Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83343 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83343 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
I’m busy. But I could be busy anywhere.
This is my investment, so I could pretend I’m here just to make sure everything goes smoothly. But I have investments all over the world.
Fact is, I like it here. I like being here with Kate. Waking up with her, having dinner with her, stealing kisses during the day when no one’s looking. Getting her naked at night.
My need for the next thing, the next project, the next challenge has cooled.
I’m getting attached.
To Crompton.
To my life here.
To Kate.
The realization turns my blood to ice and my heart claws to get out of my chest. I can’t do this. I can’t let myself worry about losing something or someone. I vowed to myself I would never let that happen again. Not again.
I get to the top of the stairs and pull out my phone. I make a call.
“It’s late,” Simon says.
I ignore him. “What’s happening about the Arizona thing?”
He sighs. “It might be happening. It might not. Things have stalled.”
“But it sounded like a great investment.”
“Probably will be if it ever gets off the ground. You’re not usually so impatient. Found a passion for real estate development?”
I ignore him again. “Would it help if I came out?”
“Maybe,” he says. “I just can’t get them to commit.”
“I can be there tomorrow.”
I hang up the phone and head to the shower. I could wait until Michael and Molly arrive, but I’ll lose time. If I need to be in Arizona by tomorrow, I need to leave as soon as possible. I’ll just pack a few things, dump them in the car and drive myself to the airport.
It’s way past time I moved on to my next project. I can’t take the risk of staying. Staying, and waiting for it all to be ripped away. I know this time there will be no all’s-well-that-ends-well. This time, it would break me. I need to keep moving.
THIRTY-TWO
Kate
Vincent’s message asking me to meet him at the front of the house was weird. I left him an hour ago and it’s only just gone six. What’s so urgent?
My hair’s still wet from the shower, but at least I’m dressed, so I walk up the hill to the main house. Vincent comes out of the front door carrying a suitcase.
Where’s he going?
I pick up my pace and meet him at the boot of his car as he tosses his case in the back.
“Hey,” I say.
“I have to leave,” he says, not looking me in the eye. He closes the boot. “I’m going to Arizona.”
“Arizona?” I ask, but he doesn’t say anything. Instead he slings an overnight bag onto the back seat and slams the door.
“Is everything okay?” I ask.
He turns and pushes his hands through his hair. “Yeah.”
I step toward him and he takes a step back. My heart begins to thud in my chest. “Vincent? What’s the matter? Has something happened? Is your mum okay?”
“She’s fine. It’s a business opportunity. That’s why I’m leaving.”
I take a breath but my heart doesn’t return to normal. It’s like it knows something I don’t. “So nothing serious.”
He looks me in the eye for the first time. “It’s potentially a really good investment.”
“Okay,” I say. “That sounds…good. When will you be back?”
I’ve never seen Vincent Cove look uncomfortable, but he practically squirms at my question. He looks over my shoulder, down to the gates of Crompton.
Realization dawns and my heart drops into my stomach. “Oh,” I say. “You’re not coming back.”
“Everything’s set up here,” he says as if it’s a perfectly reasonable explanation.
I knew this would happen. He was always going to leave. This was never a long-term thing, but understanding that it’s happening. Right. Now. It’s like someone’s slowly tearing me in two and I don’t know how I’m going to survive. I try and keep my breathing steady.
I lift my hand to my forehead, trying to shade my eyes from the sun rising in the sky behind him. “So you’re off,” I say, hoping I’m not giving away how wrecked I feel. “Because you never stay anywhere for long.”
We stare at each other.
I want him to say something. To tell me I’ve got it wrong, that he’ll be back in a few days and…what? We’ll live happily ever after? Because that’s what happens at Crompton?
Despite knowing it’s futile, I want to ask him to stay. I don’t. To do so wouldn’t be fair. This is what he does. I’ve known it from the start. I need to let him go. Because that’s what will make him happy. And I want him to be happy, even if it makes me sad.
“Right,” he says.
“Right. There we are,” I say, my tone hardening, pressing down the sadness that’s threatening to overspill.
“It’s true, Kate. This isn’t personal. This is just my life. I’m never in one place for long. I’ve stayed at Crompton longer than I usually would. That’s probably because of you.”