“We were friends,” Blake protested. “Nothing more.”
“It was a lot. You two connected in a way that we never did. I didn’t like it.”
“I wasn’t interested in her beyond simple friendship.”
“Because you and I were married and you are an honorable man. But she was in love with you. It was obvious to me. So I asked her to leave us in peace.”
Blake couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “She was not in love with me.”
“From the start, I think. And who could blame her? I fell for you the first night we went out.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because you’re not in love with her and that’s going to break her heart one day. Do you really want to do that to her?”
The news that Bella had once been in love with him dominated his attention. Blake heard Vicky continuing the conversation, but her words were indistinct. Was that the way Bella still felt? And he’d just let her go? Would she ever forgive him?
“Even though you and I want different things, when my play failed, all I wanted to do was run back and have you take care of me the way you used to.”
But he didn’t want to take care of Vicky any longer. She’d chosen her career over being a family with him. Her lies and infidelity might have put an end to their marriage, but it had been in trouble for a long time before that.
“You and I are done,” he told her, getting to his feet.
Not once in the month that he’d been with Bella had he longed for something different or better. Her even temper, quick mind and dry sense of humor made her wonderful company. She took care of everyone around her and didn’t expect anything in return. He’d been a skeptical fool to think she’d refuse contact with Drew because she didn’t care about him. In truth, she’d cared too much.
Loving her was easy. Comfortable. Being with her brought him utter contentment. He hadn’t recognized the sensation as love because that wasn’t how love had been for him growing up. The love he’d known made him feel empty. Alone. He’d never known completeness.
He’d never known real love.
Blake plucked the glass from Vicky’s hand and tugged her to her feet. He loved Bella. Her sweetness. Her passion. Her sunny disposition and her stubbornness. She might be afraid to acknowledge it, but she wanted what he did: a family. Someone to love and sacrifice for. Someone who would be there when you needed them.
Ignoring his ex-wife’s sputtering protests, he guided her firmly toward the front door. “Vicky, you are not the woman I want to be with anymore.”
Her eyes narrowed in icy calculation. “You’re serious about marrying that farm girl? Think about your friends. They’ll never accept her. Your lifestyle in New York City. She’ll do nothing but make a fool of herself at the events you attend.”
“Bella is everything I could want in a woman. If my friends don’t like her, I need new friends. And I only went to the parties because you insisted we had to be seen. I intend to be there for my son in a way my father wasn’t.” To ensure that Vicky understood this wasn’t a game and that he actually wanted her gone, Blake walked her out to her car. “I wish you all the best.”
But his ex-wife wasn’t done. “You’re making a huge mistake.”
“The only mistake I’ve made is not realizing sooner that I’m in love with Bella.” He opened Vicky’s car door and gestured her in. “But I’ve finally come to my senses and I have you to thank.”
He didn’t linger to watch his ex-wife drive off. He had plans to make. Disturbed that he’d let Bella leave thinking he didn’t love her, Blake knew he had to do something to win her back. But what? Impressing her with a grand financial gesture would not be the best way to apologize. Anything he did would have to come from the heart. For a man who was able to buy everything he needed, this was a daunting realization.
The first thing he needed to do was head to Iowa and meet her family. He never should have proposed to her without seeing where she was from and getting acquainted with the people who knew her best.
Despite the late hour, Blake contacted his personal assistant and got her started making arrangements. Then he headed upstairs to pack and figure out what he could do for the woman who never seemed to want anything for herself.
*
The next morning Blake and Drew headed for Iowa. He would do whatever it took to win Bella back. He loved her. Could he convince her that he’d been a fool or would she simply believe that he was saying what she wanted to hear?
In Dubuque, he rented a car and drove the hour and a half to the town where Bella had been born. With each mile that passed, the declarations he went over in his head grew less eloquent. By the time he turned onto the long driveway that would take him to the house, Blake had only pleading left in his arsenal.