Only Lola would call meetings with two of the most powerful government agencies in the world—agencies that at the moment wanted his head on a pike—a breeze. But though he was mere minutes from what would surely be one of the most difficult, intense afternoons of his life, as Duncan held Lola in his arms in the middle of a busy Boston sidewalk and kissed her with all the love in his heart, he couldn’t help but believe that justice and love would prevail.
If he’d learned anything from Lola’s parents, her cousins, and from Lola herself, it was that in a battle between love and evil, love would always emerge the victor. Because love was always worth fighting for, no matter how hard, or how long, the fight.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Spending ten hours a day for a week straight inside a windowless room with a team of lawyers, FBI agents, and SEC agents had to be one of the most exhausting experiences in the world.
Lola hated that she couldn’t be in the meetings with Duncan. Though she and Duncan were staying at his house in Boston, Lola went over to Hudson and Larissa’s home each day and paced a hole in their back lawn while Duncan was dealing with the feds. Thank God her brother and sister-in-law lived in the same city. They not only went out of their way to make sure Lola didn’t go completely crazy with the waiting, they also made sure to help out with providing food for Duncan so that he didn’t have to worry about anything other than his meetings.
On top of everything else, Lola was worried about Hudson and Larissa. For the past few years, she’d noted hints of strain between her brother and sister-in-law. Now, after spending the better part of a week with them, there was no denying the chasm between them. Lola wished she could do something to help…but the truth was that she was barely hanging on herself.
Every evening when Duncan returned to his house from the latest round of questioning, he was even more stoic and silent than the day before. It had been a wonderful surprise when she’d found the family tree he’d been making for her on his drafting board. Hoping that drawing would relax him, she’d encouraged him to spend time working on it during the week. But she knew how hard it must be for him to concentrate, even on something he really enjoyed, when on top of his high-stakes meetings, he also had to accept the loss of his brother, once and for all. She couldn’t imagine how deeply she’d grieve if she ever had to face such hard truths about one of her siblings.
Fortunately, that would never happen. In fact, as news had traveled through the Sullivan grapevine that the love of Lola’s life needed additional backup beyond what her five cousins, father, and Moira had already given, Sullivans from around the globe stepped up to help.
Alec, who had transitioned from owning a billion-dollar fleet of private planes in New York to cooking at the garden restaurant he shared with Cordelia, called in favors from heavy-hitting business contacts on the East Coast. Harry, Alec’s brother, utilized his research skills as a Columbia professor to join Sophie in chasing down any leads and financial information that the FBI and SEC had trouble confirming. Both Nicola, Marcus’s wife in Napa Valley, and Ford, Mia’s husband in Seattle, used their extensive music industry connections to get more details on Alastair’s investments in the entertainment industry. Smith Sullivan and his wife, Valentina, also reached out to their extensive film and TV contacts.
While the FBI hadn’t yet exonerated Duncan for his brother’s crimes, Lola remained hopeful that it would happen in the very near future. Otherwise, wouldn’t they have filed charges against him already?
Thankfully, at the end of the week, the FBI and SEC gave Duncan a break from questioning—and Lola was determined that they would make the most of it.
She had been longing for a lazy morning in Duncan’s bed, a few precious hours where they didn’t have anywhere to go or anyone to see. Time to cuddle together in his house while drinking coffee and reading the paper. Time to walk in a garden, hand in hand, while smelling the roses in bloom.
But as soon as they woke in each other’s arms, neither of them could quell their urgency to let pleasure take over and banish the threats hanging over Duncan’s head and their future.
His lips on her skin, his hands caressing her curves, made all her fears, her worries, disappear. And as he kissed his way down her body, she wondered how she could have lived without him for so long. When he finally levered himself over her, filling her with his hard heat until she was breathless, Lola didn’t have one single doubt that Duncan was her destiny.
Wherever they were, as long as they were together, was home.
Their lovemaking temporarily helped them forget the uncertainty swirling around them, but as Lola came back down to earth, she remained overwhelmed by the deep emotions their lovemaking had stirred up.
As though sensing her disquiet, Duncan lovingly stroked her hair. “Before I leave Boston for good, there’s one place I’d like to take you.”
Anything he wanted to show her, anything he wanted her to understand about his life, his mind, his heart, she wanted to see. “I’ve always loved Boston. And I know I’ll love it even more when I’m with you.”
Her enthusiasm made him smile. “Despite everything that’s happened here, I can’t hold it against this city. At the same time, I know Bar Harbor is exactly the right place to begin anew.”
Lola hadn’t ever had to contemplate starting over. She’d always been safe and secure not only in the knowledge that she was in the right place, but also that her family would be there for her, no matter what. Now, they would all be there for Duncan too.
They had just finished dressing when there was a knock on Duncan’s front door.
Her heart immediately leaped into her throat, hammering faster than ever. Was this the FBI coming to take him away in handcuffs?
For the second time that morning, Duncan reminded her, “Whatever or whomever is out there, everything’s going to be okay. I promise.”
She knew he was right, that no matter how tall the mountains were in front of them, as long as they had each other, they’d climb them together.
Thankfully, when Duncan opened the door and brought a package inside, she immediately recognized Brooke’s handwriting on the label. Rafe’s wife was an artisan chocolate maker who sold her homemade truffles at grocery stores, restaurants, and boutique stores throughout the Pacific Northwest.
“Hurry, open it,” she urged Duncan.
She was practically drooling as he undid the packaging, then took off the lid of a lake-blue chocolate box imprinted with a pattern of green trees. The best chocolate truffles in the world were inside.
A note accompanied the sweet treats. Lola and Duncan: In case you guys need a pick-me-up, here’s some chocolate! Love, Brooke.
Duncan looked seriously impressed, not only with Brooke’s intricate truffle designs, but also their rich aroma. “Did Brooke make these herself?”
“No one can transform chocolate like Brooke can,” Lola confirmed. “I haven’t ordered a box of truffles from her for far too long—mostly because I can’t trust myself not to eat the whole thing in one sitting—so this is a major treat. I know it’s only nine in the morning, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s never too early for chocolate.”
Their moans and groans as they popped one truffle after another into their mouths rivaled the sounds they’d made in bed earlier.