CHAPTER 29

 

 

She drove to Desmond’s beach house and sat there in the jeep, not wanting to go in. She tried to call him again but he hadn’t answered. Now, she was worrying. Sick and all, she was worrying.

For a split second, she thought about calling Emily but decided not to. Desmond would call eventually, once he got out of his sour mood.

Finally getting out of the jeep, she opened the back door, took her suitcase from the back seat, then rolled it to the front door of the house. She found the house key Desmond had given her and when she unlocked the door, she stepped in, pulled her bag in and closed the door.

“When I tell you I love you, do you believe me?”

Sherita turned around so fast, she almost lost her breath. Desmond was standing there, in the living room. Was she seeing things? He had on a pair of jeans, a white tank top and his hands were hidden in the front pockets of his jeans.

“Desmond?” She placed a hand over her heart. He nearly scared the life out of her.

“Answer my question, Sherita.”

After balancing her breathing, she asked, “Desmond, what are you doing here?”

“Answer my question, Sherita,” he said in a demanding tone.

“Answer mine,” she said, thoroughly confused, hearing the beats of her muffled heart in her ears. She’d left him standing in the driveway this morning and didn’t expect to see him again until next Friday.

“Okay,” Desmond said. “This is my house. That’s why I’m here. Now, answer my question. When I tell you I love you, do you believe me?”

“No,” she answered honestly. How could she believe him after what they’d done? What he’d done? This marriage was nothing more than a business transaction. Even when she thought they were becoming something more, he’d told her not to tell the family about them.

He glared at her, hands still in his pockets. “You don’t believe me?”

“No. Is that why you came here? To ask me that, when all you had to do was call me or answer your phone? I—”

“Why don’t you believe me, Sherita?”

Holding his angry gaze, Sherita said, “This is ridiculous. I didn’t expect to see you here, and I didn’t come here for this, Desmond. I don’t feel good, I’ve had a long, stressful day and I don’t need this right now.”

“Why don’t you believe me, Sherita?”

“It really doesn’t matter.”

“It does matter,” he said angrily, his eyes darkening. He took a few steps closer to her and said, “Why must we play these games?”

“I’m not playing any games.”

“Then answer my question. When I tell you I love you, why don’t you believe me?”

Sherita pulled in a breath. Deciding to put it all out there and be honest with him, she said, “I don’t believe you because my gut tells me the only reason you said it was to keep me around. If I leave, your company risks losing fifty-million dollars so naturally, you would do whatever it took to make me stay – buying a laptop for me, redesigning my website, letting me drive your car, giving me a thousand dollars for spending money, the keys to your vacation home – everything you do for me, supposedly out of generosity, has a purpose and nothing about it involves love. It’s business, and I get that. I signed on for that. But I didn’t expect to fall in love with you, but I did. So when you tell me to pretend like there’s nothing going on between us in front of the rest of your family, I do it, while pretending it doesn’t hurt me. When you make love to me…sorry, let me correct myself. When you sleep with me, I pretend you are a man who actually wants me, who swept me off of my feet and got down on one knee and promised to love me forever, but you’re not that man. You’re just a man who sees what he wants, knows what he wants and does anything to get what he wants. I know I can’t compete with fifty-million dollars, but it was nice to pretend.”

Sherita pinched the tears from the corners of her eyes. “I take pictures of these happy couples all the time and with every flash of my camera, I always wonder when my time is coming. When my prince would sweep me off of my feet and declare his undying love for me in front of everyone – our friends and family. But that time will never come for me because I always end up with men like you, and Thane.”

Without saying a word, Desmond took a final step in front of her, placed his hands on her face and said, “You don’t believe any of that.”

“I do…every word of it.”

“Then why do you make love to me, Sherita? You say I’m controlling, that I don’t love you and that this is all about the money for me, but I have never, nor will I ever, force you to make love to me. So why? Why do you make love to me?”

With trembling lips, she responded, “Because I love you, Desmond.”

He swallowed hard when he watched the tear crawl down her face. He released her, turned away then walked on through the kitchen and out the door.

Dabbing her eyes, she stood there, in the foyer, debating whether or not he should stay or go. One thing was for certain – she was tired of crying.

Taking her suitcase upstairs, she pulled it inside one of the bedrooms and ran into the bathroom, vomiting again. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this sick. Then again, she couldn’t recall being this worked up over a man, a job and on top of all of that, she’d had to deal with her parents, their mortgage, then finding a new apartment in a couple of months.

Peeling off her clothes, she showered quickly then turned off the lights and slid between the covers. In the morning, she’d be able to think clearer. She’d be able to make a decision about whether or not she would fulfill the remainder of this five-month marriage deal or go on her way.

 

 

Desmond climbed the stairs. He didn’t like what love was doing to him. He’d been acting sporadically, irrationally, taking a flight to Myrtle Beach with the sole purpose of making sure she was okay, especially after all of those visions he was having. He could’ve called her back, but her voice alone wouldn’t suffice. He needed to lay eyes on her.

Standing over her bed now while she slept, he thought about the things she had said – that he didn’t love her because the only thing that had brought them together was money. That was true – a business deal had brought them together, but he knew what he was feeling for her had to be love. He never went to such extreme lengths to ensure the safety of a woman. He was never angry when he couldn’t reach a woman by phone, and he never felt the urge to be close to a woman as he felt with Sherita. And it hurt him to know she didn’t think his love was real. He was insulted when she’d lumped him in the same category as Thane.

He eased on the bed so as not to disturb her, then rubbed his fingers on top of her soft hair. “I don’t want to hurt you anymore, Sherita,” he whispered. “You’re right about me. I’m no good for you.” He stood up again, leaving her bedroom and headed to the living room. He shouldn’t have come here. He realized that now. Come morning, he’d leave before she had a chance to be upset by his presence yet again.