One Way Ticket

by Tricia O'Malley

  “I…yes, I can. But only if you’ll listen to what I have to say. Because…I really like you, Paige. I care about you. And I want you to stay on at Tranquila. If you want to?”

  Now the tears did blur her vision as a mess of emotions knotted in her stomach.

  “I…”

  “Don’t answer that yet. Just…hear me out.”

  “Okay.” Paige blew out a shaky breath and wiped the back of her hands against her cheeks to swipe at the tears.

  “Yes, CeCe is my mother. A mother I love very much but who is also a burden to me.” Jack scrubbed a hand over his face.

  “Is Whit…?”

  “Whit is not my father. We don’t know my father as I am a product of one of my dear mother’s indiscretions. It’s…well, what you see is what you get with CeCe. She’s always struggled with alcohol. And every few years, she picks up and moves someplace new. She promises things will be different this time. It’s a new location, a new project, and a new life. Often, for a while it is. But it usually falls apart. I do my best to come pull the pieces together, but it’s getting tiring.”

  Paige’s heart broke for the poor little boy who just wanted his mother to be happy and healthy.

  “Whit…he seems to…” Paige tried to think about how to phrase her next words without calling Jack’s stepdad a man-whore.

  “Yes. I struggle with Whit’s choices. As well as my mother’s. The thing is – it works for them. They bicker all the time. But they also seem to love each other as fiercely as they despise each other. I can’t say it’s a healthy relationship, but it works for them. They are well aware of the other’s actions and choices. They know each other’s faults. They know how to make each other angry and they know how to make each other happy. But the thing is? For all of Whit’s faults, and trust me, I can count many – he sticks. He always sticks with my mom. He takes care of her. He provides for her. He allows her to follow her heart and find joy and fun in the middle of her problems. As much as I want to judge him, I can’t.”

  “How often do you come running to patch things up?” Paige asked quietly.

  “Every few years. This time their little project of Tranquila Inn fell right in my wheelhouse, and trust me – it doesn’t always. Like the time they decided they wanted to own a monster truck rally racetrack.”

  “Excuse me…a what?” Paige’s mouth dropped open.

  “CeCe thought it would be grand fun. And it was, until one of the trucks smashed a few cars that were in the parking lot and not on the track.”

  “Ooof.” Paige’s mind whirled as she tried to place the eminently fastidious and upper crust CeCe and Whit in the stands at a monster truck rally.

  “Ooof, is right.”

  “Do you think she chose Tranquila because she knew you’d come and help her?”

  “I’m not sure.” Jack leaned back and looked to the stars. “At the very least, I was actually happy to come help. I like tackling projects like this, and I really want Tranquila to be a success. I like the island. I like the people. I’m just…”

  “Worried CeCe and Whit will blow it all up for you?” Paige asked, remembering how the locals had laughed about Tranquila Inn upon her arrival.

  “Basically, yeah. It’s…it’s kind of a mess.”

  “Has…has CeCe ever tried treatment?” Paige knew she was picking her way through a minefield.

  “Not once. Not a single time.” Jack sighed and pinched his nose. “I think the day she does is the day I know I can relax for once.”

  “You’ve taken so much on yourself, Jack.”

  “She’s my mother. I love her. What else can I do?” Jack shrugged her words off. Love flooded through Paige as she looked at this handsome, honorable, and inscrutable man sitting at her feet. How could she ever have thought he’d flit from one woman to the next? This was a man who, for the rest of his life, would do everything he could to take care of his mother – and not out of duty. But because of love.

  And Paige loved him for it, she realized. She gasped as the realization rocketed through her. Was it possible to love someone this quickly? She pressed a hand to her stomach and took shallow breaths as she tried to wrap her head around the feelings that raced through her. This was definitely more than just liking someone, that was for sure.

  “I think you’ve got a very good heart,” Paige finally managed to say, realizing that the lull in the conversation had drawn out. “Have you ever considered letting her handle her own messes for once?”

  “I have. But I can’t bring myself to let her flounder for long.” Jack, the perpetual parent to his mother, Paige thought.

  “Who is going to help you clean up yours though?” Paige wondered.

  “I can clean up my own messes. I’m not sick. She is.”

  “I think you’re a really great person, Jack.” Paige’s tone was soft as she felt her way through the conversation, wanting to be careful with her words.

  “But you’re still going to go.” Jack nodded his head once, turning to look out at where the moonlight reflected a path across the dark water. “I can hear it in your voice.”

  “No, I…” Paige scooted forward on the chair until she could wrap her legs and arms around Jack. With a tug, she pulled him so that he leaned into her and hugged him. Together, they stayed there for a while in silence and looked out across the water.

  “I will understand if you need to go,” Jack finally said.

  “I don’t know what I’m going to do yet.” Paige held tight when Jack would have pulled away. “I have a lot of confused feelings right now. And I may need a little time to sort through them.”

  “I feel like if you know…you know.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not. I’ve never ridden out a hurricane before. I’m on no sleep and it’s been a hell of a long thirty-six hours. I want to take care with my feelings, Jack. I want to take care with yours as well. I’m…well, I’m worried.”

  “Worried about what?” Jack asked.

  That I just might love you already, Paige thought.

  “Well, I just kind of did this. I moved in with my boss. I ran a business with him. Am I just recreating my old life because it’s what I know? It’s what I’m comfortable with? I think I need to have a really good think about all this so when I do make a decision, it’s the right one.”

  “You scared, Paige?” Jack’s words were a challenge.

  “Oh yeah, I’m petrified,” Paige admitted. But not because of the chance she was recreating her old life. Oh no, it was because she was worried that Jack wouldn’t love her back.

  “It’s okay to be scared. I get frightened all the time. But I get up each day and put one foot in front of the other. You can’t run away from your life.”

  “Some would argue that’s exactly what I did by coming here.”

  “Maybe you didn’t run away. Maybe you ran toward your life. Did you ever consider that?”

  And maybe he was right.

  Paige reached up and ran a hand down Jack’s face, turning him to face her so that she could claim his lips in a kiss. It was the kiss of all kisses, her angst, her uncertainty, her love all pouring into it. Standing up, she held out her hand to him.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  This time was different and they both knew it. Jack’s eyes held hers as he closed the door to her cottage behind him. The click of the lock sent a shiver of anticipation through her. She wished she’d put on something…Paige glanced down at her loose maxi dress. She hadn’t bothered with a bra and she couldn’t be certain her underwear wasn’t a nice serviceable white pair. Not precisely the most seductive of choices.

  “I’m a mess,” Paige said, a wry smile on her face.

  “I think you’re the prettiest woman I’ve ever seen.” Jack’s words stopped her train of thought and she glanced up at him with surprise.

  “You do?”

  “Oh yeah.” Jack stepped forward and ran his thumb across her bottom lip, sending tendrils of heat through her core. “You’re a contrast of sharp edge
s and softness. Like a knife coated in maple syrup. You swipe at me one moment and the next you’re all big eyes and soft smiles. I knew it when I first saw you – I told you that. I loved that you were an absolute mess. Sweaty. Annoyed. And ready to challenge anyone who got in your way. I liked the fire in your eyes.”

  “I’ll admit…” Paige licked her lips as Jack’s hands came to her waist. “I about swallowed my tongue when I first saw you. All tanned muscles rippling all over the place. Then I caught wind of you…”

  “I’d have put deodorant on if I knew a luscious siren was going to wash up on my beach that day.” Jack smiled. He dipped his head to nibble her lips gently. “Ever since then, I couldn’t seem to stop myself from showing up in your office every day.”

  “Come to think of it, you did pop in quite often. I thought it was because you were concerned I’d steal from you like the last coordinator did.”

  “I was.”

  Paige’s mouth dropped open and she made to smack him, but he caught her hand and pressed kisses to her palm, trailing his lips up her arm, heat following the path of his lips.

  “But I quickly realized,” Jack continued, “That the only thing you were going to steal was my heart.”

  “Oh…” Paige breathed out as her heart did a weird little shiver in her chest and she tumbled head-first over the cliff into love.

  “I’ve tried to push it away.” Jack’s lips were warm at her throat, his breath causing her to shudder, his hands stroking her back in a soothing motion. “You are my employee, after all.”

  “I am,” Paige gasped as his hands found her breasts, and he gently thumbed her nipples into taut little peaks as he continued to speak.

  “And so I tried being rude to you.”

  “Yes, I noticed. But that didn’t last all that long.” Paige’s head dropped back as he continued to tease her breasts.

  “And I tried to ignore the fact that you’d even bothered to give that idiot Horatio the time of day.”

  “Clearly a big mistake.” She groaned as he bent and brought his mouth to her nipple, licking her through the fabric until it became moist and clung to her skin.

  “And, I won’t lie…I did take particular joy in always having to rescue that asshole. I hoped you would see that a real man would never turn off your power.” With that Jack pulled her body against him and she gasped at the hard length that pressed into her stomach. Trailing his hand up her side and to her chin, he lifted her face so she was forced to look up at him.

  Paige surprised herself by giggling at that.

  “Maybe I’m not so poetic.” Jack’s smile flashed white in his tanned face. “But what I’m trying to say is he shaded your light. I would never wish that for you.”

  Caught on his words, Paige stretched up on her toes to wrap her arms around his neck.

  “I don’t need to be in the spotlight though. I don’t…crave that.”

  “Not all lights need to be spotlights. You, my beautiful Paige, you just glow. You’re like an ember in the fire that warms a room long after the flames have gone out. You soothe people. You bring comfort. You nurture. It’s a gift you have.”

  “Jack…”

  Jack bent his head and captured her lips, kissing her with an intensity that his other kisses had missed. This kiss…it was love, it was angst, and it held a quiet yearning for somebody to share their light with him. Paige fell into it, never wanting to let go, knowing that a life with him would be…perhaps not an easy one…but one in which she would never have to compromise who she was for the benefit of another.

  Jack nudged her back toward the bed until her legs hit the mattress. He tugged the dress over her head, tossing it behind him, and she was left standing there in a simple pair of white panties.

  “Sexy,” Jack breathed. He ran his hand along the waistline of her panties, and little thrills of lust followed his touch. “I don’t know why these turn me on so much.”

  “Really?” Paige laughed up at him.

  “Oh yeah. Very puritan. And yet…I know you’re not…” Paige gasped as he lifted her easily and pressed her back to the bed, splaying her legs open so he could trace his mouth along the edge of her underwear. A sigh escaped her as he kissed his way across her panties, finding the soft inner skin of her thighs, and she almost squirmed as his tongue traced lazy circles over the sensitive skin. Slowly, he peeled the cotton down her thighs, his mouth following its path, leaving Paige gasping for more. She didn’t need all this. She wanted him inside her now.

  “Jack…I need you. Now.”

  “In time, my love. In time. If you let me…we’ll have all the time in the world.”

  Paige closed her eyes as the meaning of his words slipped through her, filling her with an almost unbearable yearning. She wanted this. To be loved equally by a partner who would never push her into the corner or try to overshadow her.

  A hot flash of desire speared her core as Jack’s mouth found her, licking deeply inside of her and causing her hips to jerk off the bed. He laughed, capturing her hips with both hands, and anchoring them as he began a torturous assault with his tongue. Slowly, as though he had nothing else in the world but time, Jack tasted her and teased her until a wave of lust washed over her so intensely she was surprised it didn’t drown them both.

  Pulling back, she wrenched her hips from Jack’s hands, manic for him. Grabbing his arms, she pulled him to her, claiming his mouth with her own. Jack licked into her mouth, trying to slow her down, trying to soothe her – but panic built inside of Paige. It was as though she needed him to claim her – needed him to be inside her – so that she could know this was real.

  Wrapping her legs around him, Paige angled herself just so. She groaned as he paused.

  “Paige.”

  Paige opened her eyes and met his. In them she could see the vulnerability of the man who wanted to share the most intimate thing he had with her – his heart.

  “Jack…I love you.” For a moment, the words hung in the air and nerves shot through Paige. Perhaps it had been the wrong thing to say. Maybe it was too soon. But when relief washed over his face, Paige knew that by being vulnerable to him first, she’d given him the best gift of all.

  She’d trusted him with her heart.

  “I love you.” It was a whisper at her lips, a wish sent into the eye of a storm, a blessing upon still waters. When he took her this time, her world shattered open and her path was chosen.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  “Coffee.” Paige croaked the words out as she rolled over and smashed her face into Jack’s chest. Oh. He’d stayed.

  “Ouch.” Jack laughed. “You don’t have to headbutt me, woman. I’ll get you coffee.”

  A ridiculous pleasure shivered through her knowing that he’d stayed to be with her, instead of retreating to his cabin to hide their liaison from anyone.

  “Let’s both go. We should say goodbye to the guests anyway.”

  “I’ll meet you in the reception hall then?” Jack had pulled himself from the bed, but then turned and pressed a lingering kiss to her lips. Giddiness slipped through Paige, and she smiled up at him as he dressed. He looked good in her bedroom, she decided. But then he looked good doing anything.

  Oh yeah, she had it bad.

  And there was certainly nothing wrong with that, Paige reminded herself as she showered and dressed. It was okay to be excited about a new relationship and to look forward to their future together. Sure, she’d been burnt before – but that didn’t mean she couldn’t ever trust herself near fire again. What a cold life it would be if that was the case.

  Humming, Paige made her way to the reception hall. It was early still, the first rays of sunlight only just cresting over the ocean, and birds chattered happily as though a storm hadn’t attacked the island days before. She drew up short when she saw CeCe and Whit standing by the bar with luggage at their feet. CeCe turned and assessed Paige as she approached.

  It was the first time Paige had seen CeCe since the night of the storm and
while she was still dressed impeccably, it was as though someone had switched CeCe’s light off. Bruises marred the thin skin around her eyes, and her smile was slow to come.

  “Good morning, gorgeous. You look well.”

  “Thank you.” Paige couldn’t exactly return the compliment. Stuck on what to say, Paige looked to Whit.

  “Do you love him?” CeCe asked, and Paige’s brows shot to her hairline as she looked at the other woman in shock.

  “Do I…”

  “Jack. You love him. Don’t you?”

  “I…” Paige searched CeCe’s eyes and realized, for the first time, this was the mother talking. “Yes, I do. I know we’ve only known each other a short time. But I do.”

  CeCe waved her hand as though to brush that aside. “Time has no relevance in love. But it’s what I needed to hear. I’ve so wanted this for him.”

  “What’s going on here?” Paige breathed a little sigh of relief at Jack’s voice behind her.

  “Good morning, darling. You look…well.” CeCe beamed at Jack, light coming into her eyes for the first time that morning.

  “Why are your bags packed?” Jack, his hair still wet from his shower, looked between Whit and CeCe in confusion. A thundercloud passed over his face. “You’re doing it again, aren’t you? You’re quitting here. Moving onto another project.”

  “I…” CeCe paused when Whit held up a hand and cut her off.

  “Paige, I’d like to commend you for your excellent work on this past retreat. I understand that personal circumstances may have made it difficult for you, however I believe you conducted yourself with professionalism. I would like to offer you a full-time position here as the events coordinator and customer experience manager, along with a raise and full-time benefits.”

  “Wow,” Paige breathed. “That’s very kind of you.”

  “But why are your bags packed?” Jack interrupted, looking down at the luggage at their feet.

  “It’s time.” CeCe stepped forward and grabbed Jack’s hands. Looking up at him, a tremulous smile crossed her face.