Forget Me Not (6 page)

He’d talk to his partner at the law firm in the morning.

In the meantime, he needed to decide what to do about Dominic. Keely understood the implications of what he heard on the tape. He got it that this entire mess was not all Dominic’s fault.

But he also understood that a lot of this could have been avoided if Dominic had simply picked up a phone and called him. Even if Keely hadn’t been able to get through to Dominic on his cell phone, there had been no reason that Dominic couldn’t have gotten through to Keely on his.

That basically said it all right there.

Yes, someone else had interfered in their relationship, on a huge scale. And fate had seen fit to take Keely’s life in another direction, giving him a new life with a family. Keely understood all of this, and on some level he even forgave Dominic.

It still wouldn’t mend what was wrong between them, no matter how much Keely wanted it. Dominic had his life in the big city, globetrotting around the world, living in a fancy house decorated to the nines, and making money left and right.

And Keely had his life in a small town, settling legal cases that involved chickens and water rights more often than anything else. He had a minivan, two small children, and a house that was messier more often than it was clean.

Their lives were different, and so were the things they wanted out of life. Keely was happy where he was. He liked the slower pace of the small-town life. He liked knowing his neighbors and waving to people on the street. He liked the backyard BBQs, shopping at the farmer’s market on the weekend, and going to movies in the park with the kids.

Dominic would never be happy here. He would be shocked if Keely tossed a blanket down on the grass and asked him to cuddle while they watched a movie with fifty other people surrounding them.

There were no bright city lights here. Hell, they practically rolled up the sidewalks at night. The biggest news story of late was the scandal surrounding the town librarian getting caught up at make-out point with a married member of the town council. That had everyone buzzing, even if the town councilman was separated from his wife.

Keely had play dates at the playground with other parents and their kids, movies in the park, and poker night once a month with Jared and a few friends he had made over the two months he had been in town. His life was simple, mundane, and totally uneventful.

Dominic would hate every minute of it.

Keely sighed deeply. His heart felt so heavy in his chest that it might as well have been in his stomach. He picked up his phone and dialed Mrs. Ferguson from next door. She often babysat for him when he had to work late or run errands while the kids were sleeping.

“Hey, Mrs. Ferguson, I have an errand I need to run. Would it be possible for you to come over and keep an eye on the kids? I know it’s late but—”

“Not to worry, Keely. Dennis down at The Main Street Hotel told me you had a friend visiting from out of town. I expected a phone call.”

Keely was so glad he was talking to Mrs. Ferguson on the phone so she couldn’t see his face flush with color. One thing he had learned about life in a small town—nothing was secret from anyone.

“Yes,” Keely said, “an old friend came to visit out of the blue. He’s only here for a day or so.”

“And you’d like to spend some time with him.”

That answered the question in Keely’s mind if Mrs. Ferguson knew he was gay. He just wondered who else knew. Considering the size of the town, probably everyone.

“Just for a few hours, Mrs. Ferguson.” Keely didn’t think he could handle being in Dominic’s presence longer than that. He needed to return the tape and tell Dominic that he didn’t hold him to blame, not all the way.

And then he needed to tell Dominic good-bye.

Dominic sat by his phone waiting for it to ring, hoping it would ring. He prayed it would ring. It had been several hours since he had left Keely’s house and so far there had been nothing to say Keely had even noticed he was there.

He was still reeling from the fact that Angie and Scott were dead, especially considering most of the phone calls that Keely had made to him had come right about that time. Dominic knew that Keely had needed him, had reached out to him, and he hadn’t been there.

He had let Keely down.

He couldn’t blame the entire fiasco on Karen and Sophia. If he had taken the time to call Keely instead of ignoring him, he would have known what was going on. He had no right to expect Keely to give him another chance, but he sure hoped he would. Over the last couple of months Dominic had found out what life was like without Keely in it, and he didn’t like it.

It sucked.

He had spent the better part of the last several years creating a multimillion-dollar business, buying a designer house, and building a social network that would make Donald Trump jealous.

And he found it meant nothing without Keely there to share it with him. Dominic just hated that this epiphany came at the expense of the man he loved.

Dominic swung his legs up on the bed and lay back against the pillows, staring up at the ceiling. He felt like his life was in limbo. If Keely decided to ignore him and pretend he had never come to explain what had happened, the man would certainly be justified. If the man came to the hotel to tell Dominic off, he would be justified.

And if Keely came and allowed Dominic to say he was sorry, to allow him to beg for another chance, then Dominic would thank his lucky stars and jump through whatever hoops Keely required to allow Dominic back into his life.

He couldn’t think of much he wouldn’t give up for another chance with Keely, even his multimillion-dollar corporation. There didn’t seem to be much point in getting on the Fortune 500 list if he didn’t have anyone to share it with.

There was a part of Dominic that actually missed the one-bedroom apartment he had shared with Keely when they first got together. It had been a humble place, clean but simple. Half the time they didn’t even have heat because they couldn’t afford it. They had cuddled together for warmth.

Little by little, they had worked their way up from that lonely apartment to today, and yet Dominic would trade it all away to be cuddled up beside Keely right now. It was amazing to him how fate could throw a man a curveball to make him see what was important in life.

Namely, Keely James.

When his cell phone rang, Dominic jumped so hard he fell off the mattress, hitting the floor with a thud. He grunted and rubbed his head where he had hit it on the nightstand. The continued ringing of the phone jarred him into realizing he needed to answer it before whoever was on the other end hung up.

“Hello?”

“Dominic Loudan?”

“Yes.”

“Sorry to bother you, sir. This is the night clerk in the lobby. There’s a Keely James down here requesting permission to come upstairs.”

Dominic pressed a hand against his chest trying to ease the sudden racing of his heart. “Please, send him up.”

“Very good, sir.”

It took Dominic a moment to realize he was listening to a dial tone…and that Keely was on his way up.

Shit!

Keely was on his way up.

Dominic snapped his phone closed and dropped it on the nightstand next to the bed. He quickly rolled to his feet and started straightening the blankets on the bed before running to the bathroom to run a brush through his hair and splash some cold water on his face.

He wasn’t happy with the water spots that ended up on his shirt, but there was nothing he could do about that now.

Keely was knocking on the door.

Dominic rubbed his sweaty hands on the legs of his jeans and then walked over to unlock the door and let Keely in. Keely was a little paler than usual, and his eyes wouldn’t quite meet Dominic’s. The way he rubbed his hands together as he glanced around the hotel room made Dominic feel a little better. The man seemed as nervous as he did.

“Thank you for coming, Keely.”

“I’m not staying.”

Okay, it was going to be that kind of conversation. Dominic couldn’t say he was surprised. Keely had every right to be angry with him.

“I should have called,” Dominic said. Even if there was no point in arguing his case, he still needed to explain things to Keely so that the man understood that…that… Dominic inhaled slowly. He just wanted Keely to understand that his leaving was all on Dominic, and Dominic knew it.

“Yes,” Keely replied, not trying to pretend he didn’t understand what Dominic was talking about. “I needed you and you were too busy to even call me.” The anger in Keely’s eyes was vivid. But so was the anguish. “I get it that you didn’t receive my phone calls, but you didn’t even once try to contact me in all that time, not once.”

“No, I didn’t.” There really was no point in even trying to lie or come up with an excuse. He had taken something precious for granted, and he had lost it because he couldn’t make one little freaking phone call. He deserved whatever hatred Keely tossed at him. “I have no excuse for my behavior.”

Keely stopped yelling and blinked up at Dominic as if surprised he had admitted what he had done. After a moment of poignant silence, Keely shoved a hand through his reddish-blond hair and spun away to walk over and stare out the window.

“I am sorry, Keely. I hope you know that. I never meant for things to get this out of control. A couple of days went by, and then a couple more, and before I knew it I hadn’t talked to you in a week and then two weeks and then a month. When I came home, I—”

“Is that how you found out I had left?” Keely asked without turning away from the window. “You came home and I was gone?”

“Yes.” Dominic swallowed hard at the remembered pain from discovering Keely had left him. The distance he felt from Keely now was almost as bad and they were standing in the same room. “It wasn’t until I talked to Sophia that I learned you had been trying to get in contact with me. By then it was too late. You were already gone.”

“What happened to Sophia and Karen?”

“I fired Karen, of course, and took out restraining orders against both of them. The recording was enough to get them both charged with stalking, harassment, and criminal mischief. They both signed a plea agreement that will put them behind bars for the next three years.”

Keely’s green eyes were pale with sadness as he glanced over his shoulder. “Doesn’t seem long enough.”

“I doubt they would have been able to do what they did if I had been more aware of what was going on in my own life, Keely. One phone call from me could have put an end to their shenanigans.”

Keely’s shoulders slumped. “Why didn’t you call, Dominic?”

Dominic walked over to stand behind Keely. Taking a chance, he pressed into the man, resting his hands on Keely’s shoulders. “I got a little confused about what was important, Keely. I thought creating a life for us was more important than living that life with you by my side. I thought I was doing the right thing, being a good provider. I never considered that my need to make sure we were taken care of would take you away from me.”

Keely shuddered, his body leaning back against Dominic. “I never wanted to be rich, Dom. I was perfectly happy in that dank little apartment of ours,” Keely murmured in a voice so low that Dominic had to lean down to hear him. “I just wanted you.”

Anguish brought tears to Dominic’s eyes. He closed them as he leaned his face into Keely’s hair, smelling strawberries. He never knew if it was Keely’s natural scent or his shampoo, but the man’s hair always reminded him of strawberries.

He rubbed his cheek over the top of Keely’s head. “I am so sorry, baby, so, so sorry.”

“Were you going to marry her?”

Dominic’s eyes popped open. “Marry who?”

“Sophia.”

“Soph—didn’t you listen to the tape?”

“Yes, but that doesn’t explain all those society pictures of the two of you together. Hell, half the world thinks you’re going to have a June wedding.”

“Only if you want to get married in June.”

Keely gasped as he pushed out of Dominic’s arms and spun away. “How can you joke about something like that?”

“Who’s joking?” Dominic was perfectly serious. “If I thought I could get you to a preacher, a justice of the peace, or take you before a judge, I would do it in a heartbeat.”

Keely’s eyes narrowed as he crossed his arms. “I don’t believe you.”

Dominic walked over to the nightstand and grabbed his cell phone, carrying it back over to hold it out to Keely. “You’re an attorney. I’m sure you know of a judge you can call.”

Keely took the phone, but he didn’t dial it. He just stared up at Dominic with an expression on his face that said he thought Dominic had lost his mind.

“I’d marry you in a split second, Keely.”

“I have kids.”

“I kind of figured that part out.” Dominic pointed to a dark spot on the shoulder of Keely’s shirt. “I believe that is strained peas on your shirt.” He barely refrained from laughing when Keely’s face flushed. “I understand that you come as a package deal.”

Keely’s hard swallow could be heard across the room. “I won’t let you be a part of our lives if you’re going to get called away all of the time for meetings and mergers and whatever else it is that keeps you from calling home or being here when I need you.”

Dominic held out his hand until Keely placed his cell phone in it. He quickly dialed a number he already had programmed into it and then hit the speaker function. He wanted Keely to know everything he had been working on in the two months since he realized how badly he fucked up.

“Bruce, this is Dominic Loudan,” he said when the phone was answered. “Did you have a chance to look over those papers Mr. Murphy faxed over?”

“By god, Loudan, do you have any damn idea what time it is?”

“Bill me for it,” Dominic said, knowing the man would do it anyway. “Did you look at those papers?”

“Yes.”

“And?” Dominic asked, crossing his fingers and hoping.

“Everything is in order just as you requested. If you agree, Aldon Murphy will pay you 10.2 million dollars for the entire company, payable in quarterly installments over the next four years. You will retain stock options but never more than thirty percent of the entire company. Controlling interest will remain with Murphy and Associates. Once a year you will be required to attend the annual stockholders’ meeting.”