And she was. She finally was.
But when it came to Jake, she had no answers. She wasn’t sure what to make of him. She was glad, though, that she’d shared her heart with him.
As she sank back down into the pillows, pushing the blanket to her calves, she spotted the light on her phone flashing. Grabbing it, she checked quickly for messages. A few sales alerts from Etsy. A note from Lance about a sunset tour in a week. She responded quickly that she’d be back and ready. She scrolled to an e-mail from the ladies who’d been on the stingray private trip earlier in the week. The sister in the purple bikini wrote that she had friends in the Caymans who wanted to do a scuba tour in three days and was that too late? Another note from an earlier inquiry asked if she was still available for a snorkel trip to Eden Rock.
At three in the morning, she smiled and tapped out her replies, confirming yes and yes. She extended her trip and settled back into slumber, grateful that her business seemed back on track. She’d come to the Caymans with only one tour booked, and she’d landed another two, and one more at home.
A star winked in the night sky.
Maybe her luck was turning.
He called Andrew. Told him the latest. He hated ditching a case, but this one was getting far too slippery even for his adventuresome taste. Cops were involved. Arrests were made. The target was onto it. He could smell the ending if he kept on pressing, and it smelled like the kind of trouble he didn’t need in his life. The kind that would land him on the wrong side of the law. In his line of work, he tangoed with that possibility often enough as he bent the rules. One more bend, and he’d break.
“Hey, you gave it your best shot, and I appreciate that,” Andrew said.
“Sorry, man. I really wanted to deliver for you.”
“Me, too,” he said with a sigh. “But that’s the way the cookie crumbles. Sometimes, you can’t right a wrong.”
A pang of regret lodged inside Jake. “Truer words,” he said.
“Besides, it’s probably time for me to go to the SEC and let them know what happened. I’ve been trying to deal with this under the radar, but sometimes you need to call for backup.”
“I hear ya, man. I’m guessing it’s time.”
“You heading back home?”
“I’ve got a flight out of town tonight.”
“I’ll send you the final payment,” Andrew said, and Jake liked being paid but hated being paid for work he couldn’t deliver. He said good-bye, shouldered his bag, and headed to the door of his hotel room.
As he put his hand on the knob, his phone rang. He grabbed it from his pocket and slid his thumb over the screen when he saw it was Kate.
“Are you all packed up and ready to fly?”
“I am indeed.”
“Can you unpack and stay one more night?”
“Why? Don’t tell me it’s about Eli Thompson because I just got off the phone with Andrew.”
“Nope,” she said, a burst of enthusiasm in her tone. “New gig. Just got a call from a corporate bigwig. His nineteen-year-old son is in the Caymans partying it up too hard. He wants to get him out of there and back home before he causes more trouble. The client is in California, so he figures we can get to his son faster than he can.”
“What’s the catch?” Jake asked, his antennae up, as he set down his bag.
“No catch. Just find the guy. I’ve got a few leads as to where he’s been seen. Should be easy.”
He scoffed. “The last job was supposed to be easy. It wasn’t.”
“Oh, excuse me. Did you go into this line of work because it’s simple? Get over it. Move on. Some jobs pan out, and some don’t.”
“Fine,” he huffed. She was right. He couldn’t let his frustrations over Eli affect his approach. Time to move on to the next gig. Besides, he wasn’t annoyed about work. He was annoyed he’d fucked up so badly with Steph. “Give me the details.”
In the morning, Devon handed her a steaming cup of coffee. “You need fuel,” he said.
“I do.”
She downed the coffee, crunched into some toast, then showered and dressed. “I’m ready. Thanks again for letting me stay here.”
“You are welcome anytime,” he said, then patted her on the back as she left to meet her group on the dock, along with the crew for the tour. She’d shoved all thoughts of Jake, diamonds, and heartbreaking stepfathers out of her head. Her sole focus centered on showing her customers how beautiful the islands were. Judging from the sheer number of underwater pictures they took, the smiles on their faces, and the thank-yous she received, she’d done her job. From the caves at Bloody Bay to the parrot fish under the sea, the ocean revived her spirits and reminded her that doing what she loved mattered most.
She’d brought her happy place to others, and for a couple of days it was their happy place, too.
Twenty-eight hours later, he’d found the party boy drunk and sleeping it off at Happy Turtle Cove. Five hours after that, he’d put the guy on a flight back to the United States. And ten minutes later, the dude’s dad called to thank him.
“This means the world to me. I can’t thank you enough for finding my son,” the man said.
“Happy to help. Glad he’s on his way back home.”
“I’m at the airport already, even though he doesn’t arrive for a few hours.”
“Good luck,” Jake said, and it was an easy job, but also a surprisingly rewarding one. Sure, the kid needed some sense knocked into him. And yeah, he needed to stop drinking. But he had a family who cared enough to try to help him. Jake hoped that made the difference in the kid’s life.
He exited the airport to return to his own hotel, and this time he planned to check out for good. The two extra days had been fine, but sleeping in the same room without the woman of his dreams had, to put it mildly, sucked. He couldn’t wait to return to Key Largo and crash in his own bed. Once he was home, he’d figure out a way to properly apologize to Steph. To try again. She’d clearly needed the space, but he had things he wanted to say to her, and he couldn’t risk fucking it up again. A good night’s rest would help reset his mind. Briefly, he wondered what had become of Monica. He hadn’t seen her following him since Clarissa had been cuffed. But that made sense, he reasoned. Monica and Clarissa had been after the same prize, so Monica had no need to follow Jake anymore.
His stomach rumbled as he pulled onto the main road. Up ahead, a convenience store beckoned to him, so he parked and popped in to grab a snack. A bag of pretzels sounded reasonable enough, so he grabbed one and headed for the counter. A cardboard cutout of a coconut behind the counter caught his eye.
A grin took shape across his face as an idea popped into his head fully formed. No need to wait to see her in Florida. The present was now.
Checking the time on his phone, he realized he had an hour before Steph returned from her tour. She’d finish at Stingray City, and he’d have to grovel like he’d never groveled before. He’d acted rash, assuming the worst about Steph because of his fears. But he had to let go of the way Rosalinda had deceived him. He had to move forward, not remain stuck in the hurt of the past. Life was full of risks, and so was love. She was a risk worth taking.
So he went to the car wash.
Her neck was bare. Somewhere in the ocean lay her treasure chest. She didn’t know when she’d lost her necklace, but it had fallen off under the sea. Maybe someone would find a buried treasure at last.
No point in worrying about it. She’d ask her mom to make her a new one. After she said good-bye to the last of the group on the dock, she called her mother.
“Tell me everything. How did it go?”
“It was amazing,” Steph said, unable to contain the smile that spread as she thought of the last thirty-six hours. She shared the highlights as she finished packing gear in her Jeep, parked in the lot near Devon’s snorkel shop. She had some snorkels of his to return. “But I lost my treasure chest necklace, so I was wondering if you know an amazing jewelry craftswoman who could make me a n
ew one?”
“Hmmm,” her mother said, sounding as if she were thinking about it. “Let me see if I can come up with anyone who might possess that skill set. But you need to stop wearing that diving.”
“I know. I know. I hate taking it off.”
“Well, the ocean took it off for you.”
“The ocean always wins.” Steph pushed her sunglasses up on the bridge of her nose and slung a mesh bag on her shoulder. “Speaking of jewelry, any news on leasing that space from Lance’s mom?” she asked as she closed the car door with her hip.
Her mom sighed lightly, and in that sound Steph detected a note of frustration. But her mom tried to sweep it away. “I’m working on it,” she said.
“You mean you need the money for it?”
“Well, money helps,” she said in a too-upbeat tone.
“What about Eli and the alimony? Did you call him back? Is he going to start paying?” she asked as she crossed the gravel lot and headed along the path to Devon’s shop. The afternoon sun warmed her shoulders, and in the distance a pelican dived into the water, chasing an afternoon snack.
Her mother scoffed. “He’s paying, but he’s doing it in the way he thinks is best.”
Steph groaned. “Oh Lord. What does that mean?”
“It means, as usual, his generosity is misdirected. The reason he called the other day was to tell me he’d made a ten-thousand-dollar donation in my name to some charity that builds schools in Africa for children affected by the diamond economy.”
“Oh my God,” Steph said, her insides searing. “He’s obsessed with that charity. He seems to think if he just funnels them money, that absolves him of every misdeed.”
“That seems to be the case. But let’s not worry about him.”
“But how are we going to get you the money for your space?” she asked as she neared the shop. The sounds of Jack Johnson on the radio greeted her ears. “I have some saved up from my last few gigs.”
“First of all, we are not going to. I will. And second, don’t worry about me. I’ll come up with something.”
“I want to help you, though,” Steph said as someone opened the door of the shop.
That someone was Jake. He had a white plastic bag from Island Shine in his hand, and his shades hung on the neck of his gray T-shirt. He locked his gaze on hers, and her stomach pirouetted.
“Mom, I need to go.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“Why are you here?”
He wasted no time. “I need a do-over,” he said, stepping closer to the woman he wanted and needed in his life.
“I thought you were leaving?”
“I was heading to the airport, but I couldn’t leave without finding you and telling you what an astonishingly horrific job I did at apologizing the other day.”
A smirk tugged at the corners of her lips.
“Like, it might have won awards as the worst apology ever,” he added.
“It might have,” she muttered.
“I’ve been fielding calls from the Guinness Book of World Records requesting it be added to their record book.”
The smirk turned into a tiny grin. “It belonged there.”
“And I had to try again,” he said, drinking her in with his eyes. The sunlight shone on her blonde hair, making it appear golden. The freckles on her nose were an adorable constellation. He wanted to kiss them all. “This time, I want to apologize properly. With gifts. Because I’m pretty sure when you’re”—he stopped to tap his chest—“a total ass to the woman you’re crazy about, the least you can do is give her a gift to say you’re sorry.”
She raised her chin, a curious look in her blue eyes. “What have you got?”
“Only the finest,” he began as he dipped his hand into the flimsy white bag and produced a coconut air freshener. “For your car back home. Now I know what you’re thinking. How could I do something so generous? I picked this not only because it smells awesome, but because I also hope to be spending more time in your car, since I still want to spend more time with you.”
She reached for it, taking the coconut cutout without touching his fingers. “OK. So my car will smell nice. That’s a start.”
“I also got you this,” he said, fishing for the next item in the bag. A Ghirardelli chocolate bar. “The kind you like,” he said, handing it to her.
She took it, and this time he felt the barest trace of a touch from her fingertips. “I like Ghirardelli.”
“I remember . . . and most of all, I want to properly apologize with this card,” he said, and grabbed a greeting card of a black-and-white cartoon cat. The inside was blank. But he’d written his own inscription.
When she opened the card, the small grin morphed into a full-blown smile, complete with laughter, as she read aloud the note. “Sorry I behaved like a cat.”
She closed the card and looked him in the eyes. A surge of happiness spread through him. He hadn’t won her yet, but he hoped he was at least halfway there.
“I’m sorry, Steph. I’m truly sorry. I want to try again with you. For real,” he said, then reached for her arms, unable to resist touching her. He ran his fingers along her warm skin. “Because I’m in love with you.”
In seconds, her arms were around his neck, and her lips were on his, and all the past was erased in a kiss that marked this starting over.
Tender and warm, it melted his heart.
She broke the kiss and pressed her forehead to his, keeping her arms laced around him, the gifts in her hands. “I’m sorry, too. I’m sorry for all the times I doubted you. And I’m sorry when I acted like a cat as well. But I’m so glad you’re here, and I want to try again and not be cats.”
He laughed deeply and brushed another kiss on her lips. “Let’s do it.”
She let go of the embrace and stuffed his gifts into the bag. She dipped her head to his neck and whispered in his ear. “How do you feel about make-up sex?”
“I just need to drop something in the back room of the shop, OK?” she said to Devon as she race-walked through his shop. The afternoon rush was over, so the store was empty.
He was working behind the counter. His eyes drifted from her to Jake. She held Jake’s hand.
“Hey, Devon. Nice to meet you. Steph says good things about you,” Jake said, and she squeezed his hand.
Devon rolled his eyes. “You think I was born yesterday? Yes, you can use the back room. Just be quiet.”
“You’re the best,” she called out, and in seconds, she’d shut and locked the storage room where Devon kept extra snorkels, masks, and fins.
She backed up against the wall and yanked Jake against her, and all the softness of their reunion kiss vanished in this greedy kiss. It had only been two days without him, but she’d missed him, and she’d longed for this. For this kind of connection, for this kind of moment. Frenzied, desperate, and hungry.
This was the way it should be. Lovers might hurt each other, but they find ways to move on and stay together. She was so glad that all their mistakes were forgivable, because she wanted this—the chance to explore all that they could have together. She’d been wary from the start, reluctant to give her heart. But just because Eli and Duke had been dishonest didn’t mean Jake was. He was good, and forthright, and she refused to let the past stop her from trusting the man she loved.
She was going all in.
“I missed you,” she said.
“I missed you, too,” he murmured as he pushed up the skirt of her sundress and tugged down her bikini bottoms. “Show me. Show me how much,” he rasped in her ear, then his fingers were between her legs, and she gasped, and he groaned, and she couldn’t wait any longer.
In a mad rush, she unzipped his shorts, and he produced a condom, and then he was sliding into her.
The start of a needy moan tried to escape her lips, but he covered her mouth with his palm as he thrust. “We have to be quiet,” he whispered, and she nodded her agreement.
Hell, she’d say yes to anything right now, so
long as he didn’t stop. He was deep inside her, and pleasure sparked wildly all through her body. She looped her arms around his neck, and he took her like that, against the door, in a snorkel shop, delivering the best make-up sex ever. Soon, she was digging her nails into his back, biting down on his shoulder, and riding to the other side of bliss with him.
Right here with him.
Where she belonged.
She was happy.
Radiantly happy.
She might not have accomplished all that she’d come to the Caymans for, but she’d gained something else in return. She’d been solely focused on her business since it blew apart, but she’d learned business was better when she had someone she loved and trusted by her side. Jake was that guy, no questions asked.
After she said good-bye to her old friend, she held hands with Jake as they walked along the boardwalk outside the snorkel shop, under the clear blue sky.
In her other hand, she held the bag of gifts he’d given her. She loved the gifts. Each one was perfect for her.
Then it hit her.
Like an anvil dropped from a ten-story building.
Like a meteor crashing into the yard.
Right under her nose.
She stopped in her tracks.
She whispered his name as a sense of awe descended on her.
“Yes?”
Jake had taught her that knowing the target was the best weapon you had at your disposal. And boy, did she ever know the target. “I know where the diamonds are.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“Are you sure you want to?” she asked the question yet another time.
The Sapphire Heist (A Jewel Novel Book 2) Page 16
