Maid for the Billionaire (18 page)

He groaned.

Each of her decisions made sense when he
asked himself what a good, moral, loving person would do. Nothing
she had done was in contradiction of the way she had lived her
life. She protected those she cared about. She sacrificed for those
who needed her. She risked for the causes she thought were
important.

He had done nothing to prepare her for the
situation he’d thrown her into; one that she’d navigated with
remarkable confidence considering the challenges which had arisen.
There would probably never be a way to know for sure if he could
have closed the deal without the contract addendum, but Stephan’s
presence was testament to the forces working against him. No one
could deny that the scholarship provision had closed the deal.

Five percent profit from a company as large
as Corisi Enterprises would hardly be missed and the global boost
to his company’s international standing due to that charitable
donation was priceless.

The more he thought about how Abby had met
each challenge, the more he admired her. She’d gloriously marched
up to China’s Minister of Commerce and handed him the paperwork as
if it were something she’d done a hundred times before. She
couldn’t have known for sure if that act would see her heralded as
a hero or a criminal, but she had risked herself for the sole
purpose of saving his company. And how had repaid her? Vicious
accusations, kidnapping, and more insults.

She was right; he wasn’t good enough for her.
She deserved someone who knew how to treat her like the precious
gift she was. His gut twisted painfully at the thought of her being
with another man.

There had to be a way to fix this.

His cell phone rang with Jake’s familiar
tone. He flipped the phone open and held it to his ear. He deserved
whatever his friend was about to unleash on him.

“Are you insane, Dom? Have you finally lost
your mind?” Dominic held the phone away from his ear. Jake had put
aside his normal cool and was unabashedly yelling into the
receiver. “Turn the plane around and drop Abby off in Boston before
this becomes an international scandal that not only nullifies our
contract with China but also lands you in jail.”

“I love her, Jake.” Dominic said and slumped
in his chair as he made the admission. “But I screwed up.”

Jake sputtered before saying, “You think?”
and continued to let off steam at an unusually high volume. “Abby
called Zhang in tears. Now you’ve got one very pissed off Asian
woman who is galvanizing what looks like military support for Abby
on at least two continents. The press is all over this. Even
Murdock couldn’t squash the story. They know the truth behind the
amendment to the contract and they know you forced Abby to go with
you. You can thank Stephan for that. Abby has become an instant
folk hero globally: the teacher who made higher education possible
for women all over China. The jury on you is still out. The press
is calling you either a romantic or a madman. You’ve got to bring
her back. ”

Dominic ran a hand through his already wild
hair. “Jake, are people destined to repeat the sins of their
parents? I think I’ve become my father.”

Jake took several audible calming breaths.
“You’re not your father, Dom, and we all have control over what
kind of person we are. Each word that comes out, each action that
we take, defines us. If you want to stop being an asshole, tell the
pilot to head for Boston.”

It all sounded so rational, but the truth of
the matter was that Dominic didn’t want to return Abby to Boston.
He’d just discovered that he loved her. He couldn’t let her go
now.

That didn’t mean he couldn’t be a better man.
Abby deserved a real partner. He wasn’t sure what that would look
like, but he was willing to let her show him. “I’m not bringing her
to Boston. What’s my other option?”

Jake mumbled several cutting remarks beneath
his breath, then said, “How about apologizing and telling her that
you love her? I don’t know, something crazy like that.”

Genius.
“I can do that. You’re right.
The solution is so simple.”

A noise reverberated through the line that
sounded suspiciously like Jake was smacking the phone on his own
head. His aggravation rang clear in his voice. “Nothing is simple
when it comes to women, but if you do love Abby now is definitely
the time to tell her.”

“Relationship advice from a confirmed
bachelor?” Dominic scoffed.

Jake calmed enough to joke. “How do you think
I stay single? I understand the female mind.”

Dominic stood with sudden purpose. A week ago
he had shared Jake’s aversion to commitment. Now he found himself
wildly hoping their earlier unprotected sex had created another
bond between him and the woman he could no longer imagine his life
without. “I’m going to do it. I’m going to tell her that I love
her. Thanks, Jake.”

Jake groaned and added reluctantly, “Good
luck, Dom.”

Dominic hung up with confidence. Abby had
already admitted that she loved him. He had just realized that he
loved her. All he had to do now was walk in there and tell her how
he felt.
Hell, I might even propose.

What could possibly go wrong?

Abby raised her tear stained face from the
pillows when she heard the bedroom door open. Her head was
throbbing painfully and her face felt swollen. She sat up and
reached for the box of tissues on the small shelf near the bed.
After blowing her nose loudly in a tissue, she hugged the box to
her stomach. “What do you want?” she asked, her gravelly voice
sounding foreign even to her.

“I love you,” he announced as if those words
would immediately erase their last conversation.

“No, you don’t.” Abby felt none of the joy
she thought she would at his declaration.

His eyebrows met with irritation and he moved
to stand near one side of the bed. “Yes, I do.”

Abby blew her nose again, pulled a small
plastic trash can off of the floor and began filling it with her
discarded tissues. “What happened? Jake called and told you that
Zhang is going to help me leave you as soon as we land?”

He shifted uncomfortably. “Jake did call, but
we can talk about that later. I realized that I love you.”

Abby hugged the tissue box tighter and forced
herself to be realistic this time. No more reading what she wanted
into their interactions. “No, you didn’t. You think you do because
I’ve just become something you can’t have. You don’t like to lose.
That’s not love.”

Dominic’s jaw tightened with frustration.
“You are the most stubborn woman. You already told me that you love
me. You should be happy.”

Abby threw the small trash can at his head,
but missed when he ducked just in time. “I’ll be happy when I’m
back in Boston trying to forget I ever met you.”

“You’re not going back to Boston.” Dominic’s
eyes glittered with determination.

“I’m not staying with you on your stupid
island,” Abby answered.

“We’ll see about that.” Dominic said,
defaulting to the domineering jerk she’d thought he was the first
night she’d met him.

But she wasn’t intimidated by him and it was
about time he saw that. “Yes, we will.”

“Fine,” he said, walking back to the bedroom
door.

“Fine,” she said, and tossed the tissue box
in his direction for good measure.

He slammed the door behind him as he
left.

Abby blew her nose again.
Arrogant
jerk.
Even if he did love her, it wasn’t a healthy love. Sure,
giving in now would win her another night of passion, but what
about after that? She couldn’t handle a lifetime of accepting the
emotional scraps he was likely to toss her way between his business
deals. Better to end it now, before she fell even deeper in love
with him.

She rolled miserably onto her stomach and hid
her face in the cool material of the pillow. Life in the aftermath
of Dominic was not going to be easy. Maybe she could take a
teaching job abroad for a year. She couldn’t go back to her quiet
life in the suburbs.

No, she didn’t want to do that either. She
was done running. Yes, life was unfair. Yes, loving hurt, but she
was not going to let the ugly way she and Dominic ended negate the
good that had come out of the week.

She wouldn’t leave Lil now, not when she had
just discovered how to repair their relationship. Lil deserved the
kind of sister Zhang would be, the supportive, non-judgmental kind
who offered to kill first and asked questions later. Well, maybe
not kill, Abby qualified with a tearful laugh, but her lecturing
days were over. Zhang had shown her the power of unconditional
support and it had changed the way she would love in the
future.

When the pain of losing Dominic eventually
subsided, Abby knew that she’d be better for having known him. She
couldn’t hate him for not really loving her. He’d warned her time
and time again not to read into their time together. He couldn’t
have been clearer. Not once had he tried to wrap up their affair as
anything but two mutually consenting adults giving into their
strong sexual attraction to each other.

No woman in her right mind would allow
herself to fall in love with a man like Dominic, especially since
they had known each other for less than a week. My God, Abby
thought, had it really been that short of a time? Einstein was
right, time was relative. She’d packed a lifetime of transformation
in those few short days.

His spontaneous declaration of love had been
painful to hear, but might one day give her some comfort when she
looked back at this time together. Even though she couldn’t be the
undemanding, willing to be kept separate from his life, woman he
wanted – he probably did love her in his own way. It was simply
that their definitions of love were irreconcilable.

Wrapped up in her own thoughts, she didn’t
hear the door reopen. She was unaware of his presence until she
felt the mattress shift beneath his weight as he sat down beside
her.

“Did anyone ever tell you that you’re
infuriatingly stubborn?” he asked in a voice she was sure had
cowered many before her.

As usual, it did little to impress her.
Just
more hot air coming out of his big, fat
head.

The material of the pillow muffled her
rebuttal. “Anyone ever tell you that you are a jackass?”

“Turn around, Abby and listen to me,” he
ordered and put a hand on one of her shoulders.

“No,” she said and shook his hand off.
Looking would be bad. Looking would lead to wanting. Wanting
would lead to forgetting why it was important to end it now. No
looking.

“I am not going to talk to the back of your
head,” he said with some irritation.

“No one is asking you to.” She refused to
budge. Leave, she begged silently. Just leave while I’m still
strong enough to let you go.

“Dammit, woman, I’m trying to apologize to
you,” he practically growled in a frustrated tone.

An apology?
Abby sniffed. Now, that
she had to hear. She turned onto her side and wiped a stray tear
from her cheek. “Really? Well, go ahead,” she dared.

His expression was tight with emotion. Eyes
dark as coal seared through her bravado and, had she been standing,
would have weakened her knees with their intensity. She shouldn’t
have looked. His need for her wrung a much unwelcome answering need
from her. She was still angry with him. This was not the time to be
imagining how quickly her nipples would pucker beneath his hot
tongue.

Fighting his own internal battle, he said,
almost defiantly, “I’m sorry.”

She was still angry, but now more at herself
than him. She was never going to convince either one of them to
turn the plane around if she didn’t fight her reaction to him. And,
no matter how good another session of lovemaking would be, it
wouldn’t change how miserable they would eventually make each
other. She had to remember that. She’d have to be strong for both
of them. Anger was a good shield. “You don’t sound sorry.”

His shoulders slumped ever so slightly. When
he spoke again, his voice was husky with emotion. “I am not good at
this, but I am sorry.”

“For what?” Abby asked and fought to contain
the tsunami of questions surging within her. She needed to know
exactly what he regretted. Bringing her with him in the first
place? His earlier harsh words? Or, the worst possibility of all,
was he apologizing for falsely claiming to love her?

“For everything you accused me of doing, of
being. You were right about it all.” Her heart broke at his
declaration until he clarified. “Except, that last part about not
really loving you. I may not be good husband material. Hell, I’m
not even that nice of person, but I do love you.”

Joy surged and ebbed just as quickly. The
apology, however touching, hadn’t changed anything. It was as she’d
suspected. In his own way, on his own terms, he did love her. But
what would that love look like once the heat of the moment had
passed? Even he knew he wasn’t cut out for marriage. “What are you
saying, Domnic?” she asked wearily.

He turned and placed a hand on either side of
her, leaning closer until she could see the black flecks in his
tormented gray eyes. “I didn’t mean all those things I said
earlier. I was angry. That doesn’t justify what I said, but I do
want you to know that I believe you. I know you were only trying to
help me. I didn’t want to admit you most likely single handedly
saved my company. I should have been thanking you instead of
lashing out. You deserve a man who can treat you as his equal
partner.”

Abby’s stomach churned with emotion. A memory
of his apology would one day bring her comfort, but it was not
enough to lessen her resolve. “Yes, I do.”

He ran a hand gently through her curls,
ending by cupping the back of her head. “I know I haven’t done much
to prove it to you, but I can be that man, Abby.”