“I know that. I can’t erase what I did.” Sebastian would never forget the hurt in Ashley’s eyes when she realized his original plan. He wanted to be a hero in her eyes. He wanted her to look at him in wonder and admiration the way she used to. “The only thing I can do is repair the damage and make amends.”
“It’s too late.”
“I refuse to believe that,” he said as the hope died a little inside him. “I want what we had and I am willing to do whatever is necessary to make it happen. Tell me what you need from me. What can I do to regain your trust?”
She glanced up and met his gaze. “There is nothing you can do.”
Sebastian felt as if his last chance was disintegrating in his hands. He didn’t know what to do and the panic clawed at him. If she gave him a mission, he could earn her trust. But she didn’t want anything from him.
“Stay with me,” he urged. His request was pathetically simple. He couldn’t dazzle her with his wealth and connections. “Give me a chance.”
She shook her head. “You don’t have to make this offer. I’m not pregnant.”
“That’s not what I’m asking.” Sebastian tasted fear. This reunion wasn’t going the way he had envisioned. He was losing her. If she didn’t want to be with him, he had nothing to use as leverage. She wasn’t interested in his money or power. Those were disadvantages in her eyes. All he could give her was himself. It wasn’t enough, but it was a start.
“I need you,” he said quietly. “You left this giant hole in my life. I can’t sleep. I can’t concentrate. All I do is think of you.”
Ashley looked away. “You’ll get over it.”
“I don’t want to,” he said harshly. “I knew you would be my downfall the moment we met. I didn’t care. Nothing mattered but you.”
“Getting the island back mattered,” she said as the tears shimmered in her eyes. “You used me and betrayed my trust. You planned to cut me out with nothing because that is what my father did to your family. I was just part of your revenge. You would have tossed me to the wolves if you hadn’t been attracted to me.”
“That’s not true! I love you, Ashley.”
“Stop playing games with me,” Ashley said in a broken whisper. She took a step back and he grabbed her hand. He wasn’t going to let her go again.
“You don’t have to forgive me at this moment.” It hurt that she didn’t believe him, but he was willing to work hard at regaining her love and her trust. “Just be with me and I’ll prove my love to you every day.”
She looked down at their joined hands. Sebastian took it as a good sign that she didn’t let go. “I want to but I can’t go through this again,” she whispered.
He knew how much it cost her to say those words. She risked so much. Maybe even more than when she had declared her love. She still may have feelings for him, that she was willing for another chance. “I want to be the man you need. I want you to believe in me. In us.”
The tears started to fall down her cheeks. “I want that, too.”
“Stay with me, Ashley,” he urged her as his heart pounded fiercely. “I will give you everything you need. Everything you want.”
“Stay as what?” she asked as she stepped closer and pressed her hand against his chest. “Your lover? Your mistress?”
“I’m going to make you my wife very soon.”
Ashley tugged his tie. “You have to ask first.”
“I will,” he promised as he covered her mouth with his. “And I’ll keep asking until you say yes.”
Five years later
Ashley heard the incessant chirping of the nighthawks as she stepped out onto the patio. It had been weeks since she and Sebastian had visited Inez Key. Every time she stepped on the wooden dock, she was struck by how much the island had changed and how much it remained the same.
Sebastian had painstakingly restored the main house, adding a few touches to accommodate his mother’s age and mobility. The antebellum house was no longer stark and silent. It was always filled with the shrieking laughter of children and the waft of spices in the big kitchen as everyone had a hand in cooking for the large family dinners.