Maid for the Billionaire(45)

He turned and placed a hand on either side of her, leaning closer until she could see the black flecks in his tormented gray eyes. ―I didn‘t mean all those things I said earlier. I was angry. That doesn‘t justify what I said, but I do want you to know that I believe you. I know you were only trying to help me. I didn‘t want to admit you most likely single handedly saved my company. I should have been thanking you instead of lashing out. You deserve a man who can treat you as his equal partner.‖

Abby‘s stomach churned with emotion. A memory of his apology would one day bring her comfort, but it was not enough to lessen her resolve. ―Yes, I do.‖

He ran a hand gently through her curls, ending by cupping the back of her head. ―I know I haven‘t done much to prove it to you, but I can be that man, Abby.‖

Abby raised a hand to caress his cheek. ―Thank you for apologizing, Dominic. It would have eaten at me if we had left things on bad terms, but you know as well as I do that this can‘t work. We‘re too different.‖

His features tightened painfully and urgency filled his voice. ―I‘m not taking you back to Boston.‖

Abby placed a sad finger across his lips. ―I can‘t do this, Dominic. I thought just being with you would be enough, but it isn‘t. Let‘s not make this harder than it needs to be. Losing you is already going to hurt enough.‖

Dominic took her hand in his. ―It doesn‘t have to. I want to marry you.‖

With a sad final squeeze, Abby pulled her hand away from his. ―And then what, Dominic?

Will you keep me in a big house in the Hamptons and visit me between business deals? I need more than that. I want the whole package: the house, the kids, a few dogs and a husband who shares that dream. I want the kind of partnership my parents had. Don‘t ask me to settle for less than that, Dominic. It would crush me.‖

Dominic bent to look eye to eye with her. ―I want the same things, Abby. Give me a chance and I‘ll spend the rest of my life proving that to you.‖

―Don‘t,‖ Abby said with a sob. Understanding that in the heat of the moment he might say anything, but that in the end it would prove nothing. ―Don‘t talk like that. It‘s hard enough for me to leave you as it is. Don‘t give me more to regret.‖

Dominic pulled her closer and said, ―How can I convince you? What can I do to make you believe me?‖

Abby turned away, partially burying her face back in the pillow. She said miserably, ―Turn the plane around, bring me back to Boston and walk away. Show me that what I want is more important to you than winning.‖

He was silent for a moment before asking, ―That‘s what you really want? Boston?‖

―Yes,‖ she mumbled.

―And I walk away? Just like that?‖ She heard the pain in his voice, but refused to let it move her. What would happen if she weakened? Would she be just another trophy to be on display in one of his many homes? That wasn‘t the life she wanted.

―Yes,‖ she whispered. ―you walk away.‖

He sat motionless beside her for what seemed like an eternity. ―Ok,‖ he said simply and stood.

Abby‘s head spun in surprise. ―Ok?‖

The hand he held the doorknob with was white knuckled, but his response was oddly devoid of emotion. ―Ok, I‘ll bring you back to Boston. I‘ll make arrangements for a limousine to pick you up from the airport.‖

When Dominic opened the door to leave, Abby bit her lip to stop from crying out for him not to go. His turbulent gray eyes settled on her as he said, ―But I do love you and I have changed because of you. You‘d see that if you gave me a chance. Say the word, and I‘ll leave my company behind and we can start fresh. We‘ll build a new life. Together. Partners in whatever we decide to take on. I don‘t care about the money. You are what matters to me now. ‖

His words knocked the air clean out of Abby‘s chest. He closed the door softly before she had recovered.

He hadn‘t meant it. He couldn’t have meant it.

Within moments Abby felt the plane bank to the right to adjust its flight route. She‘d be back in her own home in less than a day. This was for the best. A confusing mixture of relief and misery settled over Abby.

Abby moved to sit by a window. She watched the clouds rush by beneath and began to worry that she might have misjudged Dominic. If he really was a self-absorbed, domineering ass, why was the plane headed back to Boston? A man like his father would not have offered to change so much as his shirt to please his wife, but Dominic had offered to change his entire lifestyle for her.

What if he did mean it?

Hadn‘t she decided back in Beijing that she was willing to fight to get him back? And yet, there he was, offering to throw everything he‘d worked for aside if she stayed with him, and she was cowering in the bedroom instead of throwing herself triumphantly into his arms.

How long was she willing to let fear rule her life? He‘d said that he loved her and that he wanted to spend the rest of his life proving it to her. What more did she want? No relationship came with a guarantee.

He loved her enough to let her go. Now the pressure was on her. Did she love him enough to stay?

Yes rang through her heart, through her mind, and straight out her mouth.

She hopped off the bench and flew across the room. With all of the enthusiasm of a woman who‘d just realized that her man not only loved her back but was dumb enough to listen to her when she told him to leave her, she swung the door open.