Bait: Alpha Billionaire Romance Boxed Set (26 page)

Chapter 20

Nolan

“Stop being a lawyer for five seconds and listen to me,” I yelled at her. “This isn’t court so there’s no need to argue your case. I’m not on trial here.”

But I was. On trial with myself and I’d already rendered the guilty verdict.

She stared at me, hair flat against her forehead and neck, sopping from the rain. Shit, she’d catch her death of cold in this; we needed to go inside. In spite of the drowned rat look, Charlene de Monaco had never looked more beautiful.

“Come with me to the car,” I pleaded as I held out a wrinkled and blue hand to Charlie, begging her with my eyes. Take the damn hand, woman. It’s a lifeline. “Let’s talk about this.”

Charlie didn’t move to close the gap between us. She didn’t move closer to me; she didn’t drop her bag. She was so distant, her eyes peppered me with icicles and fear curled around my heart, squeezing and constricting the blood flow. What if she ran after all? What if my words meant nothing to her, and she left me anyway?

“Charlie, I love you.”

“You don’t get to say that to me,” she replied, shaking her head. Water flew from her long hair and streamed down her cheeks. I couldn’t tell whether it was from the rain or her crying. “You never get to say that again. I won’t be manipulated by you this time, Nolan Banks.”

“I didn’t manipulate you, and I didn’t lie about my feelings.”

“Why should I believe anything you have to say?” she screamed. Cars drove past, bright lights hazed by the spattering rain. Their wheels sluiced water onto the sidewalk. “You headhunted me for your bed like I was a common hooker.”

“It wasn’t like that,” I said, gulping for air and getting rain instead. “I didn’t pick you out of a line of headshots and decide I wanted to fuck you.”

“Oh yeah? Then explain it to me. How and when did you decide that I was the one you wanted to hire into the legal department at Banks for The Grant Project?” She stepped forward a few paces, closer than we’d been this entire time. “And why?”

“My dad’s company wanted to give something back to graduates, so he partnered with a few other large businesses to set up the scholarship fund. For lawyers only.”

“Yeah, I get that part,” she said, hands on her curvy hips and head tilted to the side.

“Right. Yeah,” I said and ran my fingers through my sopping wet hair. I shoved them in my pockets to keep from reaching for her. “He asked me to listen in on a couple of those interview tapes. You remember that day, don’t you? You gave this impassioned speech about helping others.”

“Social entrepreneurship,” she replied. “I remember.”

I nodded once. “My dad couldn’t attend, so I went instead, except I was late.” Typical of me, of course. Late to an important event because I’d been screwing some chick in the back of the limo. Making her scream my name and then not even remembering hers when I dropped her off at the curb in front of her walk-up.

I’d felt sleazy afterwards, disgusted with myself. And then I’d walked in on Charlie’s speech and it had been like my dark soul had flooded with light. For the first time in my life, I felt like I could be a part of something. Like I could be a part of
her
.

“You were amazing. Jesus, Charlie, you were so passionate. You spoke with conviction, and I knew in that moment I had to meet you. To see if it translated into real life from the cold, flatness of the videotape.” I bowed my head to hide my embarrassment. “Maybe that’s crazy, but that’s who I am. I saw you, and I wanted to know who you were. As a person and as a woman. Never as a lawyer. But it was more than that.”

She was quiet for a couple moments, just staring at me with those gorgeous eyes, lips slightly parted. “How? How was it different? How was it more?”

“I went home, and I couldn’t get you out of my mind. I researched you, I watched your progress once you’d gotten the scholarship, and then I reached out to a local headhunter and I made sure she hired you for Banks Realty. I would have done anything. Paid anything.”

“That’s creepy, Nolan,” she said, her eyes narrowed, raindrops moistening her lush eyelashes.

“I know. I became obsessed with you. Your light shone like a beacon, and I couldn’t think straight. And fuck it, even though I knew it was wrong, I stalked the hell out of you.” Man, she’d definitely run now. She’d probably think I was a serious psycho stalker. “Because every time I saw you, I
felt
something. Something other than numb and dead.”

Charlie didn’t run away this time, even after my deepest, darkest confession. She stared at me, waiting for more of an explanation. Giving me a chance I didn’t deserve.

“Then you arrived in the office, and I tried to stay away. I tried to reason with myself. Shit, I even called myself crazy for wanting you, for pulling you toward me. But I couldn’t stay away.” I choked up for a second, pounding my fist into my palm. For the first time in my life since Reese Littleton had hit me in the arm with a baseball bat in the third grade, shattering my wrist, I cried. Rivulets of tears mixed with the raindrops. “I still can’t stay away.”

“Why?” she whispered. I couldn’t hear the melodic tones of her velvety voice, but I could read her lips. She stood still. Immobile.

Was there hope?

“Because I’ve loved you since the moment I saw you,” I screamed, ignoring the honk of a passing taxi as he sprayed dirty rainwater on my leather lace-ups. “And not because I wanted to fuck you or pick your brain for Banks Realty. Because of your soul.”

She shook her head and sobbed, shoulders shaking. I couldn’t wait one second longer. I reached out my hands and placed them on either side of her neck, tipping her head back to lock eyes with mine. She needed to see my sincerity.

“Charlie, you shine. You don’t even realize how brightly. Like the fucking northern lights in Svalbard. You’ve been through so much shit in your life, and you’ve clawed your way to the top in spite of everything. Can you blame me for wanting to be a part of that?”

“I don’t know what to say,” she said, trembling now, not only her shoulders but her entire, beautiful body.

“Do you blame me for wanting to cling to you? Shit, that’s the wrong way to phrase it.” The rain had let up slightly. It was a drizzle now instead of a downpour, and the thunder had faded to background drum rolls. “You’re a rocket, Charlie. You’re waiting to launch into the stratosphere, and the only thing that’s holding you back is self-doubt.”

She stumbled towards me, and I dropped my arms so I could wrap them around her and plastered her wet forehead with kisses.

“I love you,” I whispered fiercely. “I loved you before I knew who you truly were, and now that I know you, I love you even more. Please, give me a chance to prove it.”

She looked up at me, raindrops dripping from the tip of her nose. “Okay.”

I pressed my lips against hers, and we melted into each other as I’d dreamed from the start. My heart opened. It soared. Everything was out in the open now. All the secrets and fears.

Our first true kiss. And Charlie smiled. This smile was so open and real, so filled with relief and pleasure that I felt it had been created only for me. This woman I loved had never looked this way for anyone else and she never would again. I drank the expression in, holding it inside my heart and soul.

Finally, I broke away from her and dropped to my knees, soaking my pants in a puddle as I held her hands. I looked up at her. “Be mine, now and always.”

“Nolan?”

“Marry me,” I said, trying to make her understand everything I felt for her in the words. “For real this time.”

For a brief yet powerful moment, one word flashed through my mind.

Forever.

Chapter 21

Charlie

I ended up in Hawaii after all. The irony of that was too strong to ignore, but instead of hating every second in the sun, I basked in it, standing beneath the shade of the hotel veranda, staring at the distant arch on the beach.

“You look gorgeous, sweet girl,” Dad drawled, stepping up beside me. He offered his arm, and I drew in a deep breath.

My plain white dress flowed around my ankles. I’d picked an obscure designer, Josie McDermott. A woman who’d been homeless until five short years ago and raised by her single mother. I’d felt a kinship with her when I’d seen her story on
Entertainment Tonight.
She’d gotten a shot during New York Fashion Week, and I’d solidified it by having her design my wedding gown. It was important to me to pay it forward. I didn’t need Vera Wang, I needed a meaningful moment with the man I loved on our wedding day.

The string quartet started the music, a haunting melody of love and loss, and my stomach clenched tight. Okay, maybe I was a little nervous for this moment but only because I’d never expected to reach it.

This wasn’t fake. The engagement ring on my finger was elegant and less ostentatious than the canary original. A perfect representation of our love. The emotion in my heart overflowed at the thought of Nolan.

“It’s time, love.” Dad stroked my forearm. “You’ll always be my daughter, you know that right? You’ll always be my girl. I’m so proud of you, Charlie. From where you’ve been to where you’ve now arrived. It’s nothing short of a miracle.”

“And you’ll always be my favorite guy,” I replied. “No matter what.”

He tugged my arm to start me down the aisle, but I held him back for a moment. Nolan and I had agreed that this was the perfect moment to tell him the truth.

“Honey, you can’t be late to your own wedding. I’m sure the groom is itching to marry you. And who could blame him? I’ve never seen a woman as beautiful as you are today. Except, maybe, your mother.”

“He can wait a second longer,” I said and grabbed both my dad’s hands. I looked into his eyes, making sure I had his focus. “Dad, Nolan and I have done a lot of talking about you lately.”

“Uh oh,” Frank said and pulled a goofy dad face. “Am I in trouble?”

“I know you don’t take handouts, but we want you closer to us. Closer to home. We’ve bought you an apartment in Manhattan. It’s close to our place, within walking distance actually. You’ll be able to retire or take up a hobby. Start a new business, even. Intern at Banks Realty. Anything you want.” If I knew my dad, he wouldn’t settle for sitting around at home all day. He’d want to get out there and do something with his life.

“You’re kidding,” Dad said. “Charlie, don’t you kid around with me like this.”

“Dad, I’m totally not kidding. I need you close by, and Nolan wants to get to know you better. Will you agree to this? It would make us both so happy.”

Dad welled up and cleared his throat, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down in an effort to dismiss the emotion. “Of course. I’d be honored. Thank you. But I’ll pay you back. It’s just a loan, okay? You know Frank de Monaco doesn’t accept handouts.”

I nodded as we embraced and then finally turned to face the arch. “Now, I’m ready.”

Dad guided me down the aisle at a slow pace, and I gazed ahead to lock eyes with Nolan. He stood beneath the arch, overflowing with lavender orchids, beaming from ear to ear. He wore a beige linen suit and looked like… well, looked like only Nolan Banks could. Dreamy. I drank him in, mentally sketching a portrait of him this way so I would always have it with me.

Chase was his best man, standing off to one side with a smile and those perpetually sad eyes. I took a second to send up a prayer that another woman would come along to pull him from the depths of his heartache over his former fiancée. I glanced over at Melissa, who was beaming at me. Hmm… maybe those two could hook up.

We reached the altar where the minister stood in his white robe, and Nolan stepped down to take my hand from Dad. Their gazes met for a brief moment. Dad nodded, and Nolan bowed his head in deference. Then it was the moment every girl fantasizes about, and I was up the step, holding hands with the man I loved underneath an arch decorated with delicate native blossoms from this lush paradise.

The ocean washed the white sand beach behind us, a gentle hush of waves to lull us underneath the brilliant afternoon sun.

But I only had eyes for Nolan Banks. And he only had eyes for me.

“This is it,” he whispered. “Do you think you can handle me for life, Charlene de Monaco?”

“I’ll handle you so well you won’t even know you’re being handled,” I replied with a flirty wink.

The minister walked us through the ceremony, and we spoke words of true love to each other. Ones we’d written ourselves.

“I do.”

“I do too,” Nolan said on the minister’s prompting.

“You may now kiss your beautiful bride, Nolan Banks.”

“He doesn’t need your permission,” I replied with a wink, “only mine.”

The guests cracked up laughing, while Nolan swept me into his embrace and kissed my lips. A soft, sweet kiss that promised everything. An entire lifetime. We remained locked there for long, precious moments.

Finally, when we broke apart, it was to the sight of people dabbing at their eyes. Even Anne Banks had a tissue to her eyes, if only for the briefest second. Probably more despair than anything, but I didn’t care. She and I had come to an understanding after her confrontation with her husband and son. She could accept me or be out of our lives. She was trying, and I was giving her a chance. Or maybe seeing Jasmine tossed behind bars made her see the errors of her ways.

Maybe.

“All right,” Nolan said, “now let’s party.”

“You better believe it,” I replied, amped for the first time in months. We walked back down the aisle while the guests stood, clapping on either side of us. There was Robert Raminsky and his wife, beaming from their white wooden folding chairs. Grantham Banks shook his son’s hand, then kissed the back of mine.

We reached the back doors of the hotel and strode towards the reception area.

Nolan stopped me before I made two steps in the right direction. He hugged me to his chest and kissed the top of my forehead, then looked into my eyes.

“Let’s blow off the reception,” he murmured. “After the cake cutting, of course.”

“We couldn’t do that,” I whispered. “The wedding planner will go into a coronary event.”

His grin was beautiful and did interesting things deep inside my belly. “Yeah, we can. We can do anything we want, Mrs. Banks. It’s our party, remember?” He led me towards the stairs, caressing my palms with his fingertips.

“Don’t call me Mrs. Banks,” I teased with a chuckle. “That’s your mother.”

“Okay,” he swept me into his arms for a searing kiss. “Mrs. Nolan Banks.”

I nodded, liking the sound of it. I was his, and he was mine.

Nolan held my heart. Now and for always.