Rock Wedding (Rock Kiss #4) - Nalini Singh Page 0,81
every breath. “Whatever his motives, he supported me at a time I needed it most.”
Maybe he’d done it because, deep down, he’d seen her as vulnerable, a woman who’d be easy to control, but that didn’t alter the fact that it was Jeremy who’d made sure she ate, Jeremy whom she’d called when she needed a friend. “He helped me at a time when I had no one else.”
CHAPTER 27
SARAH COULD’VE STABBED Abe with a hunting knife and it would’ve hurt less. “You still in touch with him?”
“No.” His wife’s glance was that of a furious valkyrie. “I can remember who Jeremy once was to me without forgetting who he became.”
Muscles locked, Abe forced himself to confront another heartrending truth. “You came into your own with him,” he said. “You became a businesswoman, became confident and so fucking strong.” While with him… Hell, he’d sucked up all her energy—she’d spent it on trying to keep him alive. It had left her with nothing for herself.
“No,” Sarah said at once. “It wasn’t Jeremy who encouraged me to become independent, go into business. I made that decision—I never again wanted to be in that position, lost and alone and reliant on a man’s money.”
Spinning around to face him, she pointed a finger at his chest. “Sometimes I’d feel guilty that I was building my new life using your money as the foundation, but then I’d remember all the shit you put me through.” Her eyes sparked fire. “I earned that settlement after all the times I had to get rid of your drug stash, all the times I had to call the paramedics, all the horrific nights I spent alone wondering if I’d get a call from Noah or Fox or David to tell me that you’d been found dead with a needle stuck in your arm.”
She was trembling, fury raging through her. “From the instant I got up each day to the instant I finally slept, I worried about you. And you kept on piling on the shit. The least you could do was help me get on my feet afterward!”
God, she was so strong and angry and beautiful. And Abe wasn’t about to argue with her. “I never cared about the money,” he said with a shrug. “Fighting you in court was never about the settlement.” He’d been so furiously hurt that she’d left him that he’d become a Grade A asshole.
“I know.” Sarah’s anger was still dark fire in her eyes, but she slid her arm around his waist, ran her hand over his back. “You were always ridiculously generous with me.” An unexpected laugh. “Remember when you gave me a credit card the first time?”
Abe rubbed one hand over his head, decided to just admit the truth. “Um, no?” He shrugged. “I just told the accountants to set up accounts for you, then passed on the cards.”
“Of course you did.” She rolled her eyes, but a little smile tugged at her lips. “When I got the first card, I was so happy that you cared enough to make sure I had a little spending money—then I realized my card had a six-figure limit and almost had a heart attack right there in the handbag store.”
Abe grinned. “Because, of course, the first thing you thought to buy was another handbag.”
“Oh, shut up.” Shoulders shaking, she elbowed him. “I only figured it out because when I went to pay, the shop assistant’s eyes bugged out. She said she’d never seen a black card in real life. I had no idea what that meant, so I did an online search.” A shake of her head. “Forget about the cheerful pink, fifty-dollar handbag I wanted, I could’ve bought the entire store with that card!”
Chuckling at her still-scandalized response, Abe kissed her temple. “I’ll get you one for your next birthday.”
Her laughter undid the knots around his heart, gave him hope that the past didn’t have to define their future.
AT FOUR THE NEXT DAY, ABE picked up his mom from the cruise ship terminal in San Pedro. He hadn’t told Sarah that he was actually seeing his mom well before dinner, but that was only so he could make sure his mom didn’t inadvertently hurt Sarah. He knew she’d never do it on purpose—Diane Bellamy just wasn’t that kind of a mean-hearted person.
And his love for his mom was why he’d told her he was bringing a guest without identifying that guest as Sarah—that wasn’t a bombshell he’d wanted to drop on her