by Jean Adams
Above their heads, strings of small, multi-colored plastic flags surrounded the café’s perimeter, catching her attention as they fluttered in the light sea breeze blowing in from the sea. “This is fabulous.”
Lucas leaned forward on the table. “Not bad, huh?”
“I can see why you love it here so much.”
Their order arrived, and Jenna took a tentative sip. “Mmm. Very sweet.”
She gazed out over the sparkling sea, then turned back to face him. “I’m not being nosey, Lucas, honest, but well…”
“I can guess what’s coming.”
“I just think it will help you if you can clear it out of your system. And talking about it is the first step.”
He took a drink from his glass. “You really want to hear the gory details?”
“Yes.” She reached out and squeezed his hand. “I want to understand what she did to you that made you so bitter. That would make you close out all help.”
He drew in a deep breath, but paused a long time before speaking. “It’s not pretty.”
“I didn’t think it would be.”
He cleared his throat and stared into the bottom of his glass. “Okay, you asked for it.” He hesitated briefly. “I had a business, a very successful IT business that took me fifteen years to build.” He paused and looked out to sea before returning his concentration to the glass. “When it started getting too big for me to handle by myself, I took on a guy, taught him all I knew. Figured he should know everything. He was always willing, eager to learn. I thought I could trust him.”
She gave his hand another squeeze. He clasped it with his own. “I also had a girlfriend. Well, a kind of a girlfriend. Any warmth toward me, or with me, was not top of her agenda.”
“Does that mean no sex?”
“Not quite.” His gaze caught hers. “Just enough to make me believe I had a girlfriend. Just about all she could stomach.” His body tensed. “It was like she thought of it as paying dues.”
She could see this was painful for him. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to…You don’t have to go on of you don’t want to.”
“I’ve started now, so I’ll finish. I want to clear it out.” He looked into her eyes. “I don’t want to let what happened color any future relationships.”
She held her breath.
“I had to go away for three days. She didn’t want to go with me, but I was used to that. When I got back, my business was gone. The eager beaver had gone to every one of my clients, said he was starting out on his own. He undercut my prices. Naturally, they all changed to him.”
“That’s horrible.”
“Yeah, well, the worst was yet to come. When I got back to the office I caught them together.”
Jenna had a sick feeling she knew where this was going. She squeezed his hand.
“Both buck naked, making out in my office. On my desk. They’d planned it that way. He laughed. Said something about it being all his now.”
“Dear God. I’d have murdered them.”
“The thought crossed my mind for an instant, believe me. But they weren’t worth it.” He went quiet for a moment. “I just shut down.”
“I’m not surprised. I’m glad you told me, Lucas. Now you can heal.”
She wanted to cry for him, but he wasn’t after sympathy. If he had been, he would’ve told someone months ago. At the very least he’d have told his best friend.
She smiled into his eyes. “You know what you have to do now, don’t you?”
He glanced up at her. “What?”
“Forgive them.”
He let go of her hand and gazed out to sea, anger in his eyes. “I’ll never forgive them.” He said it with such venom, she knew there was still a lot of anger in his heart.
“You must, or you’ll never be free of them.”
“How can I forgive what they put me through? I’ve let it go, sure I have, but forgiveness? Nah.”
“Then they’ll always haunt you.”
They’d been here a good half-hour, when Jenna noticed the breeze had stiffened and the flags were rattling a little harder above their heads. “Wind looks like it might be freshening.”
He glanced up at the blue sky that had clouded over very quickly. “We should make a move. It can get darned cold up here when that wind blows.”
Jenna finished her juice. The wind rate had picked up even more, making the flags blow even harder. The temperature had dropped several degrees. She shivered. “Brr. It’s cold already.”
“Yeah. It’s that time of year.”
They started picking their way over the uneven dirt surface, down through the lemon groves to the bottom of Lemonadassos hill. Some of the boats had left while others in the little harbor bobbed, none too gently, at their moorings.
With a smile of greeting, the boatman, started the engine and the tiny boat headed across the water, back to Poros.
Halfway across the channel the wind whipped up to almost gale-like proportions, making the water so choppy Jenna wondered whether they might make the crossing safely. “This is scary.”
Sitting opposite her on a wooden seat, Lucas reached for her hand. “It’s okay. These guys make this crossing all the time.” Just the feel of his strong hands holding hers gave her some measure of reassurance.
“In a wind like this?”
“Sure.”
Logic told her he had to be right even though his smile didn’t reach his eyes. If there were anything to fear, the boatman would never have left the safety of the harbor. Even so, she accepted the comfort offered by Lucas’ strong, hard fingers.
“Not a lot we can do about it, is there?”
His attempt at a laugh sounded hollow. “Guess not.” He twined his fingers with hers. “Not long now.”
The engine stopped.
Jenna’s head jerked up. Her gaze collided with Lucas’ before she turned her terrified gaze on the boatman. He stared back at them in disbelief, before trying to get the engine started again. But all his efforts were in vain.
The water in the channel became choppier and they were exposed to the terrifying elements.
It didn’t help when the boatman crossed himself.
Jenna gripped Lucas’ hand so hard, she thought she might crush the life out of it. Luckily, he didn’t seem to mind. “What’s happening?”
“Looks like he’s having power trouble.” His voice sounded deep, low. Did he sound as scared as she felt?
“But what if he can’t get it started?”
He looked directly into her eyes and tightened his grip on her fingers. “Don’t worry. They’re used to this. They call it the Devil Wind because it whips up from nowhere.”
She shuddered. “Devil Wind?”
“Sure. It happens at this time of year apparently. No warning. There’s probably some sort of signal system set up to let the people on the shore know if they get in trouble.”
Jenna smiled to reassure herself. “Of course there is.”
The wind howled up the channel while the boatman tried several times to coax the engine back to life. It remained stubbornly silent.
“Are we going to get out of this in one piece?”
Lucas moved across to sit beside her and smiled. “I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”
He sounded so confident, she believed him.
Nevertheless, she sought some of Lucas’ strength, allowing it to seep into her trembling body.
The boatman crossed himself again, and continued trying to re-start the ancient engine.
They were going to drown. Dear God! She hadn’t come to this place to die. She’d come to be with Lucas. To let him know she loved him. Find out if he could ever love her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. If they were going to die, here, then she wanted to tell him. Now.
“Lucas, there’s something I want to tell you. Something I want you to know.”
“You don’t need to tell me anything. You’re a very courageous woman who did what she had to do to beat the odds of
her birth. Or what she perceived to be her birth. Nothing wrong with that.”
She mashed her lips together. “Not that. I don’t give a fig about that any more.”
“What then?”
“Lucas, I want to tell you I lo—”
The engine sputtered and came back to life. The boatman chuckled and let out a string of expletives.
“Oh. Oh, thank goodness.”
“There you go,” Lucas grinned. “Nothing to worry about.”
But he didn’t let go of her hands.
Her heart raced, but she wasn’t certain if it was the scare with the Devil Wind, that even now was dying down, or that Lucas was still holding her hands between his firm, strong fingers.
He remained like that all the way back to the safety of Poros wharf.
Several islanders were there ready to take their hands and help them ashore.
Costas, the restaurant owner, came forward from the small crowd. “Mr. Lucas, thank God you are safe. We were all praying for you.”
“Thanks, Costas. I’m sure your prayers helped. And old Andreas never gave up on that engine.”
“That Devil Wind, she springs up from nowhere. And your lady, she is okay?”
Jenna managed a small smile. “Thanks, Costas.” She liked that Costas called her Lucas’ lady. She liked even more he didn’t correct him.
Lucas slipped his arm around her shoulders. “A little shaken maybe, but otherwise I think she’s fine. I’ll bet she’d love a cup of your very strong coffee.”
Jenna shivered and nodded.
“Sure,” Costas said. “Come. Sit.”
Lucas led her to a table where waiters fussed over them after their ordeal.
Jenna shivered as the reality of the danger they had been in hit home. “Do you want to know what it felt like to me out there?”
“What?”
“Who Pays the Ferryman.”
“What? The River Styx and all that?”
She smiled as Costas appeared with two cups of steaming coffee. She glanced at Lucas. “Weren’t you scared at all?”
“Maybe just a tad.”
“I thought I saw fear in your eyes.”
“I was there to comfort you, not make things worse.”
She laid her hand over his. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. You really are a beautiful man, Lucas Nelson.”
Chapter Twenty-One
How will you go about this, Jenna? You’ve had precious little experience.
How did a woman turn a good friend into a lover, let him know she wanted him, and only him, above all men? Tell him her goals and aspirations had changed from the moment she’d first laid eyes on him?
Stomach roiling, she sat, mashing her lips. Earlier, when she’d believed they were going to drown, she’d been on the verge of telling him she loved him. But her dignity had been saved by the sputter of an old engine.
Now that time was past. It was time to take action. Tell him what she wanted him to know. Find out if his feelings for her were the same as hers for him. After all, she had only two words to go on.
Two-timer.
His eyes were fixed on her from under his lashes in that sexy way he had. What was he thinking?
“I’d better come up with something just as exciting for us do to tomorrow.”
Was that all? She dragged in a steadying breath. “I’ve had enough excitement to last me a week. No more Devil Winds, please.”
He laughed. “That’s a promise. But for now, I see everyone is getting ready for the evening. Guess it’s time we did the same. Would you like to come back tonight for dinner?”
“Fine.”
They finished their coffee and it was all she could do not to reach for his hand again as they walked up the hill back to the apartment. Holding hands the way lovers do.
They weren’t lovers.
But she so wanted them to be.
As they wound their way up the uneven cobbled stones, several of the older women, some sitting on chairs in their doorways, others on their knees whitewashing stone steps, called greetings as they passed by.
“Yahsu, Mr. Lucas.”
He smiled and waved back to them. “Yahsu.”
“They seem to like you.”
“That’s the way they are here. I could quite happily live in this place.”
So could she.
****
Lucas flicked a switch just inside the door and two little pockets of light came on, one outside on the patio, the other on the far side of the room.
“I’ll get the patio doors open. Let some cool air in.” He slid back the doors and turned. “Wine?”
“That would be lovely.” Jenna moved to the edge of the veranda to listen to the first strains of bouzouki music drifting up from the wharf below. Lucas brought two glasses and a bottle of red wine from the kitchen and set them on the cane-topped table. “Are you feeling better now?”
She smiled before taking a sip from the glass he handed her. “Devil Wind notwithstanding, it’s been a fantastic day.” She inclined her head in the direction of the music.
He took a drink from his glass and moved to stand beside her. “I sometimes lie in bed at night, listening to the music.”
The long, cool evening stretched before them. Jenna closed her eyes and despite her stomach churning, stood silently as the gentle sea breeze lifted her hair away from her face.
“Care to dance?” Slowly, she opened her eyes to see Lucas smiling at her. “Promise not to stand on your foot.”
Longing to be in his arms again, Jenna put her glass on the table. “As long as it’s slow. I don’t feel much like jiggling about.”
He chuckled. “Slow’s the best kind. No jiggling.” Had he caught her romantic mood?
Lucas set down his glass and took her in his arms. She went into them easily. It’d been a long time since he’d held her like this. It felt like coming home.
“Hey,” he said, his lips against her cheek, “you never did tell me. How was your farewell party?”
She didn’t want to talk about her party, especially since she was trying to gather her courage to tell him she loved him. Find out if he could ever love her. She fixed her vision on an inanimate object on the other side of the room. “It was all right.”
He moved his head back a fraction to look into her eyes. “Only all right?”
She shot him a brief smile. “Yes.”
“Did Roger stay?” The deep timbre sounded like a whisper, but had she imagined the drop in his tone?
She cleared her throat. “I could hardly have gone to the party without him.”
“That isn’t what I meant.”
Then she knew. It wasn’t her imagination. He was searching for a way in, too. She could barely breathe knowing for certain now her courage wouldn’t fail. She took a deep breath and looked deep into his eyes, praying she had understood him. “No, he didn’t stay.”
“Glad to hear it.” No, she hadn’t misunderstood. Neither had he misunderstood her answer.
It was now or never. “Lucas?”
“Yes?”
A deep chocolate gaze met green. Her arm gripped him about the neck. “We could’ve died out there today.”
“I don’t think we would’ve died.” His voice had dropped to a whisper.
Her heart raced like a frightened rabbit at the huge step she was contemplating. “It felt like it at the time.”
“Were you that scared?” His warm breath in her ear sent tingles skittering along her spine.
“Yes. Scared of drowning and—and never getting the chance to know you.”
He paused for long moments before her words seemed to penetrate. “To know me? But…”
Had his arms tightened around her? She could barely breathe. “For pity’s sake, Lucas. Kiss me.”
“Why, Miss Blake,” he said with a cheeky grin, drawing her in close against his hard body, “that’s exactly what I had in mind.”
“Oh.” Her arms tightened around his shoulders
, a gesture that didn’t go unnoticed.
He lifted one hand, tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and kissed the tip of her nose. “You know it’s funny, but the moment you arrived here, on the wharf, I had just decided to come to England to find you.” His lips moved to her cheek. “I intended taking the first flight to London today, when lo and behold, there you were standing right in front of me. Coincidence? Or coincidence?”
Her head fell back, allowing his lips to track over her neck to her throat. “I don’t believe in coincidences.”
“Neither do I.”
“But I do believe in second chances.” She moistened her lips. When time was pressing, and the Universe was giving her clear instructions, she’d have been foolish not to take the advice being handed to her on a plate. “Do you think we had a little help?”
“Most definitely.” His lips moved across her cheek until they found her mouth.
“Best not make the gods of love wait any longer.”
He pressed her closer. “Best not. We don’t want them giving up on us, do we?”
Hungry for him, she went easily, until she could feel his body all the way down to her toes. The telltale bulge between his thighs, pressing close, felt familiar. Nothing would get in the way this time. The warmth of love permeated her body. Her eyes sought his, but his were focused on her mouth.
Lucas lowered his head, oh so slowly, until his lips found hers, ready and eager to accept him.
It was a gentle kiss, too gentle. Jenna wanted more. He smiled and withdrew his head. She couldn’t stop an involuntary whimper. “Is that it?”
He laughed lightly on his breath. “Not by a long shot.” He kissed her then, long and hard and deep.
Her mind took off, flying out into the Universe. His lips were warm and firm, taking her to places she’d never seen before. Emerald stars. Ruby planets. Crystal galaxies. Her body melted against his. She moaned with pleasure, letting him know she was ready to be his.
Lucas deepened the kiss, pressing his lips hard against hers, and slipped his arms further around her waist, holding her as though he couldn’t get close enough.
His tongue found the seam of her lips. She knew what he wanted, and opened to him. He slipped his tongue inside and she gave herself up to the joy of his delicious kiss.