Page 55 of After-Party Consequences

‘Yeah, I did, because I wanted Montague’s for personal reasons which I now know were pretty misguided.’

‘What reasons?’ she asked. Was it possible that Cade had had really compelling reasons too? Personal reasons? But even if he did, how could that absolve him? And why was she still making excuses for him?

Adam interrupted her panicked justifications. ‘I wanted to get it back because I thought I was to blame for Mum’s suicide.’

‘What?’ Charley’s heart lurched in her chest at the flash of pain in his expression. ‘But...whywould you think that?’

He sat back down next to her and took her hands in his. ‘That’s not the point, Charley. The point is I don’t think that any more. Ella made me realise her suicide wasn’t my fault. Any more than it wasyourfault that both our parents ignored you growing up.’

‘Okay,’ she said, surprised at his intuition...but also strangely empowered by the bold statement. He was right. A part of herhadalways believed it was her fault. And she supposed she had internalised that hurt, that feeling of rejection. But how did Adam know? Then again, Adam did seem different today. Not just more relaxed and a lot less guarded, but also surprisingly emotionally astute. ‘Who’s Ella?’ she asked, wondering if this woman she had never heard of had something to do with it.

Flags of colour appeared on his cheeks. ‘It’s a long story...and I’d like you to meet her.Soon,’ he said forcefully. But before she could get over her shock—was her commitment-phobic brother actually in love?—he squeezed her fingers and added, ‘I think we should focus on Cade first. And how exactly we’re going to make him pay for this...’

‘There is nowe, Adam.’ She tugged her hands out of her brother’s grip. And stood up. Her legs were still shaky, her insides twisted into hard, greasy knots. But Adam’s support had finally made her realise something important. They hadboth been failed by their parents. And she’d carried that subconscious belief—that she needed to earn approval and attention, because she didn’t deserve it—ever since she was a child. Did that explain why she’d been such a coward this past week, too...? Dissolving into tears and recriminations and blaming herself for Cade’s desertion, without ever really wondering why he’d left?

She had let him walk. She hadn’t fought. She hadn’t even asked for an explanation. Because deep down she’d blamed herself, still believing that she was essentially unlovable. But if he had done what Adam suspected him of doing—said he wanted this baby just to win a bet...she wanted to know so she could start the long slow process of getting over him. Because if he had, he had never been the man she had fallen in love with—not even close. And the only way to do that was to suck up her pride—and her pain—and confront him. Before she lost her nerve.

‘This is my life, and I plan to sort it out,’ she added, because Adam was still looking at her with sympathy in his eyes. ‘On my own.’

She’d been so scared she wouldn’t be good enough to be a mother. Scared she couldn’t handle it alone. Terrified of coming to rely on Cade. So that when she had fallen in love and he hadn’t loved her back, she’d convinced herself—just like she had as a little girl—that it was her fault, her mistake somehow. But she could see now, whatever Cade’s motives, she hadn’t been wrong to fall for him. She had simply been wrong not to ensure he deserved her love.

To her surprise, instead of arguing with her or doubting her ability to go it alone, Adam simply nodded. ‘Okay, Charley,’ he said. ‘I hope you give him hell,’ he finished with a solidarity he had never shown her before.

Whoever you are, Ella, I love you already.

‘Don’t worry, I will,’ she said, feeling stronger now than she had.

As she left Adam’s office and called a cab to take her to Landry Construction’s offices uptown, she realised that whatever Cade’s motives turned out to be, she would be okay.

The bottom had dropped out of her world. But she wasn’t the one running away. Not this time. That would be Cade.

And not only did she deserve answers from him about why he was running, she also deserved to be loved. And no one was going to convince her otherwise...

Not any more.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

‘MRLANDRY? Miss Courtney is here to see you.’

Cade’s gaze rose from his laptop, propelled by the surge of emotion at the mention of Charlotte’s name.

‘Charlotte’s here?’ he managed, before the woman herself—the woman who had haunted every one of his dreams and all his nightmares for a week, the woman who he’d had to stop himself returning to a hundred times—marched into the space behind his executive assistant, Grady.

‘Yes, Mr Landry...’ The young man glanced round, only to be mowed down by Charlotte. ‘I’m sorry, Miss...’

‘Thank you so much, Grady,’ she cut the poor kid’s protests off at the knees.

Cade stood and came out from behind his desk.

The emotion turned to pride and a powerful sense of relief. The stunned sadness of a week ago was gone. The sadness he’d caused and hadn’t been able to forgive himself for.

‘Please, Miss...’ Grady began.

‘It’s okay, Grady,’ he said, finally managing to find his voice around the tight, painful feeling in his throat. ‘Leave us alone and hold all my calls.’

He hadn’t meant to hurt her. But he knew he had. It was just one of the things that had tortured him—the guilt as well as the longing.

Grady left the room and closed the door behind him.

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