Billionaire Romance Boxed Set 2

Chapter Twenty-Two

Deborah



I left Ashley’s in the morning, ready to face whatever might happen at Will’s. I couldn’t avoid it any longer and I didn’t want to. It was time to see how he really was doing and see how I could help, if he would let me. Unsure what to expect, my hands felt moist and my stomach turned a little, but I wasn’t going to back down.

Slowing down at the entrance, I was surprised to find the gate wide opened. My first thought was of the men who kidnapped us in Paris and I worried for Will’s safety as I felt a chill overtake me again.

The loud honk behind me startled me out of my fear and back to the King Manor driveway. I quickly moved my car over to the side as a plumbing truck drove past.

“That’s odd, I wonder what’s going on,” I said.

As I reached the circular part of the driveway with the fountain, I couldn’t believe how many trucks were there. Parking closer to the garden than the house, I surveyed each of the trucks as I tried to guess why they were there but couldn’t come up with anything.

Walking up the path to the house, I noticed a man in jeans and a button shirt directing the contractors to different locations on the first floor and outside.

“Excuse me,” I said as I tapped his shoulder hoping to find out where Will was.

“Deborah!” Will exclaimed as he turned around. “I was hoping you’d come home.”

He picked me up and spun me around then kissed me by dipping me back, leaving me breathless and woozy.

“What’s going on here? And where’s your suit?” I said teasing him.

“Come, walk with me,” he said slipping his arm around my shoulders and pressing me against him. “I want to show you something.”

We walked past the gardens and towards the furthest part of the property, away from the mansion. Following a stone path that curved through the fields, I wondered where he was taking me.

“After everything that happened in Paris, I had to leave. I needed to get as far away as possible. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything. I needed some time alone to think about things.”

“I figured that’s what happened, Will. But I was still really worried.”

“I know. And for that I apologize. My whole life came into question. Everything I believed about my father was wrong. All this time I thought he was dead, I remembered his words to live life without regrets and I did the complete opposite. I hid away not wanting to feel loss again. I let the danger he put me into rule everything I did. Instead of living without regrets I regretted not only everything I did, but even the things I didn’t do.” He stopped and turned to look into my eyes. “That is until I met you.

“That first day I saw you in the store changed everything for me. Suddenly I wanted to live, to be a part of something. You were so full of life it was contagious. I began changing things and letting myself be vulnerable to you was one of them.

“When you got upset on the plane, I almost came home. I realized how hard everything was and I didn’t want to deal with it. It was easier to hide and be alone, but I realized I’d regret if I never spent another minute with you so I waited for you to stop being so stubborn and realize what happened wasn’t that big of a deal. Even if I was wrong and should have told you exactly who I was,” he said with a lopsided grin.

“Jeez, if this is an apology, I think it needs some work,” I said grinning back at him.

“Just listen to me. I took that commercial flight back instead of my jet because I didn’t want to be Will King for once. I just wanted to be like everyone else. What I saw while I waited were families and couples. I watched how they were with each other and I understood that my father faking his death wasn’t a selfish act like I first thought, he did it because it was the only way he knew how to protect me. He had just lost his wife and didn’t want to lose his son too.

“The ironic thing is what he did kept me from having my own love. But I didn’t realize I was missing that until I met you.”

We arrived at a large clearing where bulldozers and other construction vehicles were digging and moving dirt around as they flattened the area. Behind the clearing was the gentle slope of the lush green valley just beginning to change colors for fall and in the distance I could see the ocean.

“Oh wow, what a gorgeous view!” I said. “What’s going on here?”

“The night I lost my parents, my father wanted to show me my future. He said that future was Hargrove’s and he was right. If it wasn’t for Hargrove’s and that particular store, I would have never met you.”

Will took both my hands into his as he spoke. The world stood still as I listened to him intently over the noise of the construction, lost in the glittering green flecks of his eyes.