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.Finished, Elizabeth went to find Gretchen.Clutching the paperwork to her breast, Elizabeth found her sister with a sketchpad, doodling. Hi, Gretch. Elizabeth wanted to hug her but Gretchen didn t like physical contact and reactedadversely so Elizabeth contented herself with just sitting near her. I saw your art.It s beautiful.You re so talented.Gretchen s gaze flicked to Elizabeth and there was a flash of something that Elizabeth recognizedas warmth and she smiled with joy.Before Rising Dawn, Gretchen had been almost unmanageable.Now, she was creating art andalmost smiling.No matter what the cost, Elizabeth realized she d made the right decision.She d do it again.Removing her own sketchpad from her bag, she settled into the chair and began sketchingalongside Gretchen.For the longest time, the fact that Gretchen was nonverbal was a stumbling block but sketchingalongside her sister, Elizabeth realized words had never been necessary.That realization was a gift Sutton would never know he d given her.***Sutton watched from a discreet vantage point Elizabeth and Gretchen together, two sisters,sketching together without exchanging a single word and he was struck by the bond between them.A bond he d never known with his own siblings.He saw the tenderness in Elizabeth s gaze, the absolute joy and acceptance, and he realizedElizabeth was the kind of woman he d never known  selfless.She d given herself in exchange for her sister, who could not care for herself, and she d done itin spite of being afraid, in spite of his demands, and in spite of the moral boundaries he d requiredher to cross.Because Elizabeth was that kind of person.He d treated her as he treated all women  disposable  but that d been his biggest folly.Elizabeth was anything but disposable.She was& everything to him.Sutton swallowed the lump in his throat as a formerly unknown emotion swamped him,threatening to capsize his soul in its wake.He loved her.Somehow, somewhere& he d fallen in love with Elizabeth Downing.The realization was almost too overwhelming; it threw everything he d ever known or believedinto a tailspin.Love was a chemical reaction in the brain  if so, he was already addicted.Love fades so don t waste your time  every moment with Elizabeth would be worth it.Love is for people who have to settle  love is for the lucky few who can recognize it.His cousins had it  they cherished it.Sutton finally understood that look in Vince s eyes when Vince saw his wife, Emma  completeand utter adoration.If Sutton had a mirror right now, he d see the same expression on his own face.He fucking adored Elizabeth and everything she was.And he had from the very beginning.He d just been too blind to see what his heart had already known.But could Elizabeth love him?He d done so much damage, created so much pain.One way to find out, he realized and quietly left Rising Dawn before Elizabeth saw him.He had work to do.***Elizabeth was puzzled by Sutton s cryptic text message.However, seeing as his last mysterious message had put her on a private jet to Spain, she wasn taverse to finding out what the man had up his sleeve this time.Dressed in her favorite Chantal dress, she took a little extra time with her make up and when thecar pulled up to shuttle her to wherever Sutton had arranged, she felt beautiful and confident  twothings she never thought would ever be in her wheelhouse.The car pulled up to Swank and her cheeks flared with the memory of what they d done in therestroom of this fancy restaurant.The old Elizabeth would ve been mortified to show her face, the new Elizabeth just smiled atthe exciting memory.She was directed to the bar where her favorite drink awaited her but Sutton was nowhere to beseen.Frowning with mild confusion, she accepted the drink and took a fortifying sip.Suddenly, strong hands encircled her waist and she smiled above the rim of her glass. I thought I was being stood up, she teased and he growled in her ear. Never.She turned and her smile faltered as her breath hitched.The man was far too handsome for his own good.He took her breath away and put her at a disadvantage every time.But then, Elizabeth was pretty sure he knew that, too.The cheeky bastard. Come. He offered his arm and she accepted it with a happy smile, delighted by this newlychivalrous version of Sutton.She sank into the chair with Sutton s help and he took his place opposite her at the intimate table.It was then she noticed the sheaf of paper. What s this? she asked, confused.Sutton held her gaze for a long moment, then answered,  Your dissolution papers.I m releasingyou.A shockwave traveled through her as hurt and confusion replaced her happy feelings. W-what? I need you to sign here, he pointed out with a pen  and here.Afterward, I will have the rest ofthe money wired to your account.Following that& you are no longer& my property.She should be happy.This should be news that made her sing with joy.But instead, a lump of something awful was lodged in her belly.Tears blinded her but she accepted the pen and quickly scrawled her name in the appropriateplaces. So is this your goodbye dinner? she asked stiffly, no longer feeling pretty or confident.She djust been dumped.He chuckled and her gaze flew to his, wounded. Why are you laughing? The irony, I suppose. Yeah, I guess there s that, she admitted glumly. I would ve thought you would be happy to be free of me, he said. Me too. But you re not?She wiped at her eyes. No, she murmured, her heart aching. And why is that?He was going to make her spell it out for him? That was just cruel.A spurt of spirit returned asshe answered hotly, Because I did the stupidest thing imaginable and fell in love with you!Was that relief in his expression? She didn t have time to question. Good.The sudden shine in his eyes took her aback.Was Sutton& struggling with something? He pulleda ring case and put it on the table. Open it.All she could do was stare.What was happening? She reached for the ring box and opened itwith shaking fingers.The biggest fucking diamond she d ever seen winked at her, nearly blinding with its brillianceand all she could do was stare. What is this? I don t understand& Now it was Sutton s turn to be nervous. I ve done things all wrong with you from the start.I bullied you into an arrangement that Ithought I wanted until I realized I didn t want a puppet, I wanted you.But then, I was lost, trying tomake sense of the messages I was getting from my heart when they didn t mesh with what was in myhead.The thing is, Elizabeth, until you, I had no reason to trust women.All my life women haveburned me, starting with my own mother, who abandoned all of her children for a better deal.Ilearned at a young age not to trust.I didn t realize until I d already fucked things up that you were cutfrom a different cloth than the rest of the women I ve known.You deserved better than I gave you andI m so sorry for all the pain I ve caused you [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]