didn’t see you as a tea drinker.”
“You aren’t winning any points for that,” she said.
He pushed the button to turn on the engines and the boat roared to life. But he didn’t really want to head back to the port. He wanted to stay out here on the sea with just Selena. If he were a different man he’d ask her to run away with him or maybe just kidnap her and sail off for some exotic port of call, but he wasn’t.
And they both had family to think of. The Gonzalez family would probably crucify him if he tried to abduct their prodigal daughter.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I’m contemplating kidnapping you and keeping you naked in my bed.”
She shook her head. “You’d never do it. You’d never let your brothers down like that.”
“You wouldn’t go for it either. I bet you’d jump overboard and swim back to Miami if I tried it.”
She shrugged. “Maybe.”
He steered them to the harbor, the engines and the sea wind whipping around them. “No maybe about it. You feel guilty where your grandparents are concerned and you’ll do whatever you have to in order to make them proud this time.”
She wrapped an arm around her waist and turned away from him, staring out over the horizon. He wondered if she’d really be happy running away with him. Lord knew he was tempted, but she had been right. He would never do that until he had everything settled for Luna Azul. It wasn’t just a company he worked for, it was his family legacy, and he wasn’t about to lose it.
“When are you going to trust me with your past?” he asked her.
“Tonight,” she said. “I want you to come to my house. It will be easier to talk about the past if you are there. But if we do this…we won’t be a vacation fling anymore.”
“Are you sure you want to chance it?”
She studied him for a long minute and he had the feeling that she was searching for answers in his face. He wanted her to find what she was looking for but this morning he didn’t have any notion of what she needed from him. After making love to her last night he’d thought he’d know her better but instead he found she was still a mystery to him.
“Yes. I think that we have to keep moving forward. I don’t want to walk away…not yet.”
He knew that the end was possible—even probable given the way they’d come together—and he was bracing himself for it. Still, starting a relationship and expecting it to end wasn’t the best idea.
“We’re like a short-term partnership,” he said.
“Trust you to put it in terms that would be better suited to the boardroom, but yes, that’s exactly what we are. It will be mutually advantageous to both of us while it lasts.”
“And pleasurable,” he added. He slowed the boat as they reached the marina and he maneuvered his yacht into its slip before turning off the engine.
“What time tonight?” he asked her.
“Seven? Is that too early?”
He took her hand and led her down the gangway to the deck. “No, it sounds just right. Do you want me to drop you at the Ritz?”
“Yes, please,” she said.
He drove her to the hotel and let her off, then watched her walk away. He pulled back out into traffic before she was inside the hotel because he didn’t want to sit there and think about how hard it was to let her go.
Nine
S elena drove through Miami like the devil himself was chasing her. She wanted to escape her thoughts. It wasn’t that she was afraid of Justin; it was simply that he represented a part of her that she wanted to pretend didn’t exist anymore. She wanted to drive away from the area and never look back. But running away wasn’t her style any more, either.
She pulled into the parking lot of Luna Azul. At a little after ten on Tuesday morning there wasn’t much action here. She had an appointment with Justin’s older brother, Cam. Through the grapevine she’d heard that he had been the one to raise his younger brothers after both parents were killed. Cam had
“You aren’t winning any points for that,” she said.
He pushed the button to turn on the engines and the boat roared to life. But he didn’t really want to head back to the port. He wanted to stay out here on the sea with just Selena. If he were a different man he’d ask her to run away with him or maybe just kidnap her and sail off for some exotic port of call, but he wasn’t.
And they both had family to think of. The Gonzalez family would probably crucify him if he tried to abduct their prodigal daughter.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I’m contemplating kidnapping you and keeping you naked in my bed.”
She shook her head. “You’d never do it. You’d never let your brothers down like that.”
“You wouldn’t go for it either. I bet you’d jump overboard and swim back to Miami if I tried it.”
She shrugged. “Maybe.”
He steered them to the harbor, the engines and the sea wind whipping around them. “No maybe about it. You feel guilty where your grandparents are concerned and you’ll do whatever you have to in order to make them proud this time.”
She wrapped an arm around her waist and turned away from him, staring out over the horizon. He wondered if she’d really be happy running away with him. Lord knew he was tempted, but she had been right. He would never do that until he had everything settled for Luna Azul. It wasn’t just a company he worked for, it was his family legacy, and he wasn’t about to lose it.
“When are you going to trust me with your past?” he asked her.
“Tonight,” she said. “I want you to come to my house. It will be easier to talk about the past if you are there. But if we do this…we won’t be a vacation fling anymore.”
“Are you sure you want to chance it?”
She studied him for a long minute and he had the feeling that she was searching for answers in his face. He wanted her to find what she was looking for but this morning he didn’t have any notion of what she needed from him. After making love to her last night he’d thought he’d know her better but instead he found she was still a mystery to him.
“Yes. I think that we have to keep moving forward. I don’t want to walk away…not yet.”
He knew that the end was possible—even probable given the way they’d come together—and he was bracing himself for it. Still, starting a relationship and expecting it to end wasn’t the best idea.
“We’re like a short-term partnership,” he said.
“Trust you to put it in terms that would be better suited to the boardroom, but yes, that’s exactly what we are. It will be mutually advantageous to both of us while it lasts.”
“And pleasurable,” he added. He slowed the boat as they reached the marina and he maneuvered his yacht into its slip before turning off the engine.
“What time tonight?” he asked her.
“Seven? Is that too early?”
He took her hand and led her down the gangway to the deck. “No, it sounds just right. Do you want me to drop you at the Ritz?”
“Yes, please,” she said.
He drove her to the hotel and let her off, then watched her walk away. He pulled back out into traffic before she was inside the hotel because he didn’t want to sit there and think about how hard it was to let her go.
Nine
S elena drove through Miami like the devil himself was chasing her. She wanted to escape her thoughts. It wasn’t that she was afraid of Justin; it was simply that he represented a part of her that she wanted to pretend didn’t exist anymore. She wanted to drive away from the area and never look back. But running away wasn’t her style any more, either.
She pulled into the parking lot of Luna Azul. At a little after ten on Tuesday morning there wasn’t much action here. She had an appointment with Justin’s older brother, Cam. Through the grapevine she’d heard that he had been the one to raise his younger brothers after both parents were killed. Cam had
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