Falling for Fate (42 page)

And she’d tried to keep her heart out of it. But sitting on those steps after Dean had told her they were done… That wasn’t her head that was hurting and she knew it. Her mother was right. Her heart had a mind of its own.

“Listen to me, baby. I know you probably see me as weak. Because no matter how many times I got screwed over, I kept going back for more. But I want you to understand something. Are you listening, sweetheart?”

Sweetheart.
How many times had Dean called her that over the weekend? The pain pricked her already leaking eyes.

“Yes, ma’am,” she choked out. “I’m listening.”

“The easy thing to do is shut everyone out, Fate. The hard thing, the brave thing, is to risk it all and open your heart to possibility. Trevor did what he did, and one day, he will regret it. It might be as an old man on his deathbed, but he will. I am so sorry I wasn’t there for you when that happened. But you can’t let what he did change you, darling. You have to be brave.” Her mother took a deep breath and continued. “Don’t close yourself in all alone, because believe me, there is a man out there who will know what he has when he’s holding you. There will be one who won’t let go no matter what. Don’t be afraid to fall in love, Fate. It’s the most magical thing we’re capable of.”

A wall she’d spent most of her life building around her heart crumbled at her mother’s words.

Fate could barely speak through her tears. “I don’t want to hurt anymore. I don’t want it to hurt.”

It didn’t matter what she wanted or didn’t want. It hurt. It all hurt down deep into her bones. Feeling like she’d come second to her mother’s addictions, seeing Trevor with Melissa, Dean’s cold, hard stare when he’d said that they were done. Dean hadn’t called to tell her how the HR meeting had gone and it was unlikely he’d ever call. She’d held it all at a distance, kept her wall up to keep from feeling the pain. But that had been a mistake, because now, she felt everything at once.

“I know. Shh, sweetheart. I know. It gets better. I promise. You are so very strong, much stronger than you know. You are going to be just fine.”

Her mother repeated the soothing words until Fate had cried herself out. Wiping at her eyes, she caught her breath and clutched the phone, wishing very much for the ability to hug her mom.

“I owe you an apology—a couple apologies.”

“No, sweetheart, you don’t. You never have to say you’re sorry to me for anything. Because that is the beauty of love.”

Fate stifled her remaining sniffles. “Do they visiting days there? Could I come see you sometime soon?”

“Sundays. You can come any Sunday you like, Fate. I can’t wait to see you.”

A shudder of leftover emotion swelled and rolled through her. “Ditto, Mom.”

T
wo weeks. He’d made it two full weeks without seeing her. It hadn’t even been difficult. His dad had made the announcement the previous Friday and Dean had been moved into his new office that Monday.

Daniel Dean Maxwell Senior was taking an early retirement as CEO of Maxwell Medical. There was still the formality of the board voting in a few weeks, but he’d nominated his son to serve in the interim until the final decision was made. Keaton was taking James Tenor’s job instead, and Dean suddenly felt as if the Earth had begun to spin a little faster.

Mostly what he felt was the ache of going home each night alone with only work to keep him company. A button-down oxford shirt and a sweater of his hung on the empty side of his closet. He hadn’t washed them because they still held the scent of Fate and the ocean. Keaton would’ve called him the world’s biggest pussy. Dean kind of agreed.

He’d tried several times to make it down to the floor she worked on in hopes of seeing her. Using paperwork he could’ve emailed to Keaton as a ruse, he’d attempted to bump into her more than once. The first time, she’d been out to lunch with Gwen, and the second, the entire marketing team had been in a meeting with Pierson.

The third time was the most enlightening.

Gwen was in Keaton’s office—doing things Dean didn’t even want to think about on his former desk—when he knocked.

“Just a moment.”

Dean ignored his friend and barged in. Gwen was in the process of buttoning her blouse. He turned away to give her some privacy.

“Sorry. Thought you were alone in here, Slade.”

“Yes, well, had to christen the desk and all. Though I assume you’ve done that already.”

Dean shook his head and cleared his throat. “Anyway. I came here to see about getting your signature on this—”

“Oh give it a rest. You’re the fucking CEO, Maxwell. You shouldn’t ever have to leave your fancy corner office except to piss. You came down here to see her. I know it. Gwen knows it. Hell, Fate probably knows it. So stop being such a limp dick and go out there and talk to her.”

“College roommates or not, I could fire your ass.”

Keaton nodded. “Yeah, but then who would tell you when you were being a jackass?

Gwen smirked at them both. “I could do it. If you fire him, feel free to promote me to CFO.”

“Noted,” Dean said with a raised eyebrow at his friend.

“Anyway, I’ll sign your nonsense. But after this, please send the good-looking assistant down.”

“Regina is not interested in you. Besides, I think you have your hands full as it is.”

Gwen scoffed. “I’ve seen your assistant and she’d kick Keaton’s ass from here to Fifth Avenue. I kind of want to be her when I grow up.”

Regina had turned out to be the one good thing in his life. She had now turned down his father’s third marriage proposal, but he had a feeling dear old Dad was eventually going to woo her away and into early retirement with him. Since his father’s heart attack, he was seemingly a changed man. He wanted to see the world and he planned to take Regina with him. Fortunately for Dean, she was hell-bent on helping him settle into his new role first.

Dean handed the papers over and turned to exit what had once been his office. “Well, I guess I’ll leave you two to breaking company policies. Feel free to get some actual work done while you’re at it.”

“Dean.” Gwen said his name in a soft, feminine way that reminded him painfully of Fate. He angled around to see what she needed. “She’s been through a lot. I know she can be kind of closed off and that she hasn’t told you about what happened with her ex-fiancé, but you should talk to her. Give her a chance to explain.”

He did his best to feign a nonchalant shrug. “It’s really none of my business. Besides, she knows where to find me.”

Keaton snorted out a laugh. “Yeah. Down here stalking her.”

Gwen smacked him on the back of the head.

“Look, some people just aren’t cut out for keeping things casual. You two seem to be handling it well, and I used to be pretty great at it myself. But I don’t know… Maybe my dad’s heart attack or being promoted and all that comes with it or…something. Just feels like I’m getting a little old for the whole thing.”

“Or maybe what you feel for Fate isn’t casual and never was.” Gwen maintained eye contact with him as she spoke, silently challenging him to disagree.

He shrugged again, knowing the gesture was probably becoming a transparent attempt to convince them of something he didn’t feel. “Maybe. But it seems like she has enough going on without me adding to—”

“He cheated on her. With her best friend. At the rehearsal dinner. That’s what she was running from when she ran into you.” Gwen slapped a hand over own mouth. “Oh dear sweet saints of forgiveness, I did not just mean to tell you all of that.”

“Nice one, babe,” Keaton said under his breath. “You can hide out at my place when your roommate threatens to kill you.”

Dean felt his frozen-solid heart begin to thaw. “He what? Harris
cheated
on her?”

What kind of stupid-ass motherfucker cheated on a woman like Fate?

The memory of their first night together on the beach washed over him. She’d saved herself. She was a virgin. She’d held out for marriage, waited for a sorry bastard who wasn’t worth it only to be crushed. Dean didn’t know whether to hate Trevor Harris or erect a shrine to him.

“Oh God.” Gwen repeated herself several times.

“Gwen. Breathe.” Keaton looked genuinely concerned.

Casual, my ass
, Dean thought to himself.

The panicked woman shook her head. “I shouldn’t have said anything. This is something you should hear from her.”

He remembered how hurt she’d looked, the wounded expression in her eyes. Dean wanted to run into the bullpen and wrap her in his arms, audience be damned. Knowing that Harris had caused that pain made him want to buy his family’s company and burn it to the ground. Or just kick the fucker’s ass one good time. Whichever.

She’d been trying to tell him in the car. And again in the stairwell. But he’d run out on her, leaving her alone with someone who’d caused her pain. Dean was ashamed of himself.

Gwen sighed and her shoulders sagged as if she’d accepted the fact that it was too late to bother holding back now. “When you came back from the Hamptons, he was at our place because his aunt had already gifted Fate the shares of the family business. She had to meet with lawyers to remove herself from Trevor’s holdings.”

Dean swallowed thickly. That made perfect sense. Likely, Fate could’ve explained all of this herself if he hadn’t run out like a coward.

“I just bailed on her. I kept bailing on her.” He didn’t even mean to say the words out loud, but there they were.

She’d run the first time, but he’d been the one to disappear every time after that. He’d chased her down only to hit the pavement when she’d really needed him.

“She’s a strong person, but a forgiving one, too. Talk to her, Dean. She’s…she’s different lately. I don’t know if she was ready to really move on before, but I bet she is now.”

“I was afraid of getting too close—too attached. Now, I’m afraid I’ve lost her.”

Keaton gave him a sympathetic smile. “She hasn’t gone anywhere, man. She’s right outside that door. Go get your girl.”