The Billionaire Heiress's Lover (The Van Dyke Sisters 3) のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 11 - チャプター 20

“Keep kicking!” A.J. shouted over whirling winds. He hadn’t gotten the chance to go to the engine room. The yacht had taken on so much water it was seeping under the door of the captain’s room. Before he could think, a wave hit the yacht so hard it had broken the glass window in the door. Water had been coming in and fast. They had no choice but to grab the life preserver in the quarters. When they went out to the deck they were practically thrown overboard by another huge wave. Luckily, they weren’t separated that far from each other. They had come together in the ocean. The duchess had grabbed onto the other side of life preserver. It appeared she was a pretty strong swimmer. The rain was merciless. It was dark, making visibility low. A.J. was ninety percent positive they were heading in the right direction. “I think I see a light!” the duchess yelled. I hope to God you do. A.J. wasn’t sure how much he had left

Three days later . . . If there wasn’t light wind damage on people’s homes, you wouldn’t have known the outer walls of a hurricane had brushed the Florida Keys three days before. The debris and brush had been piled up and picked up by sanitation yesterday. The stores, no longer sporting boards and shutters on the windows, were opened and full of inventory once again. Those who had lost power had it restored yesterday morning. Caitlin had gotten a new phone the day before yesterday. She had called her family just in case they had heard about the storm and got worried. The Van Dyke clan had heard about the storm and had tried to call her, but couldn’t get through. They had assumed it was the wind and the rain messing up cell reception. But all in all they had a feeling she was fine in her newly bought house. They didn’t know the wiser and Caitlin wanted it to stay that way. The last thing she needed was her father up in arms and her mother

A.J. arrived back to Key West the next morning. He hadn’t been entirely honest with his duchess, but that was going to change today. He had taken his Harley back to his house in Orlando and dealt with the business crises that had come up. It took way longer than he had hoped it would, but he had to handle it personally. It wasn’t until nine o’clock at night until he was free. So, he had returned to his place in Orlando. As he had lied in bed last night, he had thought about the duchess. It was time to come clean with her and it was time for her to reveal who she was. It was the step forward they had to take. It was time. So, that morning he had showered, shaved, parted his hair on the side, and slicked it down on the sides, leaving his longer strands to fold over. He put on a heathered, light blue Armani suit. Before he went back to the house, he stopped by a floral shop to buy a huge bouquet of roses and a wine shop to get a bottle of Dom Perignon.

One month later . . . A.J. had waited for the duchess to return to Key West for four weeks. Nothing. Not a phone call or a letter. A.J. had hired an artist to sketch her likeness. The nose wasn’t quite right but it was close enough. He had taken two pictures of her but they were on his old phone – the one that got washed out to sea. He hadn’t even considered uploading them onto a cloud at the time. And he hadn’t thought about taking any more pictures of her with his new phone. He wasn’t big on taking pictures whether it was by cell or a digital camera. He had sent a copy of the duchess’s sketch to a P.I. in New York three weeks ago. He had spoken to him three days ago. The man didn’t have any leads but A.J. figured it would take time. New York had millions of people just in the city limits. That wasn’t counting outside of the city limits. He had thought having her initials, C.E.V., would have helped to slim down the search but it hadn’t – not yet.

The next morning . . . Caitlin’s regular physician had a cancellation. She had to get up with the chickens to make the seven-thirty appointment. Caitlin had been waiting for her test results for close to an hour. She was pretty sure she wasn’t diabetic. It had to be stress. She just had to find a way to relax. That’s all. The door opened. It was Dr. Lou. “Finally,” Caitlin said, exasperated. “I apologize for the wait,” Dr. Lou said. She was an older woman with curly, sandy brown hair. Through the years, white strands had taken over some parts of her hair. “I just wanted to make sure your results were accurate before we spoke.” “Oh, dear,” Caitlin said. The woman looked quite serious. “Am I diabetic?” “Oh, no,” she said lightly as she took a step towards Caitlin. “You’re pregnant.” “What!” Caitlin shouted. “No!” “Yes. I thought it would be a shock since you were conv