The Billionaire's Island Bride (South Shore Billionaires 3)

He dropped his hand and backed away. “I’ll be going in a couple of days. Dan and Raelynn will be here until after the holiday. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask them. Goodbye, Brooklyn.”

She couldn’t answer, not even to say goodbye. She was too dumbstruck, too floored by what he’d said. Every instinct within her wanted to shout out that he was wrong. That moving here was embracing life, the kind of life she wanted.

But deep down she knew that was a lie. He’d seen it and called her out on it.

Fine. Maybe hiding away here on the island wasn’t the right thing, but that didn’t mean jetting off to New York City was the answer, either.

Brooklyn watched him go until he was out of sight at the end of the lane, and then she went back inside. Marvin was still sleeping on his bed, and she looked around her little house. She loved it. She did feel safe here. But even with Marvin for company, it was lonely. Especially now, with Cole gone for good.

Tears stung her eyes but she rubbed them away. She wasn’t going to cry over Cole Abbott and his hurtful words. And she definitely wasn’t going to cry over the decisions she’d made.

She was a strong woman, despite what Cole said. And that meant she’d get over him, too.

* * *

Cole strode into the executive offices of Abbott Industries and smiled as he greeted the receptionist at the front desk. “Good morning, Jennifer,” he said brightly, and she waved as the phone rang and she hit a button on her headset.

It was good to be back. At least in most ways it was. The break on the island had been wonderful—for the most part—and he’d recharged. Now, though, it was time to get back and get to work. He’d handled most things remotely during his absence, but there was a different energy in the office. One he’d missed, he realized.

But he wasn’t going to lie to himself and say he had no regrets. And if they weren’t exactly regrets, he had feelings about what had happened with Brooklyn that weighed on his mind. Because he’d meant every single thing he’d said to her that day on her porch. Including the fact that he loved her.

This was his third day in the office and he had meetings scheduled for half of his time. One meeting was with the executives who’d gone on the retreat, to follow up on both their personal and professional thoughts since coming back to the “real world.” He was looking forward to that a lot.

But first, there was a personal meeting he had to get out of the way.

He greeted his executive assistant and then took a deep breath before turning the handle on the door to his expansive office with a splendid view of the Hudson.

His mother was sitting behind his desk.

“Hello, Cole,” she said, her voice warm and yet very...polite. In her late fifties, she still looked young and vibrant, with artfully colored hair and perfect makeup. Allison Abbott was a woman who took care of herself, always.

At least, publicly. As Cole knew, her private life had always been quite a hot mess.

“Mother,” he said, putting down his briefcase. “Thank you for coming.”

“I assumed that was what one does when one is summoned.”

That stung a little. Not because it wasn’t true, but because that was the nature of their relationship. “I’ve been slammed since returning. I thought the office was the easiest way.” He didn’t mention that she never came here anymore since his father’s death.

He went to the door again to ask for coffee to be brought in. Then he lifted an eyebrow and said, “Maybe we can sit over here. Instead of you being behind my desk.”

She laughed then, a sound Cole was unused to hearing. “Oh, Cole, I wondered if that would irritate you. You can be so stern.”

Him? Stern? He hadn’t considered it that way, but he supposed he came by the trait honestly. Still, he hoped he wasn’t that way in all his personal relationships. Jeremy and Bran had never said such a thing. If anything, he’d prided himself a little too much on his social charm. Even if it did feel forced a lot of the time. It was one of the things he liked about Brooklyn, actually. He’d never had to put on a show. He’d been genuine, like he was with Bran and Jeremy, and Jess and Tori.

“You’re very like your father in a lot of ways,” she continued, and moved to sit on the small sofa in the rather huge office.

Cole’s assistant brought in coffee and once they had fixed their cups, his mother looked up and asked, “Why did you call me here, Cole?”

He hesitated, lifting the cup to his lips and taking a revivifying sip while he considered his words.

“I want to talk about you and Dad.”

She frowned. “What about us? Good heavens.”

“I’ve never understood your relationship.” His heartbeat quickened with nerves; this was a heck of a thing to talk about with one’s mother. “I never saw any affection between you. You never did things together. And I felt...”

He halted, pursed his lips.