Nailed - Opal Carew Page 0,74
watching her.
“What the fuck is going on here?” Kane demanded.
Then she realized the situation. Her gaze darted around to see Kane standing in the middle of the living room, fuming.
Will sat up and she drew away from him.
Damn. They’d fallen asleep during the movie. It had been a stupid idea to start watching one at three in the morning, especially since she’d already been exhausted by the stressful situation at the party.
She sighed. “Kane, nothing happened between Will and me.”
“Nothing?”
The memory of the kiss made her hesitate, and that was fatal.
“Fuck!” Kane’s hands clenched into fists and he paced the room. “Tell me.”
“It’s not her fault,” Will said. “It was just a kiss, and that was my fault.”
Kane stopped, but glared at her. “But just as you pointed out to me last night, a kiss takes two people.”
She stood up. “I’m not going to justify the kiss. I’m just going to point out that we both stopped it and will ensure it never happens again. Because we both care about you.”
“How very thoughtful of you both.”
She walked to him and rested her hand on his arm. “Kane, I’m telling you that I care about you—both of us do—and I want you to be happy. So I won’t do anything that would hurt you.”
He shook his head, his eyes telling her there was something she didn’t understand.
“Look, I’ve been thinking about it and…” She hesitated, aware of Will in the room. But she needed to make this clear to Kane now. “Well, in thinking about what would make you happy…”
The harshness in his indigo eyes softened and … she could almost see hope there.
“Yes?” he prompted.
“I think that if you want to, you should be with Francoise.”
Kane’s eyes widened. “What?”
“You said this marriage between us is a convenient arrangement more than anything, so you probably shouldn’t limit yourself to just being with me. I know that’s the traditional way of marriage, but I think you would be happier if you allowed yourself to be unconventional. Embrace what makes you happy.”
“So I would sleep with Francoise whenever I wanted to, and I presume other women, too?”
She nodded, though the thought of him with other women twisted her stomach into knots. She just had to be realistic about what this marriage really was.
“And you,” he said in a chillingly calm voice, “I presume you would be free to sleep with Will.”
Jealousy and anger flickered in his eyes like a blazing flame.
“No, I’m saying that you would be free to sleep with Will. Kane, I know the two of you were involved intimately. And I believe you’re in love. But I’m saying that whoever you want to sleep with, it’s okay with me. I don’t want you to be exclusive because you think it’s what I need.” She squeezed his arm. “I want you to be happy.”
* * *
What would make Kane happy was if River loved him. But he couldn’t say that. And clearly she didn’t. She was just in this marriage because of the business agreement, and she would be true to what she’d promised. He could tell she even cared for him. But love?
His heart compressed, and cracked around the edges. He couldn’t deal with any of this anymore.
He turned and strode to the bedroom. She didn’t follow, probably sensing he needed space to think. But he didn’t have any more thinking to do. He tossed some things in a suitcase, enough to get him through a week or so, then zipped it up and strode down the hall.
River’s gaze locked on the suitcase, then turned to him. “Kane, what’s happening?”
“I’ve decided it’s over. There’s no point continuing something that’s just not working.”
He continued walking to the elevator.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that this his marriage was a bad idea. So I’m ending it.”
Chapter Twenty-two
Shock vaulted through River as she watched the elevator doors close.
Kane had actually left her.
She stood there trembling, frozen while she tried to decide whether to race after him or not. To run down the stairs and catch up with him in the parking garage.
But what would she say?
She turned to Will, searching for reassurance in his eyes.
“Do you think he’ll change his mind?” she asked, but the doubtful expression on Will’s face did not give her hope.
About an hour later, she received an e-mail from Kane. Very businesslike, clarifying that it was just the marriage that he was ending. They were still partners in the business and she was in control of it. He acknowledged that