Maureen Child - Saving His Blackmailed Lover

Cecelia was taken aback by the intensity of his words and their impact on her. She never felt like she was anybody’s priority, especially Chip’s. He always had an important meeting, a campaign to run, a fund-raiser to plan, hands to shake and babies to kiss. Cecelia had been an accessory to him, like a nice suit or pair of cuff links. “Thank you,” was all she could say.

Deacon led her through the foyer and into his sunken great room. The space was two stories high with a fireplace on the far end that went all the way to the ceiling with stacked gray-and-brown flagstone. He gestured for her to sit in the comfortable-looking brown leather sectional that was arranged around a coffee table made of reclaimed wood and glass. It was very much a cowboy’s living room, reminding her of the clubhouse.

“Are you renting this place?” she asked.

“No, I actually went ahead and bought it. It was a good deal, and it came furnished. That made it easier for me to settle in and gave me a real home to come to each night. Despite the fact that I build hotels for a living, I don’t exactly relish living in one. When the hotel is finished, I’ll return to France, but I’ll probably keep this place. Shane will be overseeing the business operations, but I’ll also need to come back from time to time.”

Deacon walked to a wet bar in the corner. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“Yes, please. I don’t really care what it is, but make it a double.”

She watched as Deacon poured them both a drink over ice and carried them over to the coffee table. Cecelia immediately picked up her glass and took a large sip. The amber liquid burned on the way down, distracting her from her nerves and eventually warming her blood. “I want to start by apologizing for that morning I ran out on you. I panicked and handled it poorly, and I haven’t done any better since then.”

Deacon didn’t respond. He just sat patiently listening and taking the occasional sip of his own drink. She wasn’t used to having someone’s undivided attention, so she knew she needed to make the most of it.

“Everything in my life is falling apart,” she said. “I don’t know if you’ve been in town long enough to hear about Maverick, but he’s been targeting members of the club since the beginning of the year. No one is sure who he is, or how he got the information, but he’s been blackmailing people and spilling their secrets. I’m his latest victim.”

That finally compelled Deacon to break his silence. “What could you have possibly done to be blackmailed for? Your parents always kept such a tight leash on you, I can’t imagine you got into too much trouble over the years.”

“He’s not blackmailing me about something that I did. He’s blackmailing me because of who I really am. Somehow Maverick has gotten a hold of my original birth certificate. He’s threatening to tell everyone about my mother and her deadly drug habit. Up until now, no one has known the truth except for me, you and my parents.”

Deacon frowned. “I don’t see how anybody could hold something like that against you. Why don’t you just tell people the truth and take his power away?”

Cecelia sighed. “I thought about doing that, but my parents were very strongly against it. They don’t want to ruin the image of the picture-perfect family they’ve created over the years. I paid the blackmailer, but he still went ahead and started sending out messages to club members that alluded to me. I got another one from him today demanding another payment. There’s no way out of this trap. I tried to confide in Chip, thinking that he could help me somehow, but he accused me of living a lie and broke off our engagement instead.”

When Cecelia turned to look at Deacon, his jaw was tight and his skin was flushed with anger. “What a bastard! I can’t believe you were going to marry a man who could be so careless with your heart. You deserve better than him, Cecelia, not the other way around. By the time he figures that out, I hope it’s too late for him to win you back.”

Once again, she was stunned by his words. She just couldn’t understand how he could say things like that to her after everything that she had done to him. “Why are you being so nice to me, Deacon? I don’t deserve it.”

Deacon reached out and took her hand in his. His warm touch sent a surge of awareness through her whole body, bringing back to mind memories of their recent night together. She pushed all of that aside and tried to focus on the here and now.

“What are you talking about? You’ve already apologized twice for the other night, unnecessarily I might add.”

Cecelia met his gaze with her own. “I’m talking about high school. We were in love, we had made plans to run away and live this amazing life together, and I threw it all away. Don’t you hate me for that?”

“I was angry for a while, but I have to admit that it fueled me to make more of myself. I couldn’t hate you, Cecelia. I tried to, but I just couldn’t. The girl I loved wasn’t the one who broke up with me that day.”

Cecelia felt a sense of relief wash over her. At least that was one thing she hadn’t completely ruined. “I’ve never been strong enough, despite all my successes, to stand up to my parents. I made the mistake of telling them that after graduation, I was leaving with you. They had a fit and laid down the law. I wasn’t going anywhere, they insisted. It broke my heart to break up with you, but I didn’t know what else to do. And now, when they told me to keep my mouth shut and pay the blackmailer, I did it even though I didn’t want to. I dated Chip for years because that’s what they wanted. I probably would’ve married him to make them happy if he hadn’t broken up with me. They’ve never really allowed me to be myself. I’ve always had to be this perfect daughter, striving to prove to them that I’m better than my mother was.

“I’ve only ever done two things in my life just because it made me happy. One was starting my business. Marriage and family didn’t come as quickly as I’d hoped, so designing and decorating nurseries for a living was the next best thing.”

Deacon stroked his thumb gently across the back of her hand as she spoke. “What was the other thing?”

She looked at him, a soft smile curling her lips. “Falling in love with you. You made me happy. You never asked me to be anybody other than who I was. You knew the truth about my mother, and it never seemed to bother you.”

“That’s because you were perfect just the way you were, Cecelia. Why would I ask you to change?”

No one had ever spoken to her the way Deacon did. His sincere words easily melted her defenses, cracking the cold businesswoman facade that she worked so hard to maintain. She’d always felt so alone, and she didn’t want to be alone anymore.

Unwelcome tears started to well up in her eyes. Cecelia hated to cry, especially in front of other people. She wasn’t raised to show that kind of vulnerability to anybody. In the Morgan household, she learned at a very young age that emotions made one appear weak, and that wasn’t tolerated. Her birth mother had been weak, they’d told her, and look where she had ended up.

“I’m sorry,” she said, pulling away from him to wipe her tears away.

“Stop apologizing,” he said. He reached for her and pulled her into the protective cocoon of his strong embrace. Cecelia gave in to it, collapsing against him and letting her tears flow freely at last. He held her for what felt like an hour, although it was probably just a few minutes. When she was all out of tears, she sat up and looked at him.

Deacon’s face was so familiar and yet so different after all these years. He still had the same kind eyes and charming smile she’d fallen in love with, there was just more maturity behind his gaze now. She found that wisdom made him more handsome than ever before.