While the couples had opted for cozier chaise seating, Ray and Paula lounged on one of the built-in sectionals. So did Linus and Barker. The two men enjoyed their beer and talked politics and sports. Meanwhile, Paula and Ray watched the Atlantic zip by beneath steadily dimming skies.
“Was that a tone I heard or just my imagination?” Paula grinned, remarking on Ray’s sigh.
“A tone? ’Course not.”
The response drew quick laughter from Paula. “Come on now, it’s not so bad...or is it?”
Rayelle snorted. “I wonder why the first thing a woman tries to do when she falls in love is see that all her friends do too.”
A sultry smile curved Paula’s mouth. “In the case of your friend, I have to say she’s no slouch in the matchmaking department.”
Ray slid a sly glance across the deck to where Linus and Barker were embroiled in a fierce discussion over the current NFL season.
“He is quite...something, isn’t he?” Ray noted.
Paula tilted her head in acknowledgment. “Agreed,” she said.
“And then there’s Linus. Talk about something.” Ray noticed the stunned look Paula sent her then.
“How do you know Linus is for me?” Paula demanded.
Ray replied at first with a lazy shrug. “Well...there is the fact that Sophia told me,” she admitted, which Paula confirmed with laughter.
“Then there’s the fact that Linus Brooks watches you like he wants to devour you.”
Paula muttered a sudden curse as a vivid image flashed of her on the floor of her foyer with Linus Brooks doing precisely that. Determinedly, she willed the image to ease its torture.
“He seems like the kind of man who could hide a thing like that if he wanted to,” Ray went on. “And it doesn’t seem like he wants to,” she finished.
“No...no he doesn’t.” Paula left the sectional and went to study the view from the chrome railing that outlined the luxury boat.
Ray joined her there. “History?” she guessed.
“Mmm...a bad one,” Paula shared.
Ray smiled. “That can’t be totally true. In your best friend’s defense, she’s no slouch in the matchmaking department either.”
Paula shook her head. “Linus and me, we...we’re different people now. There’re just some things you can’t go back to.”
“Is there still love there?”
“Why?”
Ray shrugged. “Nothing...maybe it’s that you won’t go back instead of can’t go back.”
“So?” Paula felt herself bristling.
“Wouldn’t is final. Couldn’t...there’s the chance that things may change.”
Paula arched a brow in Ray’s direction. “You sure you don’t have a law degree hanging in your office?”
Ray laughed. “Quite sure!”
“There are some things that can’t be fixed, Ray,” Paula said, sobering. “Not even with love.”
“Okay.”
“Love’s got no chance when communication’s out of the picture.” Paula knew she was trying to convince herself even as she spoke the words.
“So you’re not talking to him?” Ray probed.
“I can’t. Not about this. It’s been too long, and being reminded of who I was then—” Paula stopped herself, waving a hand to signal she’d had enough.
“I get it, Paula, and I’m sorry for prying.” Ray gave another shrug. “Hazard of the job I guess.”
Paula laughed then. “Mine too. Tell me, do you think there are some memories that are worth trying to fix so they end better when you remember them?”
Again, Ray shrugged. “I can’t think of any memories I have worth digging up to fix. Guess in the end, you have to weigh the strength of the memory.”
Paula smiled. “I take back what I said about the law degree—a psychology degree is what you should have.”
There was laughter before quiet settled over them. It covered the entire deck as everyone focused on the horizon. There, the sun began its descent behind the waves. It was truly a glorious sight, made more spectacular by the anticipation of the days of relaxation that stretched before them.
“Cap estimates we should be there within the hour.” Eli’s voice surged resonantly across the deck once the setting concluded.
“He suggested we spend the rest of the trip on the bridge deck. We could have drinks around the fire,” he continued. “With the sun down, the chill’s gonna set in quick.”
Rook Lourdess stood suddenly and hoisted his fiancée over his shoulder. “I like the way you think, man.”
“Damn right,” Tigo agreed, standing as well to cart away his wife.
The sun deck gradually cleared. Paula remained, wanting a few extra minutes to enjoy the unmatched view of the skies. The space was brilliant, with a colorful mix of reds, blues and purples. Even amidst the darkening skies, the waters were still a vibrant cerulean blue. She only wanted time alone to send up a fast prayer for strength and diplomacy over the next couple of weeks. If Linus planned to rile her with his incessant staring and smoldering...everything...she was going to need every drop of strength and diplomacy she could muster. Not only muster, but then hang on to. It was all too clear that her willpower stores were pitifully bare when it came to him.
At least there was still the Miranda Bormann issue to be solved. There had been no new developments, but Paula had to admit that she was enjoying getting her hands into another mystery. In her current position, such tasks were in the hands of her staff.
She was pretty much set on the plan to step away from the DA’s office. Until now, she hadn’t been so set on what her next move would be once the big desk was in her rearview.
Miranda Bormann’s curious situation had helped remove those blinders and given her the clarity required to navigate the next chapter of her life. Taking on cases of her choosing, bypassing public scrutiny over those choices—to an extent—yes, that appealed to her greatly.
And beyond that? Would she be content with only her career? She was sure her life would be a fulfilling one, but would it compare to what she’d pretty much turned her back on since she and Linus had parted ways? Love and forever weren’t in the cards for her and any man—unless he was Linus Brooks. Unfortunately, the man couldn’t be Linus Brooks.
Talk to him...
Paula squeezed her eyes shut and decided she’d had enough of the view. Linus apparently had not. He was there when she stepped back from the rail. There was no mistaking that it was his frame crowding her.
“It’s all yours.” She sighed, still trying to back away.
But he wouldn’t allow it. “Is it?” he murmured, lips close to her ear before he applied a faint suckle.
Paula tried to disentangle herself, but Linus held her fast.
“How’s your—your staff coming along with the investigation?” she asked, hoping to put things on a track she could handle. “Have they found anything to connect your projects to Hayden Bormann?”
“Not yet.” Linus’s attention to her ear cooled. “I hope it stays that way. Doesn’t sit well with me or my partners, thinking we could be involved in something like this. Have you talked to Miranda Bormann? Does she have anything more to add besides what was in that dossier you left with me?”
Paula moved closer to the railing, taking delight in the sea air hitting her face. “She thinks she might have something that could show Hayden Bormann’s suspected clients that he’s dealing falsely with them.”
“Like evidence?” Linus watched Paula shrug her confirmation.
“Just speculation on her part for now. She’ll send me whatever else she finds, and we’ll go from there afterward.”
Silence held for several minutes, and then Paula was easing back from the rail, once again trying to distance herself.
Once again, Linus wouldn’t allow it. “It wasn’t abo
ut you, Paula.”
She inhaled sharply. His words stilled her more effectively than a physical embrace ever could.
Linus shifted then, leaning against the rail to watch her. “That night wasn’t about you,” he said. “What I did—it wasn’t directed at—at you. I...you don’t have any reason to believe me when I tell you I never would’ve tried to hurt you that way.”
“I know that, L. I know you wouldn’t have resorted to violence no matter what you...found out.”
“I didn’t give a damn about what I found out, Paula.” He left the rail to crowd her against it once more. “What I found out couldn’t have mattered less to me.”
“But you said—”
“You knew I had money—that I came from money.” He grimaced as though he despised the fact. “Some people with money get very paranoid over new people trying to enter their world.”
“I didn’t want your money.”
“My brother didn’t care that you didn’t. He wanted you gone and did what he could to make that happen. He succeeded.”
“Your brother.” Her tone was a whisper. “You never said—”
“Because I hadn’t seen him in six years. He picked that night to show up with that report on you.”
Paula smiled. “Didn’t think I was that important.”
“You were going to be my wife. You were important, alright.” He smoothed a hand over his jaw and sighed. “Our grandmother had passed away. She left me everything.”
Understanding crept into Paula’s light eyes. “A new wife might have taken your brother’s seat on the gravy train.”
It was Linus’s turn to smile. “Somethin’ like that.”
“That’s it?” Paula tilted her head. “There’s nothing else to the story?”
“Nothing that matters,” he countered without hesitation. “What I said, Paula. It was—I was never angry with you. That emotion was all for my brother and you—you just happened to be the unlucky recipient.”
Paula nodded, inwardly telling herself to stifle the flurry of questions that had lain dormant for so long. She couldn’t quite manage it.
“Is your brother older or younger?”
“Older.” Linus didn’t seem to understand the simple query. “Why?”
Paula gave a curious smile. “Just interesting that your grandmother would leave everything to you—guess your brother’s paranoia set her on edge too.”
“Somethin’ like that.” Linus reiterated his earlier response. Then he shook his head as if to clear it. “I just needed you to know.”
“And that’s all I need to know?”
“As far as that’s concerned, yes.”
Accepting, Paula nodded and prepared to move past him. Linus prevented the move one final time.
“As far as we’re concerned,” he said, “you should know I don’t plan to lose you again.”
“Linus, we can’t—”
“We have. We will.” He sealed the space remaining between them and left her no room to retreat. “I think you know I don’t mind pressing an issue if I have to.” He left the soft threat lingering on the air, kissed Paula’s neck and left her alone on the deck.
* * *
Forty minutes later, the group had returned to the sun deck. The spot was the best place to observe their approach to the island. Claudette’s Key was less than ten miles off the coast of Finley Cay, another island that rested along the chain of uncharted destinations amid the tropical waters of The Bahamas.
From the deck, the villa appeared a gleaming oasis in the middle of nowhere. According to Eli, Tigo and Linus, the private island was said to be a botanical wonderland, home to an exquisite array of flora and fauna. Its bird species were said to be of particular beauty.
The birds were presumably tucked away in their nests when the Idella pulled into its slip at the villa’s private deck. There was only the rustle of wind between the healthy leaves of towering palms that dotted the landscape. For a while, the travelers could only stand in awe of the night sky that appeared to mingle shades of dark blues and purples. The faint glow of lightning flickered behind low-hanging clouds. By contrast, a pool shimmered with emerald waters illuminated by submerged lighting. The pool encircled the entire villa and could be accessed from virtually anywhere.
The passengers disembarked and made their way down the long pier leading to their lodging for the two-week stay. The villa was a stunning work of wood, brick, stone and marble. Its Aztec themes were evident in the furnishings, statues and architecture. The design was airy with the fresh scent of sea and foliage circulating throughout. The villa exuded an exotic openness as well as a cozy warmth heightened by its color scheme of soothing tans, beiges, browns, golds and creams.
Everyone dispersed to take their own informal tours of the vast structure and to locate their quarters. The Idella’s crew would handle transporting baggage from the boat to the specific suites.
Paula counted herself among the lucky few when she arrived in the suite to find her luggage already waiting. Finding her things all accounted for, however, wasn’t nearly as satisfying as her accommodations.
Via suite access, there was the option of taking a short flight of stone steps down to the pool or remaining on the private patio, where a two-person in-ground awaited. The small, square lounge pool sat beneath a vibrant palm and was shielded by waist-high hedges that opened out toward the endless waters.
After a full day of travel, Paula had decided to turn in early and rest up for the full day of sun and fun awaiting her tomorrow. She quickly reconsidered the idea.
No one had said a thing about her own private pool just a few steps outside her room. Sleep could wait. Sleep wasn’t even on her radar. She rooted around inside one compartment of a large duffle until she found a two-piece to suit her needs. It didn’t take long for her to strip off her travel clothes and slip into relaxation. That relaxation amplified when she settled into her pool to find the water soothingly heated. A built-in timer set the water to warm once the sun went down and the island was flooded with cooler night air.
The pool’s interior was fashioned into makeshift seating that resembled armchairs. Relaxation indeed. Paula reclined and happily allowed the heat, fragrant air and captivating night sky to whisk her into oblivion.
It worked...for a while. Then she found her gaze drifting along the striking beachfront. The white sands appeared vivid under the cover of dark. The contrast made her think of Linus and how striking his body would appear against the gleaming beach. Moreover, she imagined what she would look like, feel like against him—against the gleaming beach.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she silently willed away the images. It was no use, of course. She’d been denied Linus Brooks’s erotic skill for way too long. Now, she was suddenly privy to an abundance of it, and willing it away was an impossibility if there ever was one. With that in mind, Paula tried to wedge in additional ways to douse the intensity of those images. She recalled their conversation on the yacht. The fact that she’d been the target of an intense background check was almost as curious as the fact that Linus had never mentioned he had a sibling.
He’d given her no reason for the omission, but it was clear he and his brother weren’t a close pair. Especially with their grandmother bypassing the elder brother in favor for the younger to stand as heir to her money. What was that about?
Nothing that matters, he’d said.
Nothing that matters, and yet he’d returned from the meeting with a brother he’d never mentioned, and dissolved into a rage that had him tossing furniture around like it was paper. On top of that, he now had no intentions of serving up any kind of explanation. Some apology.
Paula pursed her lips over the annoying truth. They were almost married, for goodness’s sake! She’d tried not to look too stricken when he’d said it earlier. She was sure she hadn’t done the best job. How could she? He
’d said it so matter-of-factly.
You were going to be my wife.
Of course she’d known, hoped they were heading that way. Hearing him say it though...confirming that he’d wanted the commitment too...it had almost stopped her heart.
His brother though...his brother had hated the idea of them. He’d hated it so much, he’d dug up every dark element of her past and compiled it all to turn Linus against her. But to what end? Sure, she and Linus had parted ways, but the relationship between the brothers remained torn. Linus was still the sole recipient of their grandmother’s estate. The lawyer in her warned that whatever it was he wouldn’t share was something she needed to know. He’d made it sound as though the rest of the story was separate, as if it had no bearing on them.
Paula knew better—just as she knew having the rest of the story was only important if she planned to give Linus the second chance he wanted.
He wanted? Didn’t she want the same? The girl in her wanted it. Paula shook her head quickly while submerging her shoulders in the warm water. The woman wasn’t interested. Peace. No risks. No heartache. Again, Paula grimaced, knowing full well that a life of security and peace was no guarantee of avoiding heartache.
She shivered beneath the steamy water then—not out of soothing comfort, but uncertainty. Before her frenzied thoughts waged more war on her mind, she made a hasty exit from the pool. Sleep had suddenly become the only idea she wanted to entertain. She crossed the stone patio and was already peeling away the bottom of the black-and-tan swimsuit. There was a lot to be said for the feeling of absolute privacy in and out of doors. She entered the suite, pulling away the suit’s halter-style top. The room was aglow from the brass lanterns placed throughout the sizable space of light brick and rich wood.
The lanterns held fat, battery-powered candles that doused the area in gold. Paula let her top fall to the dark travertine floor as she crossed it on her way to the wide bed waiting in its alcove of cream-colored brick. Relishing her surroundings and the sheer decadence of the moment, she leaned on one of the huge beechwood columns that covered the room.
Seductive Memory Page 9
