The Chosen Heir (The Bolles Dynasty Book 3) (24 page)

Running his hand down her leg, he removed one shoe and then the other. His hands glided over her thighs and undid her stockings.

Bridget stood and removed the belt from her dress and turned so he would undo the zipper.
 

His mobile rang and he cursed. Glancing at it, he said, “My mother texted and advised that I turn on the local news. How does she even know that I’m in London?”

He turned on the television and went in search of his laptop.
 

Bridget watched in shock. William and Oliver’s pictures were displayed next to each other and the reporter was commenting on past scandals that impacted the Bolles family. It didn’t make sense; how could the media possibly know about his younger brother? They had come to London so he could share the news with his sisters.

William walked back in the room as the reporter said that a person close to the family tipped off the London press. Sitting in a chair near the bed, he scanned articles on the Internet.

“I need to get in touch with the attorney that is handling the investigation. Mary and Oliver are going to need some advice in handling this situation.”

“It’s horrible.”

“You should get some sleep. I’m going to call my sisters, then get in touch with my attorney.” He disappeared and she went in search of her suitcase.

Bridget climbed into bed nearly an hour later after taking a hot bath and giving her aunt a call. Exhaustion claimed her and she didn’t wake up until sunlight was pouring through the windows. Stretching, she wondered why William wasn’t in bed.

She could hear raised voices and got up to get dressed.

A few minutes later, she found William sitting alone in the living room. He had showered and was wearing dress pants with a button-down, pressed shirt.
 

“Bridget.”

Her heart constricted and she wanted to throw herself into his arms, but something held her back. He was cold and distant.

“I hope you slept well.”

“I did.” There was a politeness coming from him that worried her. Was he angry with her?

William said, “We need to talk.”

A nervous tension was winding its way through her body. He was all business without any softening or playfulness. She could see rejection in every line of his body. He was going to end their relationship.

Sitting down, she smoothed the sleeveless dress over her legs. It felt like her world was about to end. She had fallen in love with him.

“I’ve decided to move my office to London for the foreseeable future. Your work life can remain in Dublin for the next nine months and then you will have the opportunity to return to London to look for work.” His announcement shattered her heart, but she wasn’t going to let him see her fall apart. Instead, she would hide her reaction and pretend everything was fine.

She stood up. “Why are you doing this?”

“My mother was here this morning. She found out you were the one to let the story leak about my brother to a London newspaper.”
 

She held her hands up. “That is not true. I would never do such a thing.”

His eyes were cold and assessing. “I have access to your banking records. I’ve already confirmed that a large deposit was made into your personal account two days ago from the same London media group that publicized the story.”

She stood up. “There has to be some mistake. I did not give the story to the press or accept any money. I wouldn’t do that.”

His eyes were downcast. “Then why is the payment in your account?”

Why didn’t he believe her? “I don’t know. It doesn’t make any sense. Maybe someone is trying to make trouble for us?”

“It would be best if you gathered your things and returned to Dublin. It will give me time to sort out everything with my sisters. ”

She kept her voice neutral and didn’t look at him. “I don’t understand. I thought we were happy.”

He didn’t move. “I thought I could trust you.”

She promised herself that she wouldn’t plead or grovel. “So...you are going to believe that I did this horrible thing and not let me get to the truth?” Her voice sounded high and uncertain.

He stood up. “I can’t function without trust.”
 

He wasn’t giving her the opportunity to prove her innocence. He was more than willing to believe the worst of her. Why would someone go through all the effort of making her look guilty?

Her heart felt like it was shattering into a million pieces. “There has to be a way that I can prove to you that it wasn’t me. I was set up.”

He crossed his arms. “I grew up with deception. I’ve never understood why anyone who go through such insane lengths to avoid the truth. You can just tell me that you thought the truth should come out.”

She held his gaze and knew that he wouldn’t offer her another chance.

“I’m not going to admit to something I didn’t do. At some point you will realize that you are wrong but it will be too late for us.” She stepped away from him. “Good luck, William.”
 

He studied her for a moment. “I wish you luck as well.”

He left the room and she wiped away a few tears. She had to stop herself from crying here. At home, later would be the time to fall apart. In truth, she was in shock. Her body felt cold and she couldn’t quite accept that is was over. She expected him to walk back in and take her in his arms. If he cared anything for her, he would do that and not expect her to walk away. Why didn’t he realize in his heart that she would never be capable of deceiving him? If he cared for her at all he would know that.

She went through the motions of gathering her things and then hailed a taxi. Why was this happening to her?
 

Chapter 12
 

William stood at the edge of the square mile in the financial district of London reflecting on his next move. In the last six weeks, he established a premier office space for Bolles Investments, hired five employees and convinced investors to place one hundred million with his firm. The amount was set to quadruple in the next quarter. The media had been drawn to his story and he had been portrayed as the golden boy of finance.
 

So why was he barely functioning and a shadow of himself? He had faced his fears and his so-called enemies had melted away into nothing. It had been long enough since his father’s death that the elite brokers and power investors were ready to move on. They were ready to get behind someone new.
 

The elite social events and dinners had women throwing themselves at him. But he could barely dance with another woman without feeling his heart constrict. He craved Bridget with an insatiable hunger that was beyond his ability to control. He had accused her of horrible things and thrown her out.

But his sisters wouldn’t leave the issue alone. Olivia insisted Bridget was innocent and confided in him that his mother had caused problems between her and Fionn. It had come down to jealousy and she had almost succeeded in keeping them apart. Olivia demanded that he look deeper and find out who spoke with the paper. Anna had called as well to show her concern and let him know that she believed in Bridget.
 

After six weeks, he finally had the proof that Bridget had been set up. How could he possibly fix it? Why would she forgive him? He shouldn’t have needed to proof to know that she was not capable of hurting him.
 

He had been wrong about her. She had been afraid of taking risks and compromising her reputation. Now it was surely destroyed. How could he have believed that she was capable of selling him out? It had been six weeks and she probably hated him.

William straightened his tie and crossed the street. He was meeting an old friend of his father’s for dinner. Afterwards, he would book his private jet for a flight back to Ireland. He needed her. Even if he had to win her heart all over again.

***

Bridget finished at Breen for the day. She hurried home to change into her bike shorts and reflective shirt to go for a night ride. The exercise had become part of her daily attempt to purge her sadness about William. He hadn’t called her since she left London, but his successful debut had been celebrated in the weekly management meetings. The other members of his team hadn’t pried into their relationship. Instead they gave her space and encouraged her to keep an open mind about everything.
 

Filling up her water bottle in the kitchen sink, she heard her buzzer sound. It was odd. Her father normally didn’t drop by and she couldn’t think of anyone else who would.
 

She pressed the buzzer. “Hello?”

“Hello yourself.”
 

William. Why would he be here? “What do you want?”

“I need to see you, love. Please.” His voice shattered the shell she had built around herself.

She couldn’t go through another emotional conversation with him. She would fall apart. “I think you said everything that there was to say.”

“No, I haven’t and I’m prepared to wait all evening.”

“Come up.” She pressed the release button.

She opened the door and waited for him to come up the stairs.

He walked into her flat and her heart constricted. It was crazy, she missed him.

She turned away from him. “I can’t imagine that we have anything to say to one another.”

A silence spread out between them. She turned back and looked at him. He looked thin. Even though he found commercial success in London, he didn’t look happy.

“I’m sorry, Bridget. From the bottom of my heart. I was completely wrong.”

“I know that you were wrong.” Bridget crossed her arms over her chest. “But your apology means nothing to me. You may believe me now but the next time your bitter mother decides to frame me, it will be the same.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “It was a despicable thing for her to do.”

“I agree.” She turned away from him.

“I’ve learned my lesson. I should have known that you were not capable of such deceit. I don’t know why I was so ready to believe the worst.”

“I do. You are not interested in a deep relationship. If things start to get hard then you look for an excuse to end it.”

“I’m interested in a deep relationship with you. Only you.” He reached out and pulled her into arms.

“Please don’t.”

“Please forgive me. I have something much more important to say to you, but I can’t say it until you forgive me.”

“I forgive you, William, but that doesn’t mean that I want you in my life.”

The color drained from his face. “I want you in my life. Forever. Would you marry me?”

He hadn’t even told her how he felt. “Marriage is not the answer.”

“I love you. I love you with my whole heart. I know I messed up. I intend to spend the rest of my life proving to you that I am trustworthy and loyal.”

She touched her throat. “I love you too.” Tears began sliding down her cheeks.

“What’s wrong, love?”

“Nothing. It’s just I missed you so much. I can’t believe that you are here and asking me to marry you.”

He gently wiped away her tears. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes.”
 

He picked her up and swung her around in excitement.

“Do you want to go and tell your father?”

“No. Right now. I want you all to myself.” She held him tightly. She couldn’t believe that he came back. It was what she’d wished for every night. He searched for the truth and came back to her. But it would take a huge leap of faith to believe in him. Could she believe in him?

“I love you, Bridget North. I’ve loved you since our first meeting when you told me off.”

“How is that possible?”

“I don’t know. I’ve held you in my heart since that moment. Someone I knew that you were the one for me. It took me a while to believe it. It took my losing you to know what a fool I’ve been. I’ll never doubt you again.”

She reached up and kissed him with all the pent up longing that she had pushed away. She loved him with a fierceness that surprised.