by Maya Banks
“Damn it, Bryony, I refuse to feel guilt for something I can’t remember.”
“We should get some sleep,” she said dully. “There’s little point in arguing over this when we’re both tired and I’m upset. I’ll show you to the guest room. It has its own bathroom. There are towels and soap, everything you should need.”
And just like that, she was dismissing him. She’d withdrawn and he was treated to the cold, angry woman she’d been the first night in New York when she’d confronted him at his event.
He drew in a breath, feeling like a fool for what he was about to say, but it rushed out before he could think better of it, before he could question his sanity.
“I’ll put a temporary halt to construction. Tomorrow. I’ll go to the site myself. Until we sort things out between us and I regain my memory, I’ll halt the groundbreaking.”
She blinked in surprise, her mouth forming a silent O. From all appearances it was the last thing she’d expected him to say, and he was suddenly glad of it. Fiercely glad that he’d caught her off guard.
“Really?”
He nodded. “I’d go tonight but no one will be at the site and I have no idea where they’re staying, but if I’m there at dawn in the morning, I’ll make sure nothing is done until I give the okay to begin.”
Once again she surprised him by launching herself into his arms and hugging him so tight he struggled to breathe. For such a small woman, she possessed amazing strength.
“Every time I think you’ve let me down, you do something to completely change my mind,” she whispered fiercely. “Every time I think I’ve lost the Rafael I fell in love with, you do something to make me realize he’s still there and I just have to find him again.”
He wasn’t sure he liked the sound of that. As if he was some sort of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Hell, maybe he was crazy. It was the only explanation behind the past few months of his life.
Most men bought a flashy sports car, had an affair or hooked up with a girl barely out of school in their midlife crisis. Apparently he did bizarre things like fall in love and throw away a multimillion-dollar deal.
Ryan, Dev and Cam were going to kill him.
Twelve
“You did what?”
Rafael held the phone away from his ear and winced at the string of expletives that flooded the airways.
“I’m coming down there. We all are,” Devon said. “This is precisely what I was afraid of happening. You get down there and she has you by the balls. Make me the bad guy. I don’t care, but construction has to begin immediately. We’re already months behind schedule.”
Rafael paced back and forth over the slight bluff overlooking the beach while Bryony waited in the car. The crew hadn’t been happy that they were being asked to stand down, until Rafael informed them they’d be paid full wages during the temporary layoff. He’d stressed temporary and hoped like hell that he would have this resolved in a few days’ time.
He didn’t offer that little tidbit to Devon. Devon would really lose his composure if he knew Rafael was footing the bill for a crew of construction workers to sit around and enjoy beach life for the next few days.
“You stay your ass in New York,” Rafael said. “I don’t need you and Cam and Ryan to babysit me. It’s the right thing to do, Devon. Until I know what the hell I promised or didn’t promise or whatever else happened while I was down here the first time, the right thing to do is wait.”
“Since when have you ever been concerned with doing the right thing?” Devon asked incredulously. “We’re talking about the king of get-it-done, it’s business, not personal, whatever it takes, score the deal. Are you getting soft in your old age or has she messed with your head so much that you no longer know up from down?”
Rafael scowled. “You make me sound like a complete bastard.”
“Yeah, well, you are. Why should that bother you now? It’s what’s made you so successful. Don’t go growing a conscience on me now.”
Rafael frowned even harder. “What do you know about this deal, Devon? What aren’t you telling me?”
There was a long silence. And then his friend said, “Look, I don’t know what happened down there. What I do know is that before you left New York, you said quite clearly that you’d come back with a signed bill of sale and you didn’t give a damn what you had to do to achieve it.”
“Son of a bitch,” Rafael muttered. “That’s not helping my case here.”
“Why do you want it to help your case? You’ve got the land. You’ve got our investors on board. The only thing standing in our way right now is you.”
Rafael stared back at the car to see that Bryony had gotten out and leaned against the door. Her hair blew in the morning breeze and it was a little chilly. She hadn’t worn a sweater.
“Yeah, well, for now I’m not moving,” he said quietly. “I’ll accept full responsibility for this.”
“Damn right you will,” Devon said in disgust. “We’ve all made sacrifices, Rafael. We’re on the verge of being huge. With this resort deal and the merger with Copeland hotels, we’ll be the largest luxury resort business in the world. Don’t screw it up for all of us.”
Rafael sighed. Yeah, he knew they’d made sacrifices. Devon was even marrying Copeland’s daughter to cement this deal. They were close to having everything they’d ever wanted. Success beyond their wildest imaginations.
And he’d never felt worse or more unsure of himself in his life.
“Trust me on this, Dev. Give me some time, okay? I’ll make it right. I’ve never not come through before. But this is my future we’re talking about here.”
Rafael heard the weary sigh through the phone. “One week, Rafe. One week and if ground isn’t broken, I’m coming down there and I’m bringing Ryan and Cam with me.”
Rafael ended the call and shoved the phone into his pocket. One week. It seemed a ridiculous amount of time to decide the fate of his entire future. And Bryony’s future. The future of his child.
He blew out his breath and walked away from the beach toward Bryony’s car. She was probably tired. He’d bet that neither of them had slept much the night before. He’d seen dark circles under her eyes when they’d left her cottage before sunup to drive to the construction site.
With a week’s reprieve, it was time to concentrate on the most important issue at hand—regaining his memory and figuring out his relationship with Bryony Morgan.
As Rafael strode back toward the car, Bryony regarded him warily. He looked angry and determined. Whatever phone call he’d made, it hadn’t been pleasant. She could hear his raised voice all the way inside the car, though she couldn’t make out what it was he said.
True to his word, he’d given the order to suspend groundbreaking. It hadn’t taken long for her cell phone to start ringing. Rupert had been first, congratulating her on keeping Rafael de Luca in line. Bryony had rolled her eyes and bitten her tongue. As if anyone could leash Rafael de Luca. No, whatever reason he had for agreeing to postpone construction, it hadn’t been because she’d asked him to.
Her pride had already taken enough of a beating. She wasn’t going to beg him.
Then Silas had called to confirm that construction had indeed been halted and then expressed his concern that the workers were now on the island with nothing to do for the next however many days. He worried about the implications. As if Bryony had any experience with enforcing the law.
Still, she had to remember that a lot of people counted on her to keep things running smoothly. It was what she did. Never mind that her life was in shambles. She didn’t offer any guarantees about keeping her own affairs straight.
When Rafael arrived, he didn’t say anything. He took the keys from her and guided her around to the passenger side.
When he got in, she eyed him sideways. “Everything okay?”
“Fine.”
He started the engine and drove over the bumpy dirt path back to the main road and then accelerated.
“Feel like so
me breakfast?”
It sounded like he grunted in return, but she couldn’t be sure. Still, he hadn’t said no, so she took it as an affirmative.
“I’ll make your favorite.”
He glanced sideways at her. “My favorite?”
“Eggs Benedict.”
“Yeah, it is,” he mumbled. “I guess I told you that before.”
“Uh-huh.”
Clearly he wasn’t in a talkative mood. He looked downright surly. She was more of a morning person, but Mamaw wasn’t, and she often told Bryony she was too cheerful for her own good before noon. Mamaw didn’t have any compunction about telling her to shut up and go away, but Bryony guessed Rafael was too polite to do the same.
Funny, but she hadn’t noticed him being particularly grumpy in the mornings before, but then more often than not, they’d slept late after a night of making love.
Just the memory of them waking in bed, wrapped around each other, had her cheeks warming and a tingle snaking through her body.
She missed those nights. And the mornings. Most of the time she’d cooked for them both, but at least twice, Rafael had risen while she still slept and brought her breakfast in bed.
So instead of saying anything further, she reached over and took his hand, squeezing it before lacing her fingers through his.
He looked surprised by the gesture, but he didn’t make any effort to extricate his hand from hers. “Thank you.”
He cocked his head.
“For doing that. It means a lot not just to me, but also to the people on this island.”
He looked uncomfortable. “You need to understand that this is only a temporary solution. I can’t suspend operations indefinitely. There are a lot of people counting on me. They’ve trusted me with their money. My partners are heavily invested with me. This is… This is huge for us.”
“But you understand I would have never sold you the land if you hadn’t given me your promise,” she said. “The result would be the same. It’s not as though I sold you the land under false pretenses.”
Rafael sighed but then squeezed her hand. “For now let’s not talk about it. There’s no simple solution to all this whether I regain my memory or not.”
For the first time she weighed his position in the matter. If all he’d said were true, then it couldn’t have been easy for him to call off the operation.
Regardless of whether he’d lied to her before, he’d done the honorable thing now and it was costing him dearly.
She leaned over and brushed her lips across his cheek. “I realize this isn’t easy, but we all appreciate it. I’ve already gotten calls from the mayor and the sheriff. I’m sure there will be more before the day is out. You can expect to be courted by the locals while you’re here. They’ll want to present their case.”
“Are they angry with you?” he asked. “The mayor didn’t seem pleased with you last night. Do they all blame you?”
She blew out her breath. “They think I’m young and gullible. Some of them blame that and not me directly. They’re too busy feeling sorry for me for being taken by a suave, debonair man. Others put the blame solely on my shoulders, as they should.”
Rafael’s face grew stormy. “It’s your land. You can’t allow others to guilt you into keeping it just because they don’t want their way of life to change.”
She shrugged. “I grew up here. They consider me a part of their family. Family doesn’t turn their backs on each other. A lot of them think I did just that. Maybe I did. I knew that if you and I were going to be together that I wouldn’t stay here. I knew I’d have to make the move because your business is based in the city. At the time I didn’t care.”
He slowed to pull into her driveway and stopped the car. For a long moment he stared out the windshield before finally turning to face her.
“So you were willing to give up everything to be with me.”
“Yes,” she said simply. Throwing his words back at him, she continued. “I don’t say that to hurt you. It’s simply the truth and we’ve both been honest and blunt. I’m not trying to make you feel guilty.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
She smiled. “Let’s not say anything. Let’s go eat instead. I’m starving. After breakfast we’ll go buy you the things you need for your stay and then maybe we’ll sit on the deck. Enjoy the day.”
Strangely enough, it sounded blissful.
Suddenly, after a not-so-great start to the day, he found himself quite looking forward to the rest.
Thirteen
Bryony tugged Rafael from shop to shop in the town square where she made him try on more casual clothing. Jeans. Lord but the man looked divine in jeans. They cupped his behind in all the right places and molded to his muscular legs.
And a T-shirt. Such an unremarkable item of clothing but on him… A simple white T-shirt displayed his lean, taut body to perfection.
He looked uncomfortable when he came out of the dressing room. He had on the jeans and the shirt she’d picked out and he was barefooted. Barefooted.
She was standing there drooling over a barefooted man in jeans. And she wasn’t the only one.
“Oh, my,” Stella Jones breathed. “Honey, that is one fine specimen you’ve got there. He looks hot in the GQ stuff, don’t get me wrong, but he fills out a pair of jeans like nobody’s business.”
Bryony shot the saleswoman a glare but had to admit she was right.
“Will this make you happy?” Rafael asked wryly as he turned, hands up.
“Oh, yeah,” Bryony murmured. “Me and every other female on this island.”
Stella chuckled. “Shall I bag up a few more pair like that one?”
“And T-shirts. Lots of T-shirts. I’m thinking white and maybe a red one.”
“Green wouldn’t be bad with those dark eyes and hair,” Stella advised.
Rafael rolled his eyes. “I’m going back in to change while you ladies sort it out.”
“No! No!” Bryony said in a rush. “Just let me pull off the stickers. No reason to change out of them. Stella will ring them up. You’ll be more comfortable.”
“And so will the rest of us,” Stella said over her shoulder as she sashayed off to get the rest of the clothing.
Rafael grinned and sauntered toward Bryony. “So you like me in jeans?”
“I think like is perhaps too mild a word,” Bryony muttered.
Although Bryony had been openly affectionate with Rafael the entire day, taking his hand, hugging him or twining her arm through his, he hadn’t made any overt gestures of his own. But now he slid his arms around her and pulled her into his embrace.
He rested his hands loosely at the small of her back and then slid his fingers into her back pockets, pulling her closer until she was pressed against his chest.
“I like you in jeans, too,” he said with a sly grin.
Her heart fluttered as she curled her arms around his shoulders.
“Yeah, but I’m wearing baggy jeans with an elastic maternity waist.”
“They fit your behind just fine.”
To emphasize his point he moved his fingers to where they were snug in her back pockets.
“We’ll have the whole island talking,” she murmured.
He snorted. “As if they aren’t already? I think everyone who lives here has been out to either look at us or tell me what a wonderful thing I did by stopping the construction. And I think it’s a widely known fact that it’s my child you’re carrying. What else could they possibly talk about beyond that?”
“Okay, you have a point,” she said wryly.
He leaned down and kissed her softly. “Why don’t we take our jeans-clad selves back to your cottage and I’ll fix us some lunch.”
She raised her eyebrows. “What have you got in mind?”
“I don’t know. It depends on what you have in your pantry. You cooked breakfast for us and you’ve taken me around town all morning. The least I can do is pamper you awhile. Are your feet tired?”
&n
bsp; She laughed even as her heart squeezed at the concern in his voice.
“My feet are fine, but I wouldn’t turn down a massage if you’re offering.”
He gave her a smile filled with genuine warmth. “I think that could be arranged.”
She flung her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. “Oh, Rafael. Today has been perfect. Just perfect. Thank you.”
When she pulled away, he had a befuddled expression on his face as if he didn’t know quite how to respond to her outburst.
“I had no idea shopping for jeans made you so happy,” he teased.
She flashed him a cheeky grin. “Only when I get to see you wear them.”
He patted her affectionately on the behind and then gestured for her to go ahead of him. “Let’s go then. All this shopping has worked up my appetite.”
She laced her fingers with his, delighting in the sense of closeness that had quickly built between them. Whether he remembered or not, the moment they’d arrived, Bryony had sensed a change in Rafael. He’d reverted to the more relaxed, easygoing man with whom she’d fallen in love.
He may not see himself as someone who would get away from the stress of the business world, or someone who would leave his cell phone off or his computer put away for a period of days, but Moon Island had changed him. She’d like to think that his relationship with her had changed his priorities. Maybe it was fanciful and naive for her to think such things, but it didn’t stop her from hoping that he’d rediscover the island—and her.
They drove back to the cottage but Bryony directed him to pull into her grandmother’s driveway instead of her own.
“I want to check in with her and see how she’s doing. I’ve only talked to her on the phone for the last week. I don’t often leave her for long periods of time.”
Rafael nodded. “Of course. Would you prefer I go ahead to your cottage and begin lunch?”
“Only if you want to. I don’t mind if you come unless you’re uncomfortable. I’m only going to talk to her a minute or two. Make sure everything’s okay.”
“Then I’ll go with you,” Rafael said. “I’d like to get reacquainted. You two seem to be very close. Did I spend a lot of time with her before?”
Bryony smiled. “You got along famously. You’d drop in on her every other day or so whether I was with you or not. You spoiled her by bringing her favorite flowers and a box of goodies from the bakery.”
“I sounded…nice,” he said, as though the idea were ridiculous.
She paused in the act of opening her car door and turned her head so she looked directly at him. “You say that as if you aren’t…nice.”
He shrugged. “Bastard has been used on more than one occasion to describe me. This morning being the most recent. I’ve been called a lot of things. Ruthless. Driven. Ambitious. Son of a bitch. You name it. But nice? I can’t say that being thoughtful was ever a priority. It’s not that I intended to be a jerk, but I was never really concerned about it.”
“Well, you were wonderful to my grandmother and I loved you for it,” she said. “You were wonderful to me, too. Maybe you don’t associate with the right people.”
He laughed at that. “Maybe you’re right. I guess we’ll see, won’t we?”
Bryony’s grandmother appeared on the front porch and waved for them to come in. Bryony reached over and squeezed Rafael’s hand. “Stop worrying so much about what you were or weren’t. No one says you have to stay the same forever. Maybe you were ready for a change. Here you could be whoever you wanted because no one knew you before. You got to have a fresh start.”
He raised her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. “What I think is that you’re a special woman, Bryony Morgan.”
She smiled again and opened her car door. As she got out, she waved at her grandmother. “We’re coming!”
Mamaw smiled and waved, then waited with the screen door open while Rafael and Bryony made their way up the steps.
“Good afternoon to you,” Mamaw said cheerfully.
She pulled Bryony into a hug and then did the same with Rafael, who looked a little dumbstruck by the reception.
“Come in, come in, you two. I just sweetened a pitcher of tea and it’s ready to pour. I’ll get us some glasses. Have a seat on the back porch if you like.
