by P. J. Mellor
They agreed on the price, and Will handed over his card and signed.
The ring burning a hole in his pocket, he ran home for a quick shower and another shave before heading out to the yacht.
After changing clothes three times, he was on his way, the wind whistling by him as he headed full throttle across the waves.
Salsa Time was not where he left it.
Grabbing his binoculars, he scanned three hundred sixty degrees of nothing but blue water. Where the hell was it?
“Time’s flying, King, think! Where would a boat that size be able to anchor?” The answer, assuming Salsa Time was still in the area, was a select number of coves. Bearing a sharp starboard, he headed for the first one, his hull barely touching the tops of the waves.
He breathed a sigh of relief as he rounded the tip of a barrier island and saw Salsa Time anchored in the deepest part of the protected body of water.
Jumping to the slip, he cast on his bowline and lurched up the ladder.
“Oh!” A pretty older lady in a polka-dot swimsuit with an old-fashioned skirt sloshed her drink when Will jumped down onto the deck.
“Where’s Beth?”
“Who? I don’t know who you are, but you can’t go in there,” she said when he strode to the sliding glass door of the aft salon. She picked up a walkie-talkie. “Kenny! Leonard! Someone get out here immediately! We have an intruder!”
Three men in white uniform jackets headed his way across the salon.
Will held up his hand. “I’m just here to talk to the owner—”
“The owner lives in Maui. You’re trespassing,” the largest of the men, one with no neck, said in a gravelly voice. “Leave before we throw you overboard.”
“No, you don’t understand. I need—”
“And we need you to leave,” the taller of the three said.
“I’m not leaving until I talk to Beth,” he said, dodging them and heading for the stairs leading to the sleeping quarters.
Tall Guy grabbed the edge of Will’s shirt, halting his progress. “Beth? Beth Simpson?”
“Um, yes?” How had he not even known her last name?
“Kenny!” No Neck grabbed Tall Guy’s arm. “Privileged information, man. You could lose your job.”
“It’s okay,” Tall Guy said, shaking off No Neck’s hold. “I know who he is. I mean, I’ve seen him around. He’s a friend of Beth’s.”
“You call her by her first name?” Seemed kind of odd, considering the formality of their uniforms.
“Why wouldn’t we call a staff member by her first name?”
“Staff member?” She’d said she owned the yacht.
“Yeah.” Tall Guy looked over his shoulder and lowered his voice. “She worked as the diving instructor for the previous tenants. When they left early, she was out of a job, lucky girl. The new family isn’t much fun.”
Shoving aside the relief he felt at the realization he wouldn’t have to ask Beth to lower her standard of living, he fought the panic his next thought provoked. “Where did she go?”
Tall Guy shrugged. “Home, I guess. Left for the airport this morning. But I heard her making a call to change her departure. I don’t know when her flight leaves, but you may still be able to catch her.”
“Thank you!” He pumped Tall Guy’s hand and ran for the ladder.
Jumping from his boat as soon as it bumped the rubber surrounding his dock, he ran for the house, dialing directory assistance on the way.
Crystal Key Airport was small, with only one ticketing counter. As luck would have it, he knew the attendant who answered and was able to convince her to check and see if Beth had left the island.
“No,” Roberta, an old girlfriend from high school, whispered into the phone. “She hasn’t checked in yet.”
“What time is her flight?” He paced the entry hall.
“I’m sorry, sir, I can’t give you that information.”
“Damn it, Berta, I have to know!”
“She was here earlier and checked her bags, but she hasn’t checked in at the gate,” Roberta whispered. “According to the itinerary, she changed her flight, but I can’t get into the screen for the update without a supervisor to key in the access code. I’m sorry,” she said in a normal voice.
“Thanks. I appreciate what you were able to tell me. Can you tell me when the next flight takes off?”
“Yes, sir,” came her chirpy reply. “There’s one more flight out for the mainland tonight, at eleven fifty-five. But you need to allow at least an hour for check-in.”
After thanking Roberta, he resumed pacing, raking his hands through his hair.
Where could Beth be? He had less than four hours to find her.
He tried Nick’s first, with no luck. Along the way to the dive shop, he stopped at Hooper’s ice-cream shop, the video store, and walked through just about every place they’d seen when they were together.
No Beth.
Defeated, he trudged toward the dive shop. Something about being around diving equipment soothed him. Maybe he’d luck out and Beth would be there, since she shared his affinity for diving.
No surprise to find the store empty. It seemed to be the way his luck was running.
Jack, his part-timer, looked up from counting money. “Hey, boss man, I didn’t expect to see you tonight. Did your lady catch up with you?”
Will’s heart stumbled. “Beth? Beth was here?”
Jack nodded. “Shit. Now I have to start counting all over again.” He looked up at Will. “Oh, yeah, that was her. Beth. She came in a couple times this morning.” He grinned, exposing a mouthful of braces. “She’s hot.”
Fists clenched, Will spoke slowly. “Beth. You said she was here. Did she say where she was going?”
Nodding, Jack held up his finger. “Okay, I may not be exact on the money thing, but I’m close. Beth? Oh, yeah, she was on her way to the airport. Said she had a plane to catch for home.”
“Did she say when her flight was?” Will could barely choke out the words.
“Sorry. I didn’t listen too close after she told me she wanted to talk to you. Tonight, I think.”
Will knocked over a display on his way to the door, then ran smack into Chris.
“Dude!” Chris said, steadying Will. “Where you going?”
“Beth!” Will and Jack said.
“Did you give Will her note?” Chris asked Jack, stopping Will in his tracks.
“Oh, man, I totally forgot.” Jack picked up and put down several pieces of paper. “It’s here somewhere.”
“I saw you put it in the register, dude.”
“Oh, yeah. Right.” Jack opened the register and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “Sorry, I forgot,” he said, holding the paper out to Will.
He ripped it from Jack’s grasp and unfolded it, his hands shaking.
Will,
Something funny happened while I was in Crystal Key. I fell in love. But you probably already know that. I’m not who you think I am. But, by now, you probably already know that, too. I switched my flight to tomorrow. If you’re willing to listen to my lame explanation, meet me at Nick’s at midnight.
All my love, Beth
Will’s feet floated on the old cobblestone walk on the way to Nick’s. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he may have kissed Jack.
A glance at his watch had him picking up the pace. He wanted everything to be perfect when Beth arrived.
Beth paused to wipe her sweating hands on her denim miniskirt, then pushed open the door to Nick’s, her heart in her throat.
What if it was too late? What if Will hated her for lying to him?
She took a deep breath. If he could hate her so easily, he wasn’t the man for her, despite what her aching heart may try to tell her.
The hostess grinned when Beth walked in and motioned toward the bar, where a bottle of champagne chilling in a silver bucket with two crystal flutes were waiting.
And Will.
He smiled and stood as she approac
hed. That was a good sign, wasn’t it?
“Hello, Beth.” He just stood there.
Blinking back tears, she said, “I can explain—”
In the next heartbeat, he was holding her, covering her face with kisses.
Behind him, she saw the hostess dabbing a tissue to her eyes.
“It doesn’t matter.” He placed a lingering kiss on her lips. “Nothing matters except I love you. And you love me.”
“But I lied. I—”
“I wasn’t totally honest with you, either, sweetheart.”
“I don’t understand. You don’t own the dive shop?” Not that she cared, but she’d sort of been counting on working there if they stayed together.
“No, I own the dive shop. But I also own this place. And the bar next door.” He shrugged. “As for you not owning Salsa Time, babe, you have no idea how relieved I am! I mean, I make a decent living, but—” Her hand on his mouth silenced him.
“Shh. It doesn’t matter. Heck, I’d live on your boat or even camp out on the beach, as long as we’re together.”
“The beach, huh? That’s a pretty tall order for a girly-girl. Ow! If I agree to finance your education and marry you, will you stop abusing my poor arm?”
She sobered. “Is that a proposal?”
He took a box from the jacket draped on the barstool next to him.
Blinking back tears, she looked at the ring nestled in black velvet, a pearl-and-ruby version of her dive ring.
Will dropped to one knee, amid hoots from the staff and customers. “Damn straight. So, what do you say?”
Dropping to her knees in front of him, she slid her arms around his neck. “What took you so long?”
All characters and places in this book have no existence outside of the imagination of the author. Events depicted are purely fictional and are not inspired by any person living or dead.
APHRODISIA BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2010 by P.J. Mellor
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
Aphrodisia and the A logo Reg. U.S. Pat. TM Off.
ISBN: 978-0-7582-5657-7
