The Billionaire's Marriage Contract(70)

Before everything had gone to hell, Ethan and Amy had planned on making this trip together to visit Hank and finish Ethan’s acquisition of Harris Energy. Amy had been looking forward to it, and she had harbored a secret hope that maybe a second long trip would help her and Ethan take another step forward in their relationship. She felt like an idiot as she thought back on how happy she had been. She thought of how she had felt in his arms. She thought about that damn kiss in the rain after they had been ambushed by paparazzi. She thought of what happened later that night once they were truly alone, the way Ethan had held her, the look in his eye as they had undressed each other in his apartment. She really had fallen for him, and she had thought that he felt the same way, too. Of course, that had been before she found out that he had been lying to her for nearly their entire relationship without giving her any good reason why.

As the plane touched down outside of Newport, that thought stuck in Amy’s mind: Why couldn’t he have at least explained himself? Why couldn’t he have just done what she had asked and actually consult her on something? Why couldn’t he open up and let her know what he was thinking? Why didn’t he try to fight to keep her?

Amy got angrier the more she thought about the way Ethan had left things. After getting into a town car at the airport, she tried to calm herself down as she prepared for her meeting at Hank’s house. She closed her eyes and leaned back and tried to think of anything but Ethan Cole, but it was too late. She had gotten too worked up during the flight, and she needed to do something to get him out of her mind.

She pulled out her phone and flipped through her contacts. Her mind raced as she imagined what she would say to Ethan if he picked up on the other end of the call. She wanted to yell at him and tell him that she had done the one thing she had sworn not to do. She wanted to say that it was his fault she had fallen in love with him and his fault things ended the way they had and his fault she was miserable without him.

Amy cracked the window open and let the cool sea breeze wash over her face. Everything is going to be fine, she thought, but she couldn’t stop thinking about calling him. What if he was mad at her? After all, she did almost screw everything up by putting herself in a stupid situation with Logan, and she was so angry with Ethan when she had returned that she hadn’t even taken time to consider that maybe her actions had hurt him in some way. Why couldn’t Ethan just tell her how he felt without trying to sweep her off her feet?

As the car wound down the narrow road that led to mansion after mansion looking out over the sea, Amy wondered if it was really too late. She looked at each enormous house along the way. There were stone mansions with Italianate cornices and brick mansions that looked like castles, but Amy was sure that Hank’s “cottage” would somehow outdo them all. Soon enough, she’d be at Hank’s house, helping someone she had never met deal with some crisis she didn’t care about. She wouldn’t have time to deal with her own crisis. Besides, Ethan was the only person who could help her with her mess, and he could be half a world away for all she knew.

When the driver finally turned off the road, Amy caught her first glimpse of the “cottage.” It was a true New England monstrosity. The lush, manicured grounds rose up to the mansion. Amy counted three chimneys and a half-dozen gables along the expansive roofline of the three-story home. The only aspect of the house that resembled a cottage was the weathered shingle exterior. The house blocked any view of the sea, but Amy could hear the gentle lull of the surf, and she could only imagine the view from inside the home.

If Amy just called Ethan quickly before heading in, she’d be able to tell him that she needed to talk. It wouldn’t solve anything, but it would be a first step. It would help her get closure. As she was about to hit send, her phone rang.

“Hello?” Amy said.

“I just wanted to let you know that the whole team is at the office, and we’re on standby to do whatever necessary to help you with this one.”

“Thanks, Callie. I don’t know if that will be necessary. How is everything on the home front?”

“Good. We’re all just excited to have the old Amy, our leader, back in action.”

Amy smiled. “It’s good to be back.” She half meant it. She had always loved her job, just not the same way she had loved spending time with Ethan. The car pulled around the circular driveway to the side entrance to the mansion. “I’m here. I’ll make sure to update you as soon as possible.”

“We’re rooting for you.”