by Opal Carew
She needed a man who cared enough to put an effort into making things work. He seemed to be trying to do that now, but was it too little too late? What would happen the next time something went wrong? Would he walk away then, too?
She stroked the hair from his forehead. A quiver raced through her.
She loved Brent, but would he see their marriage through?
* * *
Crystal woke up to bright sunshine washing across her face. Brent’s arm was tucked around her waist, holding her close to his hard, masculine body. Although it felt cozy snuggled against him like this, she felt an overwhelming need to put distance between them. She felt guilty about spending the night in Brent’s arms with Evan in the next room. Evan had feelings for her. He’d come here because she’d invited him after Brent had abandoned her at the altar. He had reasonably assumed they would have time, just the two of them, to explore their newfound relationship.
Then Brent had shown up.
She slid sideways, slipping out from under Brent’s arm. He shifted, then rolled onto his back, still asleep. She pushed herself out of bed and pulled on her robe, then opened the bedroom door. As she headed to the kitchen, she could smell fresh brewed coffee.
Oh, damn. That meant Evan was awake.
“Good morning.”
She glanced across the kitchen to see Evan sitting at the round glass table.
“Oh, hi.” Self-consciously, she tugged the sash of her robe a little tighter as she walked toward the coffeepot. She poured herself a mug of coffee and added sugar and cream, then she leaned against the counter and sipped, wildly searching her brain for something to say.
Evan stood up and walked toward her, his face grim.
“I guess it’s time for me to go.”
Oh, God, he knew. Well, of course, he would figure it out pretty quickly when he saw that Brent wasn’t in the sunroom. Maybe he had even heard them last night. Her cheeks flushed as she realized maybe he’d even seen them. He could probably see the backyard out the window of the guest room.
Okay, so taking Brent out to the pool hadn’t been the best idea. But it was as if she’d been obsessed, needing to make love to Brent there, just as she had Evan.
She wanted to tell Evan he shouldn’t leave, but what sense did that make?
“Evan, I’m sorry. When I asked you to come here…” She hesitated, unsure how to describe what her intent had been. Should she really tell him she’d wanted to explore their feelings for each other with that option now cut off so abruptly?
“It’s okay, Crystal. When we came here, we both thought things were over between you and Brent. Now he’s back and things have changed.” He leaned back against the counter, his face drawn in tight lines. “I guess my coming here was a mistake.”
She rested her hand on his arm. “No, not a mistake.” She didn’t want him to think that. Ever. “What we shared was very special. I’ll never forget it.”
He smiled grimly. “In fact, that’s a problem, isn’t it?”
She understood what he was saying. How could they all remain friends with this between them? Brent would never forget that she had slept with his best friend, no matter the circumstance. How could Brent continue his friendship with Evan? How could she?
He squeezed her hand, then moved away. He poured some of the steaming hot coffee into his cup and took a sip, then placed the mug on the counter. “As soon as Brent gets up, I can pack the rest of my stuff,” Evan said. “Unless you’d rather I go right away.”
Oh, God, the problem was, she didn’t want him to go. And she had a sinking feeling that if he went through that door now, she’d never see him again.
She stared at him, unable to utter a word, her heart tearing in two.
He loved her. And as much as she loved Brent, she knew she was falling in love with Evan, too. She didn’t want him to walk out of her life altogether. Her heart ached at the thought she might never see him again.
Sure, she’d almost married Brent, but he’d walked away and … maybe he wasn’t the right man for her. Maybe Evan was. If she let Evan leave now, she’d never know.
If she let him walk out now, she could be making the biggest mistake of her life.
“Crystal? Do I leave now or later?”
She shook her head and set down her coffee mug. “I don’t want you to go at all.”
She stepped toward him and caressed his raspy cheeks, then pushed up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. He hesitated, and she feared he would draw away, but then he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight to his body. Although she had initiated the kiss, his mouth claimed hers with passion, his lips hard on hers. His tongue glided along the seam of her mouth, then pressed inside. She opened, welcoming him, her body sizzling with desire for this man.
At the sound of a clearing throat, Crystal dodged back from Evan. Oh, God, Brent stood in the doorway, staring at them. Guilt surged through her as she glanced at Brent, then away.
The ensuing silence grated on her nerves and sent the tension level in the room skyrocketing. God, she didn’t know what to say.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, Brent broke the silence.
“You’ll notice I’m not leaving.” He folded his arms across his chest. “I intend to fight for you.”
“No need,” Evan said. “We were just saying good-bye.”
Evan walked across the room and picked up his suitcase, which was sitting by the table.
“I’ll go pack the rest of my stuff and be on my way.”
Crystal glanced from one to the other, her stomach clenching. If she didn’t say something … if Evan walked out that door …
Evan stepped through the kitchen doorway to the hall.
“Wait,” she cried.
Evan stopped and turned around. Brent sent her a sharp glance.
“We can’t let him go,” she said.
Brent’s eyebrow arched. “I have absolutely no problem letting him go.”
At his wry tone, Crystal swallowed. How could she tell Brent she wanted Evan to stay? Of course he didn’t want Evan hanging around. He saw him as competition.
And he was competition.
But she had to remember that it wasn’t just Brent’s happiness on the line here. It was hers, too. And Evan’s. And it was important that she get this right. She shouldn’t just fall back into her relationship with Brent because he wanted her to. Maybe she should want to, especially after a two-year relationship and her promise to marry him. But life wasn’t as simple as that. Brent walking out on her opened her eyes to some things. One, that she had strong feelings for Evan. And two, that maybe Brent wasn’t the rock she’d come to believe him to be.
“I know you want Evan to leave. That you want to spend the next two weeks alone with me. I know you want to talk about what happened so we can get past it and move forward with our relationship.” She couldn’t bring herself to mention marriage. There was too much uncertainty inside her.
At the sour expression on his face, she realized that he didn’t want to talk about it at all.
Right, he’s a guy. What was I thinking?
“But … I’m afraid that…” She hesitated. “If Evan goes back now…” She glanced from one to the other. “The way it’ll be between us … the awkwardness. I’m sure we’ll never see Evan again.” She glanced at Brent. “You won’t want him around. You’ll resent him.” She turned to Evan. “And Evan will be uncomfortable being around us.” At the rigid stance of both men, she knew this wasn’t going very well. “You two have been friends for too long.”
She knew how much they meant to each other. How deep their friendship had been. She didn’t want that to end. If there was any way she could salvage that …
“Crystal, you can’t honestly expect us to continue our friendship as if nothing happened,” Brent said.
“No, you’re right. The real issue is that something did happen.” She stood up straight and pushed back her shoulders. “Evan and I have slept together. And we’v
e discovered we have strong feelings for each other.” She stared Brent straight in the eye. “And I don’t think I can just walk away from that.”
“Are you saying you’re choosing him over me?” The pain in Brent’s eyes tore at her heart. “But last night I thought … I was sure you still loved me.”
“I do still love you.”
“Then why would I stay?” Evan asked.
“Because I think I’m falling in love with you, too.”
Ten
“So let me get this straight.” Brent leaned back in his chair and stared at Crystal.
After her shocking statement, they’d decided they needed to regroup. Go outside and get some fresh air. Now they sat at the table on the patio overlooking the pool and the glittering turquoise ocean beyond.
“You want Evan to stay at the villa with us?” Brent continued.
“That’s right.”
“In the next room?”
She hesitated.
His eyebrows arched. “Are you saying I’m going to be in the next room?”
“Well … uh … no.”
Damn, she hadn’t thought this out. She wasn’t sure exactly what she was suggesting. She just knew she needed time to figure things out. And if Evan left this island and went back home, she’d probably never get the chance.
“I assume Crystal doesn’t want me to just be a houseguest on your honeymoon,” Evan said. “Don’t you want to explore your feelings for me? See where that might lead?”
“And how is that going to help us patch things up?” Brent demanded. “I take it you’re suggesting you have sex with him. While I’m sitting in the next room.”
“And I assume she’ll still be having sex with you, too. With me in the next room,” Evan said.
Brent’s hard stare latched on to her. “What exactly are you suggesting, Crystal?”
“Oh, God, I don’t know exactly. This is hard on me, too. I didn’t ask to be put in this situation. If I could unwind the clock to last Saturday, I would. Then you and I would be married now.” A quick glance at Evan and the devastated expression on his face sent her heart clenching. “Except that would be a lie. I guess that’s not what I want at all. All things happen for a reason. I believe that. And this happened so I’d wake up and realize that the attraction I felt for Evan couldn’t be ignored.”
“The attraction you felt for Evan? How long has that been going on?” Brent demanded.
Her stomach fluttered and confusion skittered through her. God, she’d already hurt one marriage because she’d had feelings for another man. Was she destined to ruin her relationship with Brent in the same way?
“It’s not like that,” Crystal responded. “I was attracted to Evan the first time I met him, but I was already going out with you. And I knew I was falling in love with you. So I suppressed my feelings for Evan, assuming they were just an attraction to a handsome, sexy guy. But when I thought you’d left me … when I faced those feelings without you in the picture…” She sucked in a breath. “Brent, if I’m really in love with you … ready to commit to you for the rest of my life…”
Oh, God, could she really say this out loud? She drew in another breath. “Then why am I feeling this way for another man?”
“That’s easy. Because you were confused … hurt…” Brent’s jaw clenched. “Maybe you even wanted to hurt me back.”
Her heart constricted. “No.” She leaned forward and stroked his cheek. “I would never want to hurt you. I hate that this whole thing is hurting you. But…” She didn’t want to say this, but she had to. “If I were to just go ahead and marry you now, I’d always wonder. Should I really be with Evan? Did I choose you just because I met you first? I think in the long run, I would hurt you far more if we wound up getting married, then divorcing later.”
His lips compressed. “We’re not even married and you’re already talking about divorce. I thought you were all about seeing it through the rough patches.”
“So the alternative is staying together despite the fact that I might be in love with someone else? Living a lie?”
He took her hand and drew her closer. “I don’t believe we’ve been living a lie. You love me, I know you do.”
The fierceness of his tone thrilled her. He believed in them, and she felt the heat sizzling between them.
“You have to give me time to be just as sure as you are. But until then, I need to explore my feelings for Evan.”
“So,” Evan said, “you’re saying at the end of this vacation, you’re going to choose between us?”
Brent glared at Evan, then shifted his hard gaze back to her. “Is that true?”
Her stomach twisted at the pain she saw in his face. She drew in a deep breath, then nodded.
* * *
Crystal walked along the beach, her sandals dangling from her fingers. The warm white sand squished between her toes as she walked. She’d had to get away from the building tension between the two men.
Three days had gone by since Brent had arrived. Three shaky days. After their conversation that first day, she and Evan had gone scuba diving, as they’d planned before Brent had arrived, then they’d all had dinner together, which had involved a lot of uncomfortable silences. That night, things got really awkward as bedtime approached, until finally she’d told them the only fair thing to do would be for them to all sleep separately. She needed time to figure all this out.
“Hey there. Beautiful morning.”
Crystal glanced up to see a tall, leggy blonde woman wearing a short red slinky bathing suit cover, sunglasses, and a broad-brimmed straw hat walking along the beach, heading for a set of four lounge chairs with umbrellas. Her long, wavy hair caressed her shoulders and glimmered in the bright sunlight.
“Hi,” Crystal said.
“Which villa are you staying in?” the other woman asked.
“Um … it’s behind that gate right back there.” Crystal pointed behind her at the wooden gate she’d exited to access the beach.
All along the beach were wooden fences that stopped people wandering from the beach onto the villa property beyond and gave privacy to the individual yards and pools. Their pool was well hidden, but the patio that overlooked the private pool offered a view of the ocean beyond.
“That means we’re neighbors. My name’s Sarah.”
Sarah held out her hand and Crystal shook it.
“I’m Crystal.” She glanced around. “It’s pretty quiet. I’m surprised. It’s such a beautiful beach.”
“Well, this stretch of beach is reserved for the villas along here, and there are only eight of them. Right now, I know that includes a honeymoon couple, a couple celebrating their thirtieth wedding anniversary, and six college students sharing one. We’re not likely to see the honeymoon couple, the students will probably spend all their time at the bars, and I’ve seen the older couple taking early morning walks. Then there’s me and my guy. And you. I don’t know about the other three.”
“Actually, I’m part of the honeymoon couple.”
“Oh, sorry. I hope I didn’t embarrass you with that comment.”
“No. Don’t worry about it.”
“So … where’s the other half?”
Crystal’s lips tightened in a straight line. “Well, it’s complicated.”
She didn’t know why she hadn’t just said he was having a nap, or reading the morning paper, or anything that didn’t sound out of the ordinary. Now this Sarah would probably ask her about it. And maybe that’s exactly what she was hoping for. Maybe she needed someone to talk to.
“Complicated? That sounds interesting.” Sarah dropped her beach bag onto the chair. “I’m going to sit and soak in some sun. Want to join me?”
Crystal walked to the chair beside Sarah and dropped her sandals beside it. “Yeah, sure.”
Sarah pulled a large blue-and-red towel from her bag and spread it out on the lounge chair, then she untied her wrap. Crystal’s eyes widened as Sarah opened her top, revealing full round naked breasts.
Crystal had been expecting a bikini top.
As Sarah slipped off the top, her shimmering blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders and around her rosy nipples. She pushed it back out of the way. From the lack of a tan line, clearly this wasn’t the first time she’d been sunbathing like this.
“This is a nude beach?” Crystal asked.
“No. Topless is okay, but keep your pants on.” Sarah laughed. “At least, that’s the official line. But if you want to go all the way, it only matters if someone complains, and then you’ll just get a warning from the management.”
“I see.”
Sarah sat on the chair and stretched out her long legs. She pulled a bottle of sunscreen from her bag and squeezed some onto her palm, then began spreading it over her shoulders and arms. She squeezed out a little more, then started rubbing it over her breasts. Crystal sat down, trying to ignore the woman as she caressed her breasts. It just felt a little too … intimate for a public place. Private beach or no, it was shared by eight villas. Someone might happen by any minute.
“So, why don’t you tell me what’s complicated.” Sarah leaned back in her chair, the brim of her hat covering her eyes but the sun washing over her mostly naked body.
“Well, it’s a long story.” Crystal felt very conspicuous sitting beside the perfectly composed but bare-breasted Sarah, almost as if she should take off her own clothes so she didn’t look out of place.
Sarah’s full lips turned up in a smile. “I don’t mind long stories.”
Crystal glanced at Sarah. Should she really tell this woman what was going on? It was all a little strange and confusing, and most people would think her crazy for inviting Evan on her honeymoon. What would Sarah think of it all?
Crystal had a feeling that Sarah was not at all conventional and that she wouldn’t even be fazed, but that was just a hunch, based on the fact that the woman didn’t mind sunbathing topless.
Sarah tipped her glasses forward and peered over the rims. “I know we’ve just met, but if you’re worried about unloading on a stranger, think about this. Since I am a stranger, it really doesn’t matter what I think. I’m probably way better than talking to a sister or a friend because I’m totally unbiased. And if you don’t live in Chicago, which is where I’m from, we’ll probably never see each other again after this vacation. So feel free to tell me whatever you want.” She pushed her glasses back in place.
