Priceless Treasure(60)

And Savvy felt absolutely nothing. Or very little, anyway.

That feeling of blankness was almost a blessing. No, it was a blessing. She would so much rather be numb than to deal with the horrible emotions of pain and sorrow. Numb she could handle. Numb she was used to.

And then people were walking away. The show had ended. And soon only she and Ashton were standing there, and even the light was beginning to fade in the sky.

Somehow she found herself much too close to her former lover, her only lover, as he reached out for her once again.

“Savvy, please let me help you.”

And she snapped.

“Don’t, Ashton! Don’t pretend you care. You haven’t spoken to me in three bloody days. Okay, maybe you managed to say hello.” All her fear and pain rose to the surface like a fast-erupting volcano.

“Savvy, I’m sorry. I’ve just needed time to think,” he said, and he stretched out his arms to her again.

“I swear, Mr. Storm, that if you touch me, I’m going to go psycho,” she almost yelled as she backed further away. “Do you have a Taser on you? You might need it.”

“I’m sorry you went through that. Please, tell me what I can do.”

“I don’t need or want your help, Ashton. I’ve done just fine on my own for a long time, and I will continue to do just fine. So stay the … heck away from me.”

Savvy turned and walked off with her head held high. Neither her father nor Ashton would be able to break her. She was strong — no matter what the men in her life told her.#p#分页标题#e#

She had survived so much. And she would keep on surviving no matter what the fates threw at her next.





Chapter Twenty-Nine


Ashton really wanted to throw a drink back, but he decided that was probably the worst thing he could do at the moment. He was in his office, pacing like a madman, and Savvy was on her way in to see him. That was happening only because he’d pulled the boss card to get her there. He hated that it had to be this way.

He hadn’t slept more than a couple of hours the night before. He was worried about this woman, a woman who had become so important to him. But she’d thrown him for a loop on the cruise, and he’d just needed time to figure out what to do.

Ashton had always known that he would need to bring heirs into this world. It was expected of him. He was a Storm, after all. And to add more fuel to that fire, he was also an Anderson. If he didn’t produce heirs –— the best of the best — he wouldn’t be doing his family duty.

But could he honestly give up a woman as amazing as Savvy just to produce children he wasn’t even sure he wanted? That’s what had been bothering him since they’d docked the cruise ship.

Add to that the traumatizing visit of Savvy’s father the night before and he couldn’t hold off from speaking to her anymore. He had to make sure she was really okay. He had to see if he was truly able to let her go.

“I was instructed to see you here.”

Ashton turned to find Savvy standing stiffly in the doorway. She obviously wasn’t pleased about being there.

“We need to talk, Savvy,” he said, and he gestured to her to come inside his office.

She didn’t budge. “Is this about work, Mr. Storm?”

He’d never heard such dullness in her voice before. Had he been that cruel to a woman who had brought him so much joy?

“Yes … and no,” he answered at last.

“I only want to speak about work,” she said, her arms crossed.

“Savvy, this is ridiculous. You throw a bombshell at me, and I take some time to think about it, and now you’re acting as if the last couple of months didn’t even happen. How mature is that?” The irritation in his tone probably rang out loud and clear.

Her shoulders slumped just a bit, but her eyes flared up. He could see she was trying to decide whether to turn away or to hear him out. He hoped like hell she’d pick the latter.

“In case you’ve forgotten, Ashton, you were the one to walk away from me and then avoid the hell out of me all because I said I didn’t want to be a mother. I’m sorry if that doesn’t go along with your life plans, but I’m done with being made to feel that I’m a lesser person because of my choices. I won’t wait around for you to decide if I’m good enough for you to screw.”

“You think that’s all I want from you?”

“Yes, pretty much.”

His eyes narrowed even more. “If all I wanted to do was screw you, as you so vulgarly put it, then why in the hell would I care or not whether you want children?”

That seemed to stump her. Her eyes took on a haunted look and her arms dropped. Good. She needed to mull over why the fact that she didn’t want babies would make him reconsider their relationship. It was because he wasn’t just thinking about today or tomorrow, but about ten years down the road. He was thinking of forever with her. Forever if they could be a real family.