Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

B ritt paced from one end of their suite to the other, casting malevolent glares at her laptop on each circuit and the incriminating email on the screen.

The promotion was hers.

David had seen the preliminary pitch she'd emailed, and had been blown away by the video footage, photos of the sugar cane plantation, and the accompanying spread. He'd evaluated her entire early presentation and made his decision.

She was the new managing director of Sell .

She'd done it.

Which meant her work here was done.

So where did that leave her and Nick?

She should be ecstatic, her dream finally a reality, with the added bonus of clearing her debt with her father and finally being free of her past.

Instead, dread warred with regret.

She had to tell Nick the truth.

She'd be leaving, heading back to her job, to a dream job she'd worked incredibly hard for and strived for, had given up a heck of a lot for.

But what if the dream had changed?

What if the dream had evolved to include a sexy billionaire, a pristine beach, and a very real marriage?

At the sound of the door opening she stopped, lunged at the laptop, and slammed it shut. She was nowhere near ready for this.

Nick's eyes lit up as he saw her. ‘Hey, how's the most beautiful girl in Noosa doing?'

'Great.' She forced a smile, quelling the urge to blurt the truth the instant he stepped into the room.

'Come here.' He opened his arms. ‘I've had a rough day at the office and need a welcome kiss from my wife.'

She flew into his arms, crushing her lips to his in an urgent kiss, before burrowing into his chest, seeking comfort, seeking warmth, seeking a solution to her terrible dilemma.

She wanted the promotion.

She wanted him.

Why couldn't she have both?

'What's up?' He pulled away, his hands spanning her waist, anchoring her in a world spinning dangerously out of control.

'We need to discuss our arrangement.'

Frowning, he released her and stepped away, leaving her cursing her choice of words and wishing there was a simple solution to this.

But there wasn't, and she needed to face the truth. She'd fallen for Nick all over again, had blown her 'have fun for a short time not a long time' motto, and in doing so, had the potential to blow her dream job too.

'By arrangement, I assume you mean our marriage?'

She nodded, biting her bottom lip as his expression blanked, his cool indifference a frightening reminder of the emotional barriers he'd slammed up in the weeks leading up to the night he'd dashed her dreams of a future ten years ago.

'I got the promotion.'

'Congratulations.' He thrust his hands in his pockets, his calculating gaze not leaving hers, as if daring her to speak her mind and put an end to this.

'It's all happened rather soon—'

'When do you leave?'

No begging her to stay, no declaration of undying love.

But then, what did she expect?

Ever since their marriage had turned physical they'd slipped into old ways; comfortable with each other, teasing, joking, making up for lost time in the bedroom.

Yet they'd skirted around the issue of a future, never chatting beyond the day to day events, making love with frantic abandon as if each time could be their last.

It reminded her of the past, of the fragile nature of their relationship back then. But Nick wasn't the badass rebel anymore and she wasn't the wide-eyed romantic dreaming of happily ever after.

She hadn't got as far as she had in her career without being practical and there was no way she'd give up on them without a fight.

There had to be a solution to this, there had to be.

She twisting her hair into a loose knot at the base of her neck so she couldn't duck behind it and hide, and sank onto the edge of the bed and patted it. ‘When I leave depends on you.'

He eyed her warily, his rigid posture at odds with the fleeting yearning in his eyes as his gaze strayed to the spot next to her.

'Come on, take a seat. We need to sort this out.'

'Fine.' With a terse nod, he flung himself into an armchair opposite, his inflexible expression not giving an inch.

'Don't trust me if you sat on the bed?'

'Don't trust myself.' A glimmer of a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, giving her hope. 'You know what happens any time I get near you on a bed.'

'Not just a bed from memory.'

His eyes darkened to burnt caramel and she swallowed. It was so easy slipping into old ways with him; teasing, flirting.

But flirting wouldn't solve this, nothing but a good dose of honesty would, and she steadied her resolve to confront their problems rather than tumble into bed with him and forget everything.

She broke eye contact, took several steadying breaths, and when she met his gaze again he'd slipped those barriers firmly back in place.

'What do you want?'

The million-dollar question. If only she had a priceless answer.

'Honestly? I want it all. My job, the promotion, you…' She trailed off, hoping he'd fill the void, say something, anything, to give her some indication he wanted this marriage to work as much as she did.

But Nick didn't speak, his lips clamped shut in tight disapproval, leaving her floundering for her next words when she was usually articulate at work.

With her job, she knew what she wanted and knew what to say to get it. She'd nailed pitches other companies craved, had climbed to the top with sheer determination.

Those skills weren't exclusive to marketing and right now she knew what she wanted, and he was staring at her with studied apathy she knew to be a front.

'I know this marriage was a business arrangement at first, but the boundaries have changed.' Taking a deep breath, she made the pitch of her life. 'I want this marriage to work and not because of our deal at the start. We've got something special, Nick, something that time apart hasn't erased, and I know if we give this a chance it can be the best thing to happen to us.'

His expression thawed, his shoulders relaxing as he swiped a hand over his face and she went for broke.

'Whatever it takes to make this marriage work, I'll do it. If it means giving up my job in London and moving here…' She shrugged, shocked by the words coming out of her mouth yet strangely relieved.

She'd voiced a solution, a terrifying, monstrous, life-changing, solution, and rather than being overwhelmed by the enormity of it, her heart expanded, filled with a surprising peace.

Shock darkened his eyes as he leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. 'You'd do that for me?'

'For us.'

She stood and moved towards him. His eyes widened as she sat on his lap, leaving him no option but to hold her.

'Hell, Red, I don't know what to say.'

'Then don't say anything for now.'

She placed a finger against his lips, yearning to trace the contours but knowing this wasn't the time. Despite his shell-shocked expression he hadn't lost the wariness and she knew he needed time: time to think, to assimilate, to decide.

She knew what she wanted. Her husband needed time to figure out the same.

'Think about it,' she said. ‘We'll talk later.'

After brushing a kiss across his lips she slipped out of his arms, saddened he let her go but determined to give him the time he needed.

She'd done her best to save their marriage.

The rest was up to him.