“Get out of here,” he whispered harshly, wanting her out of the room, not wanting her to hear or see how much he ached to take her into his arms.“What?”“Get the hell out,” he snarled, bracing himself before turning to face her. He barely kept himself from flinching when he saw her tears. “Go now.” She uttered a low cry and whirled from the room, fleeing as quickly as she could. Gerard finally allowed himself to break, sinking back against a tiled wall as his legs gave out and sliding down to the floor. He clasped his head in his hands and shook uncontrollably as he tried to imagine his life from this point on.Gerard had to go in to the office the following morning—the day of Cindy’s Big Date. He hadn’t done so in months, but he and Pierre had an urgent meeting with a very important client and the man had requested Gerard’s presence. As he was the business’s CFO and Vice President of Marketing, Gerard knew that it was time to pick up the reins of his life again. He had responsibilit
Cindy could barely focus on what Raymond was saying; her mind kept straying back to the lonely image of Gerard sitting in front of that television with her image frozen on-screen. There was something so stark, sad, and desolate about the memory that it ate her up inside every time she thought about it.“You seem preoccupied.” Raymond’s gentle voice intruded on her thoughts, and Cindy was startled back to the present and the man sitting opposite her. He really was a nice man, tall, lean, and almost handsome, with dark eyes, slightly thinning black hair, and a warm smile. Cindy really liked him but not enough to seriously consider dating him.“I think this was a mistake,” she mumbled, and he frowned. “It’s too soon. It just doesn’t feel right for me to be out with you.” He smiled in understanding.“I was wondering where your mind was,” he said.“Maybe . . .” she began, and he covered one of her helplessly fluttering hands with his own.“Some other time?” he completed, and she nodded gra
“Come on, Kayla, time to get dressed.” She held out her hand to the toddler who happily made her way over, still chattering excitedly about “Nebo” and “fishies.”The Two Oceans Aquarium was based at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town. It was teeming not only with marine life but with children, teens, students, and noisy families. Gerard and Cindy , as a young couple with an energetic toddler, blended in completely. For once the ubiquitous Cal and his team had been told to remain very much in the background. Gerard had commanded them to remain outside, despite Cal’s obvious uneasiness with the high security risk such a busy place posed. Gerard had even chosen to drive them himself—a rarity these days—while the security team had remained a discreet distance behind them.Now Cindy was achingly aware of how much like a normal family they must look amidst the tide of humanity. Kayla was up on Gerard shoulders, and her little feet frantically paddled against his chest every time she wanted him
“You shut yourself in,” she completed, and he nodded.“It’s crazy, I know,” he confessed, and she smiled with a shake of her head, covering his lightly trembling hand with her own.No, it’s not. You lost one of your senses, Gerard . Naturally there’d be physical, mental, and emotional repercussions. I read that people go through the stages of grief after losing their hearing. Did you . . . did you talk to anyone after the accident?”“You mean a psychiatrist?” he clarified dryly. “I was seeing one for nearly a year; it’s because of him that I was able to even contemplate coming out today. I was so much worse immediately after the accident and I very stubbornly refused to talk to anyone. Yes, I was in denial and furious that something like this could have happened to me, but I shoved it aside because I had something bigger to take care of. I was adamant that talking to shrinks could wait. But Pierre and Rick kind of forced my hand. They blackmailed me into seeing someone.”“How?” she as
“How did you break your arm?” she asked, but he wasn’t looking at her and didn’t see the question. She reached over and in a gesture similar to the one he’d used on her the previous night, gently tilted his jaw so that he was looking at her. She repeated the question and he seemed to shake himself out of his reverie, but when he spoke again, his voice was so horribly empty.“He was very angry,” he said with a shrug.“ Your father broke your arm?” She needed clarity on this point and wasn’t sure she understood. He nodded abruptly before draining his glass.“I’m exhausted,” he muttered gruffly. “I was wondering, would you and Kayla like to go to the beach with me tomorrow? I’ll fix a picnic lunch. Unless you’ve moved your ladies’ get-together to tomorrow? Since you missed it today?”“A couple of the others had other plans this weekend as well, so we decided not to meet until next week. Anyway, the beach sounds nice,” she agreed absently, not really paying attention, her mind on what he
“This is perfect,” she told him, and his eyes warmed. “Thank you.”He dropped an arm over her slender shoulders and gave her a quick, little one-armed hug.“I saw an advertisement for this place last winter and I knew that you’d like it.” Last winter? At least six months before her return? He had learned about this place and thought of her. Not with any hatred or resentment it seemed. Instead he had thought about something that would make her happy. It was startling to know that he hadn’t always thought of her in anger over the last couple of years, and Cindy wasn’t sure how to process that information.They got home shortly before eight, and Kayla was once again drooping in exhaustion. Gerard took her from Cindy’s arms.“I’ll put her to bed,” he offered.“Gerard,” you’ve been taking care of her all week, I should—”“And you’ve been taking care of her on your own for years. This is the least I can do,” he interrupted, and she protested no further. She knew that he needed to make up fo
“ I know,” she appeased, kissing his chest and neck lovingly before raising her head to meet his eyes. “It’s okay.”“No,” he whispered quietly. “No, it’s not.” He hovered for a moment before, with a growl of brutal self-denial, he dragged himself out of her arms and off the bed all in one swift movement. He stood at the side of the bed, gloriously naked and painfully aroused, to stare at her for a heartbeat before turning away and heading toward the en suite. Cindy watched the door close gently behind him and an instant later, heard the shower going on. She turned her face into the pillow with an anguished sob and wondered at the amount of self-control it must have taken for him to get up and leave her. She was tempted to join him in the shower, but she knew that he believed he had done the right thing. She could not undermine the sacrifice he had just made by stepping into that shower with him.She dragged herself out of the warm bed and to her own room. Knowing that she would get no
“Sorry,Cindy , I thought you were giving her a bath. I didn’t know you were in the tub with her. I’ll talk to you later.” He turned to leave.“Daddy no go!” Kayla demanded, fiercely unhappy that her father was about to leave. Cindy groaned and buried her face between the child’s fragile shoulder blades, then looked up to meet his amused eyes.“You might as well stay; she’ll be insufferable if you don’t,” Cindy said. He nodded, lowering the lid on the commode and sitting down, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his denim-clad thighs and his hands loosely clasped between his knees. Happy that her daddy was watching, Kayla launched into full show-off mode. She decorated her mother’s face and hair with more bubbles before dragging a plastic doll into the water and starting a chatty tea party with it. Soon she was totally absorbed in her game, and Gerard shifted his beautiful eyes from child to disconcerted mother.“I didn’t mean to lose my temper earlier,” he murmured.“I know.” S