The Billionaire Princess (23 page)

While the opening scene of the first Terminator film played out on the screen, the last time he saw Sara played out in his head. When she started accusing him, his temper flared and not long after that he walked out. Should he have stayed and tried harder to convince her? Would it have made a difference?

Probably not
. At the time she hadn't been thinking with her head.

The way things stood now, he figured she either still believed her crazy ideas about him or had come to her senses but didn't care enough to work things out. Their conversation when they woke up in bed together in Hawaii reverberated in his mind. She commented how they were both adults and how often she'd slept with men while campaigning with the senator. Maybe he'd been just another guy in her long line of men. Perhaps he'd assumed the relationship meant more to her than it did.

Whatever the truth, he needed to move on and put their relationship and perhaps his friendship with Jake behind him. So far he'd avoided texts from Jake. Although he never referred to Sara, Christopher assumed Jake now knew they were no longer together. Avoiding Jake may be the coward’s way out, but he found it a better option. The alternative could lead to a very ugly situation.

Christopher ended up watching two more movies before calling it a night.  He wanted to drift off into a dreamless sleep, but that never came.   Finally after tossing and turning for hours Christopher gave up falling asleep and headed out for a drive. With no specific location in mind, he drove around for two hours before returning home feeling no more relaxed than when he left. The scent of freshly cooked bacon and cinnamon greeted him when he entered the gourmet kitchen.

"You're up early," he said to Caroline who sat on a stool at the island.

"William and I have plans for the day. He should be here in about an hour. Where have you been?" she asked, looking over his outfit.

Christopher poured himself a cup of coffee and took a sip of the strong French roast before answering. "Out for a drive."

Caroline frowned, her expression reminding him of their mother.  With her wavy golden brown hair, dark brown eyes, and fair complexion, she looked like a younger version of Gail Hall.  "Thinking about Sara again?"

To say he was thinking about her again gave the impression he'd stopped which he never had. He would never admit that, so instead he shrugged. "Didn't William spend the night?"

"This isn't my house, so I didn't ask him. If you would have stuck around last night you'd know that," Caroline answered sounding hurt.

Christopher snatched a slice of bacon off his sister's plate. "Trust me, you didn't want me around last night. I would've made lousy company."

"How's that any different than usual lately?" she asked with a fair amount of sarcasm. "What happened between you two anyway?"

He took another sip of coffee and debated how best to answer without going into details. "It just didn't work between us."

"Then I suggest you forget about her and move on for everyone's sake.
Especially yours.  You've been miserable for weeks."

He never meant to take his unhappiness out on anyone else.

“If you want to talk or anything, I'm here Christopher.” Caroline took the final sip of her juice and then put her dishes in the dishwasher.

How many times in the past had his sisters come to him when one of their relationships ended? 
More times than he could count, especially Caroline. With only eighteen months between them, they 'd always been especially close.  Yet it'd never occurred to him to seek her out for help.  “Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.”

Caroline walked over and hugged him.  “I need to finish getting ready.  I'll see you later.”

Long after Caroline left he remained, mulling over her words. This was the first time she'd called him out for his foul mood. Somehow he needed to move on and put everything with Sara in the past. His foul mood wasn't changing anything. The only thing it accomplished was offending others. His sister was right; he needed to forget about Sara Sherbrooke.

Often when he started a new project, it took over his life, blocking out everything else until he completed it.  Perhaps that was just the thing he needed now. 
A new project to sink his teeth into. Something to keep his body and mind engaged.

Christopher grabbed an apple from the fruit basket on the counter and headed for his office.  On his computer he kept a file of new ideas he thought he could develop at some point, and from where he now stood, some point had arrived.

The heavy traffic between her parents' apartment on West 72
nd
Street and Dylan's penthouse made her grateful she had taken the limo. She could use the time on her laptop rather than stuck behind the wheel of a car. Unfortunately, the traffic also gave her time to reassess her decision. Back home talking to Callie about her relationship problems seemed like a good idea. Callie knew Christopher but wasn't emotionally invested in the situation like Jake. She already knew about Sara's past disastrous relationship with Phillip, so she wouldn't need to share that with anyone else, and she'd had her own rocky road with her husband before getting married.

Now Sara's confidence in her decision waned.  For all intents and purposes, Callie and she remained strangers. They only knew the most basic of information about each other. Even though they'd agreed to start over, so far they hadn't spent any time getting to know each other.

Despite her misgivings, Sara kept silent, not asking the driver to take her back to her parents' apartment. Something deep inside told her to follow through with her decision. Not once during their previous conversation had Callie exhibited anything but grace and understanding. Right now she needed advice and someone that understood.

Sara stepped off the elevator and paused in front of Callie and Dylan's door. She hadn't visited in a while but from out here everything looked unchanged. 
The worst that can happen is I leave here feeling as miserable and confused as I do now. It can't get much worse.
Sara moved toward the doorbell but before she could press it the door swung open.

"Sara.” Dylan stopped dead in his tracks, his hand still on the doorknob. "Is something wrong? I'm on my way back to the office but if you need—” Dressed in a dark blue suit with a red tie, her half-brother could have been the poster boy for corporate America if it wasn't for his expression. Concern and confusion filled his face.

"Everything is fine. I… uh… wanted to talk to Callie."

Dylan's jaw dropped and with difficulty she stopped herself from laughing at his expression. She'd never seen her brother so shell-shocked in her life. She wished she had a camera to capture his expression.

"You came to talk with Callie?" Dylan asked slowly.

Sara nodded somewhat enjoying her brother's shock. "That's okay right? She is my sister.”

"Of course." Dylan pushed the door fully open again. "She's in the media room with Lauren. I'll walk you in before I leave."

Sara followed her brother through the main living room. At one time the room contained nothing but black leather furniture and lots of glass—a room devoid of character. Now warm colors softened the room and pictures hung on the walls making it feel more like a home than a cold sterile apartment. The scent of something chocolaty added to the homey feeling. A little bit of envy shot through her. She'd never begrudge her half-brother happiness, but for a split-second jealousy reared its head. It seemed he'd found his soul mate, while all she’d managed to find so far was heartbreak and jerks.

Reaching out she laid her hand on his arm to stop him.  When he looked over at her she blurted out the words she wanted to say before she could change her mind. “I know I never told you, but I'm really happy for you.”

Dylan's eyebrows shot up. “Uh, thank you.” The tone of his voice indicated he wanted to say more, but he kept it to himself.

Through the open door, Sara heard Callie and Laura McDonald talking in the media room. The two women had been friends for years and seemed extremely close.

"Callie, Sara's here to see you," Dylan called into the room from the doorway.

Silence filled the room and two sets of eyes focused on her.
Yep should've called first.

"I can come back later if you want," Sara said, almost hoping Callie would agree. Talking about her relationship problems with Callie was one thing, but she didn't want to do it with Lauren around too.

Callie and Lauren exchanged a quick look, “I’ll take Lucky for a walk. I need to burn off the brownies Callie made anyway." Lauren stood.

“We can take the elevator down together,” Dylan said, standing in the doorway.

Callie waited until her husband and friend left before speaking. "Please sit down. Are you hungry? I made some double chocolate chip brownies."

The sweet smell of chocolate she'd noticed when she came in teased her senses making Callie's offer tempting. Unfortunately the ball of nerves in her stomach suggested that eating was a bad idea. "Maybe later, thanks." Sara took a seat across from Callie.

Silence fell between them. Sara didn't know exactly how to begin. Thankfully she didn't have to. "Are you staying in the city long?" Callie asked.

"Until tomorrow.
I only came… well… to see you actually." Sara picked her words as she went along. "I needed someone to talk to."

Callie nibbled on her bottom lip, a clear sign of her discomfort. "And you picked me?" Disbelief colored her words.

Sara felt heat flood her face. "I don't have many close friends and none that know about what happened with Phillip."  Swallowing, she fought to control her swirling emotions.

"I'm guessing this involves Christopher."

With a nod Sara launched into the entire story including her conversation with Jake during his unexpected visit to her place. Not once did Callie interrupt her or give any indication of her thoughts.

"Sara, I'm not sure what you want me to say," Callie said when Sara finished the entire story.

Sara tugged the end of her ponytail, twisting several strands around her finger. "Your opinion, I guess. One minute I know I made the right call, the next I'm wondering if I jumped to conclusions. I keep going back and forth. Jake's no help, he and Christopher have been friends for too long."

"Jake does know him better than I do,” Callie said gently.

"That's the problem. I need a neutral opinion, Callie. Please. Do you think I'm wrong?" She needed someone's help sorting out her mixed feelings.

Callie didn't speak at first. "I understand why you reacted the way you did. It sounds like Phillip was a real ass," Callie paused. "Before all this did you ever once think Christopher was the type to use his connection to the family?"

Sara didn't pause before answering. "No. He rarely mentioned his association with the family."

"And who made the first move, him or you?"

Sara thought about the night in Hawaii after Jake's wedding and then about their time in Los Angeles. "Neither really. It just happened." Sara released the hair twisted around her finger. "You think I'm wrong don't you?"

Callie leaned closer. "It doesn't
matter what I think or anyone else. Your opinion is the one that matters. What does your heart say?"

A tear rolled down her cheek. "I want to be wrong. But—”

"But what, Sara? Has he given you any reason not to trust him?"

"No," she spoke the word without hesitation. Before she'd heard Miriam Walker on CZN, she never doubted his motives for being with her. "Still that—”

"Sara, you need to do whatever feels right. But I think you're wrong about Christopher." Callie looked her directly in the eye. "And if you don't start trusting people soon you're going to end up alone. You'll always find some way to doubt someone's true intentions. Do you really want to live like that?"

Callie's words stung. The picture Callie painted was bleak, but she recognized the truth in her half-sister's words.

"You don't know what it's like to be used by someone because of who you are.  To have people cozy up to you because your last name is Sherbrooke." Bitterness crept into her voice.

"You don't know why I ended things with Dylan that summer, do you?"

Sara shook her head. She remembered their relationship came to a sudden end sometime after a big fundraiser in New York City, but she'd never learned the specifics. Since they eventually worked out their differences and married she'd never asked.

Over the next few minutes Callie explained how she'd overheard Marty Phillips, their father's campaign manager at the time, tell Dylan that he'd been the perfect man to keep her occupied and away from the media until Warren made his announcement about who she was.  Sara's heart ached as Callie told her how she'd rushed out of the Waldorf Astoria and caught a train back to Massachusetts.  And she understood why Callie refused to listen when Dylan followed her; although she secretly thought his drive from New York to Massachusetts that night in the pouring rain was romantic.

"I can't believe Dylan agreed to that.  And you forgave him completely?" Put in a similar position, she didn't think should be as forgiving.