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
Justin headed into town and found a parking space near the hotel entrance. It was just before sixthirty when he spotted Allena standing in the hotel foyer, looking so beautiful in a mid-length black dress and heeled black boots that he almost buckled at the knees. Her hair was down and fell across her shoulders. She half smiled when she saw him and walked across the foyer, her hips swaying.“You look lovely,” he said, and touched her elbow, frazzled by the shot of electricity that raced uphis arm when his skin connected with hers. “Nice dress.”“Thank you. Where are we going?”“The honky-tonk place just out of town. Unless you’d prefer to stay here?”“No,” she replied. “I’ve never been there and I hear they do barbecue ribs to die for.”Justin grinned. “I’ve heard the same thing.”She looked at him curiously. “You’ve never been there, either?”Justin’s gaze lingered on her. “Nope.”She waited until their eyes met before replying. “I thought you might have taken hat’s-her-name.”Just
“Have you thought about what you’re going to say at the christening tomorrow?” Allena asked, trying to keep the conversation neutral. “Tess did ask us both to say a few words.”He nodded. “It’s quite the responsibility. My late wife was an atheist, so we never got Jayden or Cassie baptized. I figured they could get it done when they’re older if they wished to.”“I never knew that about her,” Allena mused, then decided to dip her toe in a bit further. “You know, you don’t talk about her a lot.”Justin shrugged. “It’s a bit of a double-edged sword, I suppose. If I say too much, it can upset the kids. If I don’t say enough, well, that can upset them, too. Since Cassie has no memory of her, it’s difficult for her to understand that Jayne is her mother. The truth is, the only mom my daughter has ever had, Allena, is you.”In her heart, Allena knew his words were true. “I never planned on loving them so much,” she admitted.He nodded. “I know. I guess, after her death, I never planned that
Justin looked down into her lovely face, noticing every line and every sweet angle. There was something so incredibly sexy about her, and as he took her mouth in a searing kiss, the sensation almost buckled him at the knees. She was pressed against him, her lovely curves soft against the hard angles of his chest. He deepened the kiss and gently anchored her head with one hand. Leaning closer, he ran one hand down her side, lingered at the underside of her breast, and felt her ribcage through the fabric of her dress.“Allena,” he whispered against her mouth. “Tell me to stop.”“I can’t,” she said and gripped harder, digging her fingers into his shoulders. “I don’t want you to stop.”Justin pressed closer until they were leaning against the car, angling her head so their kiss could have the deepest contact. It had been a long time since he’d been intimate with anyone, but he knew that the feeling of having Allena in his arms was unlike anything he’d experienced before. She was soft and
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