Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 128980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 645(@200wpm)___ 516(@250wpm)___ 430(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 645(@200wpm)___ 516(@250wpm)___ 430(@300wpm)
The share prices of Logan’s companies dropped like stones once the pictures surfaced, and the papers all printed them. Whatever immoral relationship he had with the press was doomed. He was arrested for sex with a minor. His third wife left him, pregnant with another man’s child, and his first wife tried to extort money from him. He’s ruined.
TJ is still in a state of shock. His integrity was questioned. He didn’t have a clue what was going on. He hadn’t seen his mother since he was three and had no idea what she was up to. The poor bloke is in tatters, feeling guilty, though he has nothing to feel guilty for. None of what happened was his doing; it was their father’s doing. That megalomaniac of a man has lost everything.
The media have picked at the story like vultures, adding bits here and there, sensationalizing something that was already sensational enough. And through it all, Cami hasn’t shed a tear. She’s remained dignified, not speaking to the press and not voicing her opinions on her father. She was kidnapped and everyone wants a piece of her, but they can’t have it.
The comfort I have knowing she’s not been mentally scarred by her ordeal is beyond explanation. All of the reasons why I fell in love with her hit me between the eyes every time I look at her. So fucking strong. And I feed off that strength. It drives me, makes me want to be the man I always should have been. The only reason I’m here now is because of her. I’ll never be able to repay her. But I’ll try.
Just two days after the showdown at Logan’s office, Cami’s agent was on the phone, calling her about a meeting the next day with a new potential investor for her and Heather’s clothing line. I thought maybe it was too soon, though I kept that thought to myself. Cami was too excited for me to dampen it. Then the next day came and I wasn’t at all surprised when she was up and ready to head to her agent’s office, armed with files and files of designs, fabric swatches, and her best friend and partner. I offered them a lift. Camille politely declined with a knowing smile. After shadowing her for so long, I’m struggling to let go, have to keep reminding myself that she’s no longer in danger.
While she was gone, I paced her apartment until I’d worn a track in the carpet. And the moment she got home, I knew by the twinkle in her eyes that she’d nailed it. Not that I had much doubt. They offered a diamond of a deal on Cami’s and Heather’s clothing line, and I got a blow-by-blow account of the meeting from beginning to end. Camille and her friend didn’t have to compromise on a thing. They got everything they had hoped for and worked so hard for. I’m so fucking proud of her. Of both of them, actually.
I haven’t seen Abbie and Charlotte yet. We’ve talked on the phone, Abbie has kept up to speed on the crazy events, and she’s been understanding. She’s a good woman. I always knew it. I should have had more faith in that. She’s nothing like her sister. My dead wife. Abbie is compassionate and resilient. I’m grateful. Any lesser woman would have given up on me by now.
I can’t wait to try to make it up to Charlotte, to be there, be a dad, but I need to do it the right way. I’ve been planning how to go about this since the moment I walked out of Logan’s office with Cami wrapped around me like a blanket. This will be a barrage of shit Charlotte’s little head might not be able to get around. But I pray she does. I pray she gives me the chance to explain my absence. I pray her four-year-old mind understands.
It’s a week on and as I sit on the couch in Cami’s lounge, listening to her chat with her mum on the phone, her head on my lap, I try to psych myself up for the afternoon ahead. It’s been arranged, carefully thought out by me and Abbie. Cami knows what’s keeping me quiet and apprehensive, but she hasn’t made a huge deal of it. She’s simply told me that she’s ready when I am.
I’m ready now.
I wait patiently for her to wrap up her call to her mother, my eyes falling the length of her body and taking in the T-shirt I love so much as my fingers comb her hair. She’s looking up at me, her eyes alive with happiness.
“What?” I ask, my eyebrow raised curiously. She’s trying to conceal a grin.
Her shoulders shift on my thighs from a little shrug. “Nothing.”