by Natalie Ann
“So where do we go from here?” Riva asked again. “I’d like to get to know you more. How long are you in America for? Where are you staying?”
They could find Eli Bond easily enough if they wanted now that they knew his name. “We are on Amore Island.”
“Where is that?” Roman asked.
“A small island off the coast of Boston,” she said. “Eli’s family owns it.”
Eli laughed. “Not like you think. Or not all of it anymore. My family founded the island and built it up over the years.”
“Grandfather would approve of that,” Riva said sarcastically. “As long as you aren’t into casinos and gambling like Bella’s uncle which is tacky to him.”
This time she laughed so hard she had tears coming from her eyes. “Well then, I guess he isn’t going to approve of you, Eli.”
“I’m not asking for it,” he said, smiling at her.
“What are we missing?” her aunt said.
“Eli owns Bond Casino and Resort on the island. That’s how we first met years ago. And talk about a complicated story.”
“One we don’t have time for,” Eli said. “We’ve got a flight to catch soon.”
She looked at him oddly. He hadn’t told her they had to leave at a certain time, but she would play along with him.
“Can we exchange numbers and keep in touch?” her aunt asked. “I’m not asking for miracles, but I’d like to have the last connection to my brother. I know you need time to process what you’ve heard and to check your facts.”
“I do,” Bella said, but she got all their numbers. She gave them each a hug when she left and when they were in the plane and ready to take off, she said, “Why did we have to leave so fast?”
“Because we need to check their information,” he said. “I didn’t want you to slip and say what was going on with Oliver. If for some reason your grandfather finds out you are here and why, that could cause problems.”
“What kind of problems?” she asked. “I’m not a child he can try to get custody of.”
“No. But I’m not willing to risk anything. You got some answers and I get the feeling you’ve got mixed emotions over it. I think you need time to process, as your aunt said.”
“I do. It’s overwhelming. I need to talk to my uncle. If what they said is true, he has a lot of explaining to do. I don’t know why he kept it all from me after I was an adult.”
“Those are going to be questions you’ll have to ask.”
“When I see him again. Whenever that will be,” she said quietly.
“Until then, we can go back to the way we were knowing you’ve got a family that does care about you. One in Massachusetts, not just in Georgia.”
She got up and sat in his lap, put her arms around his neck and started to cry. He knew exactly what to say to her.
“Thank you.”
“Let it out, Bella. I’ve got you. I’m not letting go,” he said so quietly she was almost afraid she didn’t hear it. But she did.
27
Damage Control
Back at the casino later that day, Griffin and he were on the upper level looking over the balcony onto the blackjack and craps tables. Slot machines were up here with a few other smaller betting tables.
Bells were going off, people were talking, waitresses walking around with trays of drinks.
He’d never get tired of the sounds of success.
“I saw all the VIP rooms were filled tonight.” That wasn’t always the case midweek.
“Yep. Got some mid-level spenders that your brother flew over for a bachelor party last minute. They called yesterday and set it up.”
“How much are we talking and how many?” he asked. These were the things he loved that he could accommodate with a phone call.
“Eight guys, quarter to a million in chips purchased for the night. Your father came over and greeted them earlier, showed them a few suites for the night, gave them the tour and assigned them a hostess for food and drink.”
“He had to be loving that,” Eli said.
“You know it,” Griffin said. “I’m sure you’ll pop your pretty face in there to make an introduction.”
“Of course.”
“So things are good with Bella?” Griffin asked.
“Good enough.” He’d filled Griffin in over an hour ago when they returned to the island. “She’s hanging in there. It’s a lot to take in. She called Hailey to let her know what she found out.”
“Which means Hailey got to work on it right away,” Griffin said. “She always wants to get one up on me.”
He laughed. “It’s a game to her and you know it. I expect you to work other angles if you can or maybe you already did. Until Oliver makes contact, Bella only has one side of things.”
“And she’s torn over that?”
“She is. She wants to believe what Gretchen said. They looked and acted honestly in their feelings and words. But she doesn’t want to believe her uncle kept all of this from her either.”
“I’m sure,” Griffin said.
“Eli!”
He turned when his name was called, then didn’t have much time to react before perfume filled his nostrils and a slim hand went around his arm.
“Brynn,” he said. Or so he hoped that was her name. She’d visited the resort last year with some friends that she’d ditched for a few nights to spend with him. Blonde and big chested. Two things he tended to gravitate toward.
“You remembered me,” she said, her voice almost a squeal.
“Hard to forget,” he said, trying to peel her arm off of his and taking a step closer to Griffin who was eating this situation up.
“I’m here for a few nights,” Brynn said, rubbing up against him. “If you’re free.”
“Sorry,” he said. “I’m not.”
“I can wait for when you are. You’ve got to go to bed sometime,” she said, her nail running down his chest.
He smiled, not wanting to cause a scene but was trying to unglue himself from her. “It’s not a good time,” he said. “I’m not available at all.”
“Oh,” she said, pouting. “I can change that.”
He was sure she’d done that to a lot of men in her life. She was probably a pro at coming to places exactly like this trying to find a guy to latch onto.
“I bet there are plenty of others here who might enjoy your company,” he said. “Now if you’ll excuse me.”
“If you change your mind, I’m sure you can find me.”
Griffin laughed when Brynn walked away and then said, “Shit. Damage control time for you.”
“What?” He turned and followed Griffin’s gaze to the floor where Bella was standing there looking at them. They made eye contact and she turned and walked out.
She didn’t run. She didn’t march.
She just walked out with her back regal as always but with a hurt expression on her face.
“Shit,” he said. “Of all the rotten luck.”
He started to take a step toward her, but bells went off. Not small ones but loud ones. He took a few steps back and followed Griffin to see the commotion. Not that he could hear with the yelling and screaming. Someone just hit six figures on a slot machine.
Bella was going to have to wait. He had to do his job and congratulate the winners and Griffin would be escorting them to a secure location to fill out paperwork and arrange the transaction of the funds.
What the heck could she have been thinking that Eli cared for her?
Or maybe he did, but he was limited in how much.
She’d heard the rumors about him with women in the casino.
She’d seen him flirting at times too. Just being nice though. Friendly. Doing his job.
This was beyond his job and she knew it.
The woman’s tits were all but hanging out of the deep V of her black dress that an aftershock could knock loose. The hem just short of exposing her crotch.
And she’d had her hands on the man Bella was starting to lose her
heart to.
So stupid.
He’d caught her eyes on him. He’d seen that she saw the little show.
And she’d figured he come after her, but then she’d heard all the yelling and bells and knew his job would come first like it always did.
She wasn’t going to rush out of the casino like her hair was on fire, but rather turned and calmly walked out. Once she was in the hall, she moved toward the elevators at a brisk pace. Maybe like her hair was smoking.
She wasn’t paying attention and bumped into someone. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be,” the woman said. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. Just in a hurry.”
“Looks like a hurry to get away from a man.”
“Excuse me?”
“Sorry. Ignore me. I’m being nosy, I know. It’s just I’ve been there before. Like you’ve seen something you shouldn’t have and you want to escape.”
“Something like that.” The elevator door opened and she stepped in, the woman followed. She pushed the button to her floor, the woman to two higher.
“I’m Penny,” the woman said. “I’d ask if you are here alone, but I’m guessing you aren’t.”
“I’m alone,” she said. Like she’d always been.
“Same here,” Penny said. “I’m here for the night. I had to come over on business and figured why not stay here and treat myself to the spa tomorrow and then take the ferry back.”
Business and she was staying at the casino? That would mean it had something to do with Eli. “It’s nice to have a day like that.”
“It is. If you don’t have plans tonight, how about joining me for dinner? I’m not leaving the resort. I’m not one to gamble or even stay at a casino but the spa being on the grounds drew me in.”
So not doing business here. “What did you come to the island to do, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“I’m an auditor for a large grocery store. We’ve got a few on the island and I spent my day going over stock and procedures. Not a glamorous job by any means, but it’s nice to come here and get away from it.”
She looked at the woman in shorts and a T-shirt, flip flops on her feet. She wasn’t so sure she was buying it. “You audit like that?” she asked.
“I wish,” Penny said. “No. I finished and checked in about thirty minutes ago. I just locked my laptop in my car. I realized if it was in my room, I’d want to work and I’m off the clock now and tomorrow morning.”
They stopped on her floor. “Enjoy your night,” she told Penny. She wasn’t crazy enough to have dinner with a stranger. Even if she didn’t have to look over her shoulder and knew she was safe here, she wasn’t in the mood.
She walked down the hall to her room, swiped her card, then went into the minibar to see what there was. Alcohol was in order, she knew that.
28
Ignoring You
It took a few hours for Eli to break away, but he knew Bella had gone to her room and hadn’t left the building. It was after seven and there hadn’t been any delivery of food either. She was probably cooking something.
And though he was starving, he wasn’t stopping for food when he needed to explain what she’d seen.
In the past he’d brush something like that off. Even if he were in a relationship—which he hadn’t been for years—he wouldn’t have worried about the situation with Brynn.
If Bella hadn’t witnessed it, he still wouldn’t have thought much of it.
But she had and he was going to have to do what Griffin had said: damage control.
He knocked on her door, but she didn’t answer. He knocked again and waited. Still no answer.
After a few minutes, he checked his phone again, noticed she hadn’t left the suite, then moved to the side and called Griffin.
“Let me guess. She won’t see you?” Griffin asked, laughing.
“She’s not answering the door. I didn’t see her leave. Can you check to see if she is around the building and I missed it?”
“My shit is top notch. Unless she climbed over her balcony to another room, then she is in there and ignoring you.”
“Maybe she is sleeping or hurt?” he asked. And the minute those words were out of his mouth, he hung up with Griffin and swiped his master card and opened her door.
“What do you want?” she asked. “I would have thought by not answering the door that would be enough for you to get the hint.”
He saw the three mini bottles of vodka on the coffee table, and two were empty. She picked up the third and poured it into what looked to be a glass of tea.
Interesting that she was upset enough to start drinking.
He wouldn’t laugh over this, but it had to mean something. Which was shocking considering she was the one who kept saying day by day when he’d been wanting to talk more about what was going on.
“Having a nightcap?” he asked.
“Something like that.”
He moved over and sat next to her on the couch. “Have you eaten dinner yet?”
“Are you my father now? Oh wait, my father didn’t even care that much to ask that of me. If you were being like my uncle then you would have just had food sent here.”
“I know you’ve got food in the suite and like to cook. Maybe you did that.”
“Or maybe you know who comes in and out of my room,” she said. “What if I had someone in here? Some big burly man? Maybe a blonde with bulging...muscles on his arms.”
He shouldn’t have laughed at her. Especially when she narrowed her eyes, then picked her glass up and stood. “Are you asking if I monitor the comings and goings of your room?”
“I don’t need to ask. I’m not stupid, Eli. I’ve got eyes.”
There was a double meaning there. “You do. But what you don’t have are ears that could hear what was said.”
“I can only imagine what she was saying in your ear. Or was her tongue taking up too much space to get the words out?”
“Are you jealous?” he asked.
She put her drink to her lips. “Nope. No reason to be. You’re free to do what you want. We never set ground rules. My fault, I’m sure. I should know better.”
“I don’t sleep with more than one woman at a time and I’m insulted that you would think that of me.”
She took a step back. He didn’t normally lose his cool, but he was now. “Then you are free to go with her if you want.”
“I don’t want her,” he said. “I want you. I wanted you years ago. I thought we established that.”
“But you were too afraid of my uncle to make a move.”
Now she was baiting him. “That’s funny considering how I met your uncle. Then to hear your aunt say she was fearful of being detained in a foreign country. I’d say that was smart when I didn’t know how you felt back then.”
“Now you know. I even had to make the first move here. Guess you don’t have it in you.”
He moved closer and took the glass out of her hand and put it down. “You’re drunk.”
“I’ve never been drunk before,” she said the tears in her eyes.
He wasn’t so sure of that. Or maybe she wasn’t but her guard was influenced enough that the words that had been trapped most of her life were spilling out.
“It seems to me you’ve never stood up for yourself before and now you want to.”
“Maybe it’s time.”
“It is. But it’s not justified to do it with me,” he said.
“I know what I saw,” she said. “Sure, you probably told her no. I believe that. But it only tells me that is your life. When I’m gone from here you are going right back at it.”
“You’re the one that keeps talking about leaving. You’re the one that can’t do anything more than a day-by-day situation. Don’t put me in that silo you’ve created in your brain. You want to be pissed off at the problems in your life, then be that way, but don’t be pissed at me for something that happened before your time.”
Her eyes filled with more tears. “
I can’t do anything right. I can’t even stand my ground without feeling like crap.”
He pulled her into his arms. “Your life is up in the air. You’re confused and hurt by what is going on. By what you learned yesterday. I get it. The man you loved that has been there for you for the past decade has secrets and you don’t like what they might be.”
“I’m used to secrets. Why do you think I keep to myself so much?”
“Because you don’t want to be hurt. But when you hide in that closet you don’t get to experience life. You don’t get to feel what we’ve got.”
“We’ve got a fling,” she argued, a tear escaping down her cheek. “I know that even if I’m trying to tell myself otherwise.”
“That is you putting a label on it. Do you think I’d bring a fling home to my family? Do you think I’d take time off of work to fly to another state with a fling?”
“You’re doing it out of an obligation to my uncle.”
“Open your eyes, Bella. An obligation means I put security on you twenty-four-seven like you’ve lived most of your life. It doesn’t mean I share your bed or spend time with you. Bring you to Sunday dinner or take the family jet to help you discover something of your past.”
She burst into tears and as much as it broke his heart to see, she had to understand. He had to use this time to get her to see what they had wasn’t something that he could throw away when she went home.
“I don’t know how to get through this,” she said. “Drinking isn’t like me. Sitting around isn’t either. I said I was trying new things.”
“I’m sure you weren’t thinking spiked iced tea was part of being someone you weren’t,” he said, his hand going up and down her back. “Come sit back down and let’s talk.”
“I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did. You’re free to do what you want and be with who you want.”
“I am, but I’m not doing that. I want to be with you. I’ve wanted to talk to you about it and you won’t. I don’t want to put more pressure or stress on you either.”
