Authors: Vanessa Waltz
Tags: #Contemporary Fiction, #Contemporary Women, #billionaire romance stories, #new adult romance, #Contemporary, #Holidays, #Romance, #new adult stories, #Teen & Young Adult, #Psychological, #Women's Fiction, #New Adult & College, #billionaire romance, #new adult, #Literature & Fiction
You’re not going to blow up at the dinner table.
I took deep, shuddering breaths to calm myself down. This was what I wanted, after all. I begged Will to come here.
“What took you so long? The food is getting cold!” Mom scolded.
“Sorry, Mom,” I said as I sat down.
We began loading our plates with food: turkey, cranberry sauce, gravy, baked yams, string beans, Brussels sprouts, and garlic mashed potatoes. As we ate, William kept heaping praise on my mother’s cooking. I rolled my eyes.
All they wanted to talk about was William. They listened to him describe his job and gasped at his achievements.
“Natalie, are you listening? Will got to where he was all on his own with no help from his parents. I wish you followed the same route. Who knows, we might have had another VP in the family!”
I looked up from my plate and glowered at her. William winced.
“Well, listen. I would be lying if I said I had no help from my parents. I was born into wealth and I went to the best schools. I wouldn’t have this job if it weren’t for my dad.”
“Now, see here, William. Your dad isn’t the type to play favoritism. You mean to tell me that if you messed up at your job, he would still let you work there?”
“Well, no, but—”
“See? I’m right!”
Will’s laugh was a bit strained. He cast a worried glance at me. “That’s all well and good, but Natalie is really one of the best graphic designers I’ve seen. She really has an instinct for—”
“Isn’t he so nice?” Mom’s face was brighter than the sun. “Natalie doesn’t get a lot of compliments about her work.”
“Oh, shut up.”
The sounds of knives and forks clattering against the plates stopped as my parents’ angry faces turned towards me. My hot eyes stared back. Will beamed at me.
“Natalie! How dare you?”
“Shut up!” I exploded, shoving the plate away from me. “Both of you make me sick the way you fawn over him.”
I couldn’t stand hearing them talk about how he was so much better than me, but listening to Will try to lift me up was even worse.
Dad turned to William in a desperate attempt to salvage Thanksgiving dinner. “She doesn’t mean that.”
He gave him a dry laugh. “Oh, I think she does.”
I stood up and Will bolted upright. My parents’ anguished faces stared back at me. There were so many things I wanted to say to them. “All you do is make me feel bad about myself. I don’t need you anymore.”
Dad’s face went beet-red and Mom looked like she was on the verge of tears.
“I don’t understand why you’re so hateful,” Mom choked.
“I’m not the hateful one, Mom. You are. Goodbye.” I grabbed my purse and they didn’t try to stop me as I slid open the kitchen door.
I’m done
.
“Good Lord,” Will ejaculated when the kitchen door slammed shut. “I’m surprised you lasted that long without flipping out. What a disaster.”
“Thanks for coming,” I said in a sarcastic voice as he jogged next to me. “It was really great of you. Thanks.” I quickened my pace, eager to get away from him.
“Natalie, wait! We need to talk.”
“About what?” I muttered as I fiddled with my keys to the car. I just wanted to drive home and collapse in bed without anyone bothering me. I didn’t want to hear his voice because I was so close to exploding.
“What do you mean, ‘about what’? Dammit, Natalie!”
He seized my shoulders and turned me around so that I could look at his perfect face and suit, his super expensive car behind him.
“You shouldn’t have come,” I said, lip quivering.
“I’m sorry! I tried to call you—Natalie?”
His mouth gaped as I suddenly burst into tears.
“H—how did you do it?” I demanded through my sobs.
“Do what?”
“They love you! They love you and they hate me!” I shoved his chest and Will fell back with an extremely wounded look on his face. “They only saw you for five seconds. I’m their daughter and they could care less about me.”
I stood there crying and watched him feel bad for something he couldn’t control. “They don’t—they don’t hate you. It’s like I said before. You’ll never be able to please them.”
His heart broke for me, but I searched his face and tried to find some reason that this was his fault.
They’ll never love me. It has nothing to do with him
.
“Natalie, it’s their problem if they can’t see what a wonderful person you are. You’re an extremely talented artist and what’s more, you’ve repaired my family. I don’t know how the fuck you did it, but Luke’s in Chicago with my dad right now, eating dinner.” He shook his head, emotion thickening his voice.
“That’s great,” I said hollowly. “I’m so glad I could do all of that for you.”
“Jesus, Natalie. Why are you doing this?” Tears slipped down his face.
“Because while you were off getting better, I was drowning. You just threw me out like I was nothing to you!” All the energy left me. It was just—everything was too much. My parents, the whole mess with Ben and the horrible day we visited those families.
Will’s crossed his arms almost as if he wanted to hug himself.
“Do you know what it’s like to be so down that you can’t even see the light outside? That’s what it was like. I’m not making excuses for my behavior, but I was really fucked up at the time and I didn’t know what I was doing. I’m a fucking idiot, Natalie. I always do this—I sabotage myself.”
I could see him kicking himself for what he did to me.
“I’m so sorry, Natalie. I didn’t know how bad it was. When Luke told me how—how you were, I hung up the phone and cried. I didn’t want this to happen to you. You weren’t answering my calls; I thought that you didn’t want to see me again.” He shrugged miserably. “Can’t blame you.”
I tossed my head and laughed, although my laughter was punctuated by a small sob. “Why did you come here?”
Will pushed himself off the car, his eyes still shining. I couldn’t help but feel moved. My breath caught as he took my arms. There was no denying the electric current running through my skin the moment he touched me.
“Because I would have hated myself if I didn’t try to get you back. Because you saved me.” He took a deep breath. “And because I love you.”
What? I tried to remember what the word, “love,” meant. It couldn’t be possible. “You love me?”
His dark eyes were like bright gems as he looked at me, a smile spreading across his face. “Yeah, I do.”
“It’s all I ever wanted from them.” I looked at him through my tears. “Why don’t they love me?”
He held my shaking shoulders. “Natalie, I don’t know. No offense, but your parents are jerks. They really are.”
It sounded like an insult and for a moment I was deeply offended, but I looked at his unyielding gaze and another wall inside me collapsed.
“Your parents may not love you, but I do. I don’t even think you realize how much you’ve done for me—when I saw that website—I just—I’ve never met someone with so much capacity to give. I’ll always be there for you, no matter what happens. You’re the best thing in my life and I fucking love you.”
Everything in the background melted away. Just like that, all of my anger dropped away. He was right about everything—and the epiphany I felt in the kitchen freed me. They didn’t love me, but Will did. I didn’t have to worry about what they wanted, or if they approved of this or that. I didn’t have to see them ever again, if I wanted. I was—
free
.
As I watched his lips form those words. I couldn’t quite believe it and yet my body felt like it was soaring. Will didn’t look away. That’s why he came here. That’s why he tolerated my parents. He loved me. And I love him, too. I couldn’t deny that stunning, warm feeling that swelled inside my chest when he smiled at me.
“Okay.” I launched up on my toes and kissed his surprised face. He wrapped his arms around my waist and backed me against the car, stunning me with his lips. Suddenly giddy, I blushed as he leaned forward to kiss me again. I didn’t think I would ever get used to this.
“Let’s go before your parents see us.”
“Okay,” I laughed.
He winked at me as he walked around to open his car door.
“Will! I love you, too.”
A look of wild happiness spread on his face. I don’t think I ever saw him look so ecstatic. He was still smiling when he got into his car.
Chapter 13
I smiled to myself as I walked barefoot on the sand, my heels dangling from my fingers. The ocean roared beside me under a blazing orange sky. My bare shoulders shivered from the freezing wind that rushed over the icy water and my champagne-colored dress whipped around my legs.
Next to me, William walked with his shoes in his hands, looking like a GQ model in his tuxedo.
“That was a really good best man speech.”
He flashed me a brilliant smile. “Yours was good too.”
I smiled sadly. Looking behind me, I could make out Jessica in her huge, billowing wedding dress along with Luke in his dark suit. I couldn’t help but wipe my eyes a little bit as I looked at them.
“Hey, what’s this?”
Will halted me as he stepped in front of me.
“Oh, you know. I’m just sad that we’re all growing up.”
And moving out
.
He slid his arm around my waist. “You’ll be moving in with me in the Marina and Pacific Heights isn’t that far, babe. You’re not losing her.”
I sighed. “I know, it’s just—ah!”
Icy water suddenly rushed over our bare feet and I giggled as the wet sand gushed around my toes. Will laughed at me as the bottom of my dress was soaked and once again I marveled at how much he changed in a year. He laughed all the time. There was always a smile on his face—and Luke warmed up to him considerably. Nowadays, they were inseparable. Jessica and I joked that they were even closer than we were.
He grabbed my hand once again, and I was surprised by how fast my heart beat. Every time he smiled at me, touched me, it was as exciting as the first time.
“You know what this reminds me of?”
“What?”
“Cinque Terre.”
He smiled wistfully at the memory. “Yeah.”
It was where I fell in love with him. It was where I saw the most incredible sights. In truth, Monterey had very little in common with Cinque Terre. Whenever I saw the ocean, I thought about that brilliant turquoise and azure blue stretched out under a cliff of bright green vineyards.
“You’ll see it again,” he said, noticing my look. “Probably sooner than you think.”
I grinned hard. It was my birthday in a few months. “Don’t spoil anything!”
He held up his hands. “I’m not spoiling! I said, ‘probably.’”
Rolling my eyes, I squeezed his hand and planted a kiss on his cheek. “How’s WPF?”
WFP was the acronym for the William Pardini Foundation, which he launched months ago when we finished the website. Jessica helped write the content. The launch was one of the proudest moments of my life.
“It’s going awesome and it’s all down to you.”
I looked at him. “Will, come on.”
“I would have never done it if you hadn’t pushed me.”
“I did it because I wanted your body,” I ribbed.
I yelped as he spun me around and held me to his chest.
“Well, it worked.” He leaned over me and paused, his eyes looking more serious than usual. “I love you.”
My passionate kiss ended any more idle talk and soon his hands were smoothing my shoulders and his eyes gleamed with the need to have me alone in our vacation rental on the beach. His eyes flicked towards it.
“Let’s go,” I whispered in his ear.
We ran down the beach, hand in hand.
# # #
If you enjoyed this story, please remember to leave a review on Amazon! You might enjoy these other works by Vanessa Waltz:
Break (Billionaire New Adult Romance)
What if a handsome man offered you thousands to pretend to be his girlfriend? And what if you started to believe the lie?
Jessica has never had a boyfriend, and that's just how she likes it. She's still trying to rebuild herself from a sexually abusive past, and a guy - no matter how gorgeous - would only mess up the fragile balance of her life.
Almost-billionaire Luke Pardini is gorgeous, that's for sure. He's also desperate. His dying father thinks he's too irresponsible to inherit the family estate, and Luke needs to convince his dad that he's grown up and ready to settle down with a girl. Any girl.
With five billion dollars at stake, Luke can't mess this up. But as he pretends to date Jessica, he finds himself drawn to her more than he'd like to admit. Jessica has been hurt too many times to count, but Luke is the one person who makes her feel safe. It could have been a Cinderella story, but both of them made a promise that their relationship was just for show, and neither of them is going to step over the line.
When Jessica's secret past emerges on the front page of the tabloids, his dad threatens to disown him if he doesn't sever ties with her. If their relationship was only a charade, the solution would be easy. But if it's not…
About the Author
Vanessa Waltz loves to write dark, New Adult romances. She lives in the Bay Area with two crazy cats. To be the first to know about her new releases, please join her newsletter (no spam, ever).
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