She’d never wanted anyone to know about that part of her life. And he’d made her reveal it.
He carried the tumbler out onto the terrace and rested his palms on the railing. The sea glistened at the base of the cliffs in the moonlight. The whiskey slid down his throat, smoky and salty, a welcome heat to counter the disquiet plaguing him. He’d needed to know. Had to know. The ends justified the means. But now what?
He should take Bailey off the pitch. He should handle it alone for both their sakes. It was clear Alexander Gagnon had a fixation with her. He’d offered her an insane amount of money to sleep with him. And a man like that just didn’t give up…he pursued until he won. To hell with his deal.
But there was also Davide to consider. Bailey was his ace in the hole when it came to the elder Gagnon, and he was still very much in the picture. He needed her thinking to win.
The whiskey slid down his throat, smooth and fiery. Bailey’s words echoed in his head.
I had dreams, Jared. Just like you had. Except you had a brain and I had my body so I used it.
The look on her face when she’d given up…when she’d told him to take her off the deal.
His guts twisted. Bailey had fought her way out of a life most people would have accepted as their fate and never tried to rise above. But she had. She hadn’t let it define her. She was the smartest, most composed, drop-dead beautiful woman he’d ever met. Her brilliant ideas had made their presentation.
He stared out at the brightly lit boats bobbing on the sea, their smooth roll telegraphing a calm night to come. And a strange kind of certainty settled over him. Bailey needed someone to believe in her. He was pretty sure she’d never had that. And he wasn’t giving up on her.
It wasn’t even a question.
It was then that Jared Stone realized his manifesto was the biggest piece of crap he’d ever written.
Bailey had just slipped her nightie on when a knock came at the door. Her emotions far too close to the surface, she stayed where she was.
“I’m fine, Jared. I’m good with all of it. I just need some sleep.”
“I’m not leaving until I talk to you. Open the door.”
His tone was hard; implacable, like Jared was. She cursed, grabbed her robe and tugged it on. Attempted to compose herself as she pulled the door open and found him standing there like a fierce warrior, filling the doorway with his broad-shouldered frame.
“I am not dropping you,” he announced. “We are partners and we are doing this together.”
“Jared—” She bit her lip, furiously blinking back tears. Even after what she’d just told him, he was still backing her?
“We are a team,” he said quietly, blue gaze softening. “I’ve told you that from the beginning. You trusted me enough to tell me about your past tonight and I know that wasn’t easy. I need you in that room with me, Bailey. You’ve proven that.”
A tear slid down her cheek. She couldn’t help it. No one had ever shown such faith in her. She’d been going it alone since she was seventeen and suddenly, she felt so tired of it. Tired of fighting every battle by herself.
“Christ, Bailey.” He took a step forward and brushed the tear away with the pad of his thumb. “Did you think I was just going to abandon you? After everything you’ve put into this? Those are your ideas Davide loves.”
She looked down, anywhere but at him, but the tears kept rolling. “I thought you wouldn’t respect me, that you wouldn’t want me anywhere near this deal if you knew what I’d been…”
He slid his fingers under her chin and brought her gaze back up to his. “I am not going in there without you. And as for respecting you? I’ve never respected a woman more in my life. For who you are. For what you’ve done…”
Something melted inside of Bailey. Something that had been frozen for so long she’d forgotten it existed. She thought it might be her heart.
“But what about Alexander? Lord knows what he’s capable of and I would never forgive myself if you lose this deal because of me.”
“I’m not going to lose,” he said softly. “Alexander Gagnon likes to win. I like to win more.”
“But—”
He pressed his fingers against her lips. She fell silent in a sea of confusion that had only one focal point: the electricity that was so strong between them that it held her completely still as his eyes darkened with an emotion she couldn’t read. He put his mouth to the hot, wet tears dampening her cheeks and kissed each one away with a slow drag of his lips that started out comforting and ended up something else entirely.
Hot. Scorching hot.