Sweet Surrender

by Jill Sanders

  “None of them were ever good enough for you.” Sarah picked up her hand and turned it over. “It’s written right here.” She ran a fingertip up a line on her palm.

  Bella laughed. “You never believed in all the mumbo jumbo your mother believes in. Why start?”

  “Palm reading is mumbo jumbo, except when it comes to love.” She glanced up at her, then added in a thick gypsy accent, “I see a kind man in your future…”

  “Just what I want,” Bella added sarcastically.

  “Shush.” Sarah waved the comment away and continued. “A man you did not expect will come into your life and…” Sarah’s eyes narrowed as she bent over her palm. “Shield you from… the darkness that is looming over you.”

  Bella felt a shiver race down her spine.

  “You can read all that in my hand?” she asked, a little scared at the tone Sarah had taken when she mentioned the darkness.

  “That”—Sarah fell back into her own voice—“and in your eyes.” She smiled. “So, if it’s not a man, then what has that lost look in your eyes? I know that the new record deal is going well, because I read all the gossip magazines.” She chuckled at the face Bella gave her. “I know, don’t believe everything you see in those, but still…”

  “Yes, the second record deal is going great. I actually just wrapped up recording and have a few weeks off before they want me to start touring again.”

  “Great, so…” Sarah waited. “What has you so down?”

  “I guess I’m just tired.” Bella glanced away and took in all the flowers that surrounded them. The gardens at East Haven Resort were almost legendary. Even after Rodney, the old groundskeeper, passed away, they continued to bloom and grow under the new groundskeeper, Kevin.

  She could hear guests of the resort enjoying themselves out near the pool and relaxed.

  Sarah was silent for a while. “I’m here, you know, if you decide you want to talk.”

  “Thanks.” She turned and pasted another smile on her face. “But what I want more than anything is some peace and quiet away from the demands of being a star.”

  “You’re a star.” Sarah smiled. “It amazes us every day how far you’ve come. You knew what you wanted and went after it.”

  “Kind of like you and Ben,” Bella said. “You two are great together.”

  Her sister-in-law’s smile slipped.

  “We had a big fight this morning.” Sarah leaned back on the bench. “It’s my fault.”

  “What happened?” Bella instantly worried.

  “I couldn’t find Luna’s blanket. The one you gave her. It’s her favorite, and she never goes anywhere without it. She was screaming and…” She closed her eyes. “I cussed.” Her eyes flew open. “In front of her.”

  Bella couldn’t help it, she laughed. “Well, damn.”

  Sarah’s eyes narrowed. “We are trying not to say those words in front of her.”

  Bella tilted her head. “Did your mother cuss in front of you when you were a child?”

  Sarah rolled her eyes. “So many people cussed in front of me. Along with doing a bunch of other things.”

  “Okay,” she said slowly. “You turned out okay, right?”

  “I’d like to think so.”

  “Then I don’t think words, bad or good, are going to turn your daughters into serial killers or drug dealers.”

  Sarah was silent for a while. “I know you’re right.” She rested her head back and looked up through the leaves of the apple tree. “Still, I had hoped to give my kids much better childhoods than I had.”

  Bella took her sister-in-law’s hands in hers. “Then simply love them. Trust me, it’s the most important thing in the world.”

  Sarah smiled. “I’m sorry. Here I was trying to unburden you from your problems but instead I loaded you down with my own.”

  Bella laughed. “No, hearing them actually made me feel much better. Life goes on.” She stood up and stretched. “Now, I think I want to unpack and take a dip in the pool. Then I’m going to gorge myself on Adam’s dinner and desserts before I crawl into bed and sleep for two days straight.”

  “Don’t forget the drinks.” Sarah laughed as she took her arm. “We have a new bartender.” Her voice changed, and she gained another fake accent. “He’s from Russia and has this sexy accent.” Sarah giggled.

  They talked about food and drinks as they made their way up to the resort. When they stepped inside, Ben, Aurora, Luna, and Calvin were all waiting for them just inside the front doors.

  Calvin had switched to giving Luna his attention, and the little girl was eating it up.

  “Your luggage has been taken up to your rooms. Would you care for anything to eat or drink?” Calvin asked and, for a moment, she got lost in his sexy voice. He didn’t need an accent to make her practically drool over him. He handed her a key and waited for her answer.

  “No, thank you.” She had expected him to leave, but he continued to stand there, holding Luna against his chest with Aurora attached to his leg as if they both belonged there.

  Trying to ignore the hunk, and all the old feelings that were flooding her mind, she turned to her brother. “I was going to hit the pool before dinner,” she said easily. “Care to join in the fun?”

  “We had promised the girls a dip and brought our swimsuits along.” He nodded to a backpack he’d thrown over his shoulder.

  “Great.” She smiled and glanced towards the stairs. “I’ll go change and meet you at the pool.” She made her way up the wide staircase while avoiding Calvin’s gaze.

  Stepping into the Summer Suite, she leaned against the door and took a couple of deep breaths. She hadn’t thought it would be this hard keeping a secret from her family.

  Her bags sat just inside the doorway. Picking up the smallest one, which held her swimsuit, she made her way across the sitting room and into the bedroom. She’d only been in this room once before, when she’d visited Sarah and Ben during one of their weekends stays when she’d lived with them.

  The Summer Suite had two full-sized bedrooms and bathrooms with a large sitting room between them. It was way too big for just her, but she wasn’t going to complain. She technically didn’t know how long she was going to be staying there or if her agent, Maggie, would be visiting during her stay.

  Tossing the bag on the king-sized bed, she pulled out her swimsuit and changed quickly. Being at East Haven Resort was one of her fondest memories growing up, even though the first time she’d visited the place had been a few weeks after her sixteenth birthday.

  She pulled a light cover-up on over her swimsuit and decided to braid her hair. When she stepped into the massive bathroom, she gasped at the beauty.

  The last time she’d been in the rooms, she hadn’t seen the bathroom. She had never seen anything so wonderful before. The bathtub was as big as a hot tub with a huge glass shower on one end and a gas fireplace with a flat screen television above it along the other end.

  A long shallow trough-like sink with two faucets filled the opposite wall. A huge lighted mirror hung over it all.

  There was a small wood door and, when she peeked her head in, she realized it was a sauna. Shutting the door, she thought about enjoying that later that evening.

  “I could get used to this.” She smiled as she stepped into the massive closet. “If only I’d brought more clothes,” she joked to herself, remembering the six pieces of luggage sitting in the other room that she’d carted through the airport herself.

  Pulling on her sandals again, she picked up her discarded clothes and walked back to the closet to hang them up. The lone shirt and slacks looked so lonely in the massive space. “I’ll bring your friends in later,” she promised them.

  She grabbed her cell phone and made her way downstairs and outside to the larger of the three swimming pools. She wanted to enjoy time with her family, but she knew that the fear and the secrets she was keeping from them would prevent her from relaxing completely.

  Chapter Two

  Calvi
n was seriously wondering how far his patience could stretch. First thing that morning, he had found out from Heather, who had heard it from Stacey, that Bella Rothschild had booked a room for the next few weeks.

  Of course, he remembered Ben’s little sister. How could he forget the summer he’d spent with Ben and his family in Mexico? It had been obvious the girl had a huge crush on him all summer long. He’d done everything to discourage her. After all, it was his best friend’s little sister.

  He’d known Ben Rothschild, Bella’s older brother, since middle school. They had met at the private school in the Alps they had both been shipped off to so that their parents wouldn’t have to deal with them.

  Both Ben and he had been forgotten children whose parents had spent thousands of dollars for someone else to deal with them. Of course, the similarity of their stories ended there.

  Ben had been sent there because his parents were selfish and busy living their lives the way they wanted, and a teenage boy didn’t fit into their plans. Calvin had been sent there because of all the trouble he’d caused his family.

  Ben had been the only reason he’d been able to claw his way out of the darkness that had consumed him back then.

  After graduation, Ben had been lucky enough to get a job at Elite Resorts, thanks to family connections. A few years later, he’d married the granddaughter of Carl Harrison, the owner of the multi-million-dollar business. Then, when the older man had died, Ben’s new wife, Sarah had inherited everything from her grandfather. Including East Haven resorts.

  The moment Calvin had met Sarah at their wedding a few years back, he’d liked her. She was more down to earth than anyone he would have expected Ben to fall for. Ben had always feared that his parents would arrange his entire life, including who he married.

  Two years after Ben and Sarah had married, Calvin had received a phone call from his friend. He’d been happily surprised when he’d been offered a temporary manager job at East Haven. The last manager, Lilith Carriveau, had just given birth to her son, Alex. That was three years ago. Shortly before Sarah’s best friend was set to return to the job full time, she’d gotten pregnant again and had her daughter, Brooke.

  With the two little ones at home, Sarah had given her a different job so she could stay at home with the children. Which had left the management position open for him.

  He’d jumped at the chance to continue working for his friends. After that first year, he had realized that he’d never had a place where he felt like he fit in so well. Even in his own childhood home, he had always felt like a stranger.

  Was it one of the reasons he had acted out so badly as a teen? Either way, he knew that if it hadn’t been for Ben Rothschild, he probably wouldn’t be alive.

  He’d been watching out for the ferry so he could be the one to greet Bella Rothschild himself. He knew Ben and Sarah and their two little girls, Aurora and Luna, wouldn’t be far behind.

  What he hadn’t expected was the fist-to-the-gut attraction he’d felt upon seeing the pretty brunette slowly stroll down the dock towards him. Had she always been this gorgeous? The sunlight hitting her had red hints almost glowing in her hair.

  She had been wearing a dark silver tank top with flowing white cotton pants and silver sandals and had walked towards him like she was on a catwalk instead of the old dock. His heart had jumped in his chest when she’d slowly flipped her hair and lowered the sunglasses from her eyes as she smiled at him.

  Then, it was as if the entire world stopped. The sadness he’d seen in her dark eyes had made him frown slightly as she talked with JT.

  Then Ben and Sarah had arrived, and his attention had been pulled to entertaining their daughters. He loved the little girls and always enjoyed playing with Aurora. Little Luna was just starting to come out of her shell around him. He figured that she was following her big sister, who always hung on him and wanted him to spin her around like an airplane.

  After making sure Bella’s luggage was delivered up to her room, he stood around the lobby with Ben while Sarah and Bella talked outside.

  Ben sighed. “She looks unhappy.” He nodded towards the doors while Calvin kept hold of the two little girls.

  “Yeah. Any idea why?”

  Ben shook his head. “There are rumors about a breakup, but something tells me it’s not that.”

  Calvin shifted Luna in his arms as Aurora weaved between his legs. “Whatever it is, this is the best place to recover.”

  “Yeah,” Ben agreed as the women stepped inside.

  When they all agreed to head to the pool, Calvin figured the least he could do was to ensure them a spot at the larger pool. After everyone went to change into their swimsuits, he rushed to the pool area and asked Ken, the staff member working the area, to set aside a few chairs for the family.

  Walking over to the bar, he asked Stacy to make sure the family had whatever drinks they wanted. It helped to give the staff a heads-up that the bosses were present. Even though Sarah and Ben were really relaxed, Calvin prided himself on making sure everything was perfect, as he did for all of the guests.

  Then he headed down to the kitchen to see about getting some of the little cheese crackers he knew Aurora liked, along with a fruit and a cheese platter for the adults.

  Stepping into the kitchen, he made a point not to get in the way of Adam or any of his staff. He knew the man was very particular with his job and, since the guy made some of the best food in Maine, he tended to stay out of his way.

  “Hey, Adam.” Calvin got the man’s attention. “Just a heads-up, Ben and Sarah are on the grounds. They’re heading to the pool with Bella and the girls.”

  “Bella’s here?” The Frenchman’s outer shell cracked slightly, and he smiled. Calvin knew the man normally only did that when he was talking about his wife and kids.

  “She just arrived. We’ll host her for the next two weeks or so. She’s in the Summer Suite.”

  “Bien.” Adam set down the pan with a chunk of salmon he’d been preparing. “I’ll see to putting something together for them for a snack.” He smiled. “I know Aurora likes those cheese crackers.”

  Calvin chuckled. “I’ll deliver those myself.” He made his way towards the large pantry.

  “You’ve already won her heart,” Adam joked.

  Calvin laughed. “It’s nice being loved unconditionally.” He pulled out the box of crackers and poured a handful into a bowl. “I bet you love it.”

  Adam chuckled. “Alex was angry with me this morning because I had to go to work.” Adam’s oldest boy had just turned three a few months back. “They’ll be stopping by for lunch.” His smile grew. “We just found out number three is on the way.”

  “What?” Calvin almost dropped the bowl of crackers. “Congratulations.” His smile grew as he walked over and shook the man’s hand.

  “Merci.” Adam laughed and shook his hand. “I’ll let Lilly know that the family is here. She may bring the kids early so they can play with their cousins.”

  Calvin had learned early on that even though Lilith and Sarah weren’t really related, the two best friends had thought of each other as sisters since Lilith had escaped to Silver Cove from hurricane Katrina when she was a young teenager. She’d lived with Sarah and her mother Crystal Holley before moving onto the island and working at the resort with Sarah.

  “I’ll take this up. You can send the platter up when it’s ready.” He nodded to the man as he headed back outside.

  When he stepped out into the pool area this time, the family was already there, enjoying the water. It appeared that Bella had arrived just before he had, since she was still covered in a long flowing top and was just setting a bag down next to Sarah’s things.

  They hadn’t seen him yet, and his steps faltered when Bella pulled off the cover-up and rushed to the side of the pool. He smiled when she executed one of the best cannonballs he’d ever witnessed.

  He’d had a moment to enjoy the sexy tanned skin wrapped in a silver bikini before she hit the water wi
th a massive splash. Aurora and Luna laughed. He couldn’t help but think how much she’d changed since the last time he’d seen her.

  “Do it again!” Aurora yelled out.

  Bella chuckled. “I’m afraid one is all I have in me.” She swam towards the family at the shallow end of the pool.

  Then Aurora spotted him. “Calvin, jump in,” she called towards him.

  “Sorry, princess, I can’t right now. But I brought you some of your favorite crackers.” He held up the bowl, then set it on the small table next to their chairs.

  His eyes kept skirting towards Bella, who was frowning at him and trying to avoid eye contact.

  He moved over to the side of the pool as Aurora swam expertly towards him.

  “Please?” she asked with a slight frown.

  “I’m working. But next time you come to visit I’ll show you how to do a proper cannonball,” he said with a wink.

  “That was a proper one.” Bella moved closer to him.

  “Oh?” He chuckled and glanced over to Ben. “Your sister hasn’t seen either of our cannonballs, has she?”

  Ben laughed. “Who do you think taught her?” He nodded to his sister, then shook his head. “But you can’t teach perfection.” Ben laughed. “Calvin has one of the best cannonballs I’ve ever witnessed.”

  “That sounds like a challenge.” Bella smirked.

  “Consider it one.” Calvin stood up and dusted off his slacks. “Adam is sending up a snack platter for you. Lilith and the kids should be along soon.” He motioned to the chairs. “I’ll make sure there is plenty of saved space for everyone. We’re pretty booked at the moment.”

  “Thanks,” Ben said, shifting Luna in his arms. The kid was holding onto her father tightly. She had yet to learn how to maneuver in the water like her older sister but wasn’t afraid of it as she had been last year.

  “She’s getting better.” He motioned to Luna. “I’ll wager by the end of the summer she’ll be another tadpole like her big sister.”

  Ben laughed. “We’re working on it.”