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  “How would you know?” Grant shot back at her, angry at her insinuation. “You left, remember? If you truly thought he was such an easy target, maybe you should’ve stayed. Don’t you dare pin your guilt over being a shitty granddaughter on me!”

  Desiree planted her palms on Grant’s chest and shoved with all her might, barely pushing him back a few inches.

  “Get out of my house!” she screamed, pushing him again.

  “Goddammit, Desiree,” Grant hollered, grabbing her arms and pulling her against him. “Listen to me! I don’t want to fight with you anymore. I can’t.” He lowered his voice, softening his grip on her arms. “I came here last night to say I’m sorry for hurting you. I’m sorry I left you, I’m sorry I broke your heart. I was a stupid kid and I let my father bully me into the worst mistake of my life. I’ve missed you, Desi,” he finished, letting go of her arms.

  “What do you mean you let your father bully you?” she asked.

  Grant sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. “He said that I couldn’t marry into a family touched by such scandal,” he said, as embarrassed now as he should have been then.

  Desiree looked stunned, unable to speak for a moment. “You mean, he forbid you to marry me because my sister killed herself?”

  Grant lowered his head, unable to meet her eyes. “Yes. He threatened to cut me off. I was so stupid,” he said shaking his head. “I’m so sorry.”

  Desiree wasn’t quite sure what to say or feel now that she knew the truth of why Grant had left her. All these years she had thought that it was somehow her fault. That she had been too sad, too needy, too…whatever.

  “Is that why your mother started avoiding me in public?”

  Grant looked at her, genuinely confused. “My mother had no idea that we had broken up until after you left. My father told me he would tell her when he thought the time was right. You know my mother never really paid attention to anything other than the society page,” he said.

  “After Destiny’s death she wouldn’t acknowledge me. She’d keep her eyes down or simply walk the other way if she saw me coming,” she said.

  “I honestly don’t know why,” Grant said. “She seemed genuinely surprised and disappointed when my father told her we’d split.”

  Just then, Grant’s cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket, frowned at the number, and hit the Ignore button. Speaking of his father…He’d deal with him later.

  “Look, Desi,” Grant began, “so many times over these years I wanted to reach out to you. I wanted to tell you that I was sorry, that I still loved you and that I made a mistake listening to my father. I knew how much I had hurt you and it about killed me. But I also knew that until I made my own way, I couldn’t defy him. By the time I had, I figured too much time had passed. I gave up and I’ll never forgive myself for that.”

  Desiree felt her eyes fill up with tears. “I needed you,” she said, voice shaking. “All I ever wanted was to be with you.”

  Grant reached out and pulled Desiree into his arms. “That’s all I ever wanted, too,” he whispered into her hair.

  Desiree turned her face up to his and Grant lowered his mouth to hers in a tender kiss. He cupped her face in his hands and deepened the kiss, tangling his tongue with hers. Desiree broke the kiss and took his hand to lead him back upstairs. When his phone went off again, he took it out of his pocket and tossed it on the counter.

  Desi climbed the stairs to her room with Grant in tow. She turned, slid her hand behind Grant’s head and pulled his mouth to hers, drawing him into a deep, slow kiss. She slipped her other hand between them and under the waistband of his jeans, running her fingers over his hard length, eliciting a low moan from him. She undid his jeans and sunk to her knees in front of him as she pulled them down. Desiree gazed up at him from under her eyelashes and saw his green eyes grow bright with desire. She leaned forward and took him into her mouth, licking up and down the length of his erection while making a tight circle at the base with her hand. She playfully flicked her tongue over his tip before drawing him into her throat and sucking deeply.

  Grant started to feel like his legs would give out on him and tried to pull Desiree up with a gentle tug of her hair which only prompted her to suck harder.

  “Jesus, Desi,” he panted. “You need to stop that or I’m going to lose it.” This time she acquiesced and stood to undress and lay back on the bed. Grant shook his head to try and regain control of himself. He was determined to take his time with her and settled himself over her slowly. He kissed her deeply and then moved downward, placing soft kisses along her jaw and throat. He ran his tongue over her collar bone and drew circles around her hard nipples before taking one into his mouth and sucking until she started to writhe against him.

  Grant took his time exploring her body with his mouth and hands like it was the first time. No, the first time had been awkward and quick like most. He had learned over the years how to touch, tease, and tempt her, and he’d never forgotten. He trailed soft kisses over her stomach and hip bones before settling himself between her thighs. He could smell her sticky sweetness as he ran his tongue over her center, flicking it over the tender flesh until she arched her hips and called to him.

  “I need you inside me now,” she panted.

  Grant slipped a finger inside her and groaned at how wet she was. He slid his finger in and out as he continued to gently suck on the swollen bud at the juncture of her thighs. She bucked and whimpered, fisting her hands into his thick hair, saying his name over and over again. Finally, and with barely controlled passion, he rose up over her, spreading her legs wider and thrust himself into her. Desiree responded immediately by locking her legs around his hips and digging her fingers into his hips, urging him deeper. Grant buried himself to the hilt, thrusting harder and faster until their passion crashed around them in waves and he collapsed on top of her.

  ***

  Grant lay awake for a long time, listening to Desiree’s slow, steady breathing. God he had missed her, had physically ached for her. He knew now that he would never leave her again. He’d beg on his knees for her forgiveness every day if he had to, but he’d never let her go again. He knew he’d have an uphill battle with his father, but he simply didn’t care anymore. This woman in his arms was worth more than any family fortune; she was his true treasure.

  Sometime later, Grant awakened to find that Desiree wasn’t in bed with him. He rose and pulled on his jeans then padded down the long hallway calling her name.

  “Up here,” came her reply.

  Grant climbed to the third story attic and found Desiree sitting on the floor in the middle of a circle of boxes. She had stacks of paper on the floor in front of her and he could see that had been crying. He squatted next to her, placing a hand on her back and took the piece of paper she was holding from her trembling hand. He had to read it twice before the words on the page sunk in.

  Desiree looked up at him with fresh tears in her eyes, “how could I not have known that Destiny was pregnant?”

  Chapter Seven

  Desiree drove Grant into Atlanta to pick up his car. The OBGYN listed on the paper she’d found in the attic had an Atlanta address. She’d called to find that the number was still in service and set up an appointment for that afternoon. Now that she was sleeping with Grant again, she needed to get back on birth control of some sort. She figured she could kill two birds with one stone and find out what she about Destiny’s pregnancy. Grant offered to come with her but she declined, saying she needed to find the answers on her own. Not to mention, the thirteen missed calls from his father needed to be addressed.

  “What happens when you get home?” she’d asked. “Do you tell him where you were? He’ll be furious.”

  “I don’t care anymore, Desi. I’ve lived under his reign for too long,” he answered. “It’s time I make my own decisions about my life.” He kissed her on the top of her head and drove off.

  Desiree walked into Dr. Carol
Walters’ office and filled out her paperwork. After a few minutes, she was called back into the treatment room where she readied herself for the exam. Dr. Walters walked in and introduced herself. As Desiree settled back on the table she said, “my sister was a patient here several years ago.”

  “Oh, is that right?” the doctor asked, continuing her exam.

  “Yes. Her name was Destiny,” she continued, noticing that the doctor paused a moment before clearing her throat.

  “I can’t really discuss other patients with you ,Ms. Palmer,” she said, her voice slightly cooler now.

  “I understand doctor-patient confidentiality, Dr. Walters, but my sister has been deceased for seven years,” Desiree tried.

  “I’m sorry, but I am still bound, even in death,” the doctor said, removing her gloves and scribbling something in the chart. “You appear to be in good health and I’ve written you a prescription for an oral contraceptive that you can pick up on the way out. Will there be anything else?”

  Desiree could tell by the doctor’s demeanor that she wasn’t going to get anywhere with her. “No, thank you, Dr. Walters,” she said. The doctor left the room and Desiree dressed before going back out to the desk to retrieve her paperwork. At the counter, she picked up the prescription and was headed out the door before the receptionist called her back.

  “I think you forgot this, Ms. Palmer,” she said, giving Desiree a pointed look.

  Desiree stepped forward and took the piece of paper from her hand and opened it.

  Meet me at Piper’s in one hour.

  I was a friend of your sister’s.

  -Lauren

  Desiree looked up, but the receptionist was gone.

  “Where the hell have you been?” Mason Crawford shouted at his son. “You haven’t answered your phone in almost 24 hours!”

  “I’ve been busy, dad,” Grant said. “You know, I am 26-years-old; I don’t need to check in with you when I go out at night.”

  “I don’t appreciate the attitude, Grant,” his father scolded. “We have business to attend to, namely persuading Desiree Palmer to sell off the remaining half of the mill.”

  “About that,” Grant started, readying himself for a fight. “I think we should leave well enough alone there.”

  His father turned to him with a frown. “Why? You said yourself before that Desiree never had any interest in the business. Her grandfather left her plenty of money, I’m sure. Besides, it’s not like she’s going to stay in town.”

  “I’m not so sure about that,” Grant said quietly.

  “Meaning…?” Mason asked.

  “Desi is trying to figure some things out right now. She doesn’t have plans to leave anytime soon,” Grant answered.

  “And how exactly would you know that, Grant?” his father’s tone turned uglier. “Is that where you’ve been for the last day-and-a-half? With her?”

  Grant squared his shoulders and stood up to his full height, staring his father dead in the eye. “Yes, dad, that’s where I’ve been. I love her. I’ve never stopped loving her, and I never should’ve let you bully me into leaving her.”

  Mason Crawford began pacing back and forth. “Grant, we talked about this at length before.”

  “No, you talked about it,” Grant interrupted. “I never had a say. I was a dumb, scared nineteen-year-old kid, and you threatened to throw me out on the street. Well, I’m not scared anymore.”

  “Everything I’ve ever done was for your good,” Mason was saying. “And everything you have is because of me. I will cut you off if you go back to her. All of the family money and company holdings are still in my name. Your Ferrari, your thousand-dollar suits, everything will go away.”

  Grant realized that his father sounded more desperate than angry. “Why are you still pressing this so hard? You can’t honestly still be worried about scandal and reputation? It’s been seven years since Destiny’s death.”

  His father shook his head. “My reasons don’t matter. My decision stands.”

  Grant turned on his heel and walked toward the front door. “You can have someone come pick the car up from Desi’s later.”

  Desiree made sure she was at Piper’s Bar early so she wouldn’t miss Lauren. She sad that had been a friend of Destiny’s, but Desiree had never heard her sister mention a friend named Lauren. Then again, she hadn’t known that her sister was pregnant either. According to the paper she had found this morning, Destiny would have been somewhere around her fourth month when she died. She was having a hard time wrapping her head around the whole thing and was hoping this Lauren could shed some light for her.

  Exactly one hour later, the door opened and the woman walked in, scanning the small room for Desiree. When she spotted her, she motioned for Desiree to follow her toward a table at the back of the room, out of earshot. Desiree walked over to the table and sat across from Lauren, noting how the woman’s eyes darted nervously around the room. She knew that the woman was risking her job by being here with her.

  “Thank you for your note,” Desiree started. “I know you’re putting yourself in a precarious situation by meeting with me. I really appreciate it. I’m just trying to find some answers about what really happened to my sister.”

  “Destiny and I met when she started seeing Dr. Walters,” Lauren answered. “I remember the first day she came in; I had to help her fill out her paperwork. She was so nervous and her hands were shaking so badly that she could hardly hold the pen. I’ve seen a lot of young women come in like that over the years. I felt sorry for her.”

  Desiree did some mental math. “So this would’ve been around March 2008?”

  Lauren thought for a moment., “Yes, that sounds about right.”

  “You mentioned that she was very nervous that day, that you had to help her fill out her paperwork,” Desiree prompted.

  “Yes, I remember thinking that we weren’t that far apart in age and I knew how scary it could be to find out you are pregnant. I had my daughter when I was only eighteen. I asked her if she had any family that she could call to be with her. She said no, that she was all alone in this.”

  The words struck Desiree like a slap to the face. Her twin sister, her best friend in the world, thought she couldn’t come to her with this. Her heart ached and her stomach felt hollow. Lauren seemed to notice the pained expression on Desiree’s face.

  “I didn’t find out until a few weeks later that she had a sister. I encouraged her to talk to you several times, but she just kept saying that she couldn’t.”

  “Did she say why?”

  “No, she just said that no one could know about the baby. Especially not the father,” Lauren said.

  “So she never mentioned who the father was?”

  “No, she would never tell me. At first I just figured it must have been someone that her family wouldn’t have approved of, but as we got to know each other, I started to suspect that she might be afraid of him.”

  “What made you think that?” Desiree asked, a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Destiny lived away from home more and more the year before she died. She’d come in late and avoid Desiree’s questions about who she’d been with. None of their friends knew who she was spending all of her time with either. Looking back, Desiree wished she had pushed Destiny for more information. Maybe she could have saved her.

  Lauren seemed to have read her mind. “She wouldn’t have told you, Desiree. She told me as much. She was determined to keep the identity of the baby’s father a secret. In fact, she had planned to move away until she gave birth and put the baby up for adoption.”

  “Then why did she kill herself?” Desiree wanted to know. “If she planned on seeing the pregnancy through anyway, why did she kill herself and her baby?”

  “I’ve wondered that myself over the years,” Lauren admitted. “I’ve thought back over conversations we’d had, trying to remember the slightest thing that would have led me to realize she was that desperate. I’ve even thought about reaching out to the woman
that was with her at her last appointment, but I didn’t want to lose my job.”

  “Wait, what woman?” Desiree asked. “I thought you said she didn’t want anyone to know about the baby.”

  “She didn’t. That’s why I thought it was strange that she showed up for that appointment with someone. I figured maybe she had finally told someone in her family and was getting some support. She seemed agitated that day, though, and we were so busy in the office that I didn’t get a chance to talk to her,” Lauren said.

  “Do you know who the woman is?” Desiree asked, leaning forward in her chair.

  “I’ve already told you way too much,” Lauren shook her head. “I can’t afford to lose my job.”

  “I promise that you won’t,” Desiree assured her. “Please Lauren, I just need to know. My sister would have never kept these things from me in ordinary circumstances. Her death never made any sense to me. I just need to know.”

  Lauren seemed to think on it for a minute before answering. “Okay, but you have to promise me that you won’t tell anyone where you got this information. Promise.”

  “I promise, Lauren,” Desiree said. “Who was with my sister that day?”

  Lauren took a deep breath. “Catherine Crawford.”

  THE END

  Billionaire Romance

  Truth’s Lies

  Book Two

  Violet Walker

  Billionaire Romance: Truth’s Lies

  Chapter One

  Desiree sat in her car for a good fifteen minutes before starting the engine. She was still trying to process what Lauren had told her. Grant’s mother had been with Destiny at the doctor’s office the day Destiny ended her life. It made no sense at all. Sure, the women knew each other, but Destiny hadn’t eluded to knowing Catherine Crawford as more than a society woman and Desiree’s future mother-in-law. She’d questioned Lauren, asked and asked again if she was sure the woman with her sister was Grant’s mother. Lauren had insisted it was, as Catherine was also a patient at the office, and even an hour from their hometown, that kind of wealth was widely known. Catherine and Mason Grant’s picture had been on enough society pages to wallpaper the waiting room.