Seducing Phoebe (Crimson Romance) (22 page)

Pain gripped his chest, and he knew it was the after affects of his heart breaking. It hurt more than anything he’d ever experienced. He didn’t think he would be able to survive the intensity of the emotions that were crippling him at that moment.

What the hell had he done?

• • •

Marco sat in his darkened apartment nursing a glass of whiskey. His mind was going over everything that had happened since he’d woken up, happy and contented, in Phoebe’s arms. The day had gone to hell in a hand-basket, again.

A knock on his door had his heart leaping to his throat. Could it be Phoebe coming to talk to him? It didn’t seem likely — he’d hurt her, practically called her a cheat. No matter how much he wanted her to be behind the door, he knew it wouldn’t be her. She was probably getting rid of everything he’d given her and he couldn’t blame her. He’d been an A-Class jerk. If he ignored the knock maybe the person would go away and leave him in peace.

A second knock sounded, only louder.

“I know you’re in there, Marco. Open this door.” It was a female voice but it wasn’t the one he was hoping to hear.

He dragged himself out of his chair and opened the door. “I’m not in the mood, Sophie.”

“Tough,” she said as she barged through like a woman on a mission. He had the feeling he wasn’t going to like what was about to be fired at him.

“Where’s Alex?” Marco would’ve much preferred his best friend to come and see him.

“He’s at home with Louisa. But he’s just as pissed off with you as I am.”

Marco sat back down on his chair, lifting the glass to his mouth and taking a deep swallow.

“Alcohol won’t help, you know.”

“But it will dull the pain.” He finished off the rest of his glass and put it on the table. “So I take it the reason you are here is because you’ve seen Phoebe? Is she okay?”

Sophie gave an unladylike snort, the sound so not what he would expect from her. “Oh, she’s just peachy, you know. On top of the world.” She put her hands on her hips. “How do you think she is Marco? She’s devastated.”

“Join the club,” he muttered.

“Well it’s a club that you created, you know. She didn’t plan on meeting John, and I don’t know why you would think that.”

“Don’t you think it’s a bit convenient that he happened to be walking past the café at the same time that Phoebe was there, supposedly meeting you?”

“No, I don’t, especially seeing as he stays in the short stay apartment complex next door. The likelihood of us running into him would have been pretty high. I’m going to ask you this, though — if I’d been sitting at that table with them would you have been this upset?”

“If you’d been there they probably wouldn’t have arranged to meet.”

“You still believe that it was all planned? That she’s not who she says she is? Phoebe is the most open person I know. She’s not pretending to be someone she’s not. Not like Veronika.”

He inhaled sharply. “How do you know about Veronika?”

She gave a small shrug. “Alex told me before I came over. He hoped that it might help me understand why you reacted the way you did.” He withstood her perusal. “Although I think it’s more than that, isn’t it? What else happened, Marco? Why react so strongly with just seeing Phoebe and John together? From what Phoebe told me, you didn’t act this way when she broke off your engagement.”

He picked up his glass, walked over to the cabinet, and poured himself another generous portion of the amber liquid. He lifted the glass to take a sip, as he got close, the aroma from the malt whiskey reached out to him. The smell turned his stomach. He placed the glass down and turned back to Sophie.

“I had a conversation with a client of mine who happened to know Phoebe. He said some things that hit buttons with me.”

“And that caused you to act the way you did, because someone said some things?” Her emphasis on the word “things” told him he wasn’t winning her around to his side.

“I really don’t want to talk about it now, Sophie.”

“Again, tough. My friend has been hurt badly and the worst thing is the both of you are Louisa’s godparents. I’m not only fighting for my friend, I’m fighting for my daughter. I want to see her godparents together, not apart.” She softened her tone and for the first time since she walked through the door, Marco saw the Sophie he knew. “I care about you both and know you are perfect for each other. But you have to believe in her, Marco. You have to love her.”

“I do.” The words exploded out of him. “I do love her.”

He started when Sophie’s hand landed on his arm. “Then you need to let go of the past and you need to tell me what this person said to you. I’ve known Phoebe most of my life. I’ve seen her cope with her parents’ deaths and everything else in her life. She’s like a sister to me.”

“I had a client meeting today with a person by the name of Roger White.”

“And what has that got to do with anything? How would your client know … ” He saw the moment the name finally registered with her. “Not Roger White, as in Mrs. White’s son?”

“Yes, the same Roger White who is the son of the person Phoebe lived with after her parents died.”

“He’s a bastard and you can’t trust anything he says about Phoebe.” She paused before continuing. “I bet he said that Phoebe was after his mother’s money, and so you thought she was going to go after yours and have a little bit on the side?”

How could he admit to Sophie that that is exactly what the other man had said? And yes, that those words had had him second-guessing himself. Second-guessing his ability to pick a partner that was genuine.

“Your silence says it all,” Sophie mused quietly. “That’s pretty bad, Marco, that you can let a person you’ve never met before influence your perception of the woman you tell me you love.”

“Don’t judge me until you’ve walked in my shoes.” His words came out harsher than he meant but he didn’t want examine his shortcomings too closely. Especially not in front of Phoebe’s best friend.

“Well, it’s clear you’re not going to listen and that’s fine. It’s your life you’re stuffing up, so go right ahead. But I don’t think you’ll get another woman who’s as perfect for you as Phoebe is. I’ll see myself out.”

With that she walked off with a dignity that emphasized her upper class upbringing. Alex was very lucky to have a woman like Sophie at his side. He could see why his friend loved her so much and would give up his life for her.

As the door closed softly behind Sophie, Marco sat back down and gazed at the dark, empty fireplace. It was cold and uninviting, just like his life was at the moment.

He looked around his apartment and nothing appealed to him. The furnishings were leather and wood, and dark masculine colors with nothing light to break up the darkness. As he looked at his apartment he realized how lonely and empty it was.

He then thought about Phoebe’s house. He’d only spent one night there but there was a warmth that was seriously lacking in his. Her touch was everywhere. Photos of her and her friends were dotted around the rooms. Her living room, where they’d watched the movie, was welcoming and homely. It was a home, a home that was filled with love, and if he let himself let go, it could be a home of love for him.

He didn’t want to live with mistrust anymore. He wanted to live with love, and he loved Phoebe and wanted her.

But how could he win her back? How could he convince her that she was his heart and soul?

Heart.

That was it. He would try and get the heart necklace back from Roger White. He would do whatever it took to convince the man to sell it to him. Marco knew the way to winning back Phoebe was through her heart. To show her that he would never, ever doubt her or her word again. She had his heart and he would prove it to her by finding Mrs. White’s heart necklace.

Phoebe put the last piece of the Tim Tam cookie in her mouth and felt decidedly fat. But it didn’t matter anymore — it wasn’t like she had a wedding dress to try and fit into. She still had no idea whether Marco had called the wedding planner to cancel everything — for good this time.

A sob threatened to erupt from her. She pushed it down. She was done crying and it was time to get back into living. It had been two days since she’d had her argument with Marco. Sophie had called and called and called, and Phoebe had told her friend that she was fine, that she was getting on with life. All the while she was sitting on the couch watching re-runs of
The Big Bang Theory
. She laughed, but it wasn’t the deep in your soul type of laugh she usually gave when she watched the show.

Sick of her wallowing, she got up and headed for the shower. She needed to move on and it was going to start today.

• • •

Phoebe was towel drying her hair when a message came through on her phone. She walked over to the counter where it rested and picked it up. Her breath caught — it was a message from Marco, the first contact she’d had with him since their argument. She was tempted to not read it, annoyed that he sent a text and hadn’t bothered to call her. Her phone buzzed again. Another message.

Blowing out a nervous breath, she unlocked her phone.

Hi Phoebe, I know you probably don’t even want to talk to me, let alone read a text. But I’m hoping you’ll meet me. I have something I want to tell you. Mxx

Her heart shouldn’t skip a beat over a text message but hers did. She quickly loaded the next message.

I’m hopeful that you read my first message and are now reading this one. If you want to meet me, please come outside of your house. Mxx

Phoebe wasn’t sure what to make of the messages. They seemed impersonal and personal at the same time. But her interest was piqued. She wanted to find out what he had to say to her. She refused to think it was anything bad.

As she slipped on her shoes her phone beeped again.

If you are reading my messages and are willing to go on this adventure with me, when you get out of your house, turn right and go to the end of the street. Mxx

She laughed this time. It was like he was sending her on a treasure hunt. She quickly grabbed her handbag, sunglasses, and keys. Excitement built and she couldn’t wait to get the next message.

Once she had secured her house and skipped down the stairs she followed Marco’s instructions and headed in the direction he’d asked her to go.

She was almost at the corner when her phone beeped again.

When you get around the corner you will see a car waiting. This car is for you. I hope you can trust me enough to get in the car. The driver knows where to take you. Mxx

Sure enough when she reached the corner there was a long, gleaming black limousine waiting. She slowed her steps and once she got close enough a driver got out.

“Ms. Fitzgerald?” the driver asked.

She couldn’t talk; she could only nod her head. A smile broke out over the older man’s face and he opened the door.

With her heart in her mouth Phoebe bent and stepped into the car.

“Thank you for trusting me.”

Phoebe let out a little yelp. The last person she expected to see in the vehicle was Marco. She figured she’d be driven somewhere to meet him. That’s what his message had suggested. Her heart bled when her eyes had adjusted to the dimness of the car. She’d never seen Marco look so tired and dejected. Oh, he tried to smile to hide it, but he wasn’t doing a very good job of it.

“Let’s just say I was intrigued.”

He laughed huskily and the sound swirled up her spine like smoke drifting lazily on a soft breeze.

Once she was seated and had her safety belt on, Marco tapped lightly on the window and the car pulled away.

“So what is it you have to tell me?” She’d never been patient about waiting for surprises. She had always wanted to know what she was getting or what was happening. She always skimmed books or read the ending first.

“You’ll have to wait.”

One look at Marco, and she knew she couldn’t convince him to let her in. So she slumped back on the seat and crossed her arms. In all honesty she should still be really angry with him, and she was, but the excitement about this adventure he was taking them on was growing.

They didn’t say much more; Marco seemed very lost in his thoughts and Phoebe didn’t want to intrude. But she looked at him and took in how much he’d changed in the past two days. It was like he hadn’t slept. His eyes looked tired and drawn. His face appeared thinner as if he’d lost some weight. She probably looked fatter after the chocolate binge she’d been on over the last two days.

The car stopped; they’d only gone a short way. As the door opened Phoebe was surprised to see where they were. They were back at the café where they’d had their argument.

“Why are we here?” It was the last place she wanted to be. As she’d walked away from their argument she’d vowed that she wouldn’t go back to that place again. No matter how good the coffee was.

“I wanted to come back to the scene where I let the best thing that has ever happened to me walk away.”

She didn’t want to read too much into his words, but they held a tone she hadn’t heard before.

“Come,” he said as he cupped her elbow and led her to a vacant outside table. He held out the chair for her and once she was settled he moved around to the other side of the table.

The distance between them was not even three feet, but to Phoebe it felt like it was three hundred feet.

“Okay, I’m here, what do you want?” Her words were short and sharp but it was what she was feeling.

“I want to start off by saying I’m sorry. I’m sorry for not trusting you. I’m sorry for thinking that you were as sneaky as Veronika. I’m sorry for accusing you of lying to me.” He paused and took his glasses off so she could see straight into his eyes. She saw the truth shining in their brown depths. “But most of all I’m sorry for hurting you. I don’t want to hurt you anymore, Phoebe. I want you to be my wife. I want us to have a wonderful life together. I can’t imagine anyone I’d much rather spend my life with than with you.”

He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a circlet of gold. It was her engagement ring. Part of her wanted to reach out and snatch it back and place it on her finger. The other part was telling her she should want more. He needed to give her more than an apology.