by Girard, Dara
Claudia turned to the stocky woman with frizzy brown hair, who stared at her in awe. “Yes, it’s me.”
“You’re a sign!”
She took a step back, unsure if the woman was sane. “A what?”
“A sign.” The woman clasped her hands together. “Now everything is clear. I was just wondering if I should marry my boyfriend. He asked me three days ago and is still waiting for an answer, but I haven’t been sure.” She pulled out her phone and showed Claudia a picture. “See, that’s him. Isn’t he cute?”
The man was bucktoothed with large ears that reminded Claudia of a rabbit. “Yes,” she said, thinking that rabbits were cute.
The woman looked at the photo with affection. “I call him my casino, because with him I feel like I’ve hit the jackpot.”
“You look happy.”
The woman’s enthusiasm dimmed. “We are now, but what about in the future? With the divorce rate the way it is, is marriage worth the expense? Well, anyway, that’s what I was thinking about when you walked in, and now I know my answer. I’m going to turn him down.”
“Just seeing me made you decide that?” Claudia asked feeling uncomfortable.
“Of course! You believe in the independent woman and living life without the ring. You once said the only ring you want from a man is when he’s trying to call you.”
“Yes, but if you want—”
She looked at Claudia’s items. “Oh, that looks great. Aren’t you taping a show or something?”
“Yes, it should air in the fall.”
“I’ll be watching it.”
Claudia watched the woman leave and shrugged. She wouldn’t feel responsible for the woman’s decision or her boyfriend’s disappointment. When Peter had asked her to marry him she’d had no doubts, but she’d also been more impulsive then. Claudia put the hanger back. Was that how people really saw her? As antimarriage? It didn’t matter anyway. The woman had already made up her mind and was only using Claudia as an excuse. Besides, she had better things to do.
She visited her favorite crafter—a jeweler who made one-of-a-kind jewelry from antique gold and silver and rare stones and gems. Luckily, she arrived just in time to select a magnificent set he had just made that included large drooping earrings, a necklace and a bracelet. When Peter saw her again, she knew he wouldn’t be disappointed.
Chapter 13
Bermuda
The jock always got the girl. Roy watched Peter go for one of his morning runs and scowled. Just like the guys in high school, he was going after the golden girl. Roy had seen him being real friendly with Claudia lately. He knew he’d come back and try to show off his damn muscles for her; even Ashley cast glances at him. What was it about athletes, anyway?
In school Roy hadn’t been able to do sports because he was small and suffered from allergies and asthma. Instead of being the one cheered for on the field or court, he’d been on the sideline taking pictures for the student newspaper.
By junior year he’d outgrown his allergies and gained some height, but that hadn’t stopped the jocks from stuffing him into lockers or forcing him to help them with their homework. Warren was just like those guys. He wasn’t that smart and just wanted to use Claudia as another conquest to brag about. He didn’t deserve her. Claudia was a special woman. She shared his sense of humor and listened to him. She treated him like an equal. In Hawaii they’d gone out for drinks and she listened to his ambitions and encouraged him. She was the perfect woman for a guy like him. For now they were just friends, but he would find a way to change that…
“Did you get what I sent you?” Peter asked in a low voice as they prepared for their next scene.
They hadn’t had much time to talk. Roy and Lance had missed their flight, costing them one full day of shooting. The past two days they’d spent trying to catch up. Peter and Frank made sure the necessary paperwork and legalities were taken care of before doing the first filming, showing Claudia and Peter on a rented boat, which also came with a hired skipper. The skipper, a man of about fifty, with broad shoulders and a warm smile, decided to take the crew to the east end of the island where they explored Castle Harbour, which is almost completely surrounded by islands, forming a protected lake. To avoid the powerful swells, the skipper had to drop anchor on the west side.
They spent several hours in that location, filming various scenes from different angles. Ashley had to retouch Claudia’s hair several times, before and after a shot, due to the wind bouncing off the waves and tossing her hair in different directions.
“Don’t use too much hair spray,” Claudia told her.
She ignored her. “I have to when your hair won’t cooperate.”
The skipper then took them to one of the uninhabited islands off Mangrove Bay, where they did a major shoot featuring native birds and unusual plants and flowers.
For this scene, Claudia wore a two-piece, formfitting linen skirt with a slit on the side, matched with a bold yellow front-tie blouse.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Claudia said with surprise as she moved her blouse aside to give Peter a peek at her black bra.
Peter grinned.
She leaned forward and whispered. “I left the panties at the hotel.”
His grin faded while his heated gaze dipped down to her skirt then back to her face.
“Smile, we’re on.” She turned to the crew and said, “Welcome to another episode…”
The second the cameras stopped rolling, Peter took Claudia’s hand and led her away.
“Where are you going?” Frank shouted after them.
Peter didn’t slow his pace. “To discuss something.” He led Claudia into the privacy of some overgrown trees then kissed her as if she was air and he a man starved for oxygen. “I’ll get you for that one.” He breathed against her lips.
“I thought you’d be pleased.”
“Pull another stunt like that and our affair won’t be a secret anymore.”
She giggled. “I couldn’t help myself.”
“Were you telling me the truth?”
“Why don’t you find out?” she challenged.
“You better not be lying to me,” he said, slipping his hand under her skirt.
She hadn’t been lying, and they didn’t return to the set until they heard the crew searching for them.
The fifth day on the island, Frank decided to film Peter and Claudia following the Bermuda Railway Trail on horseback. The trail, which stretched for twenty-one miles, crossed the three interconnected islands that make up Bermuda. At the end of the trail, both hosts, feeling somewhat sore, were treated to the local cuisine at a fine white-tablecloth restaurant in the middle of town.
The selection included exotic dishes such as caramelized sea scallops and pecan-and-herb-crusted sea bass complemented with cassava pie and Bermuda rum punch. It was a smooth shoot, except when Claudia was bitten by a bug that left a large welt on her upper arm, which Ashley had to cover. Once filming was done for the day, the crew returned to the hotel. Claudia went to her suite while Peter followed Ashley to her room to discuss a location change.
Peter stood in Ashley’s hotel room, surprised by the amount of makeup she had. He picked up one of the many small bottles of foundation. “Wow. You have a lot of stuff. Is she turning into a diva?”
“Claudia? No way. All that flash is really just a show. I love working with her, except—”
“Except what?”
Ashley hesitated. Just as a hairdresser knows a woman’s real hair color, as a makeup artist she knew most women’s flaws, and she’d gotten close to Claudia and they’d become friends. “I probably shouldn’t say anything, but I feel like I can trust you.”
He set the foundation down. “What are you talking about?”
Ashley lowered her voice. “Her scars. I wish she wasn’t so self-conscious about them.”
“Scars?” Peter furrowed his brows. “Claudia doesn’t have any scars.” He hadn’t seen them, and he’d seen a lot of he
r.
“Well you wouldn’t see them, that’s what the makeup’s for. But to be honest, they’re so faded you wouldn’t notice them anyway. The one at the base of her neck is the worst. But the fact that she survived that accident is a miracle.”
He stared at her blankly. “Accident?”
“Yes, her car accident. It happened years ago.”
“When?” he asked, his voice hoarse.
“Eight years ago. I’m not sure she’d want me to tell you, but you might make her feel less self-conscious.” Ashley lowered her voice to a conspiratorial tone. “This was when she was living in Virginia. She was racing to catch a flight to Las Vegas when the tire blew on her car and she crashed. They had to medevac her out and… Peter, what’s wrong?” Ashley said when he turned and stormed out of the room.
Claudia lounged on her bed after a relaxing bath. She loved her suite, which was in one of Bermuda’s luxury hotels. It was decorated with distinctive artwork, elegant fabrics and furnishings, stone and wood finishes and luxurious bathroom fixtures, including a stand-alone deep-soaking tub. Each bedroom had a mahogany queen-size bed and a waterfront view from a private, expansive balcony.
She was slipping into sleep when the pounding on her door startled her awake. She grabbed a robe. “I’m coming.”
She opened it, surprised to see Peter. He pushed past her and slammed the door.
“You lied to me.”
Claudia blinked. “What?”
“Why didn’t you tell me about the accident?”
Claudia held up her hands to calm him. “I—”
“All this time you had me believe that you’d jilted me, and it was because you were in the hospital. Why?”
“Peter—”
“Why! You told me you weren’t hiding anything. Why did you lie to me?”
“I didn’t lie,” she said quietly. “I told you.”
“When? Before or after you cleared out of our apartment?”
“My brother did that. My mother thought it was best because we weren’t sure when I’d fully recover. But I left you a note and she told me he left it for you.”
“He did. But in the note you didn’t say anything about an accident. You just said that you didn’t want to see me. That it wouldn’t work between us and that our love affair was over.”
Claudia pressed a hand against her forehead. “That’s not exactly what I wrote. You read it wrong.”
“What?”
“When you…you read the words in the wrong context. I said we needed a break and I didn’t want to see you. I was hoping that after some time had passed we’d have a chance to do our Love Affair over. I was referring to the movie. It was my fantasy that we’d eventually meet up in Las Vegas.”
All color drained from his face. He stumbled back and hit a side table. A large vase fell and shattered, but he didn’t notice. “You mean we’ve been separated all these years because of me? Because I misread your letter?”
“Peter,” Claudia said in a soft voice. The devastation on his face was painful to see. “It was my fault, too. I should have had someone talk to you, but I didn’t want you to worry and I thought my letter would be enough. I was a silly romantic, but I wanted you to live your life. I didn’t want to be the one holding you back. I was in the ICU with serious injuries, and didn’t want to become a burden. Now I realize that I was wrong and it was a mistake. I know how hard it is for you—”
“To read?” He cut in. “Yes. Your fiancé was too stupid to read a damn letter correctly.”
Claudia reached for him, but Peter pulled away.
He didn’t want to be comforted. He wanted to feel the pain of his stupidity. Feel the full effect of his loss. If he’d taken the time to read it correctly, everything would have been different. But he had been full of anger and hurt when he’d read the first few lines of her letter, and in a rush he had misunderstood every word before tearing it up.
“Love Affair,” he repeated the title of the movie as if it were a curse word. “I told you I hated that movie.”
“You never told me that.”
“Well, I’m telling you now. I hated the fact that no one told him. I hated him not being there for her after her accident and that she suffered alone.” Peter gripped his hand into a fist as a realization struck him. “That’s why you didn’t tell me. You discovered my mistake when we were on the beach in Hawaii, didn’t you? How long were you in the hospital?”
“Peter, don’t do this to yourself.”
His tone hardened. “How long?”
“A few weeks, but—”
His voice broke. “God, I’m so sorry.”
“Peter, please don’t torture yourself. This is why I didn’t tell you. You would have given up too much for me. Your sense of honor would have gotten in the way. You would have stopped going after your dream and taken a job in your father’s business, just so that you could take care of me and you would have been miserable. I didn’t want that.”
“I wouldn’t have been miserable. I would have had you.”
“It wouldn’t have been enough.”
He turned toward the door.
“Don’t go.”
“How can you stand to look at me?”
Claudia rushed to him and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head against his back. “I forgave you.”
“How can I forgive myself? My father was right. I—”
“He wasn’t right.” Claudia moved in front of him. “He isn’t right. It was a mistake, and we both made ourselves miserable because we thought the worst of each other. If I’d given you a second chance or the benefit of the doubt—”
He gently pushed her to the side and opened the door. “I can’t…I just need to be alone for a while.” He raced down the stairs.
He was a fool. Peter walked aimlessly around the Royal Navy Dockyard, a tourist attraction sporting Victorian streetlighting, a terrace pavilion and a grand bandstand for concerts. He didn’t notice any of it as he wandered through the Craft Market which was known to have some of the best local crafts on the island. He was in a fog. All this time he’d misunderstood. Why had everyone listened to her and not contacted him? Didn’t they think she mattered to him? He’d once said that nothing would separate them, and he’d been wrong. Peter shook his head. Even if someone had called him, he might have been too drunk to register anything. Then he’d disappeared for a while so that no one could reach him. He’d run away like a coward when he should have confronted her.
He felt stupid, and the echo of those who had agreed in the past reverberated in his mind. He heard his aunt’s words: “He’s not going to amount to much no matter how much money you spend on him.” His mother’s words: “I don’t care about the diagnosis. He’s still not very bright.” His stepfather’s words: “With those grades, we’ll be lucky if he gets a minimum-wage job.” And his father’s words: “He tries hard, but he doesn’t make up for Thomas.”
With Claudia, he’d thought he’d banished all those fears. She made him feel smart, viable and accomplished.
Even now she’d guarded his ego. She’d allowed him to hurl insults and taken his temper because she didn’t want to hurt him with the truth. Another woman wouldn’t have been so kind. He didn’t deserve her. It would take a lifetime to make up for his mistake. But he would try. He’d convinced her to be his lover. Now he’d convince her to be his wife.
He stopped walking and went into a craft store to look at some souvenirs. He didn’t want to go back to Claudia empty-handed, but nothing appealed to him—until he saw a small stone carving.
Chapter 14
Frank stared at him. “Are you out of your mind? A castle?”
Peter nodded. He sat on Frank’s couch in his suite. “Yes, I want us to shoot our next location in a castle.”
“In France?” Frank repeated just to make sure.
“Yes.”
Frank rubbed his head. “Listen, I know your connections have allowed us to stay in these luxury places both in Hawaii and
here, but a castle stay for our entire crew is going to really cost us—meaning you—a lot of money. Plus the food, travel expenses and getting permissions—”
“I don’t care how much it costs. Just make it happen.”
“But castles aren’t very interesting.”
Peter jumped to his feet and rubbed his hands together. “We’ll make it interesting.” He turned to Frank and held out his hands. “I want something big and impressive with lots of land.” He snapped his fingers. “Oh, and a top-notch chef. It will be okay if the chef wants his or her restaurant featured. And please make sure to also get a top pastry chef. I want pastries.”
“Pastries?”
“Yes, French pastries. Oh, and I also want flowers. In season, fresh.”
“What has gotten into you? These are the kind of crazy things a guy talks about when he’s getting ready to propose or something.”
Peter nodded. “That’s right.”
Frank’s mouth fell open. “You’re going to ask a woman to m-a-r-r-y you?”
“I’m thinking about it.”
“You want to get married?”
Peter sent a quick glance to the door. “Keep your voice down.”
Frank lowered his voice. “Who is it? That nurse or that teacher you broke up with a year ago? I liked her. Are you going to have her flown in for the day?”
“That won’t be necessary. She’ll already be there.”
“Really, she’s traveling in France?”
“No, she’ll be there with us.”
Frank looked puzzled, then dawning slowly fell over his face. “Claudia?”
Peter nodded.
He stared at Peter, stunned. “You’re going to ask Miss No-commitment-I’d-rather-be-shot-than-go-down-the-aisle to marry you? Do you need time away in an asylum?”
Peter sat back. “Relax. I’m just thinking about marriage.” He rubbed his chin and mumbled. “I won’t pop the question yet.”
