She had finally gotten Deedee to sleep late in the afternoon and had slumped onto the adjoining bed, craving a nap, when a loud knock hammered on the door of Room 106. Thankfully, the baby was dead asleep and didn't even stir.
Hattie peered through the peephole. Dear God. Luc. She wrung her hands, her brain paralyzed.
His distinctive voice sounded through the thin wood. "I see the car. I know you're in there. Open up, damn it."
Like a robot, she twisted the lock and turned the knob. As she stepped back into the room, Luc blew in with a barrage of rain and wind. A storm was brewing, the skies dark and boiling with clouds.
They faced off in the boxlike room.
He was haggard and pale, his shirt wrinkled, his hair a mess. Nothing about him suggested a successful entrepreneur.
Her heart iced over as the recollection of his deliberate cruelty flooded back.
"What do you want, Luc?" Fatigue enveloped her. She turned her back on him deliberately, sitting on the nearest bed and scooting back against the headboard. She pulled her knees to her chest, arms wrapped protectively around them.
His eyes were dark with misery. "I want you."
"Liar." She said it without inflection, but she saw him flinch as the insult found its mark.
He shrugged out of his jacket and swiped a hand through his wet hair. Thunder boomed, and the lights flickered. "I made a mistake. I was afraid to tell you how I felt. I never meant to drive you away."
Her fingernails dug into her legs. "I'm not stupid, Luc. I realized early on that one reason you agreed to help me was so that you could control things. You wanted the power this time. Lucky you. It worked."
He took a step toward the bed, but she stopped him with an outstretched arm.
Frustration carved grooves into his handsome face. "That idea lasted for about ten minutes. I told myself I wanted to hurt you … like you had hurt me. But I was kidding myself. I didn't want you to leave, Hattie."
"The lawyer called me. Eddie's not a threat anymore."
"I know. I read your note. It's wonderful news, but I'd rather have heard it from you face-to-face."
"You can give me part of that settlement now," she said calmly, her heart coming to life so that it could shatter into a million painful pieces. "We don't need your help anymore. We don't need you."
The look in his eyes made her ashamed. Spitefulness was not in her nature, but the need to lash out was inescapable.
He sat down at the foot of the bed, close enough for her to smell his aftershave and his natural, masculine scent. His eyes were dark, but no darker than the shadows beneath them. And he hadn't shaved. The anomaly disturbed her.
He touched her knee. A brief flash of heat tried to warm her, but he took his hand away. "What if I need you?" he asked hoarsely.
Hope flared in her chest. She smashed it ruthlessly. "You can buy anything you need."
The tired, wry twist of his lips was painful to watch. "I'm pretty sure you believed that ten years ago. It wasn't true then, and it isn't true now. My money doesn't give me control over you, Hattie. You're the one with all the power in this relationship."
"I'm a single, homeless mom with no job."
Again he winced. "You have a home," he said quietly. "And a husband who loves you more than life."
A single tear found its way down her cheek. "You never told me. Not once. We had sex a dozen times, maybe more … but you treated it like recreation. Not at all like love. And I know that's my fault. I'm sorry, Luc. Sorry I treated your love so callously back then."
He bowed his head briefly. "I should have said the words you needed to hear. But I was scared," he said. "You had the power to destroy me, Hattie. You still do."
Her lips trembled. "You've played games with my feelings. You hate me for what I did to you."
"I tried to hate you," he said softly. "For years. But it didn't work. When you showed up in my office that day, it was as if life had given me another chance. For a very short while, I told myself it was revenge I wanted. But I lied even to myself, Hattie. I loved you. I love you. I don't think I ever really stopped loving you. You have to believe me."
"Or what?"
"Or I'm going to buy this motel and lock you in this room until you come to your senses and admit you love me, too."
Hattie was shaking so hard, she was afraid she might fly apart. She wanted so badly to be certain he was telling the truth. "I don't want a relationship where both of us are jockeying for control. I don't want to play mind games. I need to be in an equal partnership. If I decide to go back to my career when Deedee starts school, I don't want any flack about that just because you're too rich for your own good. I'll dress up for parties and I'll hostess for you, but I may still clip the occasional coupon … " She ran out of breath.
"Is that all?"
"Isn't that enough?"
"I'll let you make all the decisions from now on."
"Liar." This time she said it with rueful humor.
He leaned forward and found her mouth in a kiss so exquisitely tender it thawed the block of ice in her chest. Tears trickled down her cheeks, but he kissed them away. He took her face in his hands, his expression grave. "I love you, Hattie Parker."
Her lips trembled. Her arms went around his neck in a stranglehold. "I love you, Luc Cavallo. And remember … my name isn't Parker anymore. I belong to you."
She felt the mighty shudder that racked his body, struggled to breathe as his arms crushed her in an unbreakable grip.
"Have you forgiven me?" she asked quietly, still feeling the sting of regret. "I cost us so much time."
He pulled back to look her in the eyes, his own deadly serious. "Maybe we both needed to grow up. Maybe we needed to be the people we are now so we could love Deedee as our own."
She sniffled, having a hard time with the juxtaposition of soaring happiness and recent despair. "Take me home, Luc. Take us home."
He tucked her head beneath his chin, their heartbeats thudding in unison. "I thought you'd never ask."
Epilogue
Five months later, in a small villa in the south of France, Hattie caught her breath as her husband's rigid length entered her slowly. The sensation was exquisite.
His breathing was labored, his face flushed. He loved her gently, as he had in recent weeks.
She wrapped her legs around his waist and squeezed. "I won't break," she complained.
Late-afternoon shadows painted their nude bodies with warm light. In a nearby cheval mirror, she watched as he penetrated her with a lazy rhythm. The tantalizing pace sent her soaring. He waited until her peak receded slowly and then found his own release.
Afterward, Luc ran his hand over the small bump where her flat stomach used to be. They had made a baby that very first time in Key West. A fact that Luc continually referred to with pride.
He nuzzled her belly. "I think he's a boy." Their ultrasound was scheduled soon.
She sighed, feeling sated and content. "We're going to have our hands full with two little ones so close together."
"We have Ana and Sherman to help. We'll be fine."
She brushed a lock of dark hair from his forehead. "You're my knight in shining armor. You rescued Deedee and me. I'll never forget it."
Luc rolled to his back, taking her with him to sprawl on his chest. His eyes were alight with happiness. "You've got it all wrong, my love. The two of you rescued me."