by Krista Lakes
“And now, we welcome all couples to the dance floor,” the emcee announced when Janessa and Kyle finished their traditional dances. “All couples come to the floor.”
Cassie glanced over at Wyatt, unsure as to what to do. Were they a couple?
He didn't pause. He just stood and offered her his hand with a smile.
Cassie's heart fluttered, and she felt a blush cross her cheeks. Even though it was all ending tomorrow, he was going to dance with her as a couple. They walked out onto the dance floor with all the other matches. They joined couples that had been together for years, mingling among them as if they belonged.
The music started, and Wyatt swept Cassie into his arms and began to dance. His hands were strong and confident on her hips, telling her body where to go and what to do without words. Her body followed his without fail, finding the rhythm together. They dipped and swung, sweeping across the dance floor with grace.
“Where did you learn to dance like that?” Cassie was breathless at the end of the song, but grinning from ear to ear.
“My mother taught me,” Wyatt explained as they walked back to the table. “She felt it was important that I know how to dance at a wedding.”
“She did an excellent job teaching you,” Cassie replied. “I'd like to dance more with you if I can.”
Wyatt pretended to take something out of his back pocket. “Hmm... it looks like my dance card is all yours for tonight.”
Cassie giggled and grinned at him. Her heart was light, and she couldn't remember the last time she'd smiled quite this much. She was happy. Pure and simple. She didn't feel the weight of the world pressing down on her when Wyatt was near.
They danced the night away. It was something out of a dream. Dancing and laughing under the sparkling lights and glittering stars while the ocean sang nearby. Cassie pinched herself at least twice when she thought Wyatt wasn't looking because she couldn't imagine a way for this night to get better.
But somehow it did. The night simply continued to amaze her the longer they stayed together. Slowly the crowd began to thin around midnight, and just after one in the morning, Janessa and Kyle disappeared off to their room to enjoy their wedding night.
“Walk with me?” Cassie asked Wyatt, motioning to the beach.
He took her hand and smiled. They left their shoes by the gate to the resort and went to walk along the water.
As they walked along the moonlit beach, she could almost imagine she was leaving her own wedding, with her own new husband. Everything felt right and like nothing bad could happen.
Chapter Seventeen
Cassie
Moonlight made the ocean glow as they strolled on the sand. The soft sounds of music and the last bits of laughter floated up through the warm darkness as their feet splashed the edges of the waves.
They were in their own magical world. Nothing could touch them here. For a moment, Cassie let herself live only in this moment. She was falling hard for the sexy bartender even though she knew it could never be, so for this moment, she let herself fall. She let herself have this night with him, even though she knew it risked breaking her heart.
She stopped, stepping in front of him. Moonlight glistened in his light hair and reflected in his eyes. He stole her breath away with his beauty.
She reached up and caressed his cheek, her heart thrilling at the small smile he gave her as he pressed his cheek into her touch. His eyes held hers, wrapping her up in warmth.
She wasn't sure if he kissed her or she kissed him, yet somehow his mouth was on hers. He tasted sweet and smelled like wedding cake and aftershave. She moaned slightly, her eyes closing as she focused on the kiss.
His lips were soft, but his five-o'clock shadow was starting to poke through. She could feel his scruff, and she brought her fingers to his cheek to caress it. Wyatt's body pressed into hers, his arms wrapped around her and his fingers in her hair.
She could have lived in that kiss forever and been happy. She could have spent the rest of her life in that moment, feeling his mouth take hers, and his body call out her name.
But, she had to breathe eventually. They both did. Time didn't stop.
Reluctantly, they pulled back, pressing their foreheads together to keep the closeness of the moment. All she could smell was his delicious scent. All she could hear was his breathing and ocean waves. Her own heart pounded in her chest, and her body ached to feel him everywhere all at once. She burned with passion for him.
“Stay with me,” he whispered, his voice barely above the ocean. “Stay with me.”
“What?” She pulled back slightly and looked into his green eyes. They were dark and full of desire as he looked at her.
“Stay with me,” he repeated. “Stay here, on the island. Don't leave tomorrow.”
Cassie didn't know what to say. Her mind blanked, and she stumbled for words. “Stay? I can't...”
“We have something,” Wyatt continued, his word speed picking up. His hands gripped her shoulders. “It's special. I feel it. You feel it. I want to see where this can go. I don't want you to leave.”
Cassie couldn't remember how to breathe correctly. Her lungs wanted to take deep breaths to steady herself, yet all she managed were short shallow gasps. Her mind whirled with the possibility.
What if she did stay? She wanted to. She wanted to stay here forever with Wyatt. Her body ached for him, and her mind wanted to be with him always.
Yet, that would mean leaving her life. Leaving everything she'd ever known and everything she'd worked so hard to achieve. As stressful as her job was, she was proud of it. She'd put in years of her life to be where she was. It was all that had saved her when her marriage fell apart.
Staying would be throwing it all away.
“What if you came back with me?” she asked. “My apartment's big enough. There are tons of bars nearby.”
He pulled back. “I can't.”
“What do you mean you can't?” Cassie's brow furrowed.
Wyatt's face hardened. “I can't. I won't.”
Cassie stepped back, shrugging his hands from her shoulders. “So, you expect me to drop everything. To leave the job I've worked at for years, the job that pays me well and that I'm proud of to come here? Where I have nothing. I don't have a job. I don't have a place to live. I don't even have clothes here.”
“We can get them,” Wyatt replied like it was nothing. Like leaving behind all her things was simple.
“Why don't you come with me? I have a better job, and we can pack your things and bring them with us. It's actually easier if you come with me,” Cassie said, trying to sound logical.
“I can't go back there,” Wyatt said, his face darkening. “You don't understand.”
The magical moment was breaking. Cassie could feel the magic shattering and draining away. The moonlight was still there, but the warm, happy feelings were quickly fading.
“No, I don't,” Cassie told him. “I don't understand. I can't stay here, and you won't come with me, but you won't give me a good reason why.”
“I'm telling you, I can't. That has to be enough,” Wyatt snapped. He paused and took a steadying breath. “I can take care of you. I swear it.”
Cassie stared at him, dumbfounded. “Why can't you go back? Are you a criminal? Or... what?”
“Please,” Wyatt said softly, his eyes big. “I don't want to go back to that world. If I go back...” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, messing it up. “Please just stay here.”
Despite the craziness of it, Cassie was tempted. She was tempted to throw her career away for this man she'd only known a few days. She was tempted to lose her apartment, her things, her job. Everything. For him.
The fact that she was tempted scared her. The fact that she would give up everything she'd worked so hard for because of a couple of amazing days on the beach terrified her. What if it was all just an illusion? What if those things Lorna had said about him were true? What if he found the next cute vacationer at his bar and left her?
She'd have nothing.
“No.” The word came out unbidden. She watched it fly through the air and hit him like she'd thrown a punch. He took a step back.
“Cassie...”
“No, Wyatt.” She shook her head, feeling her heart start to crack. “I can't stay.”
"Cassie..." His voice held so much desire and emotion that she nearly gave in. She almost promised to stay.
“No.” She shook her head. Overwhelming feelings of panic, despair, heartache, and fear all lurched up from the pit of her stomach.
Corporate Rule Number Two: When faced with a confrontation, it is better to take a breath and step back than make a rash decision.
She ran away, leaving him on the beach with his hand stretched out to her.
Chapter Eighteen
Wyatt
Wyatt stared after the woman he loved running from him and out into the darkness. He knew he should chase after her, but his feet refused to move. It was like they were stuck in the sand, held by invisible magnets that wouldn't let him go.
“Stupid, stupid.” He dropped his head in shame. He'd been overzealous. He hadn't sold it well. He'd messed up the timing, and now it was all screwed up. He always waited for the right moment, but this time he hadn't. This time, he'd screwed things up because he hadn't read the situation correctly.
He wouldn't do that again. Wyatt sat down in the sand and looked out at the dark water, trying to figure out what to do next.
He needed to go up to her room and apologize. She was only here for one more night, and he didn't want to spend it apart.
He also needed to tell her who he was. He couldn't blame her for running. By all appearances, he was a beach bum with barely a job. It wasn't exactly an exciting prospect to leave her life and career to go live out of a shack on the beach.
He sighed. She was right to ask him to go to Arizona. But he knew that if he stepped foot in any major city, there would be reporters on him. He was the missing billionaire. Even now, he'd see the occasional news story on him and how he'd disappeared. If anyone saw him, he was a headline story just because he was trying to stay hidden. He'd tried once before to sneak back to New York to sign some papers, and he'd been mobbed at the airport.
He shuddered with the memory. He'd left the life of lights and money behind for a reason. He loved his new, simple life. There was no pressure to perform here. No threats, no bodyguards, no worries, because on this island, he was the same as everyone else.
Back on the mainland, he was billionaire Wyatt Landers. He couldn't just go back and live in Cassie's apartment. If he returned, he would thrust her into the blinding world of money that he'd worked so hard to escape.
Watt threw a small pebble into the ocean waves, quickly losing sight of it in the foam and turbulence of the water. He was that pebble when he was a billionaire. Unusual and unique in the water, but surrounded and lost.
He laughed bitterly. Being a billionaire wasn't all he'd thought it would be. He much preferred the simple life he had here. He was happy here.
But Cassie wasn't going to be here anymore. He needed to convince her to stay.
He stood up and dusted the sand from his pants. He would go to her room. He would tell her who he was. He would sweep her off her feet, and they would live happily ever after. He knew it.
With determined steps, he ran to his beach house. He fixed his hair and put on an expensive shirt. He wore the expensive watch. He wore the expensive shoes that were almost as comfortable as his sandals. He fixed his appearance and made sure he looked like a billionaire.
He needed to prove to her that she could stay here without losing everything she'd worked so hard to achieve.
An hour later, Wyatt walked across the marble lobby, his shoes clicking softly with each step. He should have brought flowers. Or chocolates. Something.
Annette was working the front desk. Maybe she had some flowers he could take with him.
“Hello, sir. How may I help you?” Annette asked pleasantly as he approached.
Wyatt frowned. “It's me, Annette. Wyatt.”
Annette's eyebrows went into her graying hair, and her mouth went wide. “Oh, my word. You don't look like you.”
“Do I really look that bad?” Wyatt asked, checking his clothing.
“Oh, no. You look like a million bucks,” Annette quickly replied. “You just don't look like usual. Your hair, your clothes. Even the way you're walking is different.”
“Is that good or bad?”
“It's fine. Just different. Like an actor playing two different people in the same movie.” She stared a little at him. “You look like you should be a guest here.”
He could probably afford to buy the whole hotel, let alone just a room for the night.
“I need some flowers,” he said.
Annette glanced around the front desk, and her eyes settled on a tropical bouquet on the edge of the counter. “Here, take these. We always get new ones in the morning. They're pretty, and no one will miss them.”
“Thanks, Annette,” Wyatt said, carefully picking out the flowers and arranging the prettiest ones in his hand.
“Good luck, Wyatt,” Annette replied. She smiled at him. “And you should dress up more often. It looks nice.”
He flashed her a smile before heading up the elevator and up to Cassie's room.
He knocked with confidence, even though his chest was so tight he was sure his heart would be crushed any moment. “Please, Cassie. I need to tell you something.”
The door cracked open, and his chest relaxed slightly.
“She's not here,” Brianna told him, standing defiantly in the door with arms crossed. “You should leave.”
“Please, I just want to talk to her,” Wyatt replied, trying to look past her and into the room. Brianna blocked his view.
“I told you, she's not here.” She glared at him.
“Can you get a message to her?” Wyatt asked, deciding to try a new tactic. “I need to apologize before she leaves.”
“Well, that's going to be rather difficult,” Brianna informed him. She checked her watch. “Her flight leaves in ten minutes and the airport's twenty minutes away.”
Wyatt took a step back in surprise. “What? Her flight's not until tomorrow.”
“Well, it was. We switched flights,” a voice from inside the room informed him, coming to the door. It was one of the other bridesmaids. He was fairly sure her name was Julia. “My flight was for tonight. Hers was tomorrow. She took my flight, and I'm taking hers.”
“Whatever you told her had her in a panic,” Brianna told him, her eyes still hard. “She paid the transfer fees and everything. She's gone. You scared her off.”
Wyatt's shoulders slumped. His heart went through his expensive shoes. He shouldn't have changed. If he'd come straight here, he could have caught her and explained. Instead, he'd decided to show off his wealth and wasted precious time.
Yet another example of why money isn't everything, he thought to himself.
He held out the flowers. “Here. Someone might as well enjoy them.”
Julia took the flowers and held them to her nose. "Sorry, you missed her."
He nodded. “Tell her I'm sorry,” he said, his voice wooden in his ears. He turned and walked down the hallway, every step feeling hollow.
He was too late. He'd missed his chance, and she was now gone.
He moved robotically into the elevator and hit the button for the lobby. This wasn't how he'd seen the evening going.
“Thanks, Annette,” he said, passing the front desk.
Annette's eyes went wide again. “Get out of here. James is looking for you, and he's pissed!”
“What?”
“He's on the warpath,” she hissed. She shooed him with her hands. “Get going.”
Wyatt nodded. He hurried his steps through the side door of the lobby and ran directly into James.
“All dressed up for the wedding, I see.” James' eyes went up and down over Wyatt's fancy clothing.
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Wyatt didn't have any excuse prepared. He was still reeling from finding out Cassie had left and his brain couldn't come up with anything to say.
“You realize you're fired, right?” James crossed his arms and looked down his nose at Wyatt.
“Sir, I can explain,” Wyatt replied, hoping he could come up with something.
“A concerned guest notified me of your attendance at the Frankson wedding,” James said. He held up his phone to show a picture of Wyatt and Cassie dancing. They both looked so happy it took Wyatt's breath away.
“Cassie...” She was so beautiful with her dark hair and eyes. He could nearly feel her fingers still on his shoulders as they danced.
“You've been warned before,” James continued. “This was the final straw. You're fired, Wyatt. Get your things and get off the hotel property immediately, or I'll have security throw you out. Your last paycheck will be mailed to you.”
Wyatt stood there for a moment. He'd been deliriously happy just hours ago. Now, it was all crumbling around him.
“Did you hear me, Wyatt?” James pressed, getting up into Wyatt's face.
“Yeah. I heard you. I'm fired.” Wyatt took a step away from the man. He glanced over to see Annette's concerned face. He looked back to James and shook his head. “Your loss.”
He stepped around James and continued to walk out of the hotel. Wyatt kept his shoulders back and his steps even and measured. His head stayed up as he walked out of the hotel, despite the horrible ache in his heart.
Wyatt slept until noon. He usually woke with the sun, but today, he just wanted to sleep. He wanted to wake up and find that it was all just a terrible dream. That Cassie was still asleep beside him. That he hadn't lost his favorite job. That he wasn't going to have to leave the island.
That he hadn't screwed everything up.
But, his bed was empty.
