Suddenly furious he’d spent almost two days in pursuit of a woman who thought so little of him, he clasped his aching head and tried to calm down.
“What was I supposed to think, James?” she whispered and even in his fit of temper he heard the hurt and pain behind it. “Your father told me you still had feelings for Chelsea. I thought he was lying, so I went to the Rowling mansion to talk to you. Only to see you kissing a dark-haired woman. I wouldn’t have believed it except for your watch.”
She glanced at his bare arm and her face froze as he held it up. “You mean the watch I gave to Will?”
“Oh, my God.”
In a flash, she fell to the ground in a heap and he dashed to her, hauling her into his arms before he thought better of it.
“Are you okay?” he asked as he helped her stand, his heart hammering. “Did you faint?”
“No. My knees just gave out.” She peered up, her gaze swimming with tears as she clutched his shoulders, not quite in his embrace but not quite distancing herself either. “It was Will. The whole time.”
He nodded grimly. Such was the reality of having a brother who looked like you. People often mistook them for each other, but not with such devastating consequences. “Welcome to the world of twins.”
Now he understood her animosity. No wonder he’d felt as if he was on the wrong side of a raging bull. His father’s interference had caused even more damage than James had known.
And who the hell had Will been kissing in the gazebo?
“Why didn’t you tell me you gave him your watch? You always wore it. I know how much it means to you and I just...well, I never would have thought you’d...” Her eyes shut for a beat. “I know, I left before you could tell me. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions.”
“Yeah, on that note. Why did you?”
His temper hadn’t fully fled but it had been so long since he’d been this close to her, he couldn’t quite make himself let her go. So he sated himself on the scent of her and let that soothe his riled nerves.
“You said everything was moving too fast,” she reminded him. “It’s not that I didn’t trust you. You’ve always been honest with me, but... Chelsea’s your child’s mother. You didn’t call and your father said you were home from England. Your car was in the drive and he dropped the news about a baby and tells me you have feelings for your old girlfriend. Maybe you thought it was the right thing to try again with her.”
That was so far off the mark...and yet he could see the logic from her perspective. It was maddening, impossible, ridiculous. “Not for me. I love you.”
“You do?” The awe in her face nearly undid him. Until she whacked his shoulder with her fist. “Then why didn’t you call me when you got back from England?”
“Blimey, Bella. I’d just had the news about the baby dropped on me, too.”
She recoiled. “Wait. You mean you just found out you had a daughter?” Her eyelids flew shut for a moment. “I thought...”
“What, you mean you thought I knew from the very beginning?” He swore. Everything made so much more sense. Scowling, he guided her to the couch. “We need to get better at communication, obviously. Then my father wouldn’t have been able to cause all of these problems.”
She nodded, chagrin running rampant across her expression. “I’m sorry. I told you I wasn’t any good at relationships.”
“We’re supposed to be figuring it out together. Remember?” Without taking his gaze from hers, he held out his hand. “I promised not to let go. I plan to stick to that.”
She clasped his hand solemnly, no hesitation. “Are you really in love with me?”
“Completely.” Tenderly, he smoothed a stray hair from her cheek. “I’m sorry, too, sweetheart. I was trying to get everything settled in my barmy life before I settled things with you. I jumbled it all up.”
This was entirely his fault. If he’d told her every minute what she meant to him, she might have very well marched up to Will and demanded to know what he was doing. And realized it wasn’t James. None of this would have happened.
He’d been missing this goal since day one, yet kept kicking the ball exactly the same way. No wonder she’d assumed he didn’t want her anymore.
“So are things settled?” She searched his gaze and a line appeared between her eyes. “What did you mean about Chelsea signing over custody? What happened?”
And then reality—his new reality—crashed over him. They’d only dealt with the past. The future was still a big, scary unknown.