Bedding the Billionaire (Book 3) (Legacy Collection) (35 page)

“I can’t really blame her.
She thought
her mother
was dead.”
Lil found it difficult to find any sympathy for a woman who had deserted her children and faked her own death to protect hersel
f.

Abby said,
“We’re only on this planet for so long, Lil.
Life is too s
hort and too precious to
nurture old injuries.
Sometimes it’s better to just let it go so you can heal.
”

Oh, really?
This claim needed to be tested.

“That means you’ve completely forgiven me for totaling your first car?”

A slight red filled Abby’s cheeks.
“The one I had finally paid off and could have driven for free for years if you hadn’t taken it for a joyride before you had your driver
’
s license?”

Perhaps that had been the wrong injury to resurrect.
“When you say it like that, it
does sound
awful.”

Abby patted one of Lil’s shoulders in mock support.
“I’ve forgiven you, but that doesn’t mean I won’t
enjoy
watching Colby put you through your paces.”

“That hurts,” Lil laughed.

“The truth often does,” Abby joked back.

Lil sobered and asked, “We’re ok
ay
, right, Abby?”

Abby hugged her sister one last time and used a line that she’d started
saying
when she’d taken over the household and
had
continued to
sprinkle into many of their disagree
ments over the years.
“Always
better together.”

Tears welled and spilled
down Lil’s cheeks.
Oh, how she’d mocked Abby
over the years
for
voicing
that mantra
whenever things
had
got
ten
dicey between them.
Today
, s
he finally heard
something in those words that
she’d
thought Abby had never said.
It
made her feel both ashamed of how she’d taken her sister for granted and grateful that somehow Abby had loved her through it all.

For the first time, Lil repeated the words
in agreement
, “Always better together.”

Her normally composed sister hugged her tighter and burst into tears.

Happy tears.

Cleansing tears.

“About that car,” Lil added to lighten the mood.

Abby
pulled back slightly and smiled even as she wiped her wet cheeks.
“Still going to
enjoy your pain
.”

“I love you, too, Abby.” Lil meant to say
the words
with some sarcasm, but they came out as a heartfelt declaration.

Abby’s smile widened
and she stood, offering a hand to her sister
. “I know, Lil. Now, let’s go pick out which dress you’re going to wear for the big party tomorrow night.
We’ll
see if we have the same definition of
smoking
hot.
”

Later that night Lil was choosing a book
to
read to Colby.
She picked up and dismissed each from the selection she had packed.
Finally, she settled Colby onto her lap with only a bottle and said, “From now on we’re going to read alphabet books instead of this junk. None of these books prepare you for real life.
It’s never as easy as having the
right sized foot
,
m
en do not fall in love with you beca
use they hear you sing one song, a
nd if seven men ev
er ask you to move in with them–
I want you to say no.”

Colby was more interested in her evening meal than her mother’s impromptu life lesson.

“All sound advice,” Jake said from behind her.

Lil whipped around in her seat, hearing a slight protest from Colby before she settled back with her bottle again. “What are you doing here?”

“We need to talk.”

“This is my private suite.
You can’t just come in here.”

“Do you want me to go out and knock again? You didn’t answer last time.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you.” Then she thought about it. “Wait, I’m not sorry.
If no one answers, you don’t just walk in.”

There was a bit too much
I do as I please
look in his eyes for her comfort. “You had the opportunity to talk to me downstairs.”

“Another man would
take
the hint.”

“
I’m tired of playing games, Lil.
It’s time for us to be honest.”

Honest.

Maybe he was right.
Maybe the only way to get past this was for her to tell him everything.
He wasn’t a vindictive man.
Once she explained to him that
Alethea
and Jeremy had only been tryi
ng to find out if Abby was safe–
he’d understand.

And there was a good chance that Jeremy had discovered something useful.

Abby would likely never forgive her if she went that extra step and told Jake that Dominic had invited his parents, but didn’t he deserve to know?
After all, hadn’t Jake spent the last few weeks trying to save Dominic?
 
He didn’t deserve to be
broadsided
like that.

H
onesty, here I come.

“Yes, it is,” she said. “And I have
something I need to tell you…” A
s he stepped away from the doorway and into the room Lil noticed that one of his eyes was blackened as if it had been punched. He crouched beside her chair and she touched a bruise on his jaw. “What happened to your face?”

“Dominic didn’t like the truth.”

Instant outrage filled Lil. “He beat you up?”

Oddly, Jake looked
pleased with
himself
. “I’d call it more of a tie.”

“What were you fighting about?”

There was always a chance it wasn’t about her, but she was beginning to think that telling the tr
uth might not be the best idea.
So far honesty looked painful.

“A difference of opinion…” he said.

“About?”

“Does it matter?”

“It might.”

Jake pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “Dom and I have been friends since college.
We built
Corisi
Enterprises from nothing.
I have never minded that he wanted to be the face of the company. However, sometimes he forgets that I’ve invested as much into it as he has.”

“And you punched him to remind him?”

“He swung first.
” Jake’s expression became more intimate. “
It seems that someone told him we slept together.”

Lil blushed straight down to the roots of her hair. “Yeah, about that…”

He smiled
and traced her bottom lip with a finger.
“You’re not a very good secret keeper.”

Oh, you’d be surprised.

“Jake…”

He
put a hand on either side of her chair and said,
“It doesn’t matter.
He would have found out eventually, anyway. And it doesn’t change how I feel.
I intend
to marry you, Lillian
Dartley
.”

The room spun.

Breathe.

Lil looked down at her daughter and said, “Colby, men say that to get what they want.”

Jake took Lil’s chin in his hand and
lifted
her face so she had to meet his eyes. “Boys do that, Lil, not men.”

He took her lips gently with his in a kiss like none she’d ever experienced.
It felt like–
a promise.

She pulled back and stood
, forcing him to step back
.
“Colby is tired.”

“I’ll wait.”

A wave of emotions shook her.
He’d said the marriage word again, but no mention of love.
Had Dominic told him to marry her? She was sure she didn’t want to know the answer to that question.

“I’m tired,” she said.

Although he seemed to have more to say, Jake nodded,
kissed
the top of Colby’s head softly and stepped back
.
Lil’s heart swelled in her chest
.
If it looke
d like love and acted like love–
it could be love, couldn’t it?

“
We’ll
contin
ue this conversation tomorrow.”
He walked halfway to the door and turned.
“What did you want to tell me, Lil?
You never said.”

Absolutely nothing came to mind.

Lil shrugged
awkwardly
. “I don’t remember.”

And, sadly, for just the time it took for him to leave the room
fear kept her mind blank
.

Reality returned with the click of the door closing behind him.

Colby pinched her mother’s chin. Lil looked down and smiled
at her impudence.
“Really?
You think you would have told him? I can’t wait until you’re in love with someone.
You’ll see that it’s not that easy.”

The
engagement party was held at one of Dominic’s immense country estates about thirty minutes from New York City. Lil and Abby had
gone
over
the details
with the staff in the morning to ensure that everything went smoothly.
Security
was
evident in every corner of the compound.