Scarred Beauty (22 page)

She glanced at the stick.

Oh fuck.

Chapter Twenty-Five

“What the fuck are you doing here? If I wanted
to talk to you I would have made an appointment to see you.” Isaac cursed.

His dad stood less than two feet away. In his
presence Isaac didn’t feel like the forty year old business man that he was. He
felt like a young boy craving his dad’s attention – only to be pushed aside for
another woman, a young, gold-digging slut of a woman.

“I know you don’t want to see me, son. I needed
to see you.”
  

“You’re years too late,” Isaac said. The damage
from the man before him had already been done.

“When you were younger and had no idea what life
had to offer I accepted our relationship. I won’t accept this anymore,” his dad
said.

Isaac got up from behind his desk. He stood in
front of his father and felt nothing. For many years he’d wanted to hurt the
man before him. Looking at him now, he saw the uselessness of such actions.

“I’ve got nothing to say. You left mum for a
gold-digging slut because she opened her legs for you.” The words were harsh.

“Don’t say another word against her. You have no
idea what is going on.”

“I know you wanted this woman more than you
wanted Mum. I had to listen to her crying over you.”

“She was crying because of the fucking scandal,
son. I married your mother because I had no choice. Our families had arranged
it, and back then, we did what we had to do. She knew I was never in love with
her.”

Isaac listened to what his father had to say,
and the words spoken did make sense. When he looked back to his parents’
marriage there had never been any love between them. They didn’t kiss or hug
like other parents. In fact there weren’t even the long stares as they gazed at
each other. He knew about love. He’d felt it with Elle. The woman he had had
and lost due to his own fucked-up reasoning. His mother liked the free life she
had. He’d seen it recently as she talked about the women at her village.
Closing his eyes, he rubbed his temple.

“Why have you come here?” he asked.

“Because I don’t want you to make the same
mistake that I did.” His dad pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it
to him. “Your scarred beauty is holding an auction for her art work at the
gallery just a few blocks from here.”

The paper was the one of them at the French
restaurant. Folding the paper in two he handed it back.

“So? There is nothing going on between us.”

“No? Then tell me why you’re looking at her as
if she’s the best thing in the world, and you want a piece of it?”

“It is amazing what they can do with air
brushing these days.”

His dad held up his hand. “Don’t, son. There is
a woman a few blocks from here who is clearly in love with you. Do not do what
I did. I cared for your mother, but I love the woman I’m with. You may not like
me, but I’ve got a woman who will open her arms to me when I go home. What have
you got?” He passed him the paper and walked out of the office.

Isaac opened the paper and stared at the woman
who plagued his thoughts day and night.

Running a thumb over her face on the paper he
pictured her in his arms. He remembered the smooth soft skin of her body, the
easy response as she came apart in his grasp. He stared at the paper where the
woman who held his heart sat.

Throwing the paper down, he called down for a
ride.

He was going to win his woman.
  

****

“This is a very special portrait of the painter
herself. Miss Noelle Evans is the distinguished artist. Her self-portrait,
titled
Scarred Beauty
, is a rare
item. I would like to start the bidding at ten thousand dollars,” the
auctioneer said to the crowd.

I’m
pregnant. I’m going to give birth to Isaac Welch’s baby.

Stop
thinking or panicking, and stare at the work being sold. This is good business.
The baby can wait.

Only nine
months.

Long
enough.

Noelle stood back, tears in her eyes as she
looked at the painting she’d done of herself after her time with Isaac. That
man had made her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. Closing her
eyes she tried to block out the pain. The auction was turning into a huge
success, better than anything she could have ever imagined.

The prices escalated for her self portrait. She
guessed the reason for her increase in popularity was down to her relationship
with Isaac Welch. Not Isaac the man she knew but Isaac the successful business
man. When she thought of the betrayal Brad and Isaac had put her through, her
heart ached, and she felt filled with humiliation. Her best friend had asked
his older brother to play an escort. Was everything she felt in his arms a lie?
The inner turmoil of that had happened over the last few weeks shocked
her.
 

“Ten million dollars.” Gasps echoed round the
small room. She looked inside the room. Isaac stood in the doorway his hair
drenched from the rain outside, his eyes blazing with passion. She stared at
him with the comfort of the curtain between them. This was the first time she’d
seen him since the episode in the loft over her leaving.

“Does anyone want to increase the bid?” the
auctioneer asked.

Biting her lip, Noelle stepped from behind the
curtain. “His bid does not count. No sale,” she said.

He moved down the aisle, and she couldn’t tear
her gaze away from him even if she wanted to. He captured her attention like
the first time she had met him.

“I want that painting.”

“You’re not getting it.”

He stood at the bottom of the stage staring up
at her. She moved down the steps so she was the same height. Looking down on
him felt wrong.

“You’re going to give me that painting, Elle.
It’s mine. You’re
my
scarred beauty.
No one else has a right to that picture. I watched you paint that portrait.”

The vision he brought into her mind had her weak
at the knees. There was a point at which she painted where he’d sat on a chair
in front of her painting, parted her thighs and sunk deep inside her. She’d
painted part of the portrait while he was making love to her. The sensuality of
the painting captured the feelings he evoked.

She gazed out at the audience, her blonde hair
wrapped off her face for once. No one looked away from her in disgust. They all
starred at her with rapt attention. How had her life changed so much?

Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear,
she turned back to the man who’d crushed her heart.

“Take the painting. I have no use for it.” She
held her head high and walked past him. Down the aisle she walked not daring to
look anywhere but straight in front.

“You will always be my girl, Noelle.”

She stopped at the last row of chairs, her back
straight. He’d never in all the time they’d been together called her by her
full name. The only time she’d heard her name from his lips had been in the
media coverage of their relationship. Without thinking, she turned back to face
him. He stood in the same spot.

“I’m not your girl,” she said, even though in
her heart she knew she’d never be with anyone else.

“The best time of my life was the moment I met
you.”

“Why are you saying these things? Now? Today?
Why?” When their relationship had come to light, she’d read the article where
he’d denied any contact with her. The feature in the newspaper had stung her
more than the betrayal of her best friend and lover.

“Because I fucked up. You’re right. I spend most
of my time acting as if I don’t care what people think when the truth is, I let
it get between you and me. I love you, Noelle. My love will never stop.”

His words were cutting her deep.

“And if you can find it in your heart to forgive
me, I will make sure you never go a day without my love. Every morning when I
wake up I will prove to you with more than words what you mean to me. I cannot
even begin to express the extent of the love I feel for you.”

Tears were streaming down her face as with every
word he spoke, he took a step towards her.

“When you paint, I will be there to watch. When
you’re sick, I will hold you until the pain stops, and you’re better. There is
nothing I won’t do for you. All this means nothing to me.”

He opened his wallet and pulled out his credit
cards and cheque books, throwing them at her feet. His expensive designer watch
went on the floor along with a few other things he held.

Isaac grabbed her hand, placing it over his
heart. She felt the heat of his body through his clothing, up her arm and
inside her own heart. Staring into his eyes she saw the love he felt for her.

“I ask that you forgive me,” he said. Noelle was
about to say the words when he went down on one knee. “Noelle Evans, will you
make me the happiest man in the world and become my wife?”

He went to his pocket and pulled out a small
square box.

The lid opened revealing a small, delicate gold
band. The simple band meant more to her than any diamonds.

“Yes,” she said. “You had my heart and my love
the moment I collided with you.” They shared a smile as he got up off the
floor.

He slipped the ring on her finger. The weight
felt perfect to her. Isaac took her lips as their audience applauded.

“How was my proposal?” he whispered against her
ear.

“Perfect.”

“You’re going to be my wife. I can’t believe
it.”

Noelle smiled and whispered her own little
secret in his ear. He froze as she pressed his hand against her thickening
stomach.

“You’re going to be a father.”

In front of the room full of clients and a
couple of members of the press, Isaac Welch, strong businessman, fainted in a
heap on the floor.

Epilogue

“Calm down,” Noelle said as the limo pulled up
outside her parents’ house.

“How can I calm down? I’m about to enter the
building where my woman’s parents live and tell them I’m the old guy who
knocked her up. Your dad is going to want to take me in the back garden and
shoot me,” Isaac said.

She couldn’t help but laugh at the way Isaac was
responding. They were going to get married in the coming new year, so they had
time to get her dad to agree to give her away.

Reaching over the space, she kissed him in the
hope of giving him some reassurance. “Dad won’t hurt you because I love you.
Besides, you’re still one half of the small guy inside me. He’ll love you like
I do.”

Brad had decided to spend Christmas with Ben. In
the last few days he’d managed to pull himself out of the bleakness that had
consumed him. She was proud of him but scared. Brad was walking the fine line
between being okay and snapping like a twig.

Isaac distracted her by resting his hand over
her stomach.

“You’ve made me the happiest man on the planet.
I’m so sorry for not being honest with you in the beginning.”

She smiled. Forgiving him had not been an issue.
She loved him with all of her heart, and if she could forgive Brad then she
could forgive Isaac.

“I love you, Isaac. Not just for the next few
weeks but for the rest of my life. Even if you are older than I.”

He wrapped his arms around her and snuggled
closer as the limo came to a stop outside her house.

“Enjoy the comfort I can give you. I’m about to
lose my life.”

She grabbed his face and kissed him. “You’re not
about to lose your life.” Taking his hand, she escorted him to her front door.

His hand shook as she pressed the bell. Her dad
opened the door, a scowl on his face.

“Hi, dad,” she said. “I’d like to introduce you
to Isaac Welch. He’s the man I’m in love with and whom I’m going to marry, and
he’s the father of your grandchild.”

Her dad moved closer to Isaac. The two men
stared at each other, each sizing up the other to see if one would falter.
Noelle held her breath as the battle continued.

Dad gave in first. He wrapped his arms around
Isaac, slapped him on the back as he did.

“Welcome to the family, son.”

The End

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