Allena stalked past him and left the room, her chest so tight that her ribs ached. She raced down the hall and headed for her rooms, slammed the door, and flopped onto the couch, every part of her body hurting.She was on the verge of letting the tears flow when there was a sharp rap on her door. She got to her feet, rubbed her hand over her face, and walked across the room, only to find Justin standing on the other side of the door.Allena sucked in a breath and stared at him.“What do you want?” If she sounded rude, she didn’t care. But she wasn’t in the mood for an argument or a rehash of the very obvious tension burning between them.“To talk.” He said, and then sighed. “To apologize.”Allena turned on her heel and walked further into the room. She stood by the couch and faced him, hands on her hips.“So, talk.”“I’m sorry, okay?” he said quietly and moved across the room, standing a few feet from her. “I shouldn’t have made that remark about your personal life. And I shouldn’t ha
“Has Justin found your replacement yet?”Allena smiled at her sister as she stretched out on the yoga mat. Tess has started attending the classes with her and she was delighted for the company. Hanging out with her sister was one of her favourite things to do. And Thursday night yoga class was their opportunity to talk and catch up. Justin usually finished work early onThursdays and spent extra time with the children, which gave her a free evening. “No,” she replied and stretched out her calves. “He has another two interviews scheduled for tomorrow. Both applicants with the right references.” She’d told her sister about the two unsuitable candidates they’d interviewed the day before. She hadn’t told her about the argument or the kiss. Mostly because she couldn’t believe it actually happened. Her lips still tingled at the memory. Her heart ached knowing he’d said it was a mistake. Which of course it was, and obviously it didn’t mean anything. But Tess was a romantic and would read way
After two interviews the following morning, Justin decided to offer the position to the grandmother looking for a part-time job. He wanted someone trustworthy and reliable and since he knew his chances of finding someone as perfect as Allena were impossible, those qualities would need to be enough.Someone as perfect as Allena…Funny, but he’d only just come to realize how true that was. She’d accused him of treating her as though she was invisible. He’d denied it at the time, but since then he’d had days to think about, and now he realized she might be right.He’d taken her for granted and now he was paying the price. She was on the verge of leaving and would soon have a different life. With someone else. With the fireman. She’d fall in love with him. Marry him. Have children with him.And he couldn’t bear thinking about it.“She was nice,” Allena said when he returned to the office after the last interview. “You were right.”“Sometimes that has been known to happen,” he said and grin
The last thing Allena wanted to do was think about Justin getting married. Second, she corrected. The very last thing she wanted to do was spend an hour or so at the pizza parlour and pretend that she wasn’t dying inside.Of course, the kids quickly pulled her out of her funk, and once they were seated and had ordered, she listened as Jayden spoke about the latest book on dragons that he was reading. Jayden usually didn’t say much—he was like his father in that way, but she’d sensed his need for quiet conversation and reassurance for days. And Cassie clung to her, holding her hand, demanding hugs and kisses before bedtime.Determined to make the transition as easy as possible for the children, Allena realised she needed to spend lots of time with both of them over the ensuing weeks, so they both understood why she was leaving in a way that made them feel safe and loved.As she watched the kids munching on breadsticks, Allena’s logic blurred. She’d always known how hard leaving them wo
“What?”“Marry me!” Justin groaned. Not sure if he said it loudly.“What did you say?” Allena stepped back and pulled her hand free, staring at him, thinking she had just misheard... or that he had suddenly lost his mind.“Marry me,” he said again.It was official. He was insane.Jesus! What the hell is he doing? She thought to herself.“That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever—”“It’s not crazy,” he said quickly, cutting off her protest. “Think about it. It makes perfect sense. The kids—”“It’s not about the kids,” she said, mortified by the mixture of feelings surging through her blood, like disbelief and shock and something else—something she wasn’t prepared to admit.“They love you,” he said flatly. “And they need you.”“They love me,” she shot back. “Exactly. But you don’t,” she said and couldn’t bear how much saying the words hurt her. “And I don’t—”“I know that we don’t care about one another in that way, Allena,” he said and sighed heavily. “But sometimes, marriages start out for
On Wednesday afternoon, Justin got home to find Mitchael’s horse trailer by the tables, and Allena bringing Star through the corral gate. “I didn’t expect you today,” Justin said as his cousin approached and shook his hand.“I’m boarding Allena’s horse for a while,” Mitchael explained. “I thought you knew.”“I forgot,” he replied, his stomach sinking.As he spoke, Allena noticed him and immediately averted her gaze, loading her horse up the ramp. Once she was done, Mitchael closed the tailgate and bolted it securely in place.“Thank you,” she said to his cousin, ignoring Justin.“No problem,” Mitchael replied. “I’ll take good care of him. I’ll get him settled in andcall you later to know how he’s doing.”She thanked him again, glancing briefly towards Justin. “I’m going to see the kids,” she said. “They want to watch the kittens play.”She walked off towards the stables, her hips swinging and her head at a tight angle. “Things a little frosty around here, I take it?” Mitch said and g
Justin met her gaze and saw the awareness in her expression. There was no denying it, no hiding it, and no way, he suspected, of trying to diffuse it. He couldn’t help but wonder how long it had been there between them—if it had been there all along and was just waiting to be fanned into life. “I should go.”She nodded, stepping back. “Did you want to see me about something? I know I’m officially still on duty, but Cassie wanted to help Leah and Mittie with the baking, and Jayden was with you, so I—”“I don’t watch your clock-in and clock-out times, Allena,” Justin said, dumping the shoeboxes on the bed. “I thought you might want to spend some time with the kids tonight, that’s all. Maybe watch a movie.”“I should keep packing," she said, her words trailing off.Justin saw the boxes scattered around the room. It added another layer of finality to the situation. The mood between them was tense and uncomfortable, and his foolish proposal was an elephant in the room. And they both knew i
Once she ended the call with her sister, Allena took a shower and changed into her favourite jeans, a bright silky blouse, and her boots. She was meeting Leah for a drink at the bar in the hotel that evening and was about thirty seconds into their conversation when she asked about the kids.“They’re fine,” her friend said and sighed. “But they miss you. We all miss you.”“I miss you, too.”“Justin’s unbearable at the moment,” Leah said, grinning as she sipped her pineapple aiquiri.“Worse than we expected. My brother is an idiot.”Allena wasn’t going to disagree, but she also didn’t want Leah to imagine something was going on between them. Because it wasn’t. One brief kiss and a marriage proposal aside, she and Justin were not any kind of thing.“He likes his life in order, not chaos,” she reminded Leah. “Once he gets a new routine, it will be situation normal.”“He’s in love with you, Allena,” Leah said bluntly. “Everyone can see that. I mean, everyone but my stupid brother.”Her hea
Thomas drove her to the city, exceeding all speed records to reach the private hospital in time. They were too late for anaesthesia. She’d just barely settled into her private suite, and Dr. Bartlett had just rushed in to check on her, before their baby was born.Thomas held her close as their son came into the world, protecting them. And in the instant their newborn baby was placed in her exhausted arms, both their lives changed forever.Thomas kissed his wife’s sweaty forehead, then tenderly cradled them both in his arms. Their love was newly reborn in that single instant, brilliant and flashing like a comet illuminating the dark night, shining like a star that would always last.*****Mommy….mommy, they’re here!”Four-year-old John was running up and down the hallways, screaming like a banshee when he heard the helicopter land on the other side of the island. Leah smiled down at her son, even as she tried helplessly to hush him before he woke his two-year-old sister, who always got
Leah knelt, brushing the earth off the grey marble angel before placing half the daisies on her grave. “I’m going to have his baby any day now. And I forced him to promise to stay away from us.” She gave a harsh laugh. “I guess I never thought he’d stay so true to his word. Perhaps he’s not the liar I thought.” She wiped the tears that left cold tracks down her cheeks, chilling beneath the brisk spring wind as she said softly, “What should I do?”Her father’s grave was silent. Leah heard only the sigh of the wind through the trees as she stared down at the words on the gravestone.No. Her throat suddenly hurt. Sometimes love and passion can be equally joined, like a mutual fire. She’d felt it.The desire between Leah and Thomas had been explosive. She’d been so lucky, and she hadn’t even known it. For all her adult life, she’d been focused on the wrong thing. On revenge. On regaining a memory that had ultimately caused her nothing but grief.A bitter laugh stuck in her throat.Hearing
“No!” Leah jerked away from him. “Don’t touch me!” She turned away, heading for the door, desperate to get out of the bedroom, away from the soft, mussed sheets that were still warm from the tender passion of their bodies, away from the scent of him that still clung to her. Away from the happiness of the innocent, explosive joy she’d experienced moments before.“I don’t blame you,” he said quietly behind her, causing her to halt. “When I found out you were Justin De Nero's stepsister, I already knew I was falling in love with you. So I brought you here to the island.” He took a deep breath. “I thought if I kept you safe and hidden from the world, you wouldn’t remember. I prayed you never would.”She whirled around with a gasp, and the breath suddenly knocked out of her.“To punish me?” she said, wanting to cry. She lifted her chin. “To claim your victory?”Thomas bowed his head. “To be your husband,” he whispered. “To love you for the rest of my life.”His words crept into her soul li
Thomas pulled off the soft pink cotton dress with its innocent eyelet lace. Removing his own black T-shirt and jeans, he dropped them to the floor. His eyes greedily drank in the vision of Leah in her translucent white bra and panties.Looking into her eyes, he finally spoke the words that had long ago been written across his heart.“I love you, Leah.”She sucked in her breath, her gaze searching his. Wanting to believe. Needing to believe.Then he kissed her.Her lips seared him to the core. With every beat of his heart, he loved her. And all he wanted to do was make his vow of a month ago true; he wanted to spend the rest of his life kissing her.She moved beneath him on the white blanket of the bed. Above him, he could hear the soft whir of the ceiling fan, hear the cry of the morning birds outside, and feel the soft breeze against his naked body.He touched her naked skin, bronzed from so many days spent outside. He stroked her body all over, worshipping her with his fingertips, wi
After she had slept, he reached his breaking point. Getting up from the bed, he gazed through the open French doors onto the terrace, where the gentle breeze swirled the curtains. He observed the full moonlight dancing on the black waves of the Aegean, resembling lost spirits ensnared in invisible webs to the earth.He had believed he could shield them here, far from the world's reach. He was mistaken. To protect his family, he could never again be intimate with his wife, not even a kiss. For if he did, she would remember everything, and he would lose her.Thomas was consumed by pain, his breath catching in his chest. He stole one final glance at his pregnant wife, peacefully sleeping in their bed. He cherished her beauty, even as he agonized over the tear stains on her face. As the pink hues of sunrise began to fill the room, he clenched his fists and left her to sleep alone.How had it all gone so wrong?A month later, Leah remained baffled. She resided in a breathtaking Greek villa
“Two?” Thomas pouted.“Six?” she countered good-naturedly.He looked down at her, his dark eyes smiling. “We can compromise. Three.”“All right.” She leaned against him with a contented sigh. “I’m so happy here,” she confessed. “I never want to leave.”He flashed her a grin. “Then we won’t.”“Just what do you have in mind?” she teased. “A honeymoon that never ends?”He bent to kiss her lightly, tenderly on the lips. “Exactly.”He went to the white granite table, removing the two lunch plates from the tray. He set them out with silverware and linen napkins. He brought the two glasses of sparkling water to the lounge chairs and handed one to her.He held up his glass. “To the most beautiful woman in the world.”Flushing with pleasure, she clinked the glass against his. “To the most wonderful man in the world,” she said softly. “Thank you for telling me the truth. Thank you for forgiving me. Thank you for putting it all behind us and bringing me home.”His dark brows creased, and he look
Thomas was blown away by her openness and vulnerability. Leah had accepted blame for a betrayal she could not even remember. She’d chosen to believe him. To trust him when all he’d done was lie to her, trick her, and punish her. It was enough to bring any man to his knees.Thomas started to walk toward her, but he’d gone only a few steps before the phone in his hand rang. He saw his lead investigator’s number and answered. “That was fast.”“I can tell you about your wife’s father right now, Mr. Alexander.” Barr paused. “Do the names Chase Johnson and Justin De Nero mean anything to you?”Thomas’s entire body went hot, then turned to ice.He was only dimly aware of the ebb and flow of people around him as his hand clenched around the phone.“Johnson and Justin De Nero?” he repeated in a strangled voice.“The owner of Johnson Inc. is the best friend of Leah’s stepbrother, Justin De Nero. They are close friends... very close friends.”Thomas’s heart pounded in his throat. He saw black bi
“And so I’ve been waiting for you to remember. Every place I’ve taken you, every memory I’ve hoped to reignite, was so you could tell me why.” Suddenly, she understood everything. “Not just that,” she whispered. “You wanted to punish me. It’s what you’ve wanted since the day you found me in London. You wanted revenge—” “Justice,” he corrected coldly. “But when you found out I was pregnant, that changed everything, didn’t it?” She gave a choked laugh, then covered her mouth with an intake of breath. “You felt you had to marry me because I was pregnant with your baby. You never loved me. All you wanted was to hurt me.” “I spent months trying to find you before you resurfaced at your father’s funeral. You’re a wealthy woman, Leah, so you couldn’t have betrayed me for money. So you must have done it out of love. You’re in love with Jake Skinner. It’s the only explanation.” She thought of the playboy with his bleached-white smile and shook her head. “I could never love him.” “Then wh
Cradled in Thomas’s strong arms, beneath the soft dawn spilling from the windows, Leah hadn’t wanted to wake up. She’d pressed her head against his naked chest, relishing the feel of his warm skin laced with dark hair.His body was so much larger than her own. Snuggled against him in the enormous bed, she’d felt protected. Safe. Loved. There was so much about him that she still didn’t understand. But still, she was falling in love with him all over again.Drowsy and content, she’d listened to the beat of his heart against her cheek. The beat grew louder, like the sound of heavy footsteps stomping in unison against a hard stone floor. Step. Step. Step.She felt suddenly cold as she looked at the blurry faces around her. Her father’s sobbing face came into sharp focus. She clung to Leah, wailing as they watched her mother’s and sister-in-law's coffins pass out of the church on the shoulders of old men. Leah clutched her father’s hands in her own, suddenly terrified that her mother’s and