Chapter 22 #2
Fernsby didn’t let her get past a stammer.
Which was a good thing, since she didn’t know what to say anyway.
“Speaking of good men,” Fernsby said, “he is among the best of them. I’ve known him many years, since he was a very young man, and witnessed his dedication to his Olympic training.
He is completely focused upon attaining his goals.
And to date, he has always met them.” He swung her in a wide arc, and suddenly she could see Troy dancing with Gabby.
And watching Michaela with an avid—or fearful? —gaze.
“And now,” Fernsby went on in his dry tone, “he is singularly focused on you. I must admit that I have never seen him focused on a young woman before. Not in this way.”
“What way?” she had to ask.
But Fernsby merely raised an eyebrow.
Michaela couldn’t help the flush that rose to her cheeks. “I don’t know what to say.”
Was that a smile tipping the corners of Fernsby’s mouth? “I believe you should say that you will give the dear boy a chance to prove himself.”
Something about Fernsby brought the truth out of her. “I’m not sure. We haven’t known each other very long.”
Removing his hand from her waist as he whirled her around, Fernsby put his palm to his heart. “Sometimes it can take a mere two weeks to fall in love.” For a moment, his gaze seemed to turn inward, as though he spoke of another time, another place, another woman.
An image of Mathilda Sullivan leaped into her mind. The hug she’d given Fernsby. His near-worshipful gaze on her.
Before she could ask, Fernsby said, “Nothing may ever feel this right for you again. Don’t let fear make you walk away from a chance to love.”
It would be so automatic to deny it, to say, I’m not. But she’d kept Troy at arm’s length for weeks now. Even after he’d made love to her, she’d practically thrown him out the next morning.
Fernsby didn’t allow her to speak, allowed her only to think, as he spun her straight into Troy’s arms as if they’d practiced the move over and over. And suddenly Fernsby was dancing away with Gabby.
She was in Troy’s arms again. Just as Fernsby said, nothing had ever felt so right. Fernsby and her mother were her wise sages. Ignoring their advice could be the biggest mistake of her life.
She had to give whatever this was between her and Troy a chance.
Almost breathlessly, Michaela said, “Can we find somewhere private to talk?”
Troy’s heart stopped. If there hadn’t been enough blood already racing through his veins from all the dancing, he might have fallen to the floor at her feet.
But he wouldn’t waste this moment. Taking her hand in his, he led her off the dance floor and along the dock. As he helped her climb Matchmaker ’s steps, he said, “I know the perfect spot.”
Not wanting to be interrupted by anyone coming aboard for a little respite from the party, Troy took her to his cabin.
He locked the door, then stopped, his eyes on Michaela. “I don’t have any nefarious plans for you in here. I just don’t want anyone disturbing us.”
What he wanted from this beautiful woman was far from nefarious. But he couldn’t have her thinking he’d brought her down here to try to seduce her.
She gave him a small smile. “I’m glad you locked it,” she said, huffing out a sigh, “because it’s hard enough to say what I want to without someone barging in.”
He had no idea whether she’d send him to heaven or hell. But she was being honest with him, even showing her nerves.
She sat primly on the edge of the bed, and it was all he could do not to put his lips to the sun-kissed skin of her shoulder or her bare cleavage above the bikini top.
But he respected her desire to talk and sat on the bed beside her, close enough to feel her body heat, though not close enough to touch. He sensed she needed space.
She clasped her hands in her lap. Though she wasn’t exactly wringing them, he thought her nerves might have brought her close to it.
After a deep breath, she said, “You know my rule about not dating billionaires. And I told you I’ve dated a lot of frogs.
” She glanced up at him from beneath her lush eyelashes.
“None of them were billionaires. I’ve always said I wanted to date someone who was more like me, because my mother and I were very poor when I was young. ”
Troy knew that. “I admire how far you’ve come. Look at all the billionaires you’ve matched with their perfect someone, or their perfect property, or their perfect piece of art.” He paused for a moment. “Or their perfect yacht.”
She dipped her head, staring at her hands. And he realized she was trying not to be overwhelmed or distracted by his praise.
Finally, she met his gaze again. “You were right, you know. And so was my mother.”
He sensed the crux of her dilemma coming. In a tense situation, he would normally crack a joke, but he didn’t want to derail her.
“You said I didn’t think I was good enough to date a billionaire.
That I couldn’t fit into his lifestyle. That I couldn’t hold his interest.” She looked at her hands again, and he had to touch her.
He couldn’t stop himself. He wouldn’t stop himself, and he laid his hand over hers.
But, still, he said nothing, allowing her to get it all out.
“I never thought of my aversion to billionaires quite that way.” She shrugged.
“I always told myself it was because I didn’t want to fit into that kind of lifestyle.
” Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. “Mom and I are homebodies, bingeing romantic movies on the weekends. We don’t eat out much because she’s such a good cook.
We don’t travel much because I’m so busy.
I’ve always told myself I don’t need or want anything more.
” She closed her eyes, and the tiniest teardrop pearled on her lashes. He squeezed her hand.
She said almost in a whisper, “But you and my mom have made me see the truth. And it’s that I don’t think who I am as a person on the inside—” She put hand to her chest. “—is enough to hold a billionaire’s interest for very long. I’m too ordinary, too one-dimensional.” She sniffed. “Too boring.”
Words seemed to burst out of him. “Good God, you’re extraordinary.
With so many facets I want to learn so much more about.
How could you ever think you’re boring? I’ve never once believed you aren’t good enough for me, or any other man on the planet.
How can you not know how awesome you are?
I knew it the minute I walked into your office. ”
As her hand trembled beneath his, he felt how vulnerable she’d made herself. How much she’d put her true self on the line.
And she’d done it for him.
“That’s why I needed to say this to you. Because I want you to know this isn’t about you. It’s about me.”
Holy hell, this wasn’t a brush-off, was it? He would have to fight if it was.
But she went on, “Somehow, you’ve managed to break down every wall I’ve put up to protect myself. I’ve stopped caring about the fact that you’re a billionaire.”
Because he was the man he was, he couldn’t help asking, “But what if I’m a frog?”
Finally, finally , she put her hand to his cheek. “You are the furthest thing from a frog I’ve ever met in my entire life.”
His heart leaped as if he were that very frog jumping off his lily pad right into her lap.
“I’ve lied to myself about my feelings for you, and it hasn’t worked. I’ve had my freakouts, like the morning after you made love to me.”
Christ, did she know how much he’d needed her to call what they’d done making love ?
“I’ve even imagined my heart being broken and taking as long as Mom has for it to fully heal.
But none of that has worked. The truth is, I’ve tried everything except for actually trying .
Everything except risking my heart with you.
” Holding his gaze, that shimmer of tears still in her eyes, she whispered, “I can hardly believe I’m saying this, but would you be willing to give it a whirl with someone who’s afraid to get her heart broken? ”
He couldn’t let one more moment go by without pulling her into his arms. Her hair whispered against his lips as he said, “There’s nothing more I could ever want to do in my life than to risk my heart and everything I am with you.
You are a better woman than I could ever have wished for. Believe me. And believe in yourself.”
“I’ll try.”
He rubbed his nose against her cheek. “Don’t try. Do.”
She laughed softly then. “Said like an Olympic gold medalist and inspirational speaker. I won’t just try . I will do it.” She cupped his cheek, her eyes shining. “I think I love you, Troy.”
After a brief brush of his lips against hers, he murmured, “There’s no think for me. I love you, Michaela Killian.”
Then he kissed her with all the pent-up passion of the week they’d spent apart.