“I was willing to fight him until the end of time if I had to. But that was before he approached you at the fund-raiser. I’m not letting him drag you into this, and I’m damn sure not letting him scare you.”
I hug myself as goose bumps rise on my arms. I’m in shock; I’m humbled. Damien completely rearranged his plans because of his concern for me. “I—but, Damien. Twelve million dollars?”
“It’s the current value of the stock I acquired from Sara, plus the value of Eric’s stock. I bought him out. A damn good deal, too. The company’s strong. I’ll make it back.”
“You didn’t have to. I can fight my own battles.”
He meets my eyes, and what I see in his is so much more than simple desire. It’s need and longing. Maybe it’s even love. “You can,” he says simply. “But this wasn’t your battle to fight.”
He takes my hand. “Nikki, baby, I can’t lose you.”
I want to fold myself in his arms, but instead I turn away. “There’s other stuff, Damien.”
“I know,” he says, and I turn back, surprised.
“You know?”
“Jamie told me. Apparently Ollie told her.”
“Ollie?” Shit.
The corner of his mouth quirks up. “Don’t worry. I won’t say anything to Charles. Whatever confidences he betrayed, he did it for you. The bastard may have pissed me off, but I understand why he did it. I would have done the same.”
“You had Kurt fired,” I say.
“Hell yes, I did.”
“Damien, you can’t just do that to people.”
“Actually, I can. He worked for one of my companies.”
“But—” I cut myself off. The truth is I don’t give a fuck what happens to Kurt, and the fact that Damien had his sorry ass fired doesn’t really bother me. Not by itself, anyway. It’s the rest of it.
“Nikki?” He’s looking at me, his face open and vulnerable.
I reach out and stroke his cheek, the stubble of his beard scratching over my palm. The air between us is thick, and just touching him makes me feel alive. He’s like a part of me, I think. Hell, he’s like the air I need to breathe. And I need him. I need all of him. But I’m not as certain that he really needs me. “You’re wrong about what you said. About me.”
“What did I say?”
“You said I wasn’t weak.” I run a hand over my hair. “I am.”
“Oh, baby, come here.” I slide into his arms, and it feels like coming home. I press my head to his chest and listen to the rhythm of his heart. “Everyone breaks a little sometimes. That doesn’t make you weak. It makes you wounded. And I will always be there to help you heal.”
I release a shuddering breath as I pull back enough to look into his face. I can’t imagine Damien breaking, but somehow I know that he’s speaking from experience. Everyone breaks.
“Nikki,” he says. “Baby, are we okay?”
I think about what my mother said about what I was throwing away, and I wonder if she’s right. For the first time in my life, can my mother actually have something to offer me?
I close my eyes, because I don’t want her in my head. When I open them again, I see only Damien. “I want to make this work,” I whisper, and the relief that I see in his eyes washes over me like a balm. “Is Jamie here?” I ask, because suddenly I’m thinking about the thin walls of the condo.
I see the hint of a frown. “No.” He clears his throat.
I narrow my eyes, confused. “What?”
“This may not be the best time, but I have a confession.”
I tilt my head and wait.
“Jamie’s going to be getting a call from her agent soon.”
“And you know this how?”
“Because it’s for a series of national commercials. For a company I have an interest in.” He’s speaking gingerly, eyeing me as if he’s afraid I’ll explode.
“You did that for her?”
“For the company, actually. The ad agency presented us with three possible actresses and Jamie was the best of the bunch.”
My smile stretches wide across my face.
Damien looks at me, baffled. “Why is that okay, but helping you get the job at Innovative wasn’t?”
I grimace, because it’s a legitimate point. “Because it just is,” I say, then laugh.