by Anne, Melody
Chapter Three
Rafe
Rafe moved toward his waiting car with a wide grin spread across his face. Had Ari been cold, distant, or uninterested, there wouldn’t have been any hope.
But she was none of those things. There was heat in her eyes, and a quiver in her body. She still loved him — she just didn’t want to fess up to it. Well, too bad. He wanted her, and he would win her back. He meant what he’d said: he was there to win her love this time, not force it, which wasn’t an easy task for him.
His time in South America had shifted something deep inside of him. He didn’t think he’d ever be the same man again. He’d let go of the demons that had held on to him for too many years. Was he a whole new man? Well, no. But he certainly was a better person — or at least, he thought so.
But he wasn’t an entirely new man. That would be impossible. It was difficult for him to ask instead of demand, or chase instead of capture. Only one woman could make him change the way he viewed the world, and for her he would do whatever it took.
His life would never be complete without Ari. That realization had come to him when he still wasn’t over her after an entire year had passed. She was his other half — the person who made him whole. It was corny, especially in his own cynical, unromantic head, but he didn’t care. His arms ached to hold her, his body needed to possess her, and his heart felt empty without her. She was his — he just had to convince her of that.
Rafe hadn’t felt this good in a long, long time. He climbed into the back of the car and found himself whistling.
“I take it that your meeting with Ms. Harlow went well.”
“Exceedingly well, Mario,” he replied happily.
“Then why didn’t she join you?”
Leave it to his long-time assistant to dampen the mood.
“She will need some convincing, but I’m not worried.” And he wasn’t.
“Where to, then, Mr. Palazzo?”
“Home, Mario. I have some studying to do.” At the puzzled look on his assistant’s face, Rafe laughed aloud. If he was going to win her back, he certainly couldn’t sit in her classroom and ignore what she was trying to teach. Try that, and she’d really hand him his ass backwards.
His grin grew as he pictured her in front of that class. She’d been so nervous. Though she tried to cover it up, he knew her too well to miss a thing. Her hands had trembled slightly as she wrote on the projector, and she’d tucked her hair behind her ears over and over. Teaching was a new experience for her, and she was doing excellently, but she was definitely uncomfortable.
Rafe was sure it would be a bit worse for her now that she knew he was there. As much as he wanted her in his arms again, lying naked beneath him, he enjoyed this chase with Ari. Before her, if a girl had made him chase her, she’d have been sorely out of luck. He would just move on to the next candidate.
Even with his ex-wife, he hadn’t had to put forth any effort. She’d been the one chasing him. It wasn’t something he’d ever thought about until Ari entered his life. His looks had developed at a young age, and with his money on top of that, he’d never had a problem in the dating department. Only once had he ever pursued a woman — and that woman had been Ari.
She was worth pursuing twice. Hell, she was worth pursuing a thousand times. He wouldn’t give up on the two of them unless he knew, finally and absolutely, that she wasn’t interested anymore. And that could never happen. Fire burned through both of them, and a blaze that hot didn’t die down — not ever.
Arriving home, Rafe walked into his empty living room, on the one hand wishing she were there with him, but on the other, looking forward to their next encounter. Rafe knew for certain that his life was never boring when he was in Ari’s company.
Doing what he’d told Mario he would, he pulled out the textbook he’d picked up the week before just so he could know a little of what she was teaching. He’d never planned to actually learn anything. It was really quite comical if he thought about it.
Two hours later, he wondered whether he’d really be able to keep this up. Rafe liked science and numbers, things that made sense. He couldn’t care less about history. Yes, he had respect for the fallen soldiers, and he knew when and where the past wars had happened, but to study the Civil War for almost three months…that was almost the definition of torture for him.
Shutting the book with a long sigh, he went to his liquor cabinet and poured himself a double shot of whiskey.
For Ari, he’d do whatever it took.
Sitting back down, he opened the book again, his pen and paper next to him as he searched for answers to the questions she expected to be turned in on Wednesday. This was going to be a very long night. He was just grateful his sisters weren’t around to tease him endlessly about trying to be the teacher’s pet.
Oh, yeah, he’d like to be the teacher’s favorite — he would make sure he was the only one for Ms. Arianna Harlow.
When his phone rang, he practically leapt from his chair to answer it. Normally in the evening, he answered calls only from his assistant. If there was an emergency, he would take care of it, but if it was a minor issue, he paid people well to handle it. That he’d reached for the phone without even checking the caller ID showed how desperate he was to end his impromptu study session.
“Your sister is a pain in my ass!”
Rafe laughed instantly, knowing just how his best friend felt.
“You are just discovering this now, Shane?”
“I have no idea what to do. I’ve been here for a week and she won’t answer her door when I come calling on her, speaks to me like I’m nothing but a passing acquaintance, and has made it more than clear that she’d rather I was anywhere else in the world than with her on a secluded island. Hell, Rafe, we’re in freaking paradise — the ultimate romantic destination — and she won’t even look at me, let alone allow me to kiss her.”
“First off, I really don’t want to hear about you kissing my sister. You’re lucky as hell I caved and backed off,” Rafe said. “Secondly, did you think it would be easy? She’s a Palazzo. Stubborn is her middle name. If you truly care about her, and I think that you do, you’ll just have to step up your game. But I absolutely do not want to hear any of the details.”
The thought of his little sister being romanced was enough to make his teeth grind themselves into stubs. He knew she was an adult, and he knew Shane was in love with her, just as Lia was in love with Shane, if only she’d admit it. None of that mattered, though, when he thought of her turning into a woman. He wanted both her and Rachel to stay toddlers forever — never grow up and get married.
Granted, Rafe was starting to think it wouldn’t be so bad to have some nieces and nephews around. But that meant that his sisters would have sex, and that was a thought he couldn’t stomach.
“Like you could stop me from kissing her,” Shane replied, but before Rafe could say anything, he continued. “I almost forgot she has the same blood as you. That should have made me run like hell in the opposite direction. For that matter, I tried — for years. She’s the one who chased me, and then I do one little thing that displeases her, and she completely cuts me off. I should thank my lucky stars and move on.”
“Is that what you want?”
Shane sighed heavily into the phone. “No. You know that,” he admitted with self-loathing.
“You had to have done something other than just tell me about your relationship. She is really pissed at you,” Rafe said as he stood up and poured himself another drink.
“Nope. Just that. She mentioned something about being first. I don’t know…” he muttered.
“Well, not listening could be your first problem, Shane. Women tend to get pissed off when we ignore them,” Rafe said, delighted it was his best friend on this side of things. At least Rafe wasn’t the only one with woman problems.
“Yeah, I’ve been trying to talk to her, trying to listen. She won’t speak anymore!”
“Then you will have to find a w
ay to make her talk,” Rafe said. Wasn’t it quite simple? No. Maybe not. He thought of Ari and the fact that she wouldn’t talk, either. Definitely not as easy as he’d thought.
“She may never talk to me again. I just don’t get women,” Shane sighed.
Rafe laughed again. Yes, he and Shane were both in a predicament. Well, the two of them knew what they wanted and the women would have to deal with it. They’d have to get over their tempers. Both he and Shane were trying to make up with them. One thing Ari and Lia would learn was that when he or Shane wanted something, nothing would stop them. Both women had met their matches.
Or had they?
“Do you have a plan?” Rafe knew that he’d surely love to have a plan beyond stalking Ari where she worked. Hey, at least he had a semi-plan.
“I’ll figure it out. I don’t know why I bothered calling you. A lot of good it did me,” Shane grumbled.
“You called because you know I’m the smarter one,” Rafe said with a laugh.
“In your dreams, Palazzo. Fine. I’ll get off the phone. I have some plans to make,” Shane said before hanging up.
Rafe took his unfinished drink and sat by the fire. It was time to make his own plans. One thing he knew for sure was that Arianna Harlow wasn’t getting away from him this time. As he leaned back, he thought about what it was that had caused such a change inside him. It still shook him to his very soul when he thought back…
A Few Months Earlier
“Damn, Rafe. I need a break!” Shane grumbled as he hefted a thick piece of wood up to his best friend.
“Quit whining, Shane. I want this place done by nightfall. Maria is going to have the baby at any time.”
“I know, but she and her family are comfortable in the tents. If the baby comes, they’ll all be protected until the home is finished,” Shane said.
“No. I admire her. I want them to have a real home for the baby.” Rafe didn’t know why it was so important. Maybe because Maria and her husband, Pablo, were good people. They worked hard, and they had been so grateful for the help from Rafe and Shane and the other workers there with them.
Rafe hadn’t expected to get close to any of the villagers, but for some reason this young couple had managed to wedge themselves into his heart — the heart he’d thought was cold and shriveled when he’d arrived in Paraguay.
Shane stopped complaining and the two of them worked through the rest of the day, finishing the modest home as the last rays of the sun drifted behind the horizon. Rafe stood back, feeling a deep sense of accomplishment as he looked at what most people would consider a shack, but what Maria and Pablo would think of as a mansion.
He was humbled by the way these people lived, so grateful for the smallest of items — a bowl of beans, fresh fruit, a warm blanket. His eyes had been opened in many ways, and he would always remember this time in his life.
“You’ve done really well, Rafe,” Shane said as he approached, clapping him on the back.
“I feel better. I didn’t think it was possible, but seeing all this poverty, all this — I don’t know how to say it — simplicity? — firsthand, for so long, changes a person,” Rafe replied.
“Yeah, that’s why I keep coming back.”
“Then why are you still such an asshole?” Rafe said.
“Look who’s talking,” Shane answered with a glare.
“Yeah, yeah. I know I have my moments. I really need to return to the real world, but staying here has been good. I still think about Ari all the time, but it’s more manageable now,” Rafe had to say.
“I know the feeling. I can’t stop thinking of Lia. The project is back on track, so I’ll finally have her alone. That will be good.”
“Should we insure you?” Rafe said, only half kidding.
“When I’m dealing with your sister, that may be a good idea. She’s more dangerous than any mission I’ve ever been on,” Shane said, before he went silent for a moment. “I’m shipping out in a few days.”
Shane hated to speak about it, but Rafe was the only one who knew. He had to have someone to turn to when it all ended up being just a bit too much.
“You’ll come home.” It wasn’t a prayer or a wish; it was a statement of fact. Because Rafe wouldn’t lose his best friend. He could lose a lot, but not his family and not Shane.
“Yes, I will.”
The two men stood for a while longer before separating and going to their small campers to try to get some rest.
The happy Paraguayan couple moved into their home that night, and Rafe went to sleep with a smile on his face. It was the first time since he’d lost Ari that he’d felt like smiling. Feeling good about what he’d been doing and starting to figure out ways of winning back the woman whom he couldn’t remove from his mind, Rafe slept better than he had since she’d walked from his life.
“Rafe, wake up.”
The morning light was streaming in through the camper windows, and the pained look on Shane’s face had him instantly sitting up.
“What is it?”
“Maria. She…she didn’t make it, Rafe.”
“No.” If he denied the words his friend was saying, then he could make them untrue.
“I’m sorry, Rafe. I know how much you cared about her.”
Shane had warned Rafe not to get attached, warned him to keep a distance. These people led a different life than they did — had a harsher reality. They were often lost at young ages and in tragic circumstances.
“No.” He denied Shane’s words again.
“I’m sorry, Rafe. The baby died in her womb several days ago. Maria passed during the night from complications. Her husband found her this morning.”
Rafe jumped from the bed and threw on his clothes, needing to see Maria — needing to prove that Shane was wrong. She couldn’t be gone. He rushed to their new home. The home Rafe had worked nonstop to build so she could have her baby there.
Quietly walking inside, Rafe found Pablo on his knees by the bed, a bed Rafe had specially brought in for just them. Pablo looked up, tracks of tears on his face, but tears that had obviously dried hours ago. The broken man had no more left inside him.
“She left me,” Pablo whimpered, his hands repeatedly stroking his cold wife’s face. “She left me alone. Our baby and Maria are gone,” he choked out, his voice broken, his spirit gone.
“No,” Rafe whispered, seemingly unable to say anything else.
“I can’t live without her. She’s my world. She’s my everything. How can I go on?”
The man was looking to Rafe for an answer, and Rafe didn’t know what to say. He didn’t have an answer to give Pablo. Never before had Rafe witnessed someone so utterly broken — so lost — so completely alone.
“Please, Rafe. Give her back to me,” the man begged as if Rafe were capable of saving her. “Please,” Pablo groaned as he turned back toward his wife and laid his head on her still chest.
Rafe stood in the doorway, his own heart broken, unable to move, watching the man hold on to his dead wife. Eventually, the men from the village had to drag the bereaved husband away as he cried out in agony.
That night, Pablo took his own life, leaving a short note. I will be with my wife and child for eternity.
Rafe packed the few possessions he’d brought with him, and he went home. He wouldn’t allow himself to be that broken. He couldn’t. It was time to win back his other half, because he needed Ari. She made him whole.
He didn’t want to be on his hands and knees begging for her when she was forever gone to him. He didn’t want to waste another day. They’d been apart long enough, and he would win her back.
Chapter Four
Lia
Peace at last!
Lia strolled along the shore as the water drifted slowly toward her feet before retreating like a thief escaping into the shadows. Shane was wearing her down, though she’d never admit it to him, or even herself.
He’d been there for two weeks, and he wasn’t giving her a single moment to breath
e. The project was starting, materials were being boated in, and she could practically see the luxurious cabins, artfully created to look rustic, arising on the hills in the thick forest.
Paths would be cleared, and suptuous facilities built, and the land would still look untouched. She was proud to be a part of it all.
“Hey, Palazzo, we need to ride over to the mainland.”
Lia slowly turned to find Shane striding toward her in nothing but a pair of slacks that were riding low on his waist. Saliva pooled in her mouth at the sight of his muscular chest flexing in all its golden glory as he moved toward her.
If she hadn’t been so ridiculously attracted to him, none of this would have been difficult. Damned hormones!
“You’re on your own, Grayson. I have work to do,” she replied cooly, turning away, and irritated with herself at how difficult it was to do just that.
“Sorry. I need your help. We have some materials to pick out that you insisted on having final approval on. I can do it myself, though, if you just sign off. You like plaid, right?” he asked with an innocent air.
Her teeth gritting together, Lia glared at him. He knew she hated plaid, but she could easily see him decorating the luxury resort in stomach-wrenching color schemes just to spite her, not even caring that it would cost him millions to replace it all as soon as his point was made. So he would win this round, because she wasn’t going to let that happen.
“Fine. Give me a minute to change and I’ll meet you at the docks.” She’d forced those words through her teeth.
“No need to change. We won’t be that long.”
Shane gripped her arm and started leading her to the dock.
“I can make it there on my own, Shane. I don’t need you to guide me like I’m a child.” She yanked her arm free, the skin tingling where his fingers had wrapped around her.
“Touchy,” he said with a smile, then took a few steps to her right after seeing the fire in her eyes. He was smart to do so, because she was close to striking him.
