Page 53 of Her Diamond Deal with the CEO

‘You do?’ He seemed stunned. And it hurt that he should feel that way. That he had been hurt so often, so badly. But it was never going to happen again, she thought fiercely. She wasn’t going to let it happen. And it was in that moment as she squared up to the world that it hit her.

She loved him. And just thinking it made her heart blossom like a flower.

Pressing her forehead against his, she closed her eyes, accepting the truth. Duty had sent her thundering into the water, but love was the reason she had taught him to swim. And why she had forced him to stay at the polo. She wanted what was best for him. She wanted him to be happy.

Only Jack wasn’t talking about love. He was talking about making things work, and if her two previous marriages had taught her anything, it was that love had to be mutual.

She took a breath. ‘We can make this work. We will make it work.’

He slid down beside her and they held each other close for a long time. At first, it wasn’t about sex. It was about knowing that they had each other. But then she pressed a kiss to his mouth, and he was kissing her back. They didn’t take off their clothes or get onto the bed. He pulled up her skirt and lifted her onto his lap and pushed into her.

Afterwards, she rested her head against his shoulder, feeling his shuddering heart until, finally, he loosened his arms. Tipping her off his lap, he got to his feet. ‘I’m going to go speak to the pilot.’ Leaning forward, he kissed her softly on the mouth. ‘I need to give them enough time to change course.’

‘Change course?’ She frowned. ‘Aren’t we going back to the island?’

‘Whydah wasn’t for real. It was just a honeymoon.’ His dark gold eyes fixed on her face. ‘This is real life now.’

‘So where are we going?’

‘To New York.’ He reached down and pulled her to her feet. Now his hands cupped her belly. ‘We’re going home.’

Flicking on the TV, Jack stared at the screen dazedly, watching the news ticker slide across the bottom. He felt as if he had woken from a deep sleep to find that, incredibly, the world had kept spinning and people were going on with their lives. But up here in his apartment, that all felt like a charade. And yes, the irony of that was not lost on him.

He had left Ondine in the pool to come downstairs and make breakfast. Not personally. He wasn’t sure he’d ever switched on the stove before. But he was an expert at ordering breakfast. And maybe he could learn to cook. It was not something he’d considered doing before but that was the difference between the old Jack and the new. Things that had previously been off-limits felt possible, achievable. Like learning to swim. Or being a father. Ondine had made him realise that he had choices. That he wasn’t condemned to staying the same.

Two days had passed since they had landed in New York. They had spent almost the entire time in bed, neither of them quite ready to leave the honeymoon behind. But then, they’d realised that they didn’t have to. That it wasn’t an either/or situation.

His fingers bit into the kitchen counter. Given a choice, both his parents would have opted for the other to keep him. And arriving in New York, he’d wondered why he had been so compelled to admit that to Ondine. He’d never told anyone about his childhood before. He’d felt too ashamed and scared that once they knew the real Jack Walcott they too would turn away like his parents. That they would see that he wasn’t worth loving. Worth keeping.

But Ondine hadn’t turned away, he thought, remembering that blaze of outrage in her eyes. She hadn’t sided with his parents. She had stayed and listened and held him and then she’d told him she wanted him in her life and the baby’s.

His heart beat lightly inside his chest. The baby. His baby. Their child. Ondine had been right. It was a miracle. Not just her getting pregnant against all the odds, but this new-found belief that he could be a father. A hands-on dad.

And believing that to be possible had rubbed away the last of the jagged edges. There were still bad memories, but they felt distant and softer now, as if he were looking at them through water. And he felt calmer, even when he was on his own, and that was the litmus test. Usually, he couldn’t bear to be by himself, but right now, he was enjoying the quiet of the apartment. It meant he could hear the distant back and forth of the traffic; it reminded him of the sea around Whydah.

And Whydah made him think about Ondine. But that was hardly surprising. She was in his thoughts all the time.

When he could actually hold a thought.

His breath caught in his throat, his body tightening as he remembered the soft, choking noises she’d made as she’d shuddered against his mouth earlier. He wanted her all the time. Wanted her so badly it made his bones ache. But it wasn’t just the sex. They had talked about her life with Oli, about her parents and her childhood. And he had told her about where he liked to buy bagels. And about walking the High Line. And the bar where they made their own spiced nuts. Nothing was off-limits. They shared everything.

Jack frowned. Something was buzzing. Not his phone. He glanced at the oven warily, and then he spotted Ondine’s phone at the other end of the counter.

Glancing at the name on the screen, he felt a jolt of anticipation.

It was Oliver. For a moment, he hesitated. They hadn’t been formally introduced yet, but he knew that she wanted him to like her brother and it would make her happy to come down and find the two of them getting on.

He tapped the screen. There was a slight lag, and he wondered momentarily what time it was in Costa Rica, and then Oliver’s face appeared, young, grinning, relaxed, excited—

‘Hi, On—’ His smile froze, then faded a fraction as he saw Jack.

‘Oh, I’m sorry, I thought you were—’

‘Ondine.’ Jack smiled. ‘She’s at the pool but she should be down any minute.’

He watched in amusement as Oliver slapped his forehead with the flat of his hand. ‘I thought I’d catch her before she went to work.’ His face stiffened. ‘You’re not her boss, are you?’

It took Jack longer than it should have to make sense of what Oliver was asking. But he didn’t understand what he had heard. Or perhaps he had misheard it. It was the only explanation, because Oliver must know that Ondine had left Whitecaps months ago. And why hadn’t he recognised him? Even without the name on screen, he would know instantly who Oli was.

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