Page 53 of A Lone Star Love Affair
A muscle worked in his jaw and his eyes blazed with anger, yet she could still see desire. She suspected if she told him to tear up the letter and she would move in, it would clear everything instantly. She was still tempted to do so. She wanted to walk into his arms and kiss him, be held and to love him for hours, as they had done not so long ago.
“Why?” he asked.
“I can’t work around you. I can’t keep my mind on my work. I can’t focus. I can’t think about the job because I miss you. I remember moments with you, shared laughter, our long phone calls. I miss you every hour of the day and the nights are far worse. I can’t stop thinking about when we were together. I can’t stop missing you. You asked and there it is.”
“Damn,” he snapped. “Why are you doing this to yourself and to both of us? Maybe I’m falling in love. You’re jumping to conclusions about a future that you really know nothing about. Nobody knows the future.”
“I may be, Tony. But this is what I have to do. I haven’t changed and neither have you. I want marriage to a man dedicated to his family. I want his main goal in life to be his family—the kids he raises, his marriage. Go make your billions. I want simpler things. I want to love a man who loves me in return and who loves his kids and puts us all first in his life.”
“How can you do that and say you’re in love with me? Why are you doing this to us? Ambition isn’t a sin. Most women would welcome that I’m hardworking and successful. Since when are those two qualities bad?”
“They’re wonderful qualities in the right perspective. When they dominate all else, including your love for your family, that’s when it’s out of balance. That’s what I don’t want any part of. I’ve seen what it does to a family. Sorry, Tony.”
“Dammit, Isabelle.” He pulled her close to kiss her hard and long. She returned his kiss, lost in passion, crying, torn by conflicting emotions of love and loss. He released her abruptly. She opened her eyes slowly to watch him studying her.
“You’re crying. You kiss with passion that sets me ablaze. You’ve told me you love me. Stop fighting what you know you want with all your being.”
“I will not. I know what the price might be.”
“All right, Isabelle. Take the new job. Go your own way. You don’t want me in your life, go find happiness somewhere else,” he snapped, striding past her to open his office door and hold it, waiting for her to exit.
She drew a deep breath and left his office, knowing she was walking out of his life.
She wanted him right now even with the harsh words. He was hurt and angry, totally unaccustomed to defeat or rejection. Tears threatened and she wanted out of the office, away from people she worked with, away from Tony.
She hurt all over. She had resigned from a wonderful job. Told Tony she didn’t want to continue seeing him. She loved him and those actions hurt, yet she was certain she had taken the only course she could live with. She remembered all the times her friend had bitterly complained about the absence of her father. She didn’t want that for herself or her children and she knew she would never be happy with that kind of life and taking a role secondary to Tony’s success in business. To become a billionaire in the next few years would take intense dedication. Some women could accept that kind of life. Some preferred it. She didn’t. It was personal preference and she had made her decision.
She stepped outside, gulping air, letting the tears come as she rushed to her car to climb inside.
Driving home, she tried to stop thinking about Tony and keep her mind on her driving.
Finally, she was in the haven of her condo. She threw herself on her sofa to cry, trying to give vent to the hurt and hoping she could pour it out and get over it and get over him. Better now than later.
She wondered whether he really cared and how long it would take him to forget her.
She made plans to take some time between jobs to regain her composure. She couldn’t start a new job in the state she was in at present because her concentration was gone. She had asked Irwin for time and she decided now to get out of Dallas, far away, with a change of scenery and try to get her emotions under control and adjust to telling Tony goodbye.
Her family knew a little about her problems and the new job and they were hovering over her with good intentions, but she wanted some time alone. Her condo and plants would be fine for a week.
After searching through brochures and talking to a travel agent, she flew to Alabama because of the attractive beach resort the travel agent found. Isabelle rented a small house on the Gulf where she could have solitude and try to get over Tony, wondering if she ever would in a lifetime. She could imagine he would throw himself into work until another woman interested him.
For the next few weeks Tony poured himself into work, traveling and spending the rest of March away from Dallas. The more time that passed, the more he missed Isabelle. The first week of April on a Sunday afternoon he received a text from Sydney telling him that she had seen their parents, who were furious with her. He asked Sydney to come by if she had time, and in an hour she was at his house.
“Come in, Syd. You look great,” he said, meaning it. His sister had regained some weight. Her cheeks were rosy and, to his relief, she looked radiantly happy.
“Thanks, Tony. You don’t look so hot yourself. Are you sick?”
“No, I’m not sick. Just busy,” he snapped, growing more annoyed with each person who asked how he was feeling or told him he looked as if he had caught something. “Whatever Dad and Mom said, you don’t look as if it’s crushed you.”
“I love Dylan and they’re not taking that from me again,” she replied.
“Let’s sit in the family room.”
“I can’t stay. I’m meeting Dylan, but I wanted to stop by and tell you about seeing Mom and Dad.”
“So is Dad still threatening all the same things?”
“Yes, and he’s angry that we’ve learned the truth about what he did. Actually, I think he’s embarrassed that he got caught.”
