Chances (Mystic Nights #1)(32)

Her mouth flew open and she gasped. He knew. She was shocked, and stunned all at the same time. He knew it all! He knew and still looked at her like that. “You knew?”

Her eyes were round. He nodded. “And it was your choice to make.”

Another tear slipped out and she pulled him closer. He heard her sigh of relief as she laid her head across his chest. “Oh, Jonathan, I just want you to know it means the world to me that you don’t judge me for what I did.”

“Because you chose to have an abortion?” He shook his head. “You were twenty, right?”

She peered up into his eyes and saw nothing but concern for her. She nodded. “I was young, na?ve.” He saw a deep sadness there, but she surged on ahead. “I think if I would have had the support of my family around me then I may have chosen to have that baby. I regret it now. It still pains me to think about it.” She wanted him to know it hadn’t been an easy decision for her. It had been the hardest choice she had made in her life.

He brought his hands to her arms and rubbed them soothingly. He felt some of her tension leaving. He could see that the abortion had really changed her. “Can I ask you something?” Jonathan asked softly.

She nodded and he proceeded. “Why did you have the abortion? I’m not judging you. I never would. I just want to know what was going through you head then.”

She let out a long slow breath, the sound of it echoed in the dark, empty theatre. “My fiancé was a detective,” she started, and paused, remembering that time in her life. “He was older than me by nearly six years. He had just been assigned his first case, and it was to catch a serial killer. Andreas had been so excited to have been given his new partner and first assignment.” God, what they hadn’t realized back then was how much his job would infiltrate every corner of their life. They had been so young. Both of them. She wet her lips, took a steadying breath. “He worked the case four months and finally caught a break. Got an identity. Found the man’s wife. He exposed him to the world. But the man got away.” Of God, if he hadn’t, her life would have turned out so differently. But she had stopped looking back many years ago. She surged ahead. “That killer began to threaten him. He wanted revenge for Andreas destroying his life and he threatened me as well.” She heard Jonathan’s gasp. His body tensed. Again, she continued. “I know. I was terrified when I found out. And he didn’t even tell me. It made me so mad. But he thought he was protecting me. Sadly, it gave me a reason to get out. Even before that, I knew I shouldn’t marry him. I mean, he was a great man. But when I knew I couldn’t pursue ballet, and school was done, I was lost for a while and that’s when I met him. I rushed into the relationship. He was so dedicated to his job, his family. Anyhow, I ended it. Out of fear, and confusion, I left New York, and went to Vegas to find myself. I only found out about the pregnancy after I left. Then I was too scared to go back, and I knew if I did I would live in fear.”

Wow, he had been thrown. No wonder she had done what she did. There had been so much going on, and she was alone, or felt that way. “Darling, I don’t know how any other girl would have coped in that situation. You did what you thought was right at the time.”

Aliya let out a cry of anguish, for her loss and regret, and threw herself into his arms. Talking about it, saying it out loud lifted a heavy burden from her shoulders. Having the courage to tell him about her confusion, and the circumstances surrounding her actions all those years ago, freed her and gave her the courage to say what she had been thinking all week. “I’m falling for you, Jonathan. Hard. I just wanted no secrets between us. Nothing that could hurt us later.”

He pulled her flush up against him, holding onto this incredibly strong woman who’d been to hell and back. Her road had not been an easy one. “And now there aren’t any,” he stated with conviction as he held her close. He felt her head nod against him and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. He would hold her for as long as she needed him to.

*

In the early evening Jonathan continued to work the books. He’d taken Aliya out for an early, therapeutic dinner and then left her back in the theatre with promises to meet after her show. Their talk brought them closer, and he was feeling pretty good about where their relationship was going.

But looking over the books for the last hour had him aggravated once more. He had just called Simon to come and speak with him. He’d found several more errors, things Simon should have caught. He was seriously fed up. The man should have figured this out. Especially if he was finding these simple mistakes.

His door was open and he saw Simon enter. He wasted no time. “Simon. I am disappointed. I’m not going to lie,” he started.

The look on Simon’s face showed surprise. He went on. “You told me last week you did not make mistakes. Well, I’ve been going over the books, and so far I see mistakes that amount to nearly a quarter of a million dollars. Stupid, bullshit mistakes.”

“I’m not sure what . . .”

Jonathan cut him off. “We have one week. One f*cking week before the auditors get here.” He handed him copies of the mistakes he found, the errors circled in red. Pushing the stack of papers into Simon’s chest none too gently, he added, “Find the others, or it’s your ass.” He was done with being politically correct or using diplomacy.