are.
Was that the attraction to moving into this godforsaken city in the first place? ” she mocked .
“For the love of Christ, do you hear yourself? Are you even sorry for anything you’ve done?”
Her smile held razor-sharp calculation. “I have nothing to be sorry for. You didn’t want me here. I’ll get out of your hair as soon as we reach a financial understanding.”
Noah waited for the punch line. None came. “You really are serious, aren’t you?”
“As a heart attack. You’ve ruined my life for long enough. I’m not going to go quietly into the night.” She folded her hands calmly over the satin sheet.
“Oh no?” He smiled. And it must have been one worthy of a horror flick because she recoiled just a tiny bit and lost a little of her bravado. Keeping his eyes on her, he withdrew his phone from his pocket. His call was answered immediately. “Sam, can you come in please?”
Sam walked in with Leia. Ashley’s face turned more vicious. “Ah, there’s your little trollop.” She tilted her head to get a better view of Leia. “I hear your warehouse burned to the ground, taking all your ghastly collection with it. What a shame.”
Noah froze.
Leia stepped beside him. “How the hell did you know about that?” she asked.
Ashley flicked her hand. “Word gets around…”
“No, it doesn’t. Only a handful of people know what happened at the manufacturer’s in Singapore,” Leia said.
“Singapore? But the guy Warren had me bribe was in Hong—” She froze, her eyes widening in consternation before she clamped her mouth shut.
“Gotcha,” Leia murmured with a smile.
Noah kept his eyes on the vile creature perched on the bed. “Sam, did you catch that?”
“I did. ”
“Do you also remember how we decided to go easy on Ashley because she was carrying my child?”
“I do.”
“Consider that request unquestionably revoked. Throw the book at her. Everything you have. Oh, and ideally, I want her arrested and charged within the hour.”
Ashley gasped, her eyes rounding as she lost all color. “You can’t!”
“Watch me. And Sam, I think Leia will have charges of her own to add. I’ll have my PI dig up some details for you within the next twenty-four hours.”
“Understood,” Sam replied. “I’ll go tell the administrator that she’s not allowed to leave. I’ll make sure he organizes enough security so she doesn’t accidentally find her way out of this charming facility.”
“Noah! Let’s talk about this?—”
He took Leia’s hand and headed toward the door.
“You can’t do this!” Her voice trembled.
Against his better judgment, he turned around. Despite the fake tears streaming down her face, her eyes shot pure venom at him. He opened his mouth to speak, but Leia beat him to it.
“I told you that you were stupid to try and come after something that never belonged to you in the first place. You should’ve listened to me and scurried back to New York when you had the chance. Now you get to accessorize orange jumpsuits for the next decade. Enjoy prison, bitch.”
They ordered food from Pietro’s but picked at it until it went cold. Noah couldn’t think straight. He alternated between impotent rage and a numb sense of loss. When Leia suggested an early bedtime, he nodded and walked out of the kitchen.
His skin ached, as if he’d been flayed from the inside. He undressed and got into bed, throwing his arm over his eyes.
He heard Leia walk in and undress. Craving her warmth, he turned toward her, but she was heading to the bathroom. For several minutes, he lay on his side, listening to the shower… and the faint sound of sobs.
Frowning, he rushed into the bathroom. She stood under the spray, her slender shoulders shaking.
Fear overtook every other emotion warring inside him. “Leia, baby, what’s wrong?”
She turned and clamped her arms around his waist. “I’m sorry, Noah. So, so sorry.” Her tears mingled with the spray, her eyes dark pools of sorrow.
“For God’s sake, what for?”
“This was your chance to be a father. And that… that bitch took it away from you! I’d give anything to not have you go through this.”
Noah’s throat closed up. He kissed her cheeks, her eyes, her mouth.
Tried to get himself under control enough to speak.
“Oh God, Leia. I love you. I love you so much, baby. But don’t cry for me.
I don’t deserve it. I’m the guy who doesn’t know how to mourn a baby he didn’t know existed until a month ago.
A part of me is relieved that the child will never know a mother like Ashley.
” His eyes clouded over. “I’ve been asking myself what special kind of monster that makes me for the last few hours. ”
Her hand framed his cheek. “Oh, Noah, there’s nothing wrong with you. Remember what you said to me when I blamed my mother for leaving me? What you’re feeling is human. But…” She shook her head. “I wanted this for you.” Her voice broke.
His heart splintered, for her and for him, but the healing power of love soon staunched the pain. “And we will have it. You and me. The way it should be. It may not be naturally, but we have options, baby. Many, many options.”
Her anguish started to dissipate. “I’m afraid to hope.”
“Then have faith instead. Have faith that I love you and will stop at nothing to give you your heart’s desire.”
She trembled in his arms. “I can do faith, and I can certainly do the loving you back thing in spades.”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “Good. But to make it happen, we need to do things in the right order, baby.”
Her eyes returned to the alluring shade of grey, which had captured his heart, body and mind the moment he saw her. “What order is that?”
“First, I fuck you, right here, right now. Then I get on my knees and ask you to marry me. You say yes. Then I fuck you again. Then we get engaged, have lots and lots of sex between then and whenever we decide to get married… and when we’re ready, we decide how to have a baby.”
She tilted her head to one side, her eyes shining. “I really want to find a flaw in that plan…”
He smiled. “But?”
“But I can’t,” she whispered and curled her arms around his neck.