“Do they even know you’re divorced?”
“Of course, I told them. They like my ex, probably better than me—and love my son.”
“You never mention your family, or anything about your life before Paradise Cove. What’s the big frickin’ secret?”
“No secret. Just nothing to tell.”
“Hell, Colt! If I’m ever to get to know you better, I should have the right to ask.”
“Taylor, if I thought my past was important I’d tell you my whole life story, but it isn’t. You know me, and whatever happened years ago doesn’t make me any less or any better of a man.”
“Invite your mom and sister, Colt. I’d like to meet them.” She turned and walked away.
* * *
Taylor tiptoed into the cabin, hoping to sneak into her bedroom. Unfortunately she encountered Brittany coming out of the bathroom.
“You’re just coming in?” she asked, knowing the answer to the dumb question. “So how was he?”
“As if I’d kiss and tell.” Taylor grinned and shrugged. “We had fun, if that’s what you want to know.”
“They why are you sneaking back here in the middle of the night? Why aren’t you still wrapped around that gorgeous body of his?”
“Because it’s five in the morning and I didn’t want the guests to see me in my bridesmaid dress coming home. Besides. Nothing has changed. We enjoyed ourselves, but it’s not like we’re going to fall madly in love and have a dozen kids. It’s not like that.”
“How do you know? You guys are crazy about each other, and you never know what the future will bring.”
“Well, the future might be brighter, but for now we’ll take it one day at a time.”
“That’s not so bad, is it?”
“No, of course not. I know life doesn’t come with guarantees, but I like having some control over it. With Colt…I’m just not sure. I keep feeling as though I’m the one who will get hurt, and he’ll walk away unscathed.”
“Really? I think he’s the romantic at heart, and you might be the cynic.”
“How can you say that? I’m just cautious, that’s all.”
“Then cautiously go into this affair with your eyes open and your heart willing.” She smiled. “He’s a great guy.”
“I think so too, but he’s being really guarded about his past. He has a mother and sister in Miami who have never visited him in the past year. He let’s his son visit, but doesn’t himself. And he won’t talk about his upbringing. It’s like a big, dark secret.”
“That’s funny. I thought he was an open book.” Brittany frowned. “Guess everyone has a skeleton in their closet.” She followed Taylor into her bedroom and sat on the bed while she undressed. “Is his father still alive?”
“No. But he won’t talk about his family at all.” Taylor slipped on a robe and sat down on the bed next to her sister. “I suggested that he invite his mom and sister here for dinner tomorrow since we have so many out of town guests. But he made excuses, and obviously didn’t want to do it. It just seems weird.”
“Maybe he thinks that’s moving a step too fast. Like you’re getting engaged or something.”
“I thought that at first too, and clarified it right away.” She shook her head. “It’s more that that.”
Brittany gave her a hug. “Want me to ask?”
“No, Brit. I know you mean well, but if Colt and I are going to be sleeping together, then he needs to open up to me. Or it’s a no go.”
“Okay.” She stood up. “Good luck with that.”
Taylor got dressed and went to her cafe. With all the guests staying at their resort, she expected half a dozen tables for an early breakfast, and that she’d be busy for most of the morning. Her worries over Colt could wait.
Besides the usual breakfast dishes, and fresh croissants and muffins, she had a few specialties in mind that would use up some of last night’s appetizers. She got busy doing the prep work, and was enjoying her second cup of coffee when Juanita came in.
“Good morning,” she called out, putting her small handbag under the counter. “You are here early. What smells so good?”
“I have smoked salmon frittatas warming in the oven, and a tray of ham/egg and cheese rollups in pastry. We also have crab Benedict.”
“My, my, my! I do love working for you.”
Taylor grinned. “We aren’t opening for another half hour. What should we have for breakfast?”
The two of them sat down with coffee and a rollup each, then turned on the outside neon light and unlocked the front door. Open for business.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Colt was taking Sean’s father and brother-in-law out on the boat at ten which gave him a few hours to shower, shape up and figure a way out of this mess. He hadn’t slept a wink after Taylor left, knowing he’d better come up with a damn good excuse as to why his Miami relations couldn’t attend tonight’s dinner, or Taylor would cut him off at the knees. Worse—she might never sleep with him again, and he sure in hell didn’t want that to happen.
What had got into her all off a sudden? She’d never shown any curiosity about his family, or his past before. He knew sleeping with her was different than hooking up with one of the girls in town or a passerby once in awhile. Taylor was special—their relationship unique. Going to bed with her had altered their situation a little. It gave her some privileges and deepened their connection. Didn’t give her the right to pry into things that were none of her business though.
On the other hand, it might be something as simple as her sister’s wedding that elicited this response. He knew how important family was to her—not only her own, but people like the Hernandez family when they’d landed at their door. Her family had not only sheltered them, but given them clothing, food, comfort and love. They’d welcomed the Cuban immigrants into their lives and cared about them like blood relations.
He didn’t feel that kind of love for his own family. He should he supposed. It wasn’t his mom’s fault, or his sister’s that they had been spoiled rotten with worldly goods, and then it had all been taken away. They were not bad people. They worked hard. They were honest, or at least fair when it came to real estate deals and keeping their clients happy.
He didn’t have anything against them—he had nothing in common. They were like two peas in a pod—he was the odd man out. Truth was—they embarrassed him. Their identical fake looks—long blonde hair, inflated boobs, false eyelashes, veneered white teeth. They were like walking, talking Barbie dolls. He cringed at the idea of having them here, mingling with his only true friends. Their fancy apartment on Miami Beach, a new Mercedes every two years, their ritzy glamorous life was everything he abhorred. A cutting reminder of his father, a man he’d once loved and was so proud of, who’d been nothing but a fraud. A despicable human being who had made a mockery of the art world he’d claimed to love.
He never spoke of his father—to anyone. Not to his sister and certainly not with his mom. His dad had been dead to them the minute they knew he was nothing but a scam artist.
It had taken Colt a little longer than that. He’d hurt deeply for a long, long time. Shame and anger and frustration burned a hole inside of him. He’d wished his father hadn’t died. He’d wanted him alive so he could ask him why—why a man with so much natural talent would allow it to go to waste, and to copy other masters instead of becoming one himself? For years he’d been consumed by questions, dying inside to know.
But he never would. He’d go to his own grave still wondering why his father would bury the best in himself, hide it from the world and choose to imitate—and lie to his friends, his family and the entire art world.
He hated his father with a passion. A passion that might have been spent on so many worthwhile endeavors had his upbringing been different.
Whatever. He wouldn’t make any apologies for the life he led, and he had better things to do than spend another minute regretting or reflecting on his past. If Taylor couldn’t accept that, well he�
��d be no worse off than he’d been before. A woman like her deserved an equal partner, a man with ambition, someone eager to light the world on fire. The only damn thing that lit his fire was her.
* * *
Colt spent an enjoyable day on the water with Sean’s father and brother-in-law, trolling for dolphin and mahi-mahi. For the first hour they didn’t catch anything of regulation size, but they moved to another location and within minutes Robert had caught his first dolphin—a good fifteen pounder. The lines got busy for the next twenty-thirty minutes and the two men were reeling them in faster than they could count.
Suddenly Colt saw something flash out of the water. It jumped high, but he only caught a glimpse of the underbelly. He saw the length of it, and knew they had something big. “Big one. Portside,” he shouted down to the men. Then Jonathon saw it too. A Blue Marlin was following their boat.
Seconds later the marlin pounced, crashing the right rigger lure and making a huge explosion as it hit the bait. It was still a hundred yards out when the marlin jumped completely out of the water, its tail kicking. Jonathon, Sean’s ophthalmologist father, was a seasoned angler and kept the reel tight. Colt shouted down to Robert, telling him to reel the other lures in.
Colt had his hands full moving the boat forward in lurching motions, helping Jonathon to keep his line from going slack. The marlin put up a good fight, changing directions and doing acrobatic leaps out of the water. Unfortunately, after forty minutes of a heroic battle between a middle-aged man and a feisty fish, the marlin lived to see another day.
Still, undaunted by their efforts, the men celebrated with a couple of cold beers, and they returned to the marina in high spirits. Colt had managed to snap a few good photos of the three to four hundred pound catch before it snapped the lure and dived below. With their ice chest full of dolphins, and a tale to tell their wives, both were happy men.
After they were moored, Colt helped the men off with their prized fish and took more pictures which they could show with pride.
“How about we ask Taylor to fry these babies up for dinner?” Jonathon suggested. “We sure can’t take them home with us.”
“I’m sure she’ll be happy to do that,” Colt said. “You want to run down and ask her while I clean up the fish?”
“Sounds good to me.” He watched the men leave, and knew he was being a chicken shit. He could easily have taken the fish to Taylor himself. But that would require his talking to her, and he wasn’t ready to face her just yet.
Once the fish were cleaned and gutted, he washed up and headed toward the beach and the resort. He saw a couple out in kayaks, and two young boys skimming the waves on a boogie board. Then he spotted Sean’s buddy Ken from med school sitting with Jennifer on the edge of the shore. She was in a light blue bikini and a big straw hat. Her head was tilted back, and she was laughing at something Ken had said.
He waved at them and kept on walking.
Ken was recently divorced. He had two kids around the same age as Jamie. Ken lived in Boston and Jen in Philadelphia, but he was glad the two of them had found each other this weekend—might do them both a world of good.
He made his way past the mangroves to where the wedding had taken place. He eyed the exact spot he’d danced with Taylor and kissed her last night. He had shouted his intentions to the world by seducing her into leaving with him, and wasn’t ashamed of it either.
Perhaps he did owe her something, but what exactly? They were consenting adults who liked each other a lot. They could damn well make love if they wanted to, and it was nobody’s business but theirs. And yet, he knew that wasn’t quite true. Her family treated him like one of their own. They respected him and expected him to do the right thing.
What did that mean? He squinted in the sun, and saw Anna and a few of the women sitting under a big umbrella table at the pool. She waved him over, and he thought about pretending he didn’t see them, but she deserved better.
“Hey, ladies,” he said, flashing them his best smile. “Isn’t it too hot out here for you?” It was three in the afternoon, and must have been darn near a hundred degrees. “You’re all going to wilt in this heat.”
“We’ve been in the air conditioning all day, and Jane and Maggie wanted a walk on the beach. So here we are. Enjoying a pitcher of strawberry and lime mojitos too. Want one?” Anna asked.
“Don’t mind if I do.” Thankfully, he sank into a chair and let her pour one into a tumbler for him. “Cheers, ladies.” He raised his glass and chug-a-lugged, expecting it to be light and sweet. Instead, he sputtered his mouthful, and grabbed a napkin on the table. “Crap. What are you women drinking? This is awfully damn potent for this time of the day.”
Anna laughed. “It’s an early happy hour.”
He raised a brow, then directed his attention on the guests. “So did you speak with your husbands?” he asked the two women.
Maggie waved her drink in the air. “Oh, my! They are excited. Jonathon wouldn’t shut up about that big fish they nearly caught.” She shook her head and the silver in her hair glinted in the sun. “Too bad they couldn’t reel it in. Still, they had the best time ever,” she said, her hazel eyes twinkling.
“Robert too. He’s not much of a fisherman, but he loved every minute.” Jane said with a friendly smile. She had a brown ponytail that bounced when she spoke, and intelligence radiated from her light blue eyes “They’re talking about wanting to go out again. Maybe we could all go.”
“Sure. I’d loved to take the four of you out. I think I’m free on Wednesday, if you’ll still be here.”
“We were going to return that day, but perhaps we can stay another night.” Maggie laughed and refilled her glass. “We’re having so much fun, I hate to leave.”
“At least you don’t have to go back to the cold.” Colt knew they lived in California. “Your weather should be very pleasant right about now.”
“True, but then I’ve got to get back to my real life. Running committees, bridge and golf.” She sighed. “This is a holiday.” She laughed again, and he figured she’d probably had enough to drink.
“You ladies take it easy on this punch. Especially in this heat.”
“Oh, don’t be a worrywart,” Anna said. Then she leaned over and nudged him. “So we’re all wondering what happened when you and Taylor disappeared last night. Know you’d had a spat early on. Everything all cleared up between you?”
He felt a rash of heat crawl up his neck. “Yup. We’re good.” He slid a finger down the condensation from his glass and kept his eyes on the drink. “Is she still down at the cafe?” he asked, eager to change the subject.
“She should be closing right about now. Go see her, why don’t you?” Anna winked at the two ladies. “Wasn’t last night wonderful?” She sighed and put a hand to her heart. “I swear it was the most beautiful wedding ever. I sure hope to see more of them here in Paradise Cove.”
“I’m sure there will be.” He added quickly, “Taylor’s already talking about selling this as a destination wedding venue.” Perspiration dripped from his brow. His entire body felt bathed in sweat.
“Of course. But I wasn’t talking about that. I was thinking about Taylor. She’s not getting any younger you know.”
Jane sent him a sympathetic look. “Why don’t you talk to Jonathon and Robert and see if we can all stay another day?”
Colt stood up and polished off the rest of his drink. He shot Jane a grateful glance. “I’ll do that.” Time for him to leave.
Perhaps he’d been wrong to flaunt his intentions to everyone last night. It had been obvious that he intended to sleep with Taylor, and had seduced her right then and there. She had family that cared about her. Friends too. They had a right to wonder what his intentions were today.
Problem was—he had no answer. His intentions were muddied for sure.
In a way, he felt caught up in a trap. Marriage right now was not on the table, but he had strong feelings for Taylor just the same. He didn’t want any more pres
sure that’s for sure. Taylor had already laid it on him this morning.
He only had two options:, call his mother or piss off Taylor. Neither held any appeal.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Colt found Taylor sitting in the newly restored A-frame structure that was now the outdoor area. It was made from solid wood but had open windows to let the breeze blow though. Definitely hurricane proof. She was seated with Jonathon and Robert discussing various ways she could do the fish.
“Hi guys,” Colt said, taking a seat at the table. “Just talked to the women a few minutes ago. They’re all down at the pool getting soused on mojitos. Your mom pours a mean drink,” he said to Taylor.
She nodded, her eyes guarded.
“They wanted to know if you could all leave Thursday instead of Wednesday so I could take the four of you out on the boat. Wednesday’s my only free day.”
“Works for me,” Robert said, sipping on a chilled beer. “Okay with you, Jon?”
“Sounds good. Need to change our flight though.” The younger man used his iPhone and got right on it.
Jonathon stood, and stretched out his back. “Anyway you want to prepare the fish is good by us,” he told Taylor. “We don’t know much about cooking it, but we sure enjoy eating it.” He grinned. “There’ll be a big tip in it for you.”
Taylor stood too. “You don’t need to tip me. You’re part of the wedding party.” She put her hands in her pockets and rocked on her toes. “Please. Don’t even think of it.”
“You’re running a business, and from what I hear you just got started. Then along came the hurricane which nearly wiped you out a few weeks back. So I want to pay for our meals. And I refuse to take no for an answer.”
Taylor glanced at Colt for help.
“Don’t look at me.” He grinned. “Take the money. You need it, and you deserve it.”
“That’s settled then.” The men polished off their beers, then left through the back door. Colt and Taylor were alone.
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