“Um, people can see us?”
“Is that a question?” He smiled and bent to suck her nipple through her blouse.
“Oh. You are so bad.”
“I’ll show you bad. Take your shirt off.”
“If someone walks by, they will see us.”
He ran his hand up the inside of her shorts until he found her panties. “I want these off, too.”
“Matt.”
“Julia. I am going to make love to you right now. On our beach. The same sand where I once asked you to marry me and you said yes. The same spot where we promised each other forever. I don’t break my promises, babe.”
Her mind was spinning.
He pulled off her shorts, panties included. “Do you want me to make you come three times right now?” He petted her and she was already losing her mind.
“Only three?”
“Babe, you are killing me here. I might not be able to wait for you to make up your mind.”
She rubbed his erection through his jeans. “I want you as deep as you can get. Hurry.”
He unzipped his pants. He lifted her hips with his hands and eased himself inside. He felt so good. The feelings and words rolled over her.
Home. Mine. Matt.
And when he pounded into her, she rolled with him, giving as good as she got. She cried out, forgetting she was on public land and could get arrested for indecency if the sheriff decided to drive by today.
He kissed her, swallowing her sounds. He lifted her hips again. In. Out. Hard. Fast. It was difficult to catch her breath. They were both glistening with sweat and sand stuck to her bottom. And still he kept on electrifying every sweet spot inside her.
She cried out again, whimpered really, because the feelings were so strong. She gripped his butt and he shuddered. A few more thrusts and, heaven help her, she came again. Three. How did he do that?
He rolled to the side to look at her. She quickly pulled up her shorts and straightened her blouse.
He laughed and zipped up his jeans. Then he kissed her on the tip of her nose. “I love you, Julia. I always have.”
She sighed. “I love you, my sweet bad boy. It’s going to kill me when you leave. But I understand, Matt. I really do. You have a life waiting for you away from here. An airline to run. Your dreams are right there, ready to be grabbed.”
He rubbed her chin. “Julia. I am not leaving you or my son. I love you both. Come with me.”
He loves our son. It made her want to cry with happiness and grief. “We can’t. Henry has school and his family here. His friends. If we go, we won’t know anyone. You’ll be flying all over the world and we’ll be alone in a strange place. That wouldn’t be good for a kid like Henry. And what about my education? And taking the bar. I can’t do that in Asia.”
He kneaded his neck. “Must be some way to make this work.”
All the wonder of earlier faded and she started to cry. She’d found love and yet still she couldn’t have him?
“How?” she asked. “If you stay here, you’ll have to live near RW. You hate Plunder Cove because of him. I can’t ask you to be anywhere near that man’s thumb. But even worse, you’ll give up your dream of owning your own airline. I can’t take that from you.”
He didn’t say a word but she saw the pain in his eyes.
“I saw you up there. Flying is your passion. Your life. I want you to be happy. You deserve this, Matt.”
“Henry?”
“We don’t tell him. His father died before he was born. He’s used to that. Why confuse the situation?”
“No! I won’t be an absent father. I want...”
“Everything. I know. But as a parent, you do what’s best for your child. That’s why I won’t beg you to stay, no matter how much I need...” Her voice cracked. She shook her head. “This isn’t up to me. It’s about doing what’s right for Henry. And for you.”
He stood. “No, dammit! I don’t get any say in this?”
She grabbed his hand and kissed his palm. “I won’t be the one to crush your life. Please, Matt, decide what’s best for you—Asia or Plunder Cove.” She rose, too, and stood on her toes to kiss his jaw. “I love you, Matt. So much that I’ll let you go.”
Twenty-Four
Matt was walking in the street when Alfred pulled up beside him. “Need a ride?”
For the first time in his life, he felt like walking. Hell, maybe he’d hoof it right off the ends of the earth. He was replaying the beach scene in his head.
He’d had the woman he loved in his arms. He’d given her his heart. He had a son! Julia’d said she loved him.
So how could she even suggest he fly away alone?
The worst part? She was right.
Dammit, he wanted to go to Asia to fly his own planes. It was the one thing that had saved him in Afghanistan when he’d thought Julia had married another guy. He wanted to live somewhere where his father wasn’t.
But that was before he’d seen Julia two days ago.
Before he’d known the truth about what had happened between them ten years ago.
He wanted her back in his life. No, want was too soft a word for how much he desired Julia.
She loved him.
Add Henry to the equation and Matt was the luckiest man on earth. He shook his head, reality smacking him upside his brain again.
Sweet God. I have a family!
And a crazy extended family to boot.
How could he walk away from all of that?
If he could take them all to Asia, where he could fly and run his airline, everything would be perfect. For him. Not so much for all the people he loved.
And who said he couldn’t run an airline from California? He could have it all, and give it all to Julia and Henry, too.
He wouldn’t be a selfish prick like his own father had been. RW had always put Harper Industries first, before everything and everyone. Matt had never felt like he or his siblings were important or wanted.
He would do things differently.
But before he could do that, before he could stay in Plunder Cove, he had to settle things with his father once and for all.
“So was that a no on the ride?” Alfred interrupted his thoughts.
Matt shook his head. “I’ll drive.”
* * *
“Dad, are you in there?” He knocked on his father’s study door.
RW opened up. “Matthew, come in. Would you like a drink? You look a bit frazzled.”
Frazzled? He’d been through the ringer. “I could use a beer.”
“Sit.” RW motioned toward his leather couch and handed Matt a beer from the minifridge. “What’s on your mind, son?”
Son. He took a sip before asking the burning question. “Dad, did you know that Henry is my son?”
RW sat next to him. “He’s handsome and smart. He has your eyes. Of course he’s a Harper.”
“Is that why you’re building the new school?”
“Can’t have my grandson traveling eighty-plus minutes a day on the bus. And the education at that school stinks. Henry and his buddies deserve better.”
Matt shook his head. “How long have you known?”
“Not long. Angel clued me in to the possibility, so I did a little investigating myself.”
Angel. Again. “Where is she, Dad?”
“She’s safe. Staying out of the limelight for a while until things die down.”
“Tell her that her sisters are really worried about her.”
“I will, son. She’s going to be okay. There’s nothing I won’t do to protect her.”
Matt leaned back on the couch and crossed his arms behind his head. “I feel the same about Julia, but she wants me to leave Plunder Cove. Go my own way and ignore the fact that I have a son and family here.”
“Th
at doesn’t sound like her. What did you do?”
“Me? Why would you assume I’m in the wrong?”
RW let out a deep breath. “Sorry. That’s not what I meant. Tell me why she is giving you the boot.”
Sorry? That was the first apology Matt had ever heard his father make.
“She’s not giving me the...well, I mean, sort of. She says it’s up to me to decide to stay or go. She knows how much I want to fly my own planes but she and Henry don’t want to go to Asia. That’s not a life that would work for them. But she’s worried that if I don’t go I will eventually hate her for setting limits on my life.”
“She’s a smart lady.” RW templed his hands in front of his nose. “There’s another option. You’ve probably considered it, but I’ll lay it out anyway. You could stay here and operate an airline for Harper Industries, flying in clients as we discussed. Grow that part of our business to something bigger even. You’d have free rein to fly whenever, wherever you want. Maybe even partner with the Forest Service to provide search-and-rescue support like I heard you love to do. And we’d have the best planes money could buy because you’d pick out each one for the fleet. How’s that sound?”
Like his father was trying to buy him. Matt threw up his hands. “Why do you want to keep me here, Dad? I don’t get it.”
RW swallowed hard. “Because I was a horrible father. You deserved better. I want to give you something better now, while I still can.”
For the fifty-billionth time this weekend, Matt was floored. “I don’t know what to say.”
RW lifted one shoulder. “What’s to say? I’m sorry, Matthew. From the toxic relationship with your mother to the way I blamed you for my faults to forcing you to leave Julia, I made your life hell.
“I was caught up in trying to grow my father’s company and keep the competitors at bay while fighting with your mother. There was no safe place for me. No peace. What I didn’t know was that I was also sick and that sickness nearly broke me. I was out of my mind with debilitating paranoia when I sent you, Jeffrey and Chloe away. I was afraid for your safety. It was the last good act I did as a father. I can’t expect you to forgive me, but I hope you will one day let me be a part of your life again.
“I want to try to be what you need. If not for you, then for your son.”
RW took a sip of water. His hands shook.
Matt was stunned by the apology and realized it was his turn. “Well, looking back, I have to admit that it wasn’t all you. I had sort of a wild streak.”
“Sort of?” RW laughed.
“Okay, a wide wild streak. My behavior and your illness weren’t a good mix, I guess. I’m sorry for my part in all that happened.”
“I’m being treated now, son. Don’t worry. It was difficult back then to handle a teen who liked to push my buttons.”
Matt grinned. “Don’t all teenagers like to push buttons? Ordering me not to see Julia, though...that was a big mistake. Sure, I was only seventeen, but I loved her like crazy. I still do. Your threat has haunted me for ten years. What you did changed both of our lives. You aren’t still planning to release the secrets that could hurt her family, are you?”
“They’re not my secrets. One day, the truth will come out, but only when Angel is ready. And when she is, I’ll be by her side, or perhaps, in front of her, to shield her from harm.”
“She sounds like an amazing woman. I hope I get to meet her one day.”
“That’s up to her. I’m letting her call the shots right now because she’s in a predicament and she’s also the reason we’re all here, back in Plunder Cove together. She pushed me to be a better man. Helped me get treatment. Taught me how to hope. Do you know which questions keep me up at night?”
“What are the stock prices?”
RW shook his head. “Will an undeserving man like me finally be allowed to get a happily-ever-after? Can a horrible father fix the past? Is one person strong enough to pay back hundreds of years of abuse? These are the things I struggle to grasp—redemption and love. I don’t deserve either one, but I’m still reaching, still asking.”
Matt studied his father and realized he’d never known him at all. But this guy pouring out his heart? Matt might like getting to know him.
“Want a little piece of advice from a man who has been in the trenches?” RW asked.
“Sure.”
“A woman who sees you for who you are and loves you anyway doesn’t come around often. Especially one who is willing to forgo her own happiness so you can have a shot at yours.” RW leaned forward and put his hand on Matt’s knee. “Find your angel and hang on with both hands. Then pray to God you don’t screw it up.”
Matt nodded. “Thanks, Dad.”
“Hell, son. Why are you still sitting here gabbing with your old man? Go!”
* * *
Julia recognized Matt’s rap on her door. With her heart in her throat, she opened it, surprised to see him on one knee on her doorstep with a yellow chick cupped in his hands.
“What on earth?”
Matt began, “Julia Espinoza, will you—?”
The neighbor’s door opened and Tía Nona peeked her head out. “I’m watching the baby over here. What’re you doing on the porch, Matthew?”
“He’s fine, tía. Go back inside,” Julia said.
But when did Tía Nona ever do as she was told?
Matt tried again. “Julia Espinoza—”
“Maria. That’s her middle name. Might want to add that in there,” Tía Nona said.
He let out a soft breath. “Okay. Julia Maria Espinoza, will—”
“Can’t forget her mother’s maiden name. It wouldn’t be proper,” Tía Alana yelled out her window. “It’s Martinez.”
“Where’s the ring?” Tía Flora shouted from her window.
Matt lifted the yellow chick higher. “I didn’t have time for a ring, so I snagged this little guy from the Casa Larga kitchen gardens. I hope he’ll buy me some brownie points. I know how much you love birds and figure the jewelry can come later.”
Henry popped his head out the door. “Hey, Matt. What are you doing on the ground with a chick? Did you fall or something? Need help getting up?” Henry reached to help lift him and all the aunts yelled, “No!”
Tía Nona hissed, “Let the man speak.”
Matt looked around and noticed half the town was staring at him. He barely flinched. He turned back to Julia and kept his focus solely on her. “You are so damned beautiful. So out of my league. Sweet and spicy. Strong and gentle. The day I popped wheelies in front of Juanita’s, I knew you were mine. My love, my home. I don’t want to live anywhere without you.”
Tears were flowing down her cheeks. “What about your airline? You can’t pass up this opportunity!”
“You are my opportunity. My one chance at happiness. My family.” He looked into her eyes and then at Henry. “I have everything I want right here in Pueblicito. Our town. And I’m staying.” He took a deep breath. “Julia Maria Martinez Espinoza, will you marry—”
“Yes! Oh, God, yes.” She pulled him to his feet and gently handed the chick to Henry. Then she took her opportunity and kissed the daylights out of him.
The entire town erupted in cheers.
Epilogue
Chloe went above and beyond to plan the best wedding a pirate could ever have.
The ceremony was to take place in the gazebo where Matt and Julia first kissed. She’d decorated the wood structure with white twinkling lights and fragrant flowers. The walkway to the gazebo was draped with a long pink sash and covered in memories. She’d blown up the pictures from Matt’s camera and collected several others from people all over town. Even Alfred contributed to the walkway of photos. The best pictures, hands down, were the ones with Henry, Matt and Julia together. Love and happiness jumped out of each shot.
Inside the hous
e, Julia waited with Maria and Linda. Julia was doing her best not to pass out.
“¡Guau! That dress is gorgeous. Can I wear it after you?” Maria asked.
Julia hiked her eyebrow. “Something you’re not telling us?”
“Nah. Thinking ahead in case Jaime finds his balls.”
Her cousins hugged her carefully.
“Can I get in there, too?” a voice said behind her.
“Juanita!” Julia opened her arms farther to let Juanita into the hugging pile. When they all released one another, Julia said, “I heard you closed the café for my wedding. Glad you made it.”
“I came to wish you love and happiness, but I can’t stay. Something has come up and I have to leave Plunder Cove.” Juanita’s voice sounded strained.
“Something serious?”
Juanita waved her hand like it was nothing, but Julia saw the tremble in her slender fingers.
“Tell me. Maybe I can help. I’m going to be a lawyer, you know.” Julia smiled. Juanita was the one who’d encouraged her to go to college. She was also the one who’d found a donor to help pay some of the educational bills.
“Yes. You are.” Juanita cupped Julia’s cheek. “I’m so proud of you. Look at all you have accomplished! Saving the birds, moving the school. You did that. You. No one else. Never forget how special you are, nene.”
Julia blinked. Nene. The translation for the word could be darling, little one, or my baby. Tía Nona called her that all the time. No one else did.
“I won’t forget. No matter what happens,” Juanita said.
Julia frowned. It sounded like a forever goodbye. Julia pulled Juanita into her arms and held on tight.
“Stay safe, Angel,” she whispered. “Please come back when you can. Or let your family help you. We are stronger in numbers and we all love you.”
Juanita—Angel—bristled in Julia’s arms, startled. And a second later she relaxed, still holding on tight. “How’d you know?”
“You were so kind and gentle to me. You gave me and Matt a safe place to be ourselves. A haven of safety and warmth. When I was sad, you listened. Happy, you laughed. Sick at heart, you nursed my wounds. You fed me, gave me shelter and loving acceptance. I can’t tell you how many times I wished you were my mother.”
Forbidden Lovers Page 16