Page 53 of Taming a Heartbreaker

“Unless you lied to me yesterday when you admitted to being in love with her, I can think of a number of reasons why you shouldn’t be leaving. Did you tell her how you felt about her?”

A part of him wished he hadn’t confessed his feelings about Carmen to Sloan. “No, I didn’t tell her. She didn’t give me the chance. She said there was no reason for me to stay, and she asked me to leave.”

“I still think you should have let her know how you feel, Redford.”

“Evidently, you didn’t hear what I said, Sloan. She all but asked me to leave.”

“Did she ask you to leave or suggest that you leave?”

Redford rolled his eyes. “What difference does it makes?”

“A big difference since the two are not the same. Do I need to remind you that Carmen thought she was your soulmate and you broke her heart when she discovered that she wasn’t? I suspect she’s trying to protect herself from further heartbreak since you haven’t told her that you have fallen in love with her. All I’m saying is that miscommunication can destroy a relationship. Trust me, I know. You remember what happened to me and Leslie for those ten years.”

Yes, Redford thought. He remembered. He and Tyler had tried a number of times to get Sloan to go to Leslie and straighten things out, but he had refused to do so. “I don’t think confessing how I feel to her is a good thing now.”

“Would it ever have been a good time for you?”

Redford frowned. “What does that mean?”

“You’ve been protecting your heart for years. Maybe it’s time to let go.”

Redford released a deep breath. “I had let go. In fact, I had intended to tell Carmen last night. But she suggested I leave before I had a chance to do so.”

“You should have done so anyway. I think you’re making a mistake by not sharing your true feelings with her. And knowing Carmen like I do, I suspect she’s doing something else, too.”

“Something else like what?” he asked.

“Giving you an out. Maybe the reason she said you should leave was so you wouldn’t feel bad about leaving her when you did so.”

Redford hadn’t thought of that possibility. “I hadn’t given Carmen any reason to think I was leaving or that I wanted to leave.” Had he?

“Well, I still think you’re making a mistake. Safe travels back to Alaska, Redford.”

“Thanks.”

After disconnecting the call, he again racked his brain. Had he given Carmen any reason to think he had wanted to leave? He then recalled the phone conversation with his vice president yesterday morning while Carmen had been in the shower. Had she overheard it and assumed those were his plans? He’d discovered showers had ears. Leslie had assumed Sloan had been in the shower when he’d overheard her conversation with Carmen about her pregnancy.

“Mr. St. James, I just got notification from the tower,” his pilot broke into his thoughts to say. “We’ll be ready to takeoff in ten minutes.”

Redford placed down the bottle of bourbon he was about to pour into a glass. He pushed the button to the intercom on the wall. “I’ve changed my mind about leaving, Todd.”

Carmen adjusted the earbuds while walking and talking to her sister. “We miss having you spend the summer here with us, Carmen. I hope you got a lot of writing done.”

Releasing a deep breath, she wanted to let her sister know she had something to tell her, but she decided to wait until Chandra returned to the States. Instead of responding to what her sister had said, she asked, “Will Mom and Dad be coming back with you guys for a short visit?”

“Yes. They plan to take a cruise out of Florida before returning to Cape Town in September. We should be back in Atlanta in two weeks.”

“I plan to come visit. I miss you guys.”

“And we miss you, too. It wasn’t the same without you.”

Carmen rounded the corner to where her townhouse was located and slowed her pace when she saw Redford getting out of the same private car he’d left in a few hours ago. “Chandra, I’ll call you back later,” she said quickly, clicking off the phone.

She increased her steps when she saw him heading toward her front door. He no longer had a key since he’d returned it before leaving. “Redford?” she called out to him. “What happened? Did you forget something?” she asked, joining him on the porch and then opening the door.

“Yes, I forgot something.”

“Oh.” She figured it must have been important for him to come back for it when she’d agreed to send him anything he had left behind.

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