“So you’re sure that Blanca wrote that letter?”
Colin frowned. “Yes. I don’t know why you would —”
“It’s nothing. I appreciate you telling me the truth,” Sabela said.
The truth. She believed him. That’s what it had to mean. His spirit soared. “I’m sorry for everything. I should have been honest this morning, when I realized I was in too deep, and I had to change.”
“I wish you would have.”
There was still awkwardness between them, but Colin was ready to prove himself to her. “I’ve told you everything,” he said.
“You’ve told me enough. I don’t know that you’ve told me everything, but I understand the motivation of your actions even if I don’t agree with them,” Sabela said.
It was fair. Colin bobbed his head, relieved that she’d taken the time to listen. It was more than worth the price. She could have walked out of his life forever, and he would have let her. And he still would. He owed her that.
He pulled the paper excusing her debt from his pocket and handed it to her. Sabela had held up her end of the deal, and he intended to hold up his. “Thank you for listening to my side. If you want, we can get out your actual signed contracts and toss them in the fireplace.”
She took the paper and rolled it in her hands. “I don’t want to sound like I don’t trust you, but … yes, I’d like to see the actual contracts tossed in the fire.”
An unexpected smile lifted his lips. “Well said. Smart woman, and I’m proud of you. I’ll get them.”
It was a moment’s work to retrieve the papers from the safe in his upstairs office and return to the downstairs lounge with them. Sabela sat unmoving on the sofa, exactly as he’d left her, patient and primly positioned, back straight and knees together.
He handed her the papers and admired her as she leafed through them. “They’re all there.”
“Just making sure.”
“Good.”
She took her time, going over each page of each contract one by one. When she was finished, she stood and headed to the big fireplace. Colin pulled the screen away, and she tossed the papers into the fire.
They burst into brilliant flames immediately. Colin stood beside Sabela and watched the firelight flicker across her lovely features. Within moments, the unholy contracts were destroyed.
Colin swallowed. It was time to be bold.
If he didn’t tell her what he felt now, she might never know. He couldn’t stand the thought of bringing about his own unhappy ending because he hadn’t had the guts to talk to the woman he had feelings for.
“Sabela, I can’t tell you what the last few days have meant to me. It’s going to sound strange, but I need you to hear this, too. You can leave if you want to. I told you that you could, and I’ll honor my word … but I would like you to stay, for a while.”
He looked her in the eyes only to see her turn her head.
“Stay with me. Please.”
“Why?” she asked, her voice strained.
If his heart were made of glass, her words were a sledgehammer.
“Trevor knows I’m here with you,” she said. “He’s upset and probably worried sick about me, so you accomplished your twisted goal, I think.”
“I regret ever thinking it was okay.” Colin ducked his head. “If I could go back in time, I’d stop myself.”
“And I’d go back in time, too,” she said. “I was stupid and naïve to think that there might have been something real between us. You played a make-believe game with me from the beginning, and I didn’t want to see it.”
Did she mean what she said? While it had all been an act at first, none of it was an act now. Colin felt for her.
“I’d go back and tell myself to stay away from you, Colin,” she said. “I’d tell myself to never get involved. Why would you want me when you clearly are still so in love with Blanca?”
Colin could see her internal struggle written plainly on her face. Pain, and jealousy. He could understand that. “Blanca had been my world from childhood. But she’s been gone for years now, and even if she had lived, she had made her choice not to be with me. I would have had to accept that sooner or later.”
It wasn’t quite what he wanted to say, but Colin’s thoughts were scrambled as his mind worked to find a way to make things right with Sabela.
“I’m older now, and I’m different,” he said. “I don’t want to live in the past anymore. I would like you to stay because I feel a connection with you. I know you aren’t Blanca, and I don’t expect you to pretend to be anyone else but you from now on.”
He took a breath before continuing. “And no more pretending on my end, either. From here on out, everything between us is honest. That’s all I want.”
Sabela shook her head. “We’re so different. We come from two different places.”
Colin reached over and took her hand. To his surprise, she didn’t try to pull away.
She trembled at the touch of his hand.
“We came from exactly the same place. Brent Grove was my home, too.”
“No, I meant more like —”
Colin knew what she meant, and he cut in before she could fight him on it. “And I grew up with nothing, just like you. I wasn’t made of money, and I had to work hard to get to where I am. I fought for my future, just like I want to fight for you.”
Her eyes flashed upward to stare at him, and he felt like he’d hit the mark.
“Let me prove that I can move on. Let me prove that I’m serious about you.”
A soft smile teased at the corners of her lips. His heart begin to pound as he waited for her response.
She motioned to him to wait and then pulled her purse into her lap. From it, she took her phone.
What was she doing?
Sabela dialed a number and held the phone to her ear. The call connected, and he heard the other party answer.
“Trevor,” she said, gaze locked on Colin, “I wanted to call you to let you know I will not be coming home after all. I’ll be staying in Switzerland for a bit.”
Trevor was yelling, Colin could hear it through the phone.
Sabela shook her head as if Trevor could see her. “I appreciate what you’re saying, but I’m staying with Colin. What I do with my life is my business. I’ll make sure the nurses keep coming. Take care of yourself, and I’ll be home before you know it.”
The call ended, and Sabela tucked the phone back into her purse.
This was her way of saying that she was giving him another chance, and Colin wasn’t about to waste it. He swept her into his arms and kissed her passionately.
He’d show her what she meant to him. He’d show her that he was serious about their future.
Colin pulled Sabela up from the couch and hugged her tightly. She nestled against his chest, the perfect fit.
Heart brimming with the budding warmth of something a lot like love, though it was far too early for that, Colin led her from the lounge and to his bedroom, the letter hanging limp, nearly forgotten, between his fingers.
It was time for a completely different kind of conversation.
One with a lot less clothes between them.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
FORGIVING COLIN HAD BEEN DIFFICULT, but when he spent the rest of the evening showering her with affection and proving where his allegiances lay, Sabela had an easier time of it.
But she did not forget. There were only so many times she could forgive a man who had wronged her, and she wasn’t interested in continuing a relationship if Colin gave her reason to believe he was being untruthful again.
Two days passed, and Sabela spent most of her time with Colin, both in and out of bed. Her feelings for him became more powerful with each passing hour. They were in their own little world, not needing anyone else, except Marie to keep them well-fed.
Sabela had done some sketching and found her creative burst hadn’t deserted her. How could she not be inspired in such a place and with such a man? She found
herself imagining what it would be like to be with Colin forever.
On this day, Colin had gotten up early to work. While he took care of some neglected business, Sabela lay in his bed and reflected on how happy she was.
Happy. Not an emotion she’d been familiar with these many years.
She didn’t regret her decision to stay and listen to Colin’s side of the story. Now that her debt was cleared and Colin had no leverage on her, she was here entirely of her own volition, and it was liberating.
Neither of them had a leg up on the other, and she liked it that way.
Colin wanted her because of who she was inside, not because she owed him money, and not because she was a Vaughn.
And she wanted him, not because of her debt, but because of who he was … not the least of his attributes being that he was a masterful lover. Her body still tingled in memory of his touch.
This was just the beginning, and everything about their new relationship was shiny and fresh.
She was realistic enough to know it wouldn’t stay that way forever. There would be fights and flared tempers and disagreements, she supposed. If they cared enough about each other, though, they’d get through it, assuming they’d be together long enough to get to that point.
Sabela curled up into a ball on the bed and pulled the silky sheets and blankets tightly around her. Colin mentioned that he was entertaining clients that weekend at the chalet, and he had confirmed that she was comfortable staying on through the visit, but that’s as far as their plans for the future had gone.