“I’ve seen her daughter and that’s enough for me.” He chuckled. “What about Shawn?”
“He’s coming back. I told him we might be moving and he immediately asked if we were moving to your house. I guess I didn’t fool him. I said, ‘Possibly,’ and the little mercenary replied, ‘Cool, once I get a flat screen TV in my room’. I think he actually likes you. I told him about the private school and he’s excited. He’s wanted to go to Oxford since he was about thirteen—I don’t know why. He’s happy to increase the odds of getting in.”
“So that’s settled?”
“For the moment. He could decide that he wants to stay in Jamaica, too. Or the girls could change their minds and want to come back to the UK.”
“They’ve got three weeks to decide,” he reminded her. “Let’s not worry about them for the moment.”
“But, what happens with them affects what happens with us!” she protested.
“Shhh! Let’s focus on us for a minute.” He had exercised uncharacteristic patience since she’d arrived, Chantelle suddenly realized, especially as she’d made him wait the entire week for her decision. He took her hands in his. “I’ve been doing some thinking, too. That night after the lap dance, I’d planned to pay you another 50K, sleep with you and forget you.” He tightened his grip when she tried to pull away in annoyance. “No. Hear me out. But even if you had agreed and had slept with me that night, I wouldn’t have been able to move on. You’re a special kind of woman. The way you held your family together is remarkable. Your sisters are well behaved and happy. A young man growing up without parents to guide him can be a challenge. Shawn is a little cocky, but I can tell how much he respects you. After struggling for years, most women would have jumped at the chance to have me look after them, but your first concern was your brother and sisters. I’m still amazed that you were a virgin. It pleased me to be your first, though I—”#p#分页标题#e#
“Dominic,” she interrupted, “I’d never planned on being promiscuous, but you should know that I wasn’t saving myself for marriage or any such thing. It was mostly because I had no free time or money to have a relationship.”
“Most young women would have found that time regardless of their responsibilities. You are one of a kind. Even as a dancer you stood out. Total nudity is sexy, but by concealing yourself with those three tiny triangles you blew every man’s mind in that place! I knew you didn’t belong there and I deliberately gave you the chance to quit, sensing that you would take it. I just didn’t anticipate that you would slip through my fingers.”
“The 50K was meant to be a joke. I never thought anyone would pay that kind of money for a lap dance.” Chantelle freed her right hand and placed it on her heart. “It was the first good thing that had happened since Dad left. Sometimes I’d wondered if God had forgotten us. I know that’s silly—He kept us safe and healthy—but life had felt like one struggle after the other. That money, even though I’d earned it at the club, felt like a blessing.” Chantelle smiled as she thought of the unforgettable night that changed her life. “Of course, you being young and good looking made it easier for me to accept your offer.”
“So, if I’d been old and ugly you would have refused?”
“Maybe not,” she replied honestly. “But I would have felt less guilty afterwards.”
“You shouldn’t have done,” he chided. “I’ve made and lost more than that amount in a single day on the Stock Exchange.”
“Believe me, I wouldn’t have felt at all guilty if I’d known who you were!”
“Fate brought us together twice and it can’t be mere coincidence. I wouldn’t have been at Armstrong’s that night if I didn’t have to close that business deal. When I couldn’t find you after that night, it sent me crazy. I thought you’d left the country. I’m not used to being denied anything, my love.” His fingers gripped hers tightly and for the first time she had an inkling of the torment he had endured. “I want what my parents have. And you’re the woman I want it with, but you have to know what you’re letting yourself in for. There are many aspects of my world you have to experience before we take the next step. Constant media attention is not pleasant. People often crave it, but they soon crack under the strain of having no privacy at all.”
“I’m most worried about that,” she admitted.