Defiant Mistress, Ruthless Millionaire(27)

She transferred her grip from her mug to Josh's hands, entwining her  fingers through his as if by doing so she could impart the truth of what  she was telling him.

"She saved me, Josh. She saved me and made me whole again. She made me  see that I could be anything I wanted to be, do anything I wanted to do  if I just wanted it enough. I owed her everything."

"And she took it. She used you and abandoned you when you needed her most."

"I'm nothing if not consistent," Callie said bitterly. "Never let it be said that I inspire loyalty in the people in my life."

"You do in me."

"No, I don't. I failed you, too."

"None of us are perfect, but you could see before I did that I was wrong  and that what I was doing was wrong. You have so much courage, Callie,  you almost frighten me. You stood up to me, not just once, but twice.  You stood up for what you believed in-me. And that's a gift I want to  keep forever-you, your love. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Have you really let it go? The anger? Your need for revenge?"

"I'll be honest. I found out some truths today that redirected my anger.  Irene separated my mother and Bruce-she was the one who sent Mum away  and gave her money, she was the one who intercepted my letter when I  wrote to say Mum had died. Irene had just discovered she was pregnant  and she didn't want her child or children to be usurped. She persuaded  my mother that Bruce didn't love her anymore and she sent her away.  Irene was behind everything-she's one evil manipulative woman. I'm not  going to let her infect my life with her vitriol any longer. And she's  not going to contaminate yours, either."

"And Bruce? What about the letters."

"I thought I'd destroy them. Leave them in the past where they belong.  Or maybe we should return them to him. They're his property in the end,  aren't they?"

Callie could barely believe her ears. He really had let all that anger  go? It had been his direction for so long; it had been a part of what  sculpted him into the man he was. Letting go would leave a void in his  life, a loss of purpose.                       
       
           



       

"I think whatever you decide will be fine," she answered carefully.

"So do I have your forgiveness?"

"Of course you do. But can you forgive me? I lied to you; I deliberately tried to undermine your plans."

"I love you, Callie, even if I hadn't already been in the wrong I could  forgive you for anything as long as I know I had your love in return."

Tears sprang to her eyes and she dashed them away as happiness swelled to an almost unbearable peak within her.

"You do, oh, yes, you do. I love you, Josh. I always will."

"Then come home with me. Stay with me, be my wife. Let's create the family we both always wanted. The family we both deserve."

"I'll do it on one condition," she said, smiling through tears of joy.

"Name it. It's yours."

"Will you call me Callie Rose?"

"Always."

He stood and pulled her from her chair, into his arms where she finally  belonged, and he took her love from her lips and into his body, holding  it deep inside. She returned his kiss, and his faith in a happier  future, with everything she had inside, and when she took him upstairs  to her bedroom it was to show him with her body, her love, exactly what  he meant to her.

Sunlight slanted through the cedar blinds in her bedroom window,  encasing them both in a brilliant golden glow, a portent of hope in two  lives that had known so much despair. She slid his clothes from his  body, skimming her fingers over the width of his shoulders, the broad  strength of his chest, tracing each line of muscle, sensing through her  fingertips each shiver of his reaction.

When they were both naked, she led him to her bed and continued her  exploration of his body, loving how his skin danced beneath her touch.  Loving him. And when she knelt over him, and took him into her body, she  felt a closeness with Josh that had been missing before. Finally, there  were no secrets between them. Finally they could give and take without  any shadows of the past lingering between them.

As she rose and fell against him, sensation swelled upon pleasure,  pleasure upon sensation, until they both tumbled over the edge of  reality and onto a plane of pure joy, pure enlightenment. Pure love.

Later, as their bodies cooled and their breathing returned to normal,  Callie relished the sound of Josh's heartbeat beneath her cheek-the  heart that beat for her. For all they'd been through, for all they'd  done, they'd made it through together and would each be stronger for  that now.

Josh's fingers drew lazy circles against her back. She could stay in  this half world forever, she thought with a smile. But then again,  they'd have plenty of these times together. They had a lifetime to look  forward to.

"You know," she said quietly, "I feel sorry for her."

"Irene?" Josh's voice was a deep rumble in her ear. "She doesn't need your pity."

"Yes, I think she does. She did help me, Josh. I know she cast me to the  wolves when everything began to crumble, but deep down I really feel  sorry for her. She only fought for what she believed in-her family,  their security, their future. Really, what she did was not a lot  different from what you did to them. It's like everything came full  circle."

Josh lay silent beneath her for several minutes before speaking.

"I hate to admit it, but you're right. The difference being, though, that I withdrew before it was too late."

"So you're definitely not going public with Bruce being your father?"

"No. I'm not even going to approach him about it. I'm satisfied knowing  he truly loved my mother. At least she had that, no matter how long it  lasted."

Callie lifted her head and met Josh's gaze, saw the unexpected sheen of tears in his eyes.

"I love you, Josh Tremont. I don't deserve you, but I love you and I promise you I will love you until the day I die."

"That's all I ever wanted," he said, as he rolled her under him and  lowered his face to her. "And you need never doubt I will spend every  day of the future loving you exactly the same way."

By the time they'd spent their afternoon making love, packing enough of  Callie's things to fit in her car, and making love again, it was early  evening before they made it to Josh's place. As they reached the  entrance to his drive, Callie noticed that the gates were open.

"Did you leave them open today?" she asked.

"I was in a hurry this morning."

"There's a car outside your house."

They cruised down the driveway, toward the dark Mercedes parked in the  large turning bay. A Mercedes that Callie realised was very familiar.  Her breath caught in her throat and a bundle of nerves clenched into a  knot at the pit of her stomach. Josh slowed her car to a halt and got  out.                       
       
           



       

The knot in Callie's stomach tightened even more when the driver's door  on the Mercedes swung open and Bruce Palmer stepped out. If she'd  thought he looked as if he'd aged the other day in the boardroom it was  nothing compared to how he looked now.

His skin was grey and hung from his cheeks in folds, his eyes were  red-rimmed, his posture stooped and his normally immaculate suit  rumpled.

Through Josh's open door, she heard the older man's voice tremble as he spoke.

"Irene told me. Is it true? Are you my son?"

"Yes." Josh's voice choked on the word.

Grief and joy flew across Bruce Palmer's face and tears streaked down his cheeks. "My boy!"

The two men moved together as one, their arms outstretched one moment  and clasped around one another the next as if nothing could ever tear  them apart.

And as Callie watched Bruce hold his firstborn son for the very first  time, she knew that finally everything would be all right. The great  knot inside her unravelled and she got out of the car to follow them  inside.

After making the men coffee, Callie left them alone together and took  her things upstairs. She put everything away and then, loath to  interrupt Josh and his father in their first chance to get to know each  other, she moved outside, onto the main bedroom balcony. She looked down  the hill and out to the water and wondered how they were doing. How  they were coping with discovering each other as father and son.

She didn't hear Josh come up behind her. She simply felt his warmth and  strength against her back, his arms sliding around her waist. She leaned  back against his chest.

"He had to go. The Guildarian consulate function is tonight, but he  wants to come over tomorrow-to spend part of Christmas Day with us. He  said he's missed too many of them now to want to miss this one."