Crash Into Me(64)

"When was this?" I asked, thinking about that portrait of a happy family sitting in a dark trunk in the attic.

"It will be four years this December. That's how I ended up as the CEO of Stone Worldwide. I never wanted to be that. That was Taylor's dream. He wanted to take over when my father retired. He'd groomed him since high school. Remember when I told you I attended Wharton? So did my brother, except he graduated. He'd just finished his MBA when the accident happened."

His story broke my heart. I understood all too well what it felt like to lose someone you loved. My mother had died when I was just a little girl, and my father had been murdered just around the time Tristan's family had died. To watch them in agony and not be able to do anything to save them was more than I'd be able to stand.

Tears filled my eyes at the thought of him sitting there, helpless to save the people he loved, injured, and not knowing if he too was going to die. Gently stroking his cheek, I kissed him, wanting to take away the pain he held inside. "I had no idea, Tristan. I'm sorry."

He shrugged and pressed a smile onto his lips. "So I'm all alone, I guess."

I cradled his face in my hands, looking into his sad eyes. "You're never alone. I'm here, and the ones we love never really leave us. As long as they stay in our hearts, they're with us."

His smile softened. "That sounds like something my mother would say. My father and brother would never think that way."

"Are you more like your mother?" I asked, curious about the beautiful woman with the hint of sadness in her face I'd seen in that portrait.

He closed his eyes. "I don't know. I never felt like I was like my father or brother, so if I was like anyone it was my mother."

"I never really got to know my mother. She died when I was five, and from then on, it was just my father, my sister, and me."

Tristan's opened his eyes and turned to me, pushing my hair off my face to kiss my cheek. "I'm sorry about your mother. I guess I was lucky to have twenty-five years with mine."

"I lost my father right around the time you lost yours. Someone gunned him down one night while he was working on his latest exposé of some industrial problem or something. I don't remember. All I know is that one night he was gone, and I felt like I was alone. But then I remembered that he told me when my mother died that the people we love never leave us as long as we keep loving them. It's hard, but I think he was right. It's four years next month, but he's still with me."

Pulling me closer to him, Tristan's body tensed. "I'm sorry, Nina. I guess we've both seen a lot."





Chapter Thirteen

"So what do you think?" I asked nervously as Tristan stood next to me, his arms folded.

His face was expressionless, something I suspected was intentional, even though the twinkle in his eye made me believe he liked my choices for the Presidential Suite. The series of prints showing hand painted blue and white vases was simple, but just the thumbnails on my laptop screen gave the overly golden room an entirely different and more pleasant feeling.

I knew I was feeling pleased with my choices. Now it was just up to Tristan to give them his seal of approval.

His silence was unnerving, though. While I didn't mind standing there staring at him, I could think of better things to do that involved the two of us together.

"Well?" I asked again, hoping to egg him on.

Tristan turned toward me and smiled. "I don't think so. I'm not in favor of these."

Everything in my body sagged for a moment before my brain clicked into defensive mode. What did he mean he wasn't in favor of them? "What's wrong with them?"