“Sophie Harper Sobol!”
The eleven-month-old laughed and waddled around the living room buck naked. The rascal had, of course, skipped crawling and gone straight into walking. Natalie just prayed she’d outgrow the streaking phase.
“Look, missy,” Natalie said after body tackling her. “Mommy has to go to work and you need to finish getting dressed.” If she didn’t drop Sophie off with her grandparents soon, she’d be late.
All Natalie got was another evil giggle in response. Raising a natural-born troublemaker was exhausting work, but she was grateful for the all-consuming distraction. Sophie had saved her. Had kept her alive. She shook away the bleak memory of her first days apart from Garrett.
Blowing out a calming breath, she ran to the closet and pulled on her work clothes. She was working as the office manager of a booming chain of diners around Queens and Brooklyn while she looked for a permanent job in New York. She’d just about given up hope of getting a position in her field after leaving Hansol. If her latest interview didn’t pan out, she would start applying for managerial or even entry-level positions and prove herself all over again.
For the time being, she enjoyed her job. There were two employees at the “corporate office.” Herself and Debbie, the one-woman accounting department. Debbie was easygoing and kind, but more importantly, she never read tabloids or watched gossip shows, so she didn’t know Natalie was Mrs. Garrett Song. Or rather, the soon-to-be ex-wife of Garrett Song.
They’d gotten into a little habit where Natalie brought in pastries and coffee in the morning, and Debbie shared her homemade lunch. Today was supposed to be blueberry-scone day, but after getting Sophie ready and dropping her off at Lily and Steve’s, Natalie decided to stop by the nearby doughnut shop so she could make it to work on time.
She started pleading her case as soon as she reached the office. “I know this isn’t your favorite, but Sophie was being extra rascally this morning and I was running late.” Debbie was standing at the small reception desk with a strange expression on her face. “I’m so sorry. I got us the buttermilk ones that aren’t drenched in sugar glaze...”
Natalie trailed off when a tall, dark figure stepped out from her office. His face was impassive, but his eyes were molten onyx, churning with unfathomable emotions.
Garrett.
Debbie took the bag of doughnuts and coffee from her slack hands. “Whoever he is, I’d keep him.” With a sly wink, her coworker trotted off to unload their breakfast in the kitchen.
Natalie debated whether to run for it but she wasn’t sure which way she would go. She’d missed him so much, and ached to wrap herself around his body. He had to leave before she gave in to her heart.
“How did you find me?” She turned her back because it hurt to look at him.
“You’d disappeared without a trace so I hired a PI to find you for me.”
“You did what?” She hugged her arms around her midriff as a shudder ran through her. Her eyes darted around the office, imagining someone watching her.
“I’m so sorry, but I needed to find you.” Garrett held out his hand as though to touch her but quickly withdrew it. “I promise you the investigator is discreet and thoroughly professional.”
“It doesn’t matter,” she sighed, waving aside his apology. “I was going to contact you once we were settled in. We need to file our divorce papers. It’s uncontested and we have no shared property, so it should be relatively simple.”
“Natalie, we aren’t finished.”
She frowned at the odd tone of his voice. Whatever he’d meant by that, they couldn’t talk about it out here. Natalie walked past him into her office and indicated for him to close the door. She sat behind her desk to create some distance between them.
“If you mean the divorce, then no, we aren’t finished, but we soon will be. I want all the loose ends tied up, so Sophie and I can move on.”
Garrett flinched, and Natalie’s frown deepened. He acted as though her words were gutting him.
“How is she?” His voice was a rough whisper.
The suffocating pressure in her heart reached a breaking point and she nearly doubled over in pain. Gripping the arms of her chair, Natalie choked down the lump in her throat.
“She’s doing great. She’s getting bigger, stronger and faster, which means she can make more trouble in less time.”
A sad but genuine smile tilted Garrett’s mouth, and Natalie’s eyes roamed hungrily over him. When he caught her gaze with fire in his own, yearning blanketed her mind like thick fog blinding a driver. He searched her face and something akin to hope swept across his features. Then, with a suddenness that startled her, he circled her desk and kneeled in front of her.
She pressed back into her seat, not trusting herself to be so close to him. Garrett caught her instinctive retreat and the brief spark that lit his eyes flickered and dimmed. He was quiet for a long moment before he spoke.
“We found the mole who passed the information on to Klapper. A woman in the media department...”
So that’s what this is about. He found out she didn’t betray him and the guilt was tearing him apart. She clenched her hands to fight her instinct to reach out for him. To hold his head on her lap. She hurt for him but she had nothing left in her to soothe his pain.
“If you’re here to apologize, there’s no need,” she said, sounding as weary as she felt. “I’m sure you had your reasons for suspecting me in the first place.”
“My reasons?” His laughter rang with bitter regret. “I had my damn reasons but none of them excuse what I did.”
“I already told you. You don’t need to apologize.” He had to leave. She wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer. “If it’ll help you sleep better, then I forgive you. I really do, so please leave now. If you care even a little about me, please just leave.”
“No.” She thought she misheard him. It was a broken rasp. Then determination flared in his eyes and he said with finality, “No.”
“How could you—”
“I care more than a little bit about you.” He held her arms. “I love you, Natalie.”
“Leave.” She tugged her arms free and stumbled blindly away from him. “I want you to leave. Now.”
“I can’t.” Garrett rose to his feet, but only his eyes—lost and frightened—followed her. “I’ll do anything you want. Everything. Except leave you. I can’t do that.”
She shut her eyes to the naked need on his face. “Can’t or won’t?”
“Natalie...”
“How could you say you love me when you don’t even trust me?”
“I never believed you betrayed me. I trust you with my life...with my heart.” Garrett took a step toward her with his hand outstretched, but stopped short when she backed farther away. “I lied to myself because I needed an excuse to push you away. I saw what losing my mother did to my father. I swore never to love like that—to love someone so much that losing them meant losing myself. Then, I met you—beautiful, brave and so kind. I knew there wasn’t a wall high enough to keep you out of my heart, and it scared me to death. I was so afraid of being hurt that I broke your heart instead.”
“Yes. You did.” She breathed in and out through her nose and spoke to a point above his shoulder. “But I understand. It doesn’t make it hurt any less, but I think I understand. Maybe it’s better this way. You ended whatever was between us. We should move past it and go on with our lives.”
“No. I don’t think you understand.” Anguish drenched his eyes and his Adam’s apple worked to swallow. “If you did, you wouldn’t tell me to move on and live, because there is no life for me without you.”
“But nothing has changed.” Hurt, hope, anger and love screamed in her head and pulled her in opposite directions. “You broke my heart once, and I won’t be able to survive a second time.”
“Everything has changed.” His face was a mask of pain, but his voice was deep and true. “With you gone, everything lost meaning. The company, my family’s legacy, the CEO spot. Those things are nothing more than duty and responsibility. Something I have to do for the benefit of others. Nothing gives me joy or satisfaction. Don’t you see? I’m nothing more than a shadow without you.”
He put one foot ahead of the other and cautiously approached her as though she was a bird ready to take flight. Natalie shook her head and retreated until she backed into a wall. But this time, Garrett didn’t stop until he stood in front of her. He didn’t touch her but his gaze roamed her face, desperate, naked and frantic.
No wall or barrier hid him from her, and she saw him. At last, he bared every part of himself, down to his very core. He was exposed and vulnerable, raw and true, and terrified and powerful—the only way a person in love could be.
“You...love me?” she said, body shaking so hard that her teeth were chattering.
“More than life.” He lifted a trembling hand and brushed the pad of his thumb across her cheek. Only then did she realize she was crying, and so was he. “But I fought it. God, I fought it. Cancer took my mother, but I pushed you away from me. I know I hurt you and I don’t have a right to ask this of you, but if you give me a chance, I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”
“The rest of your life?” She was dreaming. She had to be. He didn’t want her, or her love, did he?
“The rest of our lives. Forever.”
“You didn’t want forever. You didn’t want me.” She looked away from him, biting her lip.
“Because I was a coward and a fool. Please, Natalie. Look at me.” He cupped her cheek and turned her to face him. “I love you, Natalie. You are my heart.”
“Do you...?” But she couldn’t hold back the wrenching sobs any longer. Helpless in the face of her sorrow, Garrett gently ran his hands down her arms. “Do you really want to spend the rest of your life with me?”
“I can’t live without you.” He enveloped her in the warmth of his arms. “I was too afraid to admit to myself that I was in love with you, but I was desperate to hold on to you. I had the earrings made for you because I needed a way to ask you to stay with me. To tell you I didn’t want our marriage to end.”
“And I wouldn’t take them.” Her heart cracked and bled. “I didn’t know.”
“Of course not. How could you?”
“But then, why did you...?” She couldn’t finish the sentence, their final encounter too painful to recall.
“When you refused the earrings, I was so terrified of losing you that I pushed you away. That way I could at least control how my heart was broken. But now I know. Even if my heart and soul shattered into a thousand pieces tomorrow, I would rather live one day to the fullest, knowing you are mine.” Natalie watched in disbelief as Garrett went down on his knee and withdrew a small box from his blazer. He opened it to reveal the engagement ring she’d left behind. “Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
A small sob tore from her and she gave him a watery smile. “I’m already your wife.”
“But I need to know, will you be my wife now and forever? To love and to cherish?” His voice broke with the depth of his emotion. “Because I believe in love and marriage and forever. All of it. I believe in us.”
Natalie smiled at him, not quite able to believe what was happening. To ensure it was all real—that he was real—she cradled his beautiful face in her hand, and with a shuddering sigh, he turned his head and kissed her palm with aching tenderness. Then, still holding her hand, he rose to his feet.
“I want you to have everything you’ve ever wanted. As promised, the VP of Human Resources position is yours. You could transfer to New York at the end of the month as planned.”
Confusion drew her eyebrows low and she searched his face. “But you’ll be in Los Angeles.”
“No, I need to be where you are. If you’d let me, I’d like to come with you.”
“But your family, your life, the CEO appointment you worked so hard for... They’re all in Los Angeles.”
“My life is with you and our daughter,” he said with a stubborn set to his jaw. “Besides, I don’t even know if I’m the new CEO. I left in the middle of the board meeting when I found out where you were.”
“You idiot.”
She was angry he’d jeopardized his dream, but if she’d wanted proof of his love, she couldn’t ask for anything stronger. Even so, he was an idiot. She grabbed his lapels to shake some sense into him, but changed her mind. Instead, she jerked him close and kissed him senseless until they needed to come up for air.
“That kiss.” He sounded as breathless as she felt. “Does it mean what I think it means?”
“Only if you think it means I love you.” Her voice shook with joy. She had held those words in check too many times. “I love you so much. I’ve loved you since you made me sit and watch you sign those damn HR documents. So, yes. I’ll be your wife and we can be a real family...from now until forever.”
Garrett seemed to stop breathing for a moment. Then a smile radiant with love spread across his face, and he captured her lips in a possessive, savoring kiss. When they at last drew apart, he held her face between his hands as though he couldn’t stop touching her.
“I’m not sure if I could let you out of my sight right now, so don’t mind me if I follow you around like a shadow,” he said in a low, gravelly voice.
“Please do.” Her heart filled with joy, and she burst out laughing. “I don’t mind at all.”
“Good.” Garrett gathered her close and bent to kiss her again, but she put a hand on his chest to stop him.
“But if you lost the CEO seat, I’ll kill you with my bare hands.”
“That’s not important right now.”
“Like hell it isn’t.” Natalie crossed her arms over her chest and arched an eyebrow. “But I agree. For now, all that matters is that we’ll be together. We’ll figure out everything else.”
“God, I love you.”
“Say it again,” she whispered, afraid she might wake up from this dream.
“I love you, Natalie.”
“Again.” And again, and again.
“I love you. More than life.”
Smiling up at him with the brilliance of her glowing heart, Natalie kissed her husband, knowing she’d never grow tired of hearing those words.
If you loved
Temporary Wife Temptation
don’t miss
Adelaide Song’s story,
the second book in
The Heirs of Hansol series
by Jayci Lee!
Coming in September 2020
from Harlequin Desire
Keep reading for an excerpt from From Boardroom to Bedroom by Jules Bennett.