Marriage Prey

by Annette Broadrick

  Robin shrugged. "I just did. He was very kind."

  "So's my grandfather. You know what I mean! Is he young? Single? Good-looking?"

  "Uh-huh."

  "Uh-huh, what?"

  "To all the above," she replied with a grin.

  "What does he look like?"

  She closed her eyes as though she had to recall what had been engraved in her memory for the rest of her life. Then she shrugged in an attempt to sound casual. "Oh, you know, the usual kind of guy you'd find staying alone on an isolated island—tall, dark, extremely handsome, with the body of a Greek god, the intelligence of an Einstein, a great sense of humor, a—''

  "Yeah, right. So, the truth is he was over sixty, fat, bald and a real lech, right?"

  Robin sighed. "No, he really is a gorgeous hunk that could have made a living gracing the pages of women's magazines, Cindi. When I first saw him, I thought I'd died and gone to Heaven. He was like the answer to every woman's fantasies come to life."

  Cindi's eyes grew wider as she listened. "You're not kidding me?"

  Robin crossed her heart with her finger, then silently held her hand up in the sign of an oath. "Hope to die."

  "Wow," Cindi breathed reverently. "And here I've been feeling so terribly sorry for you for missing the cruise and you were living this wonderful fantasy! You've got to tell me everything that happened! I mean everything. What's his name?"

  "Steve Antonelli."

  Cindi drew her brows together. ' 'Antonelli, Antonelli. Why does that name sound familiar to me? Maybe he is a model or a movie star or something. Did he tell you what he does? Where he's from?"

  "He's from LA. He works for the LAPD."

  "A cop?" Cindi repeated. "Really?" She rolled her eyes. Then she snapped her fingers and said, "I know! There used to be a Tony Antonelli who played baseball years ago. My dad thought he was the greatest player since DiMaggio. "

  "Steve's dad. I'm embarrassed to admit I'd never heard of his father."

  "Well, you've never been that interested in sports. So. I wasn't too far off, actually. He's a celebrity, once removed. What's he like? What did you guys do?"

  She shrugged. "About what you'd expect, I guess. We swam in the ocean—oh, Cindi, you should have seen the beach. There was a lagoon that was sheltered from the big waves. It was like a giant swimming pool, really. The woman looking after the place was a great cook. She kept us fed. We explored the island, watched the sunset—you know, the usual things."

  "Don't stop now!" her friend said with a hint of irritation. "What about at night? Did he come on to you? Well, of course he would. So then what?''

  "Cindi, I swear you have a one-track mind at times."

  "All right, so what did you do for entertainment?"

  "The place was furnished like a private club. There was a pool table, table tennis and all kinds of games. We probably played our fair share of them."

  "Was he surprised at how well you play pool, or did you decide to let him win, to save his ego."

  "Nope. Beat his pants off."

  "Literally?"

  Robin rolled her eyes. "No. Not literally. He was a perfect gentleman the whole time I was there."

  Cindi took her hand and stroked it with sympathy and sisterly commiseration. "Oh, Robin, honey. I'm so sorry to hear that. Do you suppose he's gay?"

  "No! Of course he isn't gay. I mean, he showed some interest. He kissed me a few times. He gave me his card and said he wanted to keep in touch."

  ' 'Humph." Cindi got off the bed from her cross-legged position. "Five days with a sexy Italian stallion and all you can say about him is that he was kind and a gentleman. Doesn't sound like much fun to me. So what were you doing asleep just now? It's almost time for dinner."

  Robin stretched and got out of bed. "Just resting. I've been on the go since I last saw you. So, tell me everything I've missed in the past five days!"

  "I've got so much to tell you, I'm not sure where to begin," Cindi replied. "Let's get dressed and go to dinner. There's a great floor show planned for later tonight. We've got to make the most of the rest of the cruise. We'll be back in Miami day after tomorrow."

  Later that night they made their way to one of the deck bars, ordered tropical drinks that were decorated with hanging fruit and umbrellas, and then they stretched out on the lounge chairs. The night breeze was a perfect complement to the evening. Robin gazed up at the stars and wondered what Steve was doing right at this moment. Was he looking at the stars? Thinking of her? Missing her?

  She missed him, but she also realized how easy it had been to slip back into the camaraderie of being with her best friend. The island seemed to be receding into some magical place in her mind—where she'd met and made love to the perfect man, the perfect lover. Anything more that happened between them would be anticlimactic. Wouldn't it?

  If so, why did she miss him so much? Why did she want to tell him about the evening's entertainment, share some of the jokes told by the headlining comic?

  She needed to talk to someone about all her confusing feelings and yet, when Cindi offered—insisted, actually—on knowing what had happened, she couldn't tell her. She couldn't reduce all the many emotions she'd experienced to words. There were no words to describe what being with Steve meant to her.

  "You asleep?" Cindi finally asked, and Robin realized how long she'd been silent.

  "No, of course not. You told me all the things you did, the places you saw, but what about—" she paused dramatically "—a man. Surely you met someone during those day trips?"

  Cindi laughed. "Actually, I did."

  "Really! And you never mentioned it. I like that, after you were so insistent on hearing about my time away."

  ' 'Well, I really think he started talking to me because we were both alone, so I felt a little guilty about mentioning it to you. I mean, I didn't want you to think that with you gone I was able to run wild in the streets."

  "I wouldn't think that. So. Tell me."

  Cindi smiled reminiscently. "His name is John Taylor. He goes to Yale—prelaw. We really hit it off. He and his roommate had made plans to spend the week in St. Croix until his roommate backed out at the last minute and he decided to come down by himself. I explained what happened to you, and we laughed about fate throwing us together. We spent most of the day together." She looked at Robin. "I really liked him, Robin. And he seemed to think I was pretty special, too. It's hard to explain, how you can meet someone and not be with them very long and yet feel as if you've known them forever."

  "I know."

  Cindi shrugged. "We exchanged phone numbers and addresses, but I'm not going to hold my breath to see if I hear from him. He made the day really fun, but I don't want to start building pipe dreams about what may happen next."

  "Neither do I."

  Robin woke early the next morning suffering with abdominal cramps and the certain knowledge that there was no chance of her being pregnant. Of course she was relieved. The last thing she needed to face right now was an unexpected pregnancy.

  She remembered what Steve had said about wanting to have children with her. She needed to call and let him know that there would be no repercussions from their time on the island. At least, none that were visible.

  She felt so different from the woman who had gone to visit the tide pools last week—the one whose biggest concern in life was her brothers' overprofectiveness. Now she was looking at being involved with a man who worked in a very dangerous profession, who lived a thousand miles away and who made her tremble at his touch. She was afraid of what she felt. Afraid of losing who she was before she ever had a chance to truly find out for herself.

  After taking some pain medication for her cramps, Robin crawled back into bed. When Cindi stirred, she told her about her physical condition and that she thought she'd stay in bed for the day. They'd be back in Miami tomorrow, then would catch their return flight back to Texas.

  Once she was home, Robin would decide what she needed to do.

  Robin ha
d been home for three days. It was the first evening that Cindi had gone out, so Robin was alone. She pulled out Steve's card from her purse, carefully studying it. Then she placed it on the table, picked up the phone and called his home number.

  Voice mail immediately came on in Steve's voice, saying, "Please leave a message."

  She hadn't really expected him to answer, although he had made it sound as though there was some question about his staying on alone; that once she was gone his vacation would no longer be as much fun for him. Obviously, he'd chosen to stay on the island.

  She swallowed, then began her message.

  "Hi, Steve. This is Robin. Just called to let you know that everything is fine with me. No long-lasting effects from being on the island. My life is back to normal. The new semester started yesterday. I'm going to be really busy this spring. I want to thank you once again for your hospitality. I enjoyed getting to know you. Thanks for making my vacation so memorable."

  There. That had been casual enough, she hoped. She didn't want to sound like she was sitting beside her phone waiting for him to call....

  A week went by.

  Then another.

  And another...

  She never heard from him.

  As time passed, it slowly became obvious to Robin that everything Steve Antonelli had said to her was a lie.

  She'd stayed home yet another night with the excuse that she needed to study when it dawned on her how stupid she was being, to think he was actually going to get in touch with her.

  He had accused her of using him for a vacation fling.

  What a laugh.

  No wonder the accusation had come so glibly to his tongue. It was what he'd had in mind all along. And to think that she had actually believed he was serious when he'd brought up the subject of marriage!

  He had completely convinced her of his sincerity. How naive could she be? He must be laughing his stupid head off with his buddies back in L.A at her gullibility.

  She should have made him pay for all those games of pool and poker he'd lost to her! She picked up the card he'd given to her, had insisted on giving her, and shook her head in disgust.

  No more moping around, she decided. She tossed the card in the wastebasket and walked out. She'd go to a movie, look for some friends, go shoot some pool. She would do something besides sit at home waiting for the phone to ring.

  As far as she was concerned, Steve Antonelli was history.

  Eight

  Los Angeles, California Late March

  And now we return to Steve's unexpected encounter with Robin's irate brothers...

  Steve studied the three men lined up before him, looking for some resemblance to Robin. Once he got past their obvious toughness, he saw a glint of green in one pair of eyes, a reddish hue in the hair of another. These must be the brothers she'd told him about—the ones who'd honed her skills to play poker and shoot pool.

  He was having a little trouble visualizing her spending much time with these characters, but then, hadn't he eventually realized that he hadn't really known Robin at all?

  "Did Robin send you here?" he finally asked out of curiosity.

  For several moments no one spoke. Then the oldest reached into his pocket and pulled out a card. He handed it to Steve. "You gave this to her, didn't you?"

  He took the card and flipped it over, looking down at his handwritten note. "That doesn't answer my question. Does Robin know you're here?"

  The men shifted their booted feet, but no one spoke.

  Steve crossed his arms. "I'm beginning to get the picture here. Robin told me about you guys—how you love to meddle in her life, follow her everywhere she goes like a pack of wolves, intimidate anyone who shows any interest in her. So now you've decided to take up the slack. Since you weren't with her on her vacation, you figure anyone she saw would automatically take advantage of her."

  The one referred to as Jim said, "You telling us you didn't take advantage of her?"

  Steve kept his gaze level. "That's exactly what I'm telling you. Not that it's any of your business, but the reason I gave her this card was not so you could hunt me down and cart me back to Texas to make an honest woman of your sister. Actually, I had hoped that she would want to stay in touch, maybe give us a chance to get to know each other better. However, she made it clear that she wasn't interested in pursuing a relationship of any kind with me."

  "Oh? How did she do that?" their leader asked.

  Steve knew his smile was cold. "She conveniently gave me a wrong number to call when we exchanged information. I got some guy on the phone who'd never heard of her. When I couldn't get a telephone listing for her, I finally figured out that she hadn't wanted to tell me to my face that she didn't want to hear from me."

  “Cindi said something about Robin not wanting to talk about him, remember?" one of them muttered below his breath.

  "Cindi? Her roommate?" Steve asked.

  "Do you know her?" the leader said.

  “No, but I know about her. She and Robin have been friends since grade school."

  The leader stepped forward and said, "Look, maybe we went about this the wrong way. Would you mind if we start all over?'' Before Steve could suggest they start all over by getting the hell out of his house, the man went on. "My name is Jason McAlister, Jr. These are my brothers, Jim and Josh. I'm afraid that Robin may have given you the wrong impression about us."

  "Oh, I don't think so. Breaking and entering is illegal. The fact that you did it to a Los Angeles police officer is the height of arrogance, just to begin with. I have no trouble believing that the three of you have made her life a living hell. In fact, after meeting you I can well understand why she wants nothing to do with any man."

  "Now, just wait a minute," Josh said, bristling with indignation. "I'm not going to take anything off you, I don't care what police force you happen to work for!"

  Steve looked at Jason. "Your brother's hotheaded temper is going to get him in trouble one of these days."

  Jason's nod was almost imperceptible. He glanced at Josh. "Cool it, bro. We all know how tough you are."

  Steve almost smiled at the flush of color that washed over Josh's cheeks. He probably looked more like Robin than any of them.

  Steve unfolded his arms and said, "Look, we obviously need to talk. I don't know about you, but I could use some coffee. Let's go downstairs and I'll make us some." While he talked he walked to the door as though the other two weren't still blocking it. Josh showed a continued reluctance to move, but Jim gave him a flashing grin—another reminder of Robin, that dimpled grin— and stepped out of his way.

  It was Jim who said, "Sounds good. It's been a while since our last stop for refreshments of any kind."

  Once downstairs, Steve motioned them to sit down. "How did you get here, anyway?"

  Jim answered. "Jase flew us out in his plane. We rented a car at the airport. We figured the less anyone knew about our being here, the better."

  "You are aware that I could arrest all three of you, don't you? I've got enough to put you behind bars for a healthy length of time."

  Jim laughed. "Ah, you don't want to do that. That's no way to start married life—locking your brothers-in-law away in some musty of jail."

  Steve shut his eyes and silently counted to himself. "Look, guys, I don't know how you got that idea that I'm going to marry Robin, but you are so very wrong." He thought back to that polite little message that had been waiting for him when he got home. It had been a definite kiss-off. He just hadn't recognized it as such at the time. "I'm curious as to why you think I should."

  Jason and Jim looked at Josh. "Go on...tell him," Jason said.

  Steve bit his lip to keep from grinning at the look of horror on Josh's face. "I can't talk about it. I told you. I promised Cindi not to say a word."

  "You broke that promise when you told us. Now tell him."

  Josh sighed, looking at his brothers with a great deal of disgust. "Oh, all right, but Cindi's going to kill me," he
said dejectedly.

  "I have a hunch she'll have to take her place in line, right after Robin," Steve replied. "Depending on your story, I might be right there with them, as well." He poured them all some coffee, dug around in his refrigerator and found some rolls and stuck them in the toaster oven to warm before setting them on the table. He sat down and waited.

  Josh scratched his ear, then said, “Well, I happened to see Cindi the other day at school and asked her where Robin was. That's when she told me how worried she was about Robin."

  Steve straightened in his chair. Was something going on that he didn't know about? Her message had made a veiled reference that she wasn't pregnant. Had she lied about that as well?

  "Did she say why?" he asked, when Josh didn't appear to want to continue with his story.

  Josh glared at him. ' 'Yeah, as a matter of fact, she said that Robin hadn't been herself since they'd come back from their cruise. That's when she let it slip that Robin had gotten marooned on an island for half the trip, something that our dear sister had omitted to tell any of us when she got back. So I started asking all kinds of questions. That's when Cindi gave me that card. She said she found it in their wastebasket and she recognized your name. Robin had mentioned that you were on that island, as well, but she hadn't talked about you at all since she'd returned home. Cindi thinks something happened on that island that Robin doesn't want to talk about. Whatever it was has changed Robin. Cindi said she's aged—"

  "Or maybe she just managed to grow up," Steve offered with a hint of sarcasm.

  Jason leaned back in his chair. "That's my opinion, as well. And I was thinking about all the ways a young, very attractive, very innocent woman might suddenly grow up in a few days after spending time alone with a man Cindi kept referring to as the Italian stallion."

  "What?" Steve almost dropped his cup full of hot coffee. "Where in the hell did you get that?"

  Josh answered, sounding defensive. "Well, that's the way Cindi kept referring to you. I thought maybe it was your nickname or something. For all we know, you could be moonlighting as a stripper somewhere."