“If you hadn’t picked my company, we would have gone out of business before the end of the summer.” I move my hand to his cheek and run my thumb along the tanned skin over his cheekbone. “Thank you, by the way. You just paid for Mason’s and Thiago’s tuition for the next year. Helped Farah with her down payment on a house. If I have to face my past to give them better futures, I’ll be okay.”
Derek sighs and closes his eyes. “Another reason to like you, Donovan Tate.”
He’s so beautiful. I knew that from the start, but the longer I know him, the more his good heart seems to shine through his attractive exterior. And to think I almost let my past blind me to who he really is. I didn’t want to like him, but at this point I might be falling in love with him.
WithDerek Riley.
Boy, am I in trouble now. I can only go downhill from here if this doesn’t work out.
“What if,” he says, rising up on his elbow and splaying his other hand on my ribcage, “I read the article and let you know if you need to worry?”
“Okay,” I say, hating how breathless I sound. I doubt the article can be any worse than some of the things people said about me when I first disappeared. “I’m going to use the bathroom while you do because I don’t want to see your face.”
He grins. “You love my face.”
Rolling my eyes, I brush my fingers through his hair. “Everyone loves your face, Derek Riley. I’m more interested in the man underneath it.”
With the sort of smile that could power the sun, Derek quickly leans up to kiss the tip of my nose before rolling off me so I can get up. “Do you want some breakfast?” he asks as he sits up and takes his phone. He narrows his eyes slightly as he reads something, making my stomach flop, but then he starts typing. Hopefully that means he was reading a text and not the article already. “Apparently Janie has food waiting for us if we want it.”
My stomach rumbles in response, making me pause near the bathroom door. “Breakfast sounds great. Does this mean you’re going to talk to her this morning?”
He considers that. “Yeah. I need to hear her side before I make any decisions.”
“That’s good.” I tilt my head, studying him for a moment. “You’re a lot calmer than you were yesterday.”
Shrugging, he lowers his gaze to his phone as if it might have an explanation. “In the light of day, it all feels so trivial. Unless I’m wrong about my mom, there’s an easy way to fix the cracks in my life.” He must see the question in my eyes because when he looks up, he gives me an uncomfortable smile. “Talking to her.”
His distaste for the idea brings me back over to the bed so I can press my palm to his cheek. “No one says you have to talk to your mom,” I say, essentially repeating what he told me when it came to reading the article about me. “I’m sure a strongly worded email would have the same effect.”
He snorts a small laugh and puts his hand over mine. “If you thinkI’mstubborn…”
There’s a soft knock on the door to the main suite, and a moment later a timid voice says, “Derek? I, uh, I have your breakfast. And a change of clothes for Donovan, in case she…”
My eyebrows shoot up. “She brought me clothes?”
“She’s a very good assistant.”
“I’ll just leave this in here and get out of your hair,” Janie says, her voice wavering as if she’s terrified of how Derek is going to react if she’s in the room for too long.
Still holding my hand to his cheek, Derek calls out, “Stay,” in a sharper tone than I expected. “You and I need to talk.”
“Okay,” Janie squeaks out. “I’ll just…stay.”
I give Derek a censuring look and shake my head. “You don’t need to be mean,” I murmur. “You don’t know what her intentions were, and there’s probably more to the story.” There always is.
He sighs. “Doesn’t mean I’m not frustrated with her. But I’ll be nice until she gives me a reason not to be.”
“Good.”
Curling his fingers around mine, he slowly pulls my hand from his face and presses his lips to the soft skin of my wrist. His blue eyes are locked on mine with an intensity that warms me from the inside out. “I’ll read the article later,” he promises me as he starts trailing kisses up my arm. “Looks like it’s time for me to get some answers.”
He moves so quickly that his lips are on mine before I can react. It’s only a peck, but I feel it down to my toes as he heads out to the main room with confident steps and the look of someone who’s not going down without a fight.
I shiver. Good luck to anyone who thinks they can go up against Derek Riley and win.
Chapter Thirty
Derek
