Brides, Babies And Billionaires. Rebecca Winters
* *
Callie’s heart broke over and over again each time she thought about it—which felt like every second of every day.
She had taken the week off work, which no one had questioned, despite the fact that she hadn’t taken any time off since she’d started—because she couldn’t bear to see Blake every day. Not when there was a hole in her chest where her heart was supposed to be.
She knew the pieces lay somewhere, broken in her chest, and would no doubt remind her of their brokenness when she saw him. She would forget, just for a second, about the fact that he had left her and she would run into his arms, feel his warmth, smell the comforting musk of his cologne.
And then she would break when she realised that would never happen again.
She shrugged her shoulders and forced herself to breathe as she walked into the hotel on Friday. Kate had called, telling her that a young honeymooning couple had begged her to arrange a tour for them, and since Kate had no idea what to do she’d called Callie. Her favourite tours were those she organised for honeymooners—they were always so happy to be with one another it was infectious—so she’d reluctantly agreed to come in.
Even though she didn’t want to see the man who’d broken her heart. The man who, according to her brother, was a negotiation tsar.
Of course she was happy that the negotiations were going well. But somehow it just didn’t seem important any more. So she would just focus on what she’d come to do.
Kate had told her the couple wanted to see Table Mountain at sunset. That would be in an hour, giving her enough time to introduce herself and travel there with her guests. And to remember that the last time she had been up there had been with Blake.
She stopped when he materialised in front of her. And blinked just to make sure she wasn’t imagining things. That she wasn’t dreaming of him again.
‘Callie.’
‘Blake.’
She nodded, and hated it that her body heated at the memory of his. Even worse, that her heart still longed for him.
‘I’ve missed you around here.’
‘I’ve...er...’ She cleared her throat. ‘I’ve been on leave.’
‘I know.’ He put his hands in his pockets. ‘I was hoping we could talk.’
‘Yes, well...let’s pretend you’ve left already, when there won’t be any more talking between us,’ she said, and then tried to walk past him.
But she stopped—as did her heart—when he placed a hand on her arm.
‘Callie, please. I have to tell you something.’
She looked up at him, and though her heart urged her to agree her mind warned her not to. And for once she chose to listen.
‘I think it would be best if we didn’t speak any more.’
Their eyes locked for a moment, and then he let go of her arm.
‘Okay.’
She nodded and walked away with an aching heart and the sinking feeling that this might be the last time she spoke to her boss.
To the man she loved.
‘AND IF YOU look over there you’ll see Camps Bay Beach and the Atlantic Ocean. Beautiful, isn’t it?’
Callie pointed out the area for her guests, and watched the sun cast its orange glow over the city, grateful that Cape Town was showcasing its romance for the couple. She smiled and walked to the other side of the mountain, giving them privacy. And giving herself time to think, to grieve for the man she would have loved to share the experience of sunset on the mountain with.
‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite as beautiful in my life.’
Callie heard the words and for a brief moment wondered if she had conjured him up again. But when she turned around Blake was standing in front of her, looking directly at her.
She squared her shoulders. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘I came to talk. I thought that you would have no choice on a mountain.’ He smiled slightly.
She bit her lip, feeling the heat of tears threaten. Why couldn’t he just leave her be?
‘How did you know I was here?’
‘Kate. Connor. A number of other people who gladly offered me the information when they realised we were together.’
‘You told them that?’
He took a step closer. ‘I did. I wanted them to know how serious I am about the talk we’re going to have.’
Her heart ached with longing, with heartbreak. The combination left her a little breathless.
‘I have guests here, Blake’ She gestured to the couple. ‘I don’t think I’ll have much time to talk.’
‘That’s okay. They’re with me.’
It took Callie a moment to process that. ‘What do you mean, they’re with you?’ She repeated the words slowly, hoping it would help her make sense of it.
‘I mean I asked some friends of mine to request a tour. I knew you wouldn’t come if it wasn’t for your guests, so I called in a favour.’
His eyes were so serious, so hopeful, that her indignation faltered. And her heart wondered what was so important that he’d had to pull strings to see her. She turned to the couple, who waved gaily at her, and felt the ends of her mouth twitch. And then she noticed that the mountain had cleared in the moments she’d spent with Blake, and that her pretend guests were also moving in the direction of the cable car.
‘Blake, I think the last cable car of the day is leaving.’ She said the words even as her mind told her that it wasn’t supposed to happen for at least another hour.
‘No, there’s one more. For us.’
She looked at him in surprise. ‘How did you...?’ But she trailed off when she saw the determination and the slight desperation in his eyes. ‘You did all this for a moment alone with me?’
He nodded and took her hand. Tingles went up her arm as he led her to the end of the mountain where it overlooked the ocean. They stood there like that for a while, and then he spoke.
‘I’ve been trying to find the words to tell you how sorry I am since the moment I realised how wrong I was.’ His hand tightened on hers, and then he stuffed it in a pocket. ‘I did things so poorly. I made decisions for you, for us, without talking to you. I let my fears become more important than my need for you.’
He turned to her and she resisted the urge to comfort him.
‘And I do need you—more than I’ve needed anything else in the world.’
Her lips trembled and she took a deep breath, trying to figure out what to say. But he continued before she had a chance to respond.
‘I have been so miserable since you walked out through the door of that office. I justified my actions, and cursed them, and I went back and forth doing that for a long time. And then I spoke to Connor, and I knew I was wrong.’
‘You what?’
Blake gave her a nervous smile. ‘He caught me moping in the office and offered me some advice.’ Then he grew serious. ‘My whole life I’ve tried to avoid disappointing the people I care about. I thought that by being in control I could do that. And then you came along, and I’ve never felt less in control in my life.’
He exhaled, looked out to the ocean.
‘I was falling for