Falling For A Stranger

by Barbara Freethy

  "You can't tell them," she said quickly.

  "Why not?"

  "I have my reasons."

  "Tell me what they are."

  "I can't."

  "Then I'll make some calls."

  This time it was Ria who grabbed his arm. "Drew, you can't do that."

  "I need to know why. Are you in trouble?"

  "I'm trying to avoid being in trouble," she said pointedly.

  "Maybe I can help."

  "You can help by leaving me alone. Just go away and forget you ever knew me."

  Considering the fact that he'd been dreaming about her nonstop for the last five months, and for the year before that, he doubted that would be possible. "I'm going to need more information." He glanced at her dark jacket, at the yacht club emblem on the chest pocket. "Do you work for the yacht club?"

  She hesitated, then nodded, and said, "Yes. I give sailing lessons and run private boat charters."

  "So being lost at sea didn't make you lose your love for the water?"

  "The sea is the one place where I never feel scared. I trust the ocean to do what it's meant to. People are much more unpredictable."

  Her cryptic words were tinged with pain and bitterness, maybe even a little anger, but he didn't think all of her emotions were about his unexpected appearance. "I can't just walk away, Ria. Not like this."

  She let out a frustrated sigh. "Look, we had an incredible night together, Drew. I'll never forget it, but it's not going to happen again. I'm not that woman anymore, and I never will be again."

  "Why not? What happened to you? What changed? "

  "Everything," she said with a wave of her hand. "My whole world is different now. And there's no room for you in it. I'm sorry if that hurts your feelings, but that's the way it is."

  "This isn't about hurt feelings. If you're not interested, I can take it."

  "Then why are we still talking?" she challenged.

  "Because your behavior is odd, and your explanations don't make sense. I feel like you're saying one thing with your words, but your eyes tell another story."

  "That is crap," she said angrily. "You are reading way too much into my desire not to speak to you anymore. I'm leaving."

  She spun on her heel, and he knew she was three seconds from disappearing out of his life for the third time.

  "I have your necklace," he said abruptly.

  Her step faltered. She turned slowly back to face him. "What did you say?"

  "The gold chain with the heart entwined around an emerald. You said it belonged to your grandmother. I have it."

  "Where did you find it?"

  "In the sea, near the site of the explosion. It floated right past me when I was looking for you. For a few minutes, I had renewed hope that you were close by, but that hope eventually died."

  She put a hand to her neck, as if she could still feel the chain. "It came off when I jumped overboard. I felt it slip away, but I couldn't stop to look for it. I had to get away from the boat."

  "Do you want it back?"

  "Yes."

  "Then we'll have to meet again. When?"

  "You could leave it for me at the yacht club."

  "Do you really think you're going to get off that easy? You want the necklace, Ria, you'll have to talk to me. Can you meet me tonight?"

  She shook her head. "No."

  "What about tomorrow?"

  She hesitated, indecision in her gaze. "I'm teaching most of the day. Weekends are busy. But if you want to meet me here at five o'clock, I should be done by then."

  "All right. I'll meet you at five. And just so you know—even though you're not happy to see me, I'm very happy to see you. I'm glad you're not dead."

  "I am dead, Drew. Ria Hastings, the girl you met, died in an explosion off the Isla de los Sueños. I'm Tory Harper now. New name, new start, clean slate. After tomorrow, we say goodbye, and we move on. Okay?"

  "Why do you need a fresh start?"

  "I can't tell you why. But it's important. So do we have a deal?"

  He could see impatience in her gaze, a need to lock him down, have him make a promise not to threaten her new life, but he wasn't quite ready to do that. "I'll let you know tomorrow."

  It wasn't the answer she wanted. She bit back something, then turned and strode away, her body as stiff as a poker. She was furious, but more importantly, she was also scared. And it was the fear in her eyes that wouldn't let him say goodbye or promise not to ever bother her again. It was ingrained in him to help people who were in trouble. And Ria was in trouble.

  "Drew?"

  The irritated voice of his brother, Burke, drew his head around. Aiden and Burke were walking toward him. He'd forgotten all about them, all about the boat. He'd seen Ria and everything else had vanished.

  "Where the hell did you go?" Burke demanded, anger in his blue eyes. "We've been waiting ten minutes for you."

  "I saw someone I knew," he replied.

  "Yeah, you almost broke your neck getting off the boat," Aiden put in. "Who was that woman?"

  "Someone I thought was dead."

  Enlightenment dawned in Aiden's eyes. "Wait a second. Is that the same woman you thought you saw before?"

  He nodded. "Yeah, it turns out she survived. She's very much alive."

  "Well, that's lucky."

  "Yeah, lucky," Burke echoed, an odd look in his eyes. "What's her story?"

  "Not sure yet. We're going to meet tomorrow, and she'll fill me in."

  "Okay, so let's get back to the reason we came down here," Aiden interrupted. "Are you guys in or out?"

  "I'm in," he said impulsively, trying to tell himself that the fact that Ria worked at the yacht club had nothing to do with his decision.

  "Great," Aiden said with happy surprise. "Burke?"

  "Why not? It's been too long since I let you talk me into something stupid, Aiden. I'm overdue."

  Aiden grinned. "We're going to have a good time—we'll be the three amigos."

  "If you call us that, I'm not going to do it," Burke said with a warning frown.

  "Yeah, deal breaker for me, too," Drew agreed.

  "Fine," Aiden said. "We should celebrate. Sara is tied up with Emma, so I'm free. Let's go to the bar at the yacht club. The first round is on me."

  Chapter Five

  Emma walked into the apartment she shared with her fiancé and yelled, "Max?" When there was no reply, she turned to Sara. "He's not here." She held up the bag they'd gotten from the drugstore. "Time for the moment of truth."

  Sara looked less than thrilled. "I feel sick to my stomach."

  "Could be nerves or morning sickness. Only one way to find out."

  "I don't know if I'm ready," she said as she reluctantly took the bag.

  "Come on, get it over with, so we know if our next move is a round of drinks or a gallon of ice cream."

  "Okay, I'll do it. It's going to be fine, right?"

  "Whatever happens," Emma reassured her. "It's not like you're sixteen and knocked up. You're an adult, an attorney, and you're engaged to the love of your life. Everything is good."

  "Exactly. Everything is great, but I'm afraid a baby will mess things up. Aiden and I aren't married yet. And we weren't planning on having kids for a while. We wanted to figure out our career plans first. This is going to change everything, and I honestly don't know how Aiden will take it."

  The fear in Sara's eyes reminded Emma of the little girl she'd grown up with, the kid who was afraid to do anything wrong for fear her father would hate her even more. Steven Davidson had really done a number on his daughter, and Emma still disliked him for that.

  "Aiden isn't your father," she said. "He loves you, and if you're pregnant, he's going to be stunned but thrilled. You always wanted a big family, Sara. Things are going to work out the way they're meant to work out. Now go take the test."

  As Sara disappeared into the bathroom, Emma walked into the kitchen. She wanted to have wine and ice cream waiting. Depending on the outcome, they'd celebrate
appropriately. As she passed by the kitchen counter, her gaze caught on the big binder she and Sara had put together for their double wedding.

  Max and Aiden both joked about the size of that notebook, but she and Sara had had a lot of fun putting together ideas for flowers, cakes, reception sites, and wedding venues. In truth, they'd started planning their weddings when they were twelve years old. Now, the idea of doing it together seemed unbelievable but also a little magical. Last week, they'd finally set the date, picked the church and put down a deposit for a reception in the garden of an old Victorian hotel.

  If Sara were pregnant, some, if not all, of their plans would change. It made her a little sad to think they might have to throw out the notebook and start over, but in the end she just wanted to marry Max. She could do that at City Hall and still be happy. Max had her heart, and she had his, and that's really all that mattered.

  She moved to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of white wine. She opened the freezer next and grabbed a quart of ice cream. She set both items on the counter and waited.

  A few minutes later Sara came out of the bathroom with a dazed but happy expression in her eyes.

  "Well," Emma demanded impatiently. "Wine or ice cream?"

  A smile bloomed across Sara's face. "Ice cream."

  "Oh, my God. You're pregnant?"

  Sara nodded. "It was positive."

  Emma moved around the counter and gave Sara a big hug. "I am so happy for you. And don't start crying, or I'm going to cry, too."

  "You never cry," Sara said.

  "Well, I don't want to start now," she said with a sniff.

  "I didn't think I was going to be this happy," Sara said, wonder still in her eyes. "But I am. I'm going to have a baby. I'm going to be a mother."

  "It's fantastic. I cannot wait. You have to call Aiden."

  Sara hesitated. "I'll tell him when I get home. I don't want to do it over the phone. And he's with Burke and Aiden right now."

  "Probably a good idea. He'll be overjoyed, but you still might want to tell him when he's sitting down. This kind of news can shake anyone up." She paused as the front door opened.

  Max walked into the apartment. He looked tired. His tie hung loosely around his neck and the sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to the forearms. He'd been working a homicide case for two weeks that was giving him a lot of sleepless nights, but last night he'd made an arrest. Hopefully, that would be it. She walked over to give him a kiss. "Hi."

  "Hi yourself," he said, giving her a loving look. Then he nodded to Sara. "How are you doing?"

  "She's doing great," Emma said before Sara could answer. "Can we tell him? I know you want to tell Aiden first, but I'm not going to be able to keep it to myself for that long."

  "Tell me what?" Max asked.

  Sara held up the pregnancy test stick. "I'm pregnant."

  "Well, that is great news." He crossed the room to give Sara a hug.

  "I'm hoping Aiden will feel that way, too," Sara said. "He doesn't know yet, and it wasn't exactly planned."

  "He'll be happy," Max said with confidence in his voice.

  "I should go find him," Sara said, grabbing her bag. "Thank you, Emma, for forcing me to face my fears, the way you always do."

  "Call me later and tell me what Aiden says. Maybe tomorrow we can go out and celebrate."

  "Sounds good."

  As Sara left the apartment, Emma glanced over at Max. He had an odd expression on his face. "Are you thinking about how you'd feel if I was unexpectedly pregnant?"

  "You're not, are you?"

  "Well, Sara and I do like to do things together," she joked. "But no, I'm not. If I were, how would you feel?"

  "Terrified. A little girl with your blonde hair, blue eyes and stubborn personality would probably kill me."

  She smiled back at him. "You're just as stubborn as I am."

  "True." He paused. "Do you want to have a baby right now, Emma?"

  She smiled and shook her head. "No. I want to marry you and start our lives. I want to be a little selfish and have you to myself for a while."

  "I feel the same way," he said. "But one day…"

  "One day," she agreed. "In the meantime, we need to be a little more careful than Aiden and Sarah."

  He laughed. "I'm always more careful than Aiden."

  "True. I would really love to see his reaction when Sara tells him he's going to be a father."

  * * *

  "I must admit this is one of your better ideas, Aiden," Drew told his brother as he raised his beer glass to his lips.

  "The beer or the boat?" Aiden asked.

  "Both," Drew said with a laugh. He set down his glass and glanced around the restaurant bar at the yacht club. The far wall was one large window that ran from floor to ceiling and overlooked the bay and the bridge. On the other two walls were television screens playing a variety of sporting events. A few men sat at the bar talking about the wind conditions out on the bay, and another larger group of people had commandeered one of the larger tables. "Nice place."

  "We'll be spending a lot of time here," Aiden said.

  "Unless we decide to dock the boat somewhere cheaper," Burke put in.

  "The Eleanor has always been here," Aiden said.

  "Because Grandpa had money, and this is the best spot in the city," Burke said. "But there are cheaper locations I'm sure."

  "We don't need to worry about that right now," Aiden said, dismissing Burke's concern. "When can you guys get me a check?"

  "Monday for me," Burke said. "I need to move some things around."

  "Monday works for me as well," Drew put in.

  Aiden nodded. "I'll let Grandpa know. He's going to be thrilled that we're keeping the boat in the family. It's a sad situation for him and Grandma, but we're making it a little easier."

  "Grandma didn't even recognize me at the party," Drew said, remembering the fearful look in her eyes when he'd approached her. "That's the first time she hasn't known who I was."

  "There are a lot of us," Burke said quietly. "Don't take it personally."

  "Hard not to take it personally when your grandmother forgets who you are."

  "She usually thinks I'm Grandpa," Aiden said. "She talks to me about stuff as if I'm her husband, and I have no idea what she's talking about."

  "Maybe we can get them both out on the boat again," Burke suggested. "One last ride around the bay."

  "That's a good idea," Drew said.

  "Absolutely," Aiden agreed. He turned his attention to Drew. "Now, let's get back to your mystery woman. Where did you meet her? What was the relationship?"

  Drew took a sip of his beer, then said, "I met her about a year and a half ago, on Isla de los Sueños. I went there for a week with Tim right after I got out of the Navy. She was working at the beachside bar as a bartender."

  "And you hooked up," Aiden said with a nod.

  "Yeah. It was the last night I was there. It wasn't supposed to be anything, just a beautiful woman on a hot tropical night, but…" His voice drifted away as he searched for the right words. "It was more than I expected. She was more than I expected. The next morning, I woke up and she was gone. I later found out she was on a boat that caught fire and exploded. There were supposedly no survivors." He drew in a deep breath as the painful memory ran through him.

  "So how did she survive?" Burke asked curiously.

  "She said she swam for hours and ended up on some small deserted island. I don't know if I believe her. When we spoke just now, she was nervous, wary, evasive. And she mentioned that she wanted to start over, new name, new start."

  "She changed her name?" Aiden asked, concern entering his eyes. "She sounds like trouble, Drew, and you don't usually go looking for trouble. That's my department."

  "Well, you're getting married, so someone has to pick up the slack," he said lightly.

  "She's on the run," Burke interjected. "No one changes their name unless they're trying to hide."

  "I agree," Drew said. "I'm hopin
g to get more information when I see her tomorrow."

  "You're seeing her again?" Burke asked with a frown. "Is that smart?"

  "Maybe not. But I have her necklace, and I want to give it back to her."

  "You want to see her again, because you aren't ready to let her go," Aiden said. "You're hung up on her."

  "I'm curious," he said, knowing that the word didn't begin to explain his complicated feelings towards Ria.

  "My advice is to give her the necklace and say goodbye," Burke said.

  "Or you could give her the necklace, sleep with her again, and then say goodbye," Aiden put in, a sparkle in his eyes. "Get her out of your system."

  He liked Aiden's advice a lot better than Burke's, but he doubted Ria would get back into bed with him when at the moment she didn't even want to talk to him.

  "I'm going to order some nachos; I'm hungry," Aiden said. "I'll be right back."

  As Aiden walked over to the bar, Drew turned to Burke. His older brother seemed lost in thought. "Everything okay, Burke?"

  His brother shifted in his seat. "Yeah."

  Silence fell between them. Drew wanted to say something, but he'd always had a harder time connecting to Burke than to Aiden. Burke was so much more closed off. He kept everything inside. And he'd gotten more distant since he'd lost his fiancé in a fiery car wreck. And unlike Ria, Hailey couldn't come back from the dead.

  "I'm sorry," he said.

  "About what?" Burke asked.

  "Hailey."

  Burke drew in a sharp breath and his eyes darkened. "I don't want to talk about Hailey. Why would you bring her up now?"

  "This situation I'm in, discovering someone isn't dead, must remind you—"

  "Everything reminds me of Hailey," Burke said, cutting him off.

  "I understand."

  Silence followed his words, then Burke said, "You need to be careful Drew. This woman didn't want to talk to you today, and she ran away from you the first time you saw her. You've never had any patience for liars or fakes, and she seems to be both."

  He frowned at his brother's assessment. "You don't know her."

  "It doesn't sound like you know her, either."

  "I thought I did."