“I failed you.” Judging by his expression, that was the most difficult sentence he’d ever uttered.
That’s when she understood. And it nearly broke her heart. He was shouldering responsibility, blaming himself for things he might have done differently when it had been impossible to know everything that was going on.
She lifted a hand to his cheek, forcing him to look at her. “You didn’t fail me. You saved me.”
She watched him struggle with her gratitude, shadows of doubt darting in and out of his sky-blue eyes. “Without you, no one would have come to look for me for a long time. You came, even after I told you to stay away. You saved me.”
He blinked first. And then he pulled her toward him, kissing her with all the warmth she could ever hope for. When he let her go, she knew that once more, the hurt and pain was in her rearview mirror, and this time it was receding fast.
“Pizza?” Shay said suddenly.
James laughed. “You have me in your bed and you want pizza?”
Shay smiled. “Fill me up with pizza and I promise to think of a really nice way to repay you.”
He wasn’t gone long but he returned with more than pizza. He tossed a copy of the day’s newspaper on the bed. “Check out the headline.”
“Bank Executive Dismissed for Misuse of Funds.” Below the headline was a picture of Eric Coates. The article stated Eric Coates had been fired after an employee—not her name but another woman’s!—accused him of sexual harassment. It went on to say that during the initial investigation other concerns had come to light, including misappropriation of bank funds, as well as other instances of violations of bank ethics. The matter was being further explored to determine if legal action should be taken.
James tapped the picture. “You know anything about that?”
Shay met James’s inquisitive stare with a sly smile. “I haven’t had a chance to tell you everything that happened while you were gone.”
She related her last confrontation with Eric. And how she’d decided to risk everything and take her accusations of sexual harassment and misconduct to the bank president, Mr. Cadwallader Jones. To judge by the article, either her accusation had caused someone else to come forward, or Cadwallader Jones knew more about Eric’s activities than she thought, and her accusation was simply the catalyst to oust Eric.
By the time the only things left in the pizza box were crumbs and a smear of sauce, the subject had turned once again to Shay’s more immediate worries.
“I can’t believe I burned the cabin down.”
“It’s not a complete loss.” James pulled a string of cheese off her chin and ate it. “The living area will need a lot of repair. But the fire didn’t take the roof.”
“Small comfort. The contents are ruined. I have no idea how I’m going to repay my uncle and aunt for the damage.”
“We could rebuild it for them.”
Shay didn’t dare look at him. Her emotions were too close to the surface. “You would help me do that?”
“Yeah. It would give us something useful to do while we argue.”
The tears came quickly, spilling out over her lashes.
James put an arm around her, surprised that she should break down now, but pleased she had turned to him instinctively for comfort.
After a moment, Shay pulled back so she could meet his gaze. She didn’t ask the question forming in her thoughts but stared at him because the answer was already there in those blue eyes. He wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
“You’re sure?” Okay, the woman in her needed to hear the words.
“Shay, I owe you—”
Shay put out her hand to stop him from speaking. But the moment her fingertips touched his lips a frisson of emotion raced through them to travel deep inside her. She took her hand away. After all they’d been through, he was what she wanted most.
After only a second, his sky blues crinkled at the corners and his mouth lifted in a smile. Enough said.
For the first time in her life, she wasn’t afraid of the future. She didn’t want to hide anymore.
She brought his head down for a kiss at the same time she arched up under him so there would be no mistake about her intent. She wanted to be Shay Appleton, completely open and alive with lust and love and tenderness for James Cannon.
“Your head and body,” he murmured against her mouth.
“Hurt like hell,” she whispered back. The words vibrating on their lips were sexy as hell. “Make it better.”
His lips spread in a smile on hers and then he deepened the kiss.