Final Call (The Call #2) (9 page)

I need to know if
everything is worth the love he’s yet to admit to.

And I need to know
those words. I need to hear those three tiny words fall from his
lips, because they’re the verification I need for this
relationship. Three tiny words that will lay to rest every single
doubt I have about our situation.

I’ve never needed love,
not from a man. I’ve never needed to feel loved for my life to have
any sort of meaning. I looked at those women and believed they were
weak because they needed someone to lean on, but perhaps I was
wrong.

There’s nothing weak
about love, and needing to hear Aaron tell me that he loves me
doesn’t make me weak either.

Chapter
Eight

“Dayton!” Aaron’s mom
stands and opens her arms to me when we enter the restaurant. I
step into her warm embrace, then his father’s, and take a seat
opposite them at the table.

We’re seated in the
back of Glassini, an upscale restaurant that neighbors the
Southfall hotel. The curved shape of our booth means we’re
practically invisible to prying eyes, and the lighting is just
bright enough to make out the shade of red velvet on the chairs but
low enough to be cozy and romantic.

“It’s wonderful to see
you again.” Carly smiles across the table. “I’m glad for the
chance.” She flicks her eyes to Aaron.

He tenses next to me.
“Mom.”

She smiles and raises a
wine glass to her lips. His dad steps in, offering us both a glass
of wine, and pours them.

There’s a heavy
awkwardness between Aaron and his mom. It’s palpable, and I know he
said that she didn’t like Naomi, but I can feel it. Her name hasn’t
even been mentioned and I can feel the hatred for his ex-wife
glittering in her eyes. And I can see the anger that she came
between us—and that Aaron let it happen.

We order our food, and
as we wait, Aaron engages in a conversation about the company with
his dad. Turns out, Brandon isn’t as comfortable being retired as
he thought he would be, and as I listen in, the conversation is
more a comforting session for the older man.

Carly rolls her eyes in
a move that makes me smother a laugh. “Men,” she sighs. “I can’t
take those two anywhere without them discussing work. Someone needs
to inform them that the world doesn’t revolve around it.”

“Have you tried?”

“Several times. They’re
too stubborn to listen to me. I’d hoped Aaron would skip his
father’s need-to-be-in-control gene, but it took to him and it
stuck.”

I nod my head.
If
only she really knew.
“You don’t need to tell me that. He
honestly drives me crazy with it sometimes.”

“Darling, Aaron
delights in driving women crazy. Mostly myself.”

Our food is placed in
front of us, and we eat in near silence. The only words exchanged
are from Aaron and Brandon, who are still discussing work.

“Oh, for goodness’
sake, you two,” Carly snaps. “You’re at a family dinner, not a work
one. Dayton and I do not want to hear about it. I for one hear
enough about it at home.”

I bite my bottom lip to
hide my smile.

“Of course, honey,”
Brandon soothes her, patting her hand. “What would you rather we
discuss? Clothes? Shoes? The latest installment of The Bachelor,
perhaps?”

“My guilty pleasure.”
Carly winks at me.

“I’ve never seen it,” I
admit. “I don’t watch much television.”

“Oh my. We’ll have to
rectify that. I can’t say I’m much for the women on the
show—they’re all rather catty—but the bachelor is always worth
it.”

“That was a rhetorical
question, Mom.” There’s a hint of a groan to Aaron’s voice.

“Really?” I ignore him.
“Maybe I’ll have to start watching.”

“Dayton.”

“You really should.
It’s rather addictive though. Goodness knows Brandon has come home
to me shouting at the television more than once. Those girls are
vile sometimes. It’s hard to believe they’re real at all, but I’ve
had the displeasure of meeting one or two over the last thirty
years of my life.”

“Mom!”

Carly turns to her son.
“Yes?”

“Are we done with the
trashy TV talk?” Aaron grinds out. “You’re making it a little
personal now.”

His mom delicately
chews a piece of pasta, her eyes on him, and the tension rockets
up. She doesn’t say a word. She merely pins him in place with her
stare until he backs down and looks away.

I look between them.
Ha! He might be CEO of the family company, but his mom can still
give him a look that makes his tail go between his legs.

Oddly, I love it. He
obviously respects her enough not to challenge her too much. And
that warms something inside me.

The rest of our meal is
finished in silence. Brandon looks at Aaron when the plates are
cleared by our server.

“Let’s go and get a
drink at the bar, son. Perhaps then we can discuss business in
peace.” Brandon throws Carly an affectionate smile. “And replace
the empty bottle of wine on the table.”

They leave us alone for
two minutes. Aaron brings an opened bottle of Pinot over and places
it between us, his hand on my upper back. He pauses before leaving
and drops his lips to my forehead. I close my eyes at the brief
touch, aware of his mom watching us but not really caring as his
gentle kiss warms my skin.

I pour our glasses
without a word and bring mine to my lips. I’m not prepared to be
left alone with his mom. If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t
have come. Not because I don’t like her—I do, very much—but because
I’m not sure if I’m ready for the conversation we’re about to
have.

“She was a bitch. If
you’ll excuse my language.” Carly smiles slightly.

“Naomi?”

She nods. “She was one
of those people I took an instant dislike to. You know when you
meet someone and something about them rubs you the wrong way? This
was akin to a cat rubbing against a scratching post
vehemently.”

“Funnily enough, I felt
the same way when I met her,” I reply dryly.

“I imagine you would.
She’s a very unlikable person.” She runs her finger around the top
of her glass. “I couldn’t imagine why Aaron was entering into a
relationship with her. The last person he saw seriously was you.
The two of you are so incredibly different, and it surprised me.
Naomi was and is everything I’d never wished for him. She was
vindictive and selfish and very one-minded. She took so much but
never gave anything. All she ever truly was was something pretty on
his arm for dinners and functions.”

“Why did he marry
her?”

“Who knows, honey?
Guilt? I know that Brandon’s assistant at the time convinced him it
was for the best. He would be stronger for taking over the company
later if he was married and had a good woman beside him. Not to say
I don’t agree with that statement, but a good woman isn’t enough.
He needed the right woman, and unfortunately Naomi was
neither.”

She’s silent for a
moment before she continues. “I told him to tell you. When he told
me you were going with him on the trip, I told him you had to know.
You weren’t just anyone. You’ve never just been anyone. Not to
him.”

I swallow and look
down. “What did he say?”

“He said he would. He
said he planned to tell you, but I couldn’t push him into it. He
didn’t want to lose you again.”

“And he still couldn’t
tell me.”

Carly sighs heavily. “I
think he spent the day in bed with a migraine when I was through
with him. He’s loved you since you met, and because of his stubborn
pigheadedness, he hurt you in a misguided attempt to protect
you.”

“I think I said the
same thing to him,” I say softly, looking up.

“He fired her.” Her
lips twitch. “He forced her to sign the divorce papers in front of
us and our lawyer. Then he signed the papers that transferred
ownership of Stone to him while she watched. And he fired her.”

Smugness fills me. She
was holding out for more, hoping he’d get the company before the
divorce was settled, and he did it all right in front of her.

“She lost while she
thought she was winning.”

“Couldn’t have put it
better. She got the settlement she was after, but not what she
truly wanted. She wanted some of the company, but my boy is smarter
than that. He refused until it was done. That was something that
was made more important when he met you again. She had to be out of
his life completely.”

I pause before asking,
“And is she?”

Carly tops up our
glasses. “My son is no fool. When you have the best lawyer in the
city, you can slip anything into a contract.”

“Like what?”

“Like if Naomi contacts
him in any way, except in business situations which are
unavoidable, the agreement will be null and void and she’ll have to
pay him fifty percent of the settlement.”

My smile mirrors hers.
“He really did cover everything, didn’t he?”

“When you left, all he
was focused on was doing whatever he could to get you back. That
meant rushing his business in Paris, canceling his London trip, and
finalizing his divorce before coming to Seattle. He’s just taken
control of a multimillion-dollar, worldwide company, but all he
wanted was you.”

I open my mouth, but no
words come out.

“He messed up. He
messed up hugely, Dayton, but that doesn’t have an impact on the
way he feels for you. As well as inheriting his stubbornness from
his father, he also got his capacity and ability to love. I can see
it in Aaron’s eyes when he looks at you. There isn’t a mountain he
wouldn’t climb or a sea he wouldn’t cross if it meant making you
happy. I don’t know where you two are now, but I can see how very
much he loves you.”

“He could try telling
me sometime. I might like him a little more then.”

She laughs. “I’ve loved
Brandon for thirty-five years, but I’ve liked him for only a
handful of those. It’s something you carry with you, I’m afraid.”
She winks then drops her smile and takes my hand. “There’s a hollow
kind of sadness in his eyes, but he’s still happier with you than
I’ve seen him for seven years. If you can forgive him for keeping
her from you, please do it.”

I squeeze her hand
lightly. “I think I already have. I just don’t plan on telling him
so anytime soon.”

***

Aaron takes the seat
next to me when his mom joins his dad at the bar. He turns to me
and rests his hand on my knee. Heat sears through the dark material
of my dress, and I feel the resounding sparks as he trails his
fingers up my thigh. They skim my hip, and I turn to him
instinctively, raising my eyes from the table to meet his.

They’re startlingly
blue. Clear and honest. I see how he feels. I see that guilt and
remorse, but this time, they’re wrapped in hope. A hope that tugs
at my stomach, because we’re hoping for the very same thing but in
different ways.

He’s hoping I’ll
forgive him, and I’m hoping he’ll tell me what I need to hear.

We’re both hoping for
the kind of happiness that can only be found intricately threaded
into love.

I lean forward and kiss
him softly. It must surprise him because he stills for half a
second before curving his hand around my hip and pulling me closer
to him.

The satin of his jacket
is soft beneath my fingers as I run them across his shoulder and
down his body. His chest heaves beneath my touch, and he rests his
forehead against mine, our noses next to the other’s, our breaths
mingling in the whisper of space between our mouths.

He takes my hand in his
and squeezes it tightly. “I’m sorry,” he whispers.

I close my eyes at the
sound of those words. I told him that they were important, but I
never realized just how much until now. With them hanging between
us on a delicate thread, the words validate every ounce of regret
I’ve felt in his touch and seen in his eyes.

“It nudged it,” I
whisper back, tightening my own grip on his hand.

“Good.”

He pulls back and
brings our hands to his mouth. Gently, he presses a kiss to each of
my knuckles then flips my hand over and kisses my wrist on my pulse
point. I can feel his lips soft against my skin and the way my
pulse increases at the intimate touch. I can feel the way my heart
speeds up, threatening to break through my ribs with the sheer
force of it. With everything I feel for this infuriating man.

“Nice talk with my
mom?” His smirk cuts through the intimate moment, and I’m almost
glad as some of the heaviness lifts. I can breathe again. Only
just.

“Oh yeah. What did you
see in Naomi?” I raise my eyebrows.

He laughs, but it more
closely resembles a growl. “She’s never going to let it go.”

“She won’t. She’s a
woman. We hold our grudges, even when you think we’ve let go.”

“Good to know.” He
grabs his drink from the table and sips the amber liquid. “We’ve
already discussed her. I don’t want to talk about her anymore with
you, Day. She’s my past, and right now, sitting here with you, the
most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on, she’s nothing. The
time we spent together is a blur of nothing. She’s barely even a
memory, but you? You’re everything.”

“I seem to remember you
saying you were everything.”

“I am everything, but
only to you. That doesn’t mean you’re not everything to me, because
you are.”

I run my fingers down
the lapel of his jacket. “Did you really rush your business to get
back to the US?”

“I condensed a week of
meetings into a few days. I had no choice but to attend them, but
the second I could leave, I was on the plane back to New York.”

“Why?” I swallow and
look at him.

His mom might have told
me, but I need to hear it from him. My crazy mind, the insanity he
makes me feel, needs to hear it. It needs to hear something to
validate the relationship he believes he pays for but is so very
real.