Investment in Love (Contemporary Romance) (12 page)

***

Calvin sat down blankly on the edge of the bed, still warm from Ellie, and stared at his hands. They were shaking.
How could this be happening?
He’d just had everything, right there in his grasp, and now it was all falling apart.

“Ellie,” he murmured. “Ellie!” Suddenly realizing he needed to act, he ran to the door and flung it open. “Ellie?” he called down the hallway—but it was already empty.

He called her phone again and again, pacing back and forth, but there was no answer. When he finally had to check out, he tried to leave without thinking how happily they had arrived the night before as husband and wife, but it was no use. Pain knifed at his heart anyway.

Instead of driving to the mansion, he drove to Ellie’s and rang the doorbell. Her car was there, so he knew she should be home, but after a few tense minutes the door opened to reveal Ann.

“Calvin,” she said quietly. “You need to go. She doesn’t want to see you. I think she’s made it quite clear.”

“But—” said Calvin. Then his shoulders sagged. “Tell her I love her,” he said.

When he got back to the house, he saw that he had a voicemail, and for a moment his heart leapt. But it was just from his manager at work, reminding him that he was expected back Monday. Dully, Calvin started packing. The realization dawned on him gradually—Ellie was right. He hadn’t done anything to earn her trust. He hadn’t been honest. He didn’t deserve to be with someone as wonderful and good as she was.

“But I’m not going to give up,” he said to his suitcase. His shoulders firmed up at the thought, and Calvin started packing more quickly.

He just needed a plan of action. There was no reason giving up just because Ellie knew the truth. Decisively, Calvin reached for his phone and called Walter Greenfeld back. Although he knew Ellie hadn’t meant it, he was going to take her advice. He was going to claim his inheritance and use it to get his life together. With it, he didn’t need to worry about his job or moving expenses. He could focus totally on moving to Carterville and winning back the love of his life.

It only took three weeks for Calvin to make it back to Carterville. He mulled over the irony of the situation during his flight back—only a few short months before, he’d have done anything to avoid this place. But now, he was desperate to get back to his biological grandmother’s home and the woman he loved—if she’d have him.

He hadn’t heard a peep out of Ellie since the day she’d walked out of their hotel room. Time and again, he’d called her phone. While he had been giving notice to his company and packing up his apartment, he’d also been desperately trying to reach his wife. At least, he thought she was still his wife—no one had notified him if she’d filed for divorce. But she never answered, and never returned the myriad voicemails he left.

Finally, Calvin had decided to change his tactics. When he got off the plane, he wasn’t going to drive straight to Ellie’s house and throw himself at her feet, as much as he wanted to. He knew that wouldn’t win her over. Instead, he had to prove that he actually cared about her and not the money. Calvin knew just how to do that, and now he just had to make it happen.

***

Ellie stood at the back of the store, dusting off the tops of the washers and dryers. She sighed as she worked, and then suddenly spun toward the door at a slight noise.

Nothing. No one was there.

She sighed again, pushing her hair back out of her face. Ever since she’d found out that Calvin was back in town, she’d been jumpy. He had called her constantly for three weeks, so she was certain that the infuriating man would come straight to her door—but he hadn’t. In fact, Calvin had been in Carterville for over a week, and Ellie hadn’t seen him at all.

Pain twisted in her gut. His absence just proved what she had thought. Calvin Barnard had married her to get access to his great-aunt’s money. It had all been a lie. Ellie twisted anxiously at the ring on her finger. She didn’t know why she still wore it, or why she hadn’t called a lawyer about getting a divorce. But she couldn’t quite let go of hope. Something about Calvin’s behavior just didn’t make sense to her. After all, she had been the one who rushed him to a wedding, not the other way around. Maybe he had really cared for her.

But if he had, where was he?

Ellie blinked back tears and kept dusting.

Moments later, the bell on the front door jingled and she jumped. Setting the duster down, she turned and started walking toward the front. The bell at the register dinged, and she rolled her eyes. “Coming. Just a minute.”

But before she even emerged from between the shelves, the door jingled again, and by the time she could see the front, the store was empty.
What?

Suddenly she noticed a manila folder on the register counter.
Ellie
, it said on the front. Feeling curious, Ellie flipped it open and blinked. The first sheet was a blueprint, but she wasn’t sure what for. She flipped to the next page. This one was an artist’s sketch of a large, warehouse-style store. On the front of the sketched building hung a sign that said “Parker Home Design.”

Ellie gasped. A budget plan followed the sketch, itemizing the costs of shelving, digital register equipment, a fleet of moving trucks, floor layout furniture, and storage. Then there was a printed property listing for an empty lot at the edge of Carterville, and a few sample marketing flyers. Ellie felt herself tearing up at the printouts. Somehow, someone had understood her dream well enough to get it all on paper. Finally, she turned the last page to reveal a handwritten letter.

She sat down unsteadily in her chair, squinting at the small handwriting.

Ellie,

I know you don’t want to talk to me. I even understand why. What I did was unforgivable. But what I need you to understand is that it wasn’t about the money. It was only about you. You are the only thing that is important to me, and your dreams are my dreams. We could put the money toward your dream store—all of the contracts are waiting for your approval, and I know you would be amazingly successful. Or if you’d rather, we could just go throw it all in the ocean and forget this ever happened. I don’t care as long as I get to have you in my life. I don’t want to be the Edward to your Loretta. I’d rather be the Mr. Barnard to your Mrs. Barnard. Please, come back to me.

With all my heart,

Your loving husband.

Ellie was just staring at the letter, clutching the folder to her chest, when the door jingled again.

“Calvin?” Somehow, she’d known it was him before she’d even looked up.

“Ellie,” he said. He looked nervous, but also incredibly handsome. Butterflies flooded Ellie’s stomach at the sight of his familiar blue eyes and messy hair.
God, she had missed him.
“Did you read it?” he asked uncertainly.

She nodded, swallowing back tears. “I did.”

“And?”

“And I don’t know. Are you trying to buy me? I don’t want to be taken advantage of. If we were to—” She choked on the words. “If we were to get a divorce, I wouldn’t try to take any of your money.”

“Oh, Ellie, no!” Before she could blink the tears out of her eyes, Calvin was around the edge of the counter and at her side. He clutched her hand earnestly in his warm grasp. “I promise I’m not trying to buy you,” he said intently. “I just wanted to show you how much I care about you and how little I care about the money. I meant what I said in the letter. Say the word and we’ll go withdraw it all in cash and throw it into the ocean, or burn it, or donate it to whomever you please.”

Ellie looked up, finally meeting his gaze. “I guess that would be kind of dumb,” she said in a wobbly voice. “Although I would probably like to give to a charity or two.”

“Does that mean you’ll consider it?” Calvin asked, sounding breathless.

As much as she wanted to, Ellie wasn’t so sure that she should give in easily. She looked at their hands, which clung tightly to one another, and back into Calvin’s concerned blue eyes.

“Yes,” she breathed. “Yes, I think so.”

“Oh, Ellie, you will?” Calvin pulled her out of the chair and into a tight, tight hug. “I’ll never lie to you again,” he swore. “Just stay with me and we’ll be so happy. We’ll make new, happy memories at the house, and raise beautiful babies who look just like you, and Mallory will just about die of jealousy.”

A teary laugh escaped from Ellie as she pressed her face into the warm skin of his neck. “I missed you,” she said in a heartfelt way.

He squeezed her even tighter. “I missed you too. I love you so much. Every minute I was without you was miserable.”

“For me too,” she murmured. “Don’t leave me again.”

“I won’t,” he said, kissing her forehead. “I promise.”

Ellie squeezed her husband’s hand lightly as they stood before the gravestone.

“I’m still not sure about talking to her,” Calvin said. “She can’t really hear me.”

“Go on,” said Ellie with a gentle smile. “You need the closure. It will be good for you.” Her free hand went to the small of her back as she tried to brace the weight of her growing belly.

“You sure you’re okay?” Calvin asked, suddenly concerned. “Do you need to sit down? Is the baby kicking?”

She laughed. “Calvin, relax. I can manage just fine. Go on—talk to her.”

With one last concerned look, Calvin stepped forward.

“Hi, Loretta,” he said, sounding somewhat self-conscious. “Grandma. I don’t know if you can hear me right now, but Ellie—my wife—thinks it would be good for me to try this anyway. And since I love her, I do what she wants.” He spun around to flash a bright, breathtaking grin at her, and she smiled and made a shooing motion with her hands.

Calvin turned back and continued, more serious. “Anyway, Grandma Loretta, I wanted to come and say thank you. I wish I would have gotten to know you, but I’ve read your diaries, and I feel like I at least understand you. Sorry if that’s weird,” he added, “but Ellie doesn’t think you’d mind. So I wanted you to know that I am incredibly grateful for the inheritance that you left me. It isn’t just the money, although I’ll get to that part in a minute. What I’m most grateful for is that you made me come here to this tiny, wonderful town so I could find my roots, and when I did that I met the woman who changed my life. She is beautiful, and kind, and generous—and from Carterville—and I know you would have loved her. I love her so much that I married her, and now we’re going to have a baby. That means you and Edward have a great-grandchild, not just a grandchild. I think you would have liked that.”

He shifted on his feet before continuing. “Without you, Loretta, I would still be plodding away in my busy city life. But thanks to your will, instead I am here with my wonderful family, and we have a huge, beautiful, successful furniture and interior design business. We are so happy, Grandma Loretta. We fixed up your house—which I think you would like even more now, although it isn’t as flowery as before—and we’re even working on having your diaries published, that way you’re never forgotten. But I promise you, even if that happens, I will never forget you. Even though I only met you once, I owe just about everything to you and your love for me. So… thank you.”

Calvin slowly turned back to Ellie, blinking suspiciously bright eyes. “How was I?” he asked gruffly.

Ellie reached out her hand to take his. “Perfect,” she said sweetly. “Absolutely perfect.”

Together, they turned and walked out of the graveyard and toward their bright, happy future.

If you liked this book, you will also like
The Stolen Heart
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I also highly recommend you to read
Christmas Embrace
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The Stolen Heart

Ashley Sheffield is a small-town girl with a simple life. When she finds herself in the middle of a bank robbery everything in her life turns upside down. She is almost killed when she sees the face of one of the robbers, but a stranger jumps in and saves her. The man that saves her is gorgeous and intriguing. He is new to town and she is more attracted to him than any man she has ever met, but he has a secret and might be not who he appears to be. Is the man she is falling for the hero she believes him to be, or is he someone just as dangerous as the gunman from the bank? She will find out when she finds herself intertwined between a mystery and a love story, not knowing what her ending will be.