Steven Hardesty didn’t deserve one of Melinda’s tears. Tossing the phone onto his desk, Sean turned to the window again. He threw it open, allowing the ocean wind to rush in at him. The scent of the sea and the cool air didn’t do a damn thing to settle his mind. Bottom line? He didn’t know what the hell to do with this knowledge.
Should he tell Melinda? If she believed him, it would break her heart. If she didn’t believe him, she’d hate Sean for trying to destroy her memory of Steven.
“Hell, even dead, the bastard is winning.”
Riding a wave of banked fury, Sean knew there was one person at least, who should be told the truth. He pushed away from the window, stalked across the room and left, slamming the door behind him.
Eleven
For the first time, Walter Stanford looked old.
Sean swallowed back his own anger and sense of righteous indignation and focused on the man sitting at his desk.
Walter stared down at his empty hands as if accusing them of being helpless. Shaking his head slowly, he took several long, deep breaths before speaking in a soft voice filled with regret and just a hint of the fury Sean was still feeling.
“Yes, I knew about Steven’s theft. He had been here for little more than year,” Walter said, lifting his gaze to meet Sean’s. “And in that time, he managed to feather quite a nice nest for himself—at my expense.”
“So he is the reason the hotel is having hard times.”
“Not entirely,” Walter said with a tired sigh. “Truthfully, I made a few bad investments and, in all honesty, should have opened the island to more tourism. Not just for my sake, but for everyone else here. So it wasn’t all Steven’s fault, though he certainly did his share.” Walter picked up a pen, twirled it in his fingers for a second, then tossed it to his desktop in disgust. “Steven must have gotten wind that I was to have him arrested. He was killed when he was driving to the harbor to catch a boat to St. Thomas.”
“And you didn’t tell Melinda.” It wasn’t a question.
He fixed his gaze on Sean. “No. Melinda was never aware of my troubles or Steven’s perfidy. If he had lived, she would have had to know. As it is, I thought it better to keep my silence.”
“Why?” Sean demanded, dropping both hands onto the edge of the desk and leaning in. “Damn it Walter, Melinda’s smart. Capable. She doesn’t need to be treated like a child.”
“Do you think I don’t know that?” Walter’s anger began to crackle in the room, and it collided with Sean’s in a nearly visible shower of sparks. Pushing up from his chair, Walter muttered, “Do you think I enjoy seeing my girl mourning that fraud? Grieving for a cheat of a man who would have left her broken had he been given the chance?”
Sean leaned one hip against the edge of the desk, crossed his arms over his chest and asked a simple question. “Why then? Why keep quiet?”
Walter turned and fixed a hard look on him.
“You’re letting her suffer by feeling she’s betraying that son-of-a-bitch’s memory.”
“And you think it would be better if I tell her that he never cared for her? That he wanted her only for the money?” Walter snapped the words out in another burst of rage, but a moment later, he looked defeated again. “There is no right answer here,” he whispered. “If I don’t tell her, she’ll torture herself, and if I do tell her, she’ll be crushed. How can I know what to do?”
Sean could see the old man’s problem. After all, he’d asked himself pretty much the same questions after he had talked to Garrett. But at the same time, it irritated the hell out of him to remember Melinda’s tears over the thief who’d died before he could be prosecuted. Still, how could he argue with the man’s need to protect his family? Hadn’t Sean lost everything at sixteen trying to do the same thing for his mother?
“Could you look into her eyes and tell her?” Walter asked quietly.
He wanted to say yes. Damn it, he didn’t want her grieving over Steven one more damn minute. But as he thought about it, the truth was… “No.”
At the end, no matter what else was at stake, Sean simply didn’t want to be the one to hurt her.
Two days later, Melinda was nervous.
The Kings were arriving to check out the island—and her—she thought.
“Relax,” he told her as they stood at the dock waiting for the boat from St. Thomas to arrive. “You’ll like them all, I promise.”
“But they know about our deal, right? So they know we’re not your average married couple.”
“They know, but it won’t matter to them. They’re going to love you. So relax.”
She nodded and kept staring out at the water. The launch should be here any second. “Tell me again.”
He smiled and draped one arm around her shoulder. “Rafe is married to Katie.”
“The cookie queen,” Melinda added.
“Yep. And Lucas is married to Rose.”
“The great cook,” she provided. Honestly, she’d heard so much about his brothers and their wives, Melinda had quite the confidence crisis going on. Sean’s sisters-in-law sounded brilliant, successful and, most importantly, loved.
“And I’m married to the artist,” Sean said, dropping a kiss on top of her head.
He said that so lightly. As if they were really married and just for a moment, she let herself wonder what that would be like. She glanced up at him and briefly studied his profile as he watched for the approaching boat. His features were sharp and clean. His hair windblown, as she liked it best, and his eyes were hidden behind a pair of dark glasses. He wore a dark red, collared knit shirt and a pair of tan cargoes with his scuffed and battered boots. An anticipatory smile curved his mouth.
And she knew. In a blink. In a heart-stopping, souljarring instant, that she loved Sean King.
Melinda swayed with the impact of that knowledge and waited for an accompanying stab of guilt to jolt her. But it didn’t come. Had she finally, and at last, let Steven’s memory go? Was she ready now to love someone else, just in time to say goodbye to him?
“Hey?” Sean tipped his sunglasses down and looked at her over the edge. “You okay? You look a little pale all of a sudden.”
Not surprising, she thought, but didn’t say. Taking a deep breath she nodded and forced a smile. “I’m fine. Just a little nervous I guess.”
Nervous?
Terrified.
He hugged her, drawing her in and giving her a hard squeeze. Then he bent his head, claimed a quick kiss and said, “Don’t be. It’ll be great. We’ll show them the hotel site, go to dinner, have some laughs and they’ll go home.”
“Right. Back to California,” she said, thinking that in just a few more weeks, Sean would be gone too. He’d be back there with his family and she would be here. On Tesoro.
Alone.
“No more time for nerves. They’re here.”
It was only then that Melinda heard the roar of an engine headed their way. She looked out and saw the Tesoro launch headed into dock.
“Oh, please,” Katie said, “my kitchen was perfect. I paid you to remodel it and then what did you do?” She didn’t wait for an answer, just turned to Melinda and said, “The minute we got married, he decided to renovate the whole house, so he took out the wall!”
“It’ll be bigger and feed right into the new family room,” Rafe argued with a grin.
“Told you,” Sean whispered to Melinda.
“With a home theatre surround sound system,” Rafe put in, a gleam in his eye.
“Oh God,” Sean said, horrified. “He’s not going to make us watch those outer space movies he loves on a big screen, is he?”
“Not me, he’s not,” Lucas said and jiggled his infant son on his shoulder. “I’m home nights on diaper duty.”
Melinda watched them all as the banter flew around the table. They were in a private dining room at the Stanford hotel and the conversation hadn’t lagged once since the Kings’ arrival two hours before.
Sitting beside Sean on the red
leather booth seat, she watched the interaction of the family and found herself envious of the easy solidarity they shared. Seeing Sean with his brothers and their wives showed her yet another side to the man she’d married. There was real affection beneath the teasing, and the warmth she felt from all of them was welcoming.
She really liked Katie and Rose, too. She had been prepared to be intimidated or even feel like a stranger around them. But both women were warm and friendly and seemed to have their King husbands wrapped around their fingers. It was amazing to watch, really. They were all so…connected.
“Oh wow,” Katie said suddenly, reaching out to lift Melinda’s left hand for a better look. “That’s a gorgeous ring!” She flashed Sean a smile. “Nice job on picking it out. Where did you get it? I think Rose and I need to go shopping.”
“Actually,” Sean said, giving Melinda’s shoulders a squeeze, “My clever wife made it.”
“She made her own wedding ring?” Rose said, sounding appalled.
“Damn, you’re cheap,” Rafe muttered with a shake of his head.
“Funny,” Sean told him. “No, I bought the ring at a jewelry store in town. Later on I found out that Melinda designed and made it herself.”
“That’s amazing,” Rose said, getting a good look at it herself. She lifted her gaze and smiled. “Do you have more?”
“Sure,” Melinda said, basking in the praise. “My workshop is here in the hotel.”
“Oh boy.” Katie wriggled in excitement. “And I’m guessing family gets a private look at all of the sparklies?”
“Sure,” Melinda told her, laughing. “We can go now if you want.”
“Absolutely,” Rose said and scooped her son out of his father’s arms. “You guys be good. We’re going to spend a lot of money.”
“And my son is going why?” Lucas asked with a laugh.
“Never too early to teach him how to shop!” Rose bent down, kissed Lucas, then waited for Katie and Melinda.
Katie kissed Rafe, and Melinda was just scooting out of the booth when Sean pulled her in for a quick, hard kiss. She felt flustered but pleased that he’d kissed her as easily as his brothers had their own wives as she led the women off to the elevators.
“Okay,” Rafe asked once the women were out of earshot. “What exactly is going on?”
“What do you mean?” Sean picked up his beer and took a sip, stalling.
“Pitiful.” Lucas laughed and took a drink of his beer. “You know exactly what he means. You just don’t want to talk about it.”
“And since you know that, you’ll drop it, right?” Sean slid a glance at him. “Uh, no,” Rafe told him before Lucas could speak up. “You told us you were getting married as part of a land deal. Yet, when we get here, we find you all googly-eyed over your new wife.”
Well, that was unsettling. Sean frowned at him. “So?”
“So,” Lucas said, “it doesn’t exactly look like a business deal to us.”
“That’s what it is,” Sean muttered. All it could be, he told himself. He and Melinda had made a bargain, and he would stick to it. He never went back on his word.
Besides, as he kept reminding himself, he had already tried marriage and it hadn’t exactly been a vacation. The reason this marriage was working was probably because they both knew it was going to end. No pressure. No promises to be kept or vows to take seriously. He nodded to himself and repeated, “It’s strictly business.”
“Yeah,” Lucas said with a snort. “I can see that.”
Sean glared at him. “Nobody asked you for your opinion.”
“Yeah, because that’s how we do things in the King family. We wait to be asked.”
“Pay no attention to him,” Rafe said, staring at Sean. “Just tell me what’s going on. From what I can see, there’s more to this marriage than you said there was.”
Sean blew out a breath. The dining room was large, but quiet. Since they had the place to themselves, there was no reason not to discuss it. But he didn’t like it. For some reason, he felt disloyal to Melinda for talking to his brothers about what was between them. Still, he’d always been able to count on his family. Maybe talking to them would help him straighten things out in his mind.
Because, God knew, a little clarity would come in handy.
“Okay,” he said with a nod, “I admit that things aren’t quite as clear as they should be.”
“You think?” Lucas prompted.
Rafe glared him into silence.
“Fine. I’m not ready to leave her, even though I should be. It doesn’t make any sense to me,” he muttered, peeling the local label off his beer bottle.
“Brother, you’re hooked. Just give in now. Don’t fight it.” Lucas gave him a slap on the shoulder in solidarity.
“No,” Sean argued, looking from one brother to the other. “You don’t get it. I’m not husband material.” He couldn’t believe he was going to do this, Sean thought. But they had to understand. Had to see where he was coming from and why he knew he couldn’t be married. “I’ve tried it before. It didn’t work out.”
“What?” Rafe and Lucas spoke at the same time, exchanged a look of astonishment, then turned back to Sean. Rafe said, “What’re you talking about?”
“I was married once. Never told you guys.”
“Why the hell not?” Lucas demanded.
“Because I felt like a jackass, okay?” Sean snapped. “Why would I tell you two that I let some woman…” He stopped and took a deep breath.
“Well, now you have to tell us,” Rafe said.
So he did, but he kept it short. “Okay. Her name was Tracy. We met in college. Freshman year. Dated awhile then broke up.” Sean paused for a sip of beer and the cold liquid did nothing to ease the dryness in his throat. But he was in this far, he might as well finish it. “Eight months later, she showed up, pregnant. She cried and said how she hadn’t wanted to worry me, but she got scared.”
“Damn it,” Rafe muttered.
“Yeah.” Sean smiled wryly. “No way was I going to be the kind of father our dad was, so I married her.”
“And?” Lucas asked.
Sean shrugged and realized that telling this story wasn’t as terrible as he had imagined. It actually felt good to get it out there. To finally tell his brothers what he’d been hiding for years.
“The baby was a week or two old when Tracy told me he wasn’t mine. Seems Tracy’s first boyfriend had come back to town. He was the father. She left that day, haven’t seen her or the baby since.”
“Well hell.”
Sean gave Lucas a nod of appreciation. “That about sums it up.”
“You should have told us,” Rafe said quietly.
Sean shook his head. “No man wants to look like a fool.”
“You’re only a fool if you didn’t learn something,” Rafe countered.
“That’s the funny part. I thought I had,” Sean acknowledged. “Steer clear of marriage. That was the lesson.”
“No it wasn’t, you idiot,” Lucas snapped.
“Hey.”
“Shut up, Lucas,” Rafe said, never taking his gaze off Sean. “The lesson was to trust yourself. You didn’t want to marry Tracy. Hell, you broke up with her.”
“Well, yeah, but—”
“No buts,” Rafe said with a shake of his head. “The lesson is to trust what you feel, Sean. You felt nothing for Tracy but obligation. If what you’re feeling for Melinda is real, and you leave her anyway because of a stupid deal you made, then you’re a bigger fool than any of us knew.”
While his brothers talked, Sean sat in silence and really thought about what Rafe had said. Maybe, and Sean hated to admit it, even privately, his brother was right. For years, the memory of his ex had bothered him. Angered him. Now, he realized, he felt…nothing. Was being with Melinda what had prompted the change?
His mind raced with possibilities.
Melinda had sneaked into his heart. He hadn’t seen it coming. But the question was, what did he do about it
now?
Katie and Rose bought rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Their good-natured bickering over who got to buy what had Melinda laughing along with them. But their admiration for her work filled her heart and fed her soul. She had never had the opportunity to actually see people’s reactions to her stuff before. Well, her friend Kathy loved the jewelry, but she was probably prejudiced by her affection for Melinda. And yes, Melinda did sell a lot of pieces through James’s shop, but this was the first time she was able to really see that her work was good. Good enough that Rose and Katie bought up most of Melinda’s inventory.
“You’re very talented,” Katie said with a sigh as she admired the Tesoro Topaz glittering on her wrist.
“I agree.” Rose cooed at her son as he drank his bottle, but then she looked at Melinda and said, “I know women back home who would pay a fortune for your work.”
Back home. Sean’s home. Far away from Tesoro and Melinda. An ache settled in the center of her chest, and she absently rubbed it, hoping to ease the pain. It didn’t help. God, how had this all gone so wrong?
She’d allowed herself to get involved. To want. To need.
To love.
And now it was too late to back away. She couldn’t tear Sean out of her heart any more than she once could have Steven.
Steven. For just one moment, she thought about the man she had once promised to love forever and wondered how she could have gotten to this place so soon after his death. The guilt that always surrounded thoughts of her late fiancé gathered in close, but she held them at bay.
She couldn’t hide from her own emotions anymore. The truth was, she loved Sean so much more deeply than she had ever loved Steven. More passionately. More completely. Melinda hadn’t even known she was capable of a love this all-encompassing.
The Temporary Mrs. King Page 14
