dropped everything to spend some time with the woman who’d borne him. But he’d suggested that on her return she come to the house to meet Casey at the same time. It was rare that she was on the West Coast and he hoped to encourage some form of relationship between her and her grandson.
Upon his return, he’d been surprised to hear Faye through the monitor—to hear the raw emotion in her voice as she’d made an apology to someone. What was that name again? Henry. That was it. Was he the reason why she held herself so separate from everyone? He tucked the name away, determined to pass it on to his investigator the moment he’d dealt with the situation right now.
“I don’t want to lose you, Faye. You’re the best PA I’ve ever had, but you’re so much more to me than that. I’d hoped we could be—”
“I never asked for anything more than to be your assistant,” she interrupted. “I never made you any promises.”
“No, you didn’t. Why is that, Faye? What has you so scared that you’ll distance yourself from me like this? Seriously, resigning from your position here is ludicrous. You don’t have another job to go to, do you?”
She shook her head. “I can’t stay, Piers. I can’t do this anymore.”
“Why not? Why won’t you open up to me and tell me what is holding you back? Until I know what I’m dealing with, I’m in the dark. I don’t know how to fix things between us.”
“That’s half the issue. There can’t be any us. I’ve told you over and over again. Why won’t you listen to me?”
The note of sheer desperation in her voice made him take a step back and give her space. But hadn’t he done enough of that since she’d left him in Wyoming? They’d made love, damn it. Love. It was so much more than just sex. They’d shared something special, something that should have drawn them closer than ever, not driven an insurmountable wedge between them.
He knew she was hurting. He could see it in every line of her beautiful features, in the shadows that lingered in her expressive eyes, not to mention in the rigid lines in which she held her body. Somehow he needed to take action, to help her face the fear that was holding her in its claws, so she could face up to the feelings he knew she had for him.
A woman like Faye didn’t just give herself to a man on a whim. The fact that she’d been a virgin the night they’d made love had been irrefutable proof of that. Right now, he was terrified he was on the verge of losing the only woman he’d ever truly loved, but what could he do? He was working in the dark, grasping at straws. He hated that he couldn’t just bark a command and have everything fall into place, but he was prepared to keep working at this. If Faye still wanted to leave Luckman Developments after this, that was fine, but he couldn’t let her leave him.
He had four weeks to somehow change her mind and Piers knew without a single doubt that it would be the toughest negotiation of his entire life.
* * *
Six days later he had his answers. The wait had almost driven him crazy, especially loaded on top of the growing pile of recommended applicants for Faye’s position. But now he knew and he hoped like hell that somewhere in this information delivered privately to his home tonight, he’d have the answer to why Faye was so determined to keep her distance from him.
The reading was sobering. Her background began like so many other people’s. Solo, hardworking mom—no father on the scene. A lifestyle he would have considered underprivileged when he was a kid, but now realized was likely rich in nonmaterial things like love and consistency. Faye’s mom married when Faye was about thirteen and, from all accounts, the little family was very happy together. A happiness that, according to the report, grew when Faye’s baby brother was born. Piers flipped through the notes, looking for the baby’s name. Ah, there it was. Henry. The name he’d heard her whisper through the baby monitor last week. Things were starting to fall into place now.
It appeared the family had been involved in a tragic wreck on Christmas Eve. Faye had been the only survivor. Details about the wreck were scarce and Piers had an instinct that there was a great deal more to the event than the brief description on the file. He could understand why losing her entire family in one night would make a person put up walls. But surely those walls couldn’t hold forever.
Piers skimmed the rest of the report, reading the summary of her time in foster care and her subsequent acceptance into college. At least she hadn’t suffered financial hardship. Her stepdad had been very astute with his finances and her mom had been putting savings aside in a college fund from the day Faye had been born. Following the crash, all the assets had been consolidated. By the time the family home had been sold and life insurances paid out, and after three years of sound management by the executor of her family’s estate, Faye had had quite a healthy little nest egg to set her up for her adult life.
He closed the file with a snap. Words. That’s all it was. Nothing in there gave him a true insight into why Faye was so hell-bent on leaving him. Yes, yes, he could see the similarities between Casey and her brother Henry. He understood Casey was the same age as her brother had been when he’d died. He could, partially at least, understand why she’d steered clear of involvement with his soon-to-be adopted son. But to keep herself aloof from love and from children for the rest of her life? It was living half a life. No, it was even less than that.
Piers locked the file in a drawer in his home office. Somehow he had to find a way to peel away the protective layers Faye had gathered around her to get her to show him what truly lay in her heart. His future happiness, and hers, depended on it.
* * *
It was the kind of day where logic went to hell in a handbasket. Pretty much everything that could go wrong, did. Two new projects being quoted by contractors had come in way over the estimated budgets and asbestos had been found on another site, which had shut the operation down until the material could be safely removed.
Faye and Piers had been juggling balls and spinning plates all day, and it was nearly 8:00 p.m. when their phones stopped ringing.
Faye leaned back in her office chair and sighed heavily. “Do you think that’s it? Have we put out enough fires for one day?”
“Enough for a year, I’d say. I want an inquiry into how those estimates were so far off track—”
“Already started,” she said succinctly.
It was one of the first things she’d requested when the issue had arisen at the start of the day.
“I love that about you,” Piers said suddenly.
Faye looked at him in shock. “I beg your pardon?”
“Your ability to anticipate my needs.”
“Hmm,” she responded noncommittally.
She looked away and refreshed the email on her screen, hoping something new had arisen that might distract her from what she suspected would be another less than subtle attempt to get her to change her mind about leaving.
“Faye, what would it take to make you stay?”
And there it is. She closed her eyes and silently prayed for strength.
“Nothing.”
“Would love make you stay?”
“Love? No, why?”
