Forget Me Not

by Brenda Jackson

  He tightened his arms around her. “I can’t think of any other woman I want to spend my time with, Ashley.”

  She pressed her face against his chest so he wouldn’t see the tears forming in her eyes. She’d thought she would never hear such words from her husband again. Thinking she’d lost him forever had been the most tragic period in her life. No one could feel her pain, hurt and even at times her anger. Yes, anger. She’d felt Devon had been snatched from her too soon. She hadn’t been prepared for the loss. And now he was back and she was here in his arms.

  “Ready to leave?” Ray leaned down and whispered close to her ear. His warm breath bathed her skin, causing heat to slowly drum through her.

  She lifted her head and met his gaze. “I am if you are.”

  “I am.”

  “Then I suggest we go tell everyone good-night.”

  * * *

  RAY’S STOMACH DID somersaults on the drive back to Ashley’s home. She tried engaging him in conversation but hearing her voice only made him want her that much more. He knew the degree of his desire for her was crazy, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. He needed her like yesterday and wanted her like right now.

  When he’d arrived at her place she’d opened the door and stood there wearing jeans and a pink blouse that made her look feminine as hell. All he could think about was that quickie they’d had the day before. He was still thinking about it.

  “You’re quiet, Ray,” Ashley said when he walked her to her door. “Are you okay?”

  Did she want the honest-to-goodness truth? He wasn’t sure but decided to give it to her anyway. “I’ve decided there’s just something about that quickie yesterday.”

  She glanced up at him. “Oh, what about it?”

  Besides liking it? he thought. “It made me want you even more.”

  “And you had me. Quite a bit, in fact. Last night when we returned from dinner, I could barely get inside the door.”

  He smiled at the memory. He had news for her. She’d barely get inside the door tonight either. He had been tempted to tell her about that DNA kit he’d done but decided not to do that. He hadn’t told anyone about it, not even Kaegan and Sawyer. For him it was private and he wanted to keep it that way. He was hoping the results could perhaps add pieces to the puzzle of his memory.

  “Ray?” She had pulled her key from her purse.

  “Yes?”

  “Is something bothering you?”

  “I told you what’s bothering me, Ashley.”

  “That’s all?”

  He smiled as he followed her inside. “Trust me. That’s enough.”

  He closed the door behind them and pulled her into his arms.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  RAY ENTERED HIS office and couldn’t help the smile that touched his lips. It was hard to believe it had been almost four weeks since the night of Kaegan’s party. Clearly, waking up to a beautiful woman every morning was pretty damn good for any man’s ego. However, when that woman was Ashley Ryan, that was really putting a triple spread of icing on the cake.

  On top of that, he’d gotten an investor. The wealthiest man in the cove had met with him today. Over the past five years, Reid LaCroix had taken it upon himself to help several small businesses in town by offering low-interest loans. LaCroix detested change and felt it was important to keep local businesses in the cove thriving while keeping big corporations out. He saw assisting certain small businesses he felt were on the climb to success as a way to do it. Both Kaegan and Vashti had been recipients of LaCroix’s generosity and now so was Ray.

  With the loan in place, his business could expand the way he’d dreamed. He was pleased with how both his business and his personal lives were going.

  Ray thought about that time Ashley had offered to be his investor and he’d turned her down. At the time he hadn’t wanted to mix business with pleasure. He didn’t have that complication with Reid LaCroix. Their relationship was strictly one of business and he preferred it that way.

  He and Ashley spent a lot of time together and had established a routine where she either stayed at his place at night or he stayed at hers. There were days when she would come to the marina and have lunch with him. He looked forward to them. They went to the movies, played video games together, and he’d even gone shopping with her in New Orleans a couple of times.

  Then there were the times spent in bed. Each and every time they made love, he’d come close to telling her just how he felt, but he couldn’t until he knew he could offer her a life with him.

  After getting a cup of coffee, he settled down at his desk and switched on his computer. There were a lot of things he needed to do before the start of his workday. For starters, he was corresponding with the seller of a boat that had caught his eye.

  Pulling up his email, he noticed one from the company that had done his DNA testing. His heart began beating hard as he clicked on it.

  Hi, Ray,

  Your DNA results are in and attached is your ethnicity breakdown.

  Good news! We have located a DNA match. See information below. We have made it convenient to contact this person through us. If interested, hit the contact button and an email will be sent to your DNA match.

  Ray studied the lone name: Kurtis Blaylock. He frowned, trying to remember if the name rang a bell, and it didn’t. It indicated Blaylock was a top match—first cousin.

  He leaned back in his chair, knowing whatever decision he made would change the rest of his life. Kurtis Blaylock might very well be the only link Ray had to his past. Was he ready to face whatever this past included? What if he was married as he assumed and was possibly a father? What about his relationship with Ashley?

  Ray knew that Ashley was the reason he’d done the DNA test in the first place. If he was married, there was no way he could stay married to a woman he didn’t remember. She would be a stranger to him. Therefore, he’d decided if he was a married man, he would ask for a divorce. If there were kids involved, he would want to be a part of their lives. The only woman he could imagine ever being with was Ashley.

  He suddenly went still. He also knew the reason he felt that way. He had fallen in love with her.

  There was no need to wonder how such a thing had happened since Ashley was a woman any man would love. It was just that simple. But then again, nothing was simple, especially a serious relationship with her. She deserved better, not a man without memory of his past and what was in it.

  He wanted to find out. He needed to know. Sighing deeply, he sent Mr. Blaylock an email and hoped he got a response. He’d even included his phone number, in case the man was inclined to call him.

  If Blaylock was a link to his past, he would deal with it. The problem was not knowing one way or the other.

  * * *

  “YOU LOOK HAPPY, ASHLEY.”

  Ashley smiled at Vashti, who’d invited her to lunch at Shelby by the Sea. It was a beautiful day and the view of the ocean was breathtaking from where they sat on the patio. “I am so happy, Vashti, that sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming. And I believe Ray is happy as well.”

  Vashti chuckled. “I do, too. Kaegan and Sawyer certainly think so. They’ve never seen him so carefree and laid-back. We’re all rooting for you and Ray, you know.”

  Yes, she did know. The three were Ray’s friends, but over the past months they’d also become hers.

  And she and Ray were developing a close relationship. Ray enjoyed reading and was well versed on a number of topics. He liked museums and they’d gone to plenty together, doing overnight trips to Shreveport and Little Rock. The only thing they hadn’t talked about was her leaving Catalina Cove. Her lease ran out in two weeks. Their summer fling would be over and she was to return to South Carolina.

  She tried not to think about it, although she knew he was just as aware of the time as she was. Wha
t if he hadn’t fallen in love with her by then? Had she been wrong to assume he would just because of how they’d met years ago?

  She recalled the night he’d shared with her the pain he felt at knowing he hadn’t been reported missing by anyone. She could tell by the tone of his voice he was hurt and disappointed. Keeping that truth from him only made her dilemma more difficult because she knew the reason she hadn’t looked for him.

  She felt antsy about revealing the truth if he ever did get his memory back. And if he didn’t or if he didn’t fall in love with her, it would mean lying to him forever. She was walking a fine line. She was damned if she did and damned if she didn’t.

  “Ashley?”

  She stopped studying the food on her plate. “Sorry, did you say something?”

  Vashti gave her a supportive smile and reached out and touched her arm. “For what this is worth, although Ray might not have expressed how he feels, I do believe he’s fallen in love with you. I’ve always seen the way you look at him, but now I’m seeing the way he looks at you. I believe he has decisions to make. Big ones. He has this fear of building a future with you only to have it destroyed if his memory returns. Of course, that’s not going to happen, since you are one and the same, but he doesn’t know that.”

  “And I plan to tell him when I’m sure he loves me because then it won’t matter. I need for him to tell me how he feels.”

  “I believe he will. You have two weeks and anything can happen by then.”

  Ashley nodded. Vashti was right. Anything could happen and she hoped when it did it leaned in her favor.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  RAY PULLED INTO Ashley’s driveway a little disappointed. It had been three days and he guessed it had been too much to hope that Kurtis Blaylock would have returned his call by now. Refusing to twiddle his thumbs while he waited, Ray had tried researching the guy on the internet by looking at several social media accounts, but nothing came up for his name.

  Getting out of the truck, he headed for Ashley’s door. At least he had a little bit of good news heading into the weekend. Already he had bought the boat he needed and it would be delivered to him this weekend.

  He had come here straight from work, which was now the norm. He wouldn’t say he had just as many clothes at Ashley’s place as he did at his own, but he had enough things here to shower, change and take her out. And he loved taking her out. Loved being seen with her. Sharing a meal. And for a man who a few months ago preferred his solitude, that said a lot.

  It was all Ashley’s doing. She had walked into his life and it had changed tremendously. Well, she hadn’t actually walked in, but still, the way they’d met was remarkable. He would lie beside her and remember that day. The day he could have lost her before realizing just what a jewel she was. Before realizing what she would come to mean to him. And a part of him wanted to believe that he meant something to her as well. He would often notice her looking at him, studying him when she thought his concentration was elsewhere. Little did she know, his concentration, whether obvious or not, was always on her.

  As he got closer to the door, he could hear music coming from the inside. She loved playing soft jazz. It was her favorite. It was his favorite, too.

  Suddenly, he stopped walking.

  It was his, too...

  Was it? Yes, he enjoyed listening to it but only because he had no other choice with her around. Right? Now he wasn’t sure. And why did the names of popular jazz singers flow through his mind when he assumed he’d never been a fan of jazz?

  He began walking again. That was another thing he needed to put into his journal. Since he never knew whose place he would spend the night at, he now kept his journal in the truck. That way he could still jot down things before going to bed. It still wasn’t easy not knowing his real name, where he was from, his birthday, practically anything and everything from his past, but he could make a life for himself and try to forge ahead anyway.

  The question he needed to ask himself was, had he truly forged ahead? What if Blaylock never called? What if he was still left in the dark about his past? Would he walk out of the shadows and into the light with Ashley regardless? In two weeks she would be leaving Catalina Cove. Then what? Right now, he couldn’t imagine how his life would be without her here. But did he have a right to ask her to stay when he couldn’t offer her a future?

  He paused when he reached her door. He could offer her a future. According to the law, he was legally free to build a new life for himself, including remarrying. He’d always known it but had never considered taking advantage of it, until Ashley. The big question was whether or not she would enter into such an arrangement.

  Was marriage something she’d want after losing her husband the way she had? Or was she satisfied with things the way they were between them?

  There was only one way to find out. He would give Kurtis Blaylock another week. If Ray didn’t hear from him by then, he would tell Ashley just how he felt and hope she felt or could feel the same way about him.

  Using the key she’d given him last week, he let himself in and then stopped dead in his tracks. “Whoa!”

  She stood in the middle of her living room dressed in a very revealing, almost transparent nightie. Nightie? It was still daylight outside. His gaze roamed up and down her and he felt himself get hard.

  “Hello, Ray,” she said, taking a few steps toward him.

  He closed the door behind him, feeling weak in the knees. All he could do was stand there, lean back against the door for support and look at her. Desire became a pulsing, throbbing need, and it took a while before he could speak.

  “What’s going on, Ashley?”

  That was a stupid question when he could clearly see what was going on. He could definitely clearly see. Every single inch of her incredible silky-looking brown skin. Every exotic curve on her body. This thing she was wearing would be the perfect attire for any man’s X-rated fantasies. She was standing there sexiness personified. And what had she done with her hair? It had that Meghan Markle look. He’d heard some refer to it as messy but he thought of it as sexy.

  As he watched her, getting more turned on by the second, she used her tongue to stroke her bottom lip with a sensual lick, making his erection throb even more. Even her toes were painted a different color than they had been this morning. They had been a hot red. Now they were an ocean blue.

  “I thought I’d seduce you today, Ray.”

  Hell, it couldn’t get any plainer than that. He’d wanted to take her out but he was just as fine with staying in. Especially when her outfit held so many promises. Her entire appearance reflected more than primal attraction. It spoke of a need that went straight to his bone.

  “And in case you’re wondering, I’ve prepared dinner. We can eat afterward.”

  No need to ask after what. “I need to shower,” he said, feeling a deep lump in his throat.

  “I know. I have the water going already. Just follow me.”

  She turned and he watched the sinfully erotic movement of her hips as she moved toward the bedroom. Licking his lips, he couldn’t do anything but follow behind her while his erection ached against his jeans.

  When he got to the bedroom, he noticed the bed was already turned down. And candles around, ready to be lit. Hell, he could get used to this. Coming home to a half-naked woman every evening. Making love to her every night. Waking up to her every morning.

  He stood there nearly drowning in her. Her scent. Everything about her. “All this and dinner? You’ve been busy.”

  She shrugged barely covered shoulders. “You think?”

  He could see evidence of her work. “I know.”

  She smiled. “Your bath awaits and I plan to sit in that chair right there until you come back. Everything you need is ready for you. When you finish, I’ll be ready for you out here.”

  Ready for him? A rush of anticipation c
lawed his insides. A seductive promise. One he knew she would keep.

  * * *

  ASHLEY SAT DOWN and waited like she told Ray she would do. They had only ten more days together. Then he expected her to pack up and return to South Carolina. There was no way she could do that when her heart was here. No way she could live in Hardeeville when the one man she’d mourned for the past three years was living here in Catalina Cove.

  It mattered not that even after spending time with him for nearly three months he still didn’t know her. Nor did it matter that she wasn’t sure if during that time he was falling in love with her. What mattered now more than anything was that she loved him, had enough love to sustain them forever if she needed to.

  What she needed to do was make sure he wanted her to stay in the cove. She would leave in two weeks but had every plan to return. She even contemplated selling the house in Hardeeville because she could never live there when he was here.

  The big question of the hour was, how would he feel about her deciding to stay? Had she miscalculated and he was ready for their affair to end? Had she read the signs wrong? She had honestly thought something would have broken through his memory by now.

  So far, nothing had. Not their lovemaking. Not any of the truthful information about her past life she’d shared with him. And not their kisses, which was something that had always been one of their favorite pastimes. Was his memory so locked back in his mind that he would never regain it?

  She’d known there was that possibility, so she’d hoped he would fall in love with her as Ashley Ryan, a woman he did not know. He was almost there; she could feel it. Her plan was to push him more. If not toward the finish line, then at least give him something that would make him want her to stay in Catalina Cove.

  If she did, and Ray never regained his memories, things would become more complicated. Her parents would eventually want to come and visit her. They would want to meet Ray and would know immediately who he was. Her father might be able to play along for Ray’s benefit but her mother could not.