"What did he say?"
Sam shook his head. "That we had to remember Tolley-Patterson was looking to the future. That we weren't going to be the last generation to run our family's company."
"Maybe that's why he was so determined that his next CEO produce an heir," Cassidy said. It seemed to her that Maxwell Patterson had wanted to control his grandsons for as long as he could.
"Perhaps. I am sorry for what I said. It seems as if you do know what you're getting into with Donovan."
She smiled and tried to appear confident. But she wasn't sure she'd pulled it off. Because to be honest, she had no idea what to expect from Donovan. "I guess."
"The rest of the family isn't going to accept your marriage, Cassidy."
"Why not?"
"Uncle Theo's quote in the business section … Did you see that?"
"Yes, I did."
"Well, he knows you and Donovan are back together. He's trying to push the two of you apart."
"Why?"
Sam shook his head. "I can honestly say that it has nothing to do with you."
"Who does it have to do with? Van? I'm not going to let your uncle or Tolley-Patterson be the focus of his life. I don't want him to grow up like that."
Sam smiled at her. "I can see that Donovan chose the right woman to be the mother of his children."
It was such a change from where Sam had been before that she almost didn't trust him. "Thanks, I think."
"Do you need a hand with your bags?" he asked.
"No, thanks."
"Good night then," Sam said, and he walked down to his Mercedes and drove away.
Cassidy watched him go, wondering desperately what she was going to do about both the mess that was her marriage and her son's future.
Chapter Ten
Donovan didn't leave his office until well after midnight. Even though he hadn't spoken to Cassidy, he knew she was aware that he'd married her to fulfill the requirements of his grandfather's will. Her lack of contact spoke volumes. He rubbed a hand over his eyes. They felt gritty and his back ached from sitting in one position for too long.
The house was quiet and air-conditioned cold as he walked up the grand staircase to the second-floor landing. One of his father's sculptures was displayed there. This one was of him, from when he'd been in his first year of college. The cold marble seemed startlingly like him. The eyes were vacuous, though, something he'd never noticed in his own.
Seeing himself in stone like this always made him strive harder. Work harder. His grandfather used to say that the boy in that sculpture had so much potential and fire to change the world. And Donovan was reminded of those words each time he walked past it.
But he was fifteen years older and he'd changed. He'd had to change. Hadn't he?
He entered the master suite and found it empty and quiet. He stood in the doorway feeling the hollowness of his victory. His long hours in the office this last week had assured that victory. Tomorrow there would be a public announcement officially declaring him the new CEO of Tolley-Patterson.
And he was all alone.
He strode to his nightstand and reached for the fine quality embossed note card that had Cassidy's monogram on the front. Not the one from when she'd been a Franzone, but the new one that reflected her married name.
He opened the card and traced his finger over her signature. It was flowery and pretty, very feminine and reflective of the woman she was.
Donovan,
I hated to leave without saying anything but I couldn't wait around for you. I need to get away so I can think about everything that's happened. I think I made a mistake in marrying you so quickly, without understanding exactly what your needs were.
Van and I are moving back into my house so I can have space to figure this out. I know you'll be busy with the company and your new role. Somehow, without even asking, I know you will be the new CEO.
I pray it's everything you hoped it would be.
Love, Cassidy
He tossed the note on the bed and left the bedroom. The house was a monument to his success. He had every "thing" anyone could possibly want. And for what?
He shook it off. Cassidy was just a woman. He'd lived just fine without her for the eight months they were apart. He went downstairs to the wet bar and poured himself a stiff drink.
He heard a sound behind him on the marble floor and turned to see a shadow in the doorway.
"Cassidy?"
She stepped into the room.
"I thought you'd gone."
"I did."
She wore a pair of faded jeans and a scoop-neck, sleeveless top. She looked tired. Her eyes were red, and he suspected that she had been crying. He had made her cry. He tried to think how he could make it better for her. She'd come back, so that had to mean that she didn't really want to be apart from him.
"Where's Van?"
"With my parents. I needed to talk to you. I want to make sure you understand why I left."
"I run a multimillion-dollar company. I think I can figure it out," he said, not really up to discussing all the things that were wrong with him when it came to relationships.
"You can be a real bastard."
"I know," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Listen, I didn't mean it that way. You know how I am. I'm not the kind of guy who talks about his emotions … ."
He trailed off, hoping that she'd rescue him. That she'd give him a pass the way she had so often before. But she didn't.
"I do know how you are."
"Then why are you surprised?"
"Because … listen, I can't explain it any better than to just say I love you. And I think in loving you I made you into the hero I needed you to be. I have always been drawn to men who are driven, and you are that in spades."
"So what's the problem?"
"I thought you were different from my dad. That you had all of his strengths and none of his weaknesses."
"I've never talked on the phone all through a dinner with you."
"Donovan … do you care about this relationship, or do you want me to just walk out the door?"
It would be so much easier to have a clean break with Cassidy. She complicated things, complicated his life endlessly because she made him want to be that white knight she thought he was.
But he wasn't naive and never had been. He couldn't be the man she wanted him to be. His life was this empty house. His life was Tolley-Patterson.
"Donovan?"
"Yes?"
"What are you thinking?"
"About letting you go," he said honestly.
"That's funny," Cassidy said, feeling calm for once. No tears burned in her eyes. She felt nothing but a sense of unreality. "I think you probably already let me go … almost a year ago."
He shook his head and walked to her. He looked so tired and drained, and she wanted nothing more than to open her arms and offer him the comfort of a hug. But this was the man who kept breaking her heart, and solace wasn't something she should even be thinking of giving him anymore.
Yet to quit loving him was hard. She couldn't just fall out of love with him in less than one week. She couldn't stop the emotions that had been there from the moment their hands had touched. But she was determined to let him go. Determined to make a new start for herself. One where Donovan was nothing more than her baby's father.
"Baby, I have been holding on to you in ways you can't even imagine," he said.
The words sounded true, but she had learned during their brief marriage that Donovan wasn't above manipulating the truth.
"It feels to me more like you're pushing me away. You lied to me, Donovan. Flat-out lied when I asked you why you came back."
She'd come back for closure. Writing a note to him and leaving the way she had had left her feeling as if … oh, God, as if maybe there was still a chance for the two of them. The only way she was going to be able to move on was through some sort of final conflict.
"What did you want me to say, Cassidy? That I needed a wife and a baby for the company?" he asked, sarcasm dripping from every word.
"Well it would have been the truth." She wasn't about to take the blame for this. He had lied to her, and he had planned to keep on lying to her.
"You were happy to believe I was back for you."
"I was happy to believe that, because I wanted it so much. But I think maybe I was lying to myself. Listen, I just came back tonight because I didn't want things to end the way they did last time." She thought about telling him about her other stop that day-at his parents' house-and decided against it.