“Lucia, get up!”
She didn’t feel like arguing with him. In fact, she felt rather ashamed of herself. She stood up quickly, finding her shoes where they lay in the sand.
“Hey, you can’t just take off with her!” Michael protested. He staggered to his feet, staring at Ryan.
“I can, and I intend to.”
“No, man, hey…” He walked a few feet toward Ryan, smiled and raised his fists. Then he started swinging.
Ryan ducked once, then hit Michael with an uppercut to the jaw. Michael went right down. He rubbed his jaw and stared sullenly at Ryan.
“Sorry,” Ryan said. “I didn’t want to do that. I suggest you sober up a bit before going back. And as for you…” He turned to Lucia. His eyes looked as cold and hard as blue diamonds. He grabbed her hand, and his hold was merciless. “Let’s go. Now.”
He started toward the steps, jerking her along in his wake. Suddenly he stopped, and she crashed into his back. “Say good night to Michael.”
She turned around. “Good night, Michael.”
She felt a tremendous jerk on her hand, and she was pulled more than led up the stairway to the lounge.
But they didn’t go back to the table, and they didn’t stop to talk to any of her relatives. Instead Ryan led her angrily right through the crowd and out to the front, where his white Mercedes was waiting.
Lucia, both frightened and angered by his temper, balked. “Ryan, thank you. You got me out of a difficult situation—”
“Attempted rape is a difficult situation to you? I’ll remember that. Now get in the car. You’re drunk, and you’re going home.”
She bit her lip. “Ryan, I’m not drunk, and you’re not my brother. You’re not even one of my cous—”
“Get in the car.”
“I can go home with Leon.”
“Get in the car!” He moved toward her menacingly. “Or I’ll get you into it myself, Ms. Lorenzo!”
“You would not. You’re not supposed to touch me!”
He took another step toward her, and she let out a gasp and leaped into the passenger seat. Without another word, he climbed in beside her and revved the car’s engine.
CHAPTER 5
It wasn’t far from the hotel to the condominium, and Lucia wished it were much, much farther.
Ryan didn’t say a word during the drive, and neither did she. He brought the car to a halt in his parking spot, then sat in the driver’s seat, his fingers wound tightly around the steering wheel.
Lucia sat still for a moment herself. Then she reached for the door handle. “Thank you very much for the ride…and the help. I appreciate it very much.” She started to open the car door, but he leaned over her and closed it with a sharp, meaningful slam. His cologne filled her senses, and the fabric of his soft jacket brushed her flesh, awakening her nerve endings.
“Ryan—”
“What in hell did you think you were doing?”
“I went out dancing!” Lucia flared angrily. “What’s the matter with that?”
She folded her hands tightly in her lap and stared out the window. She didn’t want to think about the appeal of his scent, or the jut of his chin and the flash in his eyes. She didn’t want to think about the car, with its soft maroon leather interior. They had gone too many places in that car. And they had come home from too many places in it, too. Home, to the rustic old Cape Cod house near Newport, where he had enclosed the porch in glass and set up a Jacuzzi, overlooking the snows of winter.
His fingers remained wound around the steering wheel, but he twisted to stare at her with amazement and fury. “You just can’t admit when you’re wrong, can you, Lucia?”
“When I’m wrong! I went dancing—”
“And you smiled at him like a two-bit hooker.”
“A two-bit hooker!” Lucia flared. She reached for the door handle again, but he caught her wrist before she could open it. Her eyes met his, and she narrowed them fiercely. “You mean what he did was all right because I was flirting?”
“Listen, Lucia, I didn’t say it was all right. He was in the wrong, okay? He was definitely in the wrong. But you did get yourself into the situation. And you were acting just like a little tease.”
Her heart beating frantically, she looked at her wrist, then at Ryan. “Is the lecture over?”
“Maybe,” he snapped.
She snatched her wrist away, rubbing it. “What about you, Mr. Dandridge? What if your cheap little blonde had decided to get rough with you? Of course, you probably wanted her to get carried away. You—”
“What cheap little blonde?”
Lucia stiffened. “I don’t know. Whatever blonde you last happened to be out with. You’re always out with someone.”
“There’s a difference,” he said.
“Oh?”
“I know what I’m doing. You don’t.”
“You know, Ryan, I did manage to stumble through life before I met you.”
“So you did. Stumble, that is.”
Before she realized what was happening, he opened his door and came around to hers. He pulled it open and reached to help her out. She wanted to ignore him, but Ryan never let himself be ignored. He took her hand and pulled her out of the car.
She wasn’t sure what happened next. She didn’t know if the piña coladas or the sun or the heat, or maybe even Ryan himself, had suddenly gotten to her. She tried to stand on her own two feet, but she swayed, nearly falling.
“Lucia, what’s wrong?”
His arms swept around her, and she heard the concern in his voice. It was nice. It was very nice. She smiled weakly. “I don’t know….”
“I do.” The concern was gone. “You’re smashed. Plain old smashed. You went out and got smashed and asked for trouble and you got it.” He swept her off the ground into his arms, intending to carry her. His teeth were clenched tightly together.
He was right, in a way, but she wasn’t going to admit it. “Ryan, I am not drunk. And I can walk. Put me down.”
“You can’t walk. You’ll fall again.”
“You’re not supposed to be touching me.”
“It’s the only way I can figure out to carry you, Ms. Lorenzo.”
“But I don’t need to be carried.”
“You do.”
He jabbed his finger against the elevator button. There was a soft whirring sound, and when the elevator appeared, he stepped into it.
“You really should put me down,” she told him. “What if one of my aunts comes out?”
“I’ll tell her that I’m putting a lush to bed.”
“I am not a lush.”
“Lay off the piña coladas, then. Your cousin puts enough booze in them to pickle you for life.”
She didn’t know why, but she smiled, and her fingers curled around his neck. It was insane to get close to him again. Absolutely insane. But at the moment she didn’t care. She felt serene, completely peaceful and glad to be carried in his arms. “Where is my cousin? Weren’t you her escort?”
“Nope. We didn’t even come in the same car.”
“No?”
“Theresa drove with me, and Bill went with Dina. I thought I might want to leave early.”
“Oh?”
“Yes,” he said flatly.
The elevator reached the second floor, and he started walking down the hallway. “Where’s your key?”
“In my pocket.” No sooner had she found it than he took it from her and unlocked the door. She kept watching his face as she spoke. “Dina is a stunning woman.”
“Yes, she is.”
“She’s fun, and she’s a real sweetheart.”
“Yes, I think so.”
He pushed the door open with his foot and carried her in, flicking the hallway switch and turning on the light along the way. Then he closed the door and started unerringly for her bedroom.
His bedroom. The room where they had unknowingly slept together that first night.
He carried her in and laid her on th
e bed, then slipped her shoes off and set them on the floor. Lucia watched him, wondering what would happen next.
He came back to her and leaned over her, bracing his weight on his palms on either side of her head. He smiled. “She’s beautiful, she’s bright and she’s charming. But she doesn’t compare with you, Lucia.”
He lowered his head and caught her lips with his own. The touch was light and tender and painfully sweet. Then his mouth pressed more fully against hers, the pressure of his tongue parting her teeth. Slowly, sensually, he licked her inner lip, and she parted her mouth farther, reaching up for him. She trailed her fingers through his hair and over his nape. She brushed the tips of them over his cheek, and she felt his hands brush like velvet over her shoulders and caress the fullness of her breast.
Then he broke away from her, but his face remained just inches away from hers, and his hand still rested intimately on her breast. “Want to know something else about Dina?”
“What?” she whispered, confused, still tasting the sweet fire of his kiss.
“She’s home.”
“She’s what?”
“Listen. She’s home. She just came in.”
“Oh!” Dismayed, Lucia bolted up. Ryan pressed a finger against her lips. “It’s all right.” He smiled. “See you tomorrow, Lucia.”
He turned around and left her, closing her bedroom door. She heard Dina talking to him in the hallway. “Ryan! What’s wrong? Is Lucia all right? I heard that you left with her in a bit of a whirl.”
“She’s fine. She met with a rather insistent guy on the beach and I rescued her, that’s all. I think she twisted her ankle a bit, so I helped her up here.”
“Oh. Maybe I should check on her.”
“I think she’s almost asleep. She’s fine, really.”
“Oh. Oh, well. Can I make you some coffee or something?”
“Not a thing, thanks.”
Lucia heard a pause, then a soft, curious sound. Ryan had kissed Dina on the forehead, or the cheek—or so Lucia hoped.
“Good night, Dina.”
“See you tomorrow.”
“Sure.”
The outer door opened and closed. Smiling, Lucia closed her eyes and fell almost instantly asleep.
* * *
Lucia awoke very early, still in her cocktail dress. She rose and showered and put on her blue bikini, her favorite suit. Then she grabbed her glasses and her hat, determined to head right out to the beach and lie in the sun.
Dina was already up, and coffee was on. “Want a cup?” her cousin offered.
“Sure!”
Dina was dressed for the water, too. Her suit was a white maillot, and it looked gorgeous on her. Lucia remembered Ryan’s words of the night before, and she smiled even as she sipped her coffee. She could have no future with him. She was being a fool. Still, it was nice to remember his words, and to cherish them.
“I hear you had some trouble last night,” Dina said.
Lucia shrugged. “A bit.”
“Men! You dance with them, and they think they own you.”
Lucia laughed. “Well, it all worked out all right. You coming down to the beach?”
“Yes. You ready? Or do you want to eat something first?”
“No, the coffee was great. Let’s wait a while, and then we can walk along to one of the little restaurants and grab something.”
“Sounds good.”
Lucia packed a rattan bag with a few dollars, their towels and sunscreen. They left the room together, and Dina locked the door. They had started toward the elevators when Lucia paused, certain that she’d heard fast, angry voices.
“Dina, wait.”
She had heard voices, coming from above them. She moved over to the railing and tried to look up, but the morning sun dazzled her eyes, and she had to blink against it.
“Lucia!” Dina whispered.
“Shh!” Whatever was going on wasn’t any of her business, but she was worried, though she didn’t know why.
She stepped back suddenly. She had glimpsed the pair who were arguing. It was Lopez. Lopez was back, and he was arguing with her cousin Frank.
What was it? What was going on? Why did the uninvited loan shark keep having heated discussions with members of her family?
“Who is it?” Dina demanded.
“Frank.”
“And?”
Lucia looked at her uneasily. “Lopez.”
Dina waved a hand. “I wouldn’t worry. Frank probably just wants him to stay away from his father and get out of here. Frank is as pure as the driven snow. You know that.”
Lucia cast her a dry glance. “We’re all as pure as the driven snow.”
Dina chuckled. “Well…that depends.”
“Dina!”
“All right, all right. We’re all as pure as the driven snow. But the man is a loan shark, and Lucia you know as well as I do that half of Boston has been in debt to him at one time or another. Don’t worry about it. He’s here on vacation with his son. No problem. Okay?”
Lucia hesitated for a minute, then shrugged. “Okay. I’m not worried. I mean, a rotten loan shark seems to be following us around, but I won’t worry.”
“Good. Let’s get down to the beach.”
It was going to be another beautiful day. There wasn’t a single cloud in the sky, which was already a glorious blue. Lucia lay down beside Dina and felt the sun caress her cheeks and thighs; she closed her eyes, and her mind drifted to Ryan.
She was such a fool. She couldn’t change things. Dina said that a man could be caught, but she didn’t want to catch a man. She wanted him to want the same commitment she did. She wanted him to be in love with her as deeply as she was with him.
There was no problem just being with Ryan on a temporary basis. She rolled over, pressing her cheek against the hot sand. It was so easy to be with him. But it would hurt her all over again. When she walked away again, her heart would be in tatters. She needed to be polite and friendly—and to stay away from him. She should have left, no matter how good the reunion.
Dina tapped her on the shoulder. “It’s ten, and I’m starving. Let’s get something to eat.”
Lucia agreed. They walked down the beach, found an open restaurant and ordered toast and eggs. Theresa and Bill, along with the kids, found them there.
“A football game. That’s what we need. A good game of touch football in the sand. How does that sound?”
“Sandy,” his wife replied dryly.
“You’re going to love it. Trust me.”
Theresa rolled her eyes. “That’s what he said about childbirth.”
But by the time they finished breakfast more of the family had gathered on the beach, and Joe and Leon jumped right in on the idea. Two teams were quickly formed. Joe was one captain; Bill was the other. Lucia quickly found herself playing with Joe and Leon, while Bill took his wife and Frank. Ellen and Theresa wound up on Joe’s team, along with Uncle Mario, and Bryce and Katie went with Bill. The twins opted to play with their father, so Mark and Serena played with Bill. Tracy and Valerie were left on a blanket with Sophie, who absolutely refused to join in. “Someone has to watch the small fry,” she insisted.
“Hey, I’ll do it,” Lucia volunteered, but Sophie had made up her mind, and Joe told Lucia she wasn’t going to get out of the game that easily.
By the end of the first play, Joe’s team had already made a touchdown. Lucia had gotten to carry the ball all the way past the goal line marked by a palm tree and a beach blanket.
“That’s unfair!” Bill said. “You’ve got more people. Mario’s a team all by himself.”
“Hey. Life is unfair, right?” Joe teased back.
But Bill was suddenly smiling. “Look who’s coming. And he’s going to be on my team.”
Lucia spun around. Ryan was there.
Warmth sizzled through her, and she lowered her eyes, thinking that just seeing him was bad for her. She had to get a grip on her emotions.
He was wearing his bla
ck bathing trunks, and a St. Christopher’s medal gleamed from the thick mat of dark hair on his chest. He had on a pair of sunglasses, so she couldn’t see his eyes, but she realized that he hadn’t been coming their way.
Maybe he’d been having second thoughts, too. He must have been trying to avoid the family, but there was no avoiding Bill when he was determined.
“Ryan. Ryan! Hey!” He waved his arm frantically. “We need you. We’re getting creamed by a bunch of girls over here!”
“Hey, I resent that,” Dina said. But she, too, raised her voice. “Ryan, come on, please, lend a hand over here!”
Lucia saw Ryan hesitate. Then he turned her way.
“Ryan, come on!” Bill pleaded.
Ryan shrugged to Lucia, as if he had no control over the situation, which was true. He trotted toward Bill, and a cheer went up from the family.
Lucia looked down the beach, in the direction where he had been headed. There was a blonde in a lounge chair down there. A beautiful blonde. It had to be the same woman as the other night, though she was wearing a hat over her face, so Lucia couldn’t be certain of anything except that she felt ill.
Bill’s team received the ball. Ryan caught it and tore down the beach. Neither Lucia nor anyone on her team could come close to him, and the score was quickly tied.
Mark managed to make a touchdown for Lucia’s team next, though she was certain Ryan had been careful not to catch him.
Bill made a touchdown all on his own the next time, so of course Joe had to equal him. Then it was Dina’s turn to run with the ball, and her brother wasn’t about to let her succeed. Joe clobbered her about five feet before the goal line.
“Hey!” Dina protested. “This is touch football.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t stop.”
“Oh, I was supposed to stop?”
Laughing, Lucia helped Dina up. She tried to catch Ryan’s eyes, but he was still wearing his dark glasses, and she couldn’t read a thing from his expression.
“We’re one ahead!” Joe said jubilantly. “Now let’s keep the lead. Whoever catches the ball, just run like hell. No sneak plays, just run!”
Ryan was about to kick. Lucia watched as Bill held the ball and Ryan came racing for it, sending it sailing.
Lucia looked up, watching it rise in a high arc against the shimmering blue sky. It began to come down, falling straight toward her.
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