by Emily Duvall
She looked up sharply.
He stared back at her, completely full of himself.
* * * *
The blast of cool air conditioning greeted Melanie like family the second she stepped inside the Kahului Airport. A rush of travelers sped by holding onto their rolling luggage bags. Everyone in her path smiled and laughed. They had arrived in Maui. Even the caffeine smelled fresher and the vacuumed rugs seemed nicer than the ones back on the Mainland. A few feet up ahead, Luke crossed his arms over his chest, staring intently at Kendra; his mouth clipped as he spoke to her. The frown on his face stuck out in a room full of chipper grins.
Technically, they needed nothing inside the airport since they’d arrived by private jet and landed in another part of the tarmac. The detour served as a short cut to the cabs waiting for them at the front of the airport. Melanie turned around and looked for other members of their group. Latonya showed her face first, but Stevie and Vivian staggered behind, a pair already on beach time.
Latonya switched her canvas tote bag to the other shoulder. She stood next to Melanie, catching the sight of Luke and Kendra. “Business doesn’t ever stop for them. Don’t be fooled: this isn’t a vacation for him. A man worth enough money to travel by private jet doesn’t get a break.” She ran her hand over her face. “Don’t worry about the bags either. They’ll be delivered to the house.”
“I must be obvious,” Melanie answered and opened the door. “I don’t like other people being put in charge of my belongings.”
“Uncertainty looks the same on everyone. You’re new to traveling with us and you’re traveling with the best. This lifestyle takes some getting used to and you will. Everything’s prearranged: his luggage, our luggage, the taxi drivers, rental cars waiting for us at the house. Mr. Harrison doesn’t like interruptions.”
“I’m well aware.”
“You keep that in mind.” Latonya fanned her face. “Good Lord the air is muggy.”
Kendra whisked off in another direction, holding the phone up to her ear and shouting at someone on the other end.
“Poor baby.” Latonya chuckled. “She hasn’t slept since she took the job. The bags under her eyes are the size of her luggage. Don’t let the same happen to you when you’re up late at night planning his death.”
“Excuse me?” Melanie’s jaw dropped.
“When you’re up at night, thinking this job will be the death of you.”
“That’s not what you said.”
“It’s not what your brother said either.” Latonya walked ahead with hips like a motorcade and she continued to fan herself.
The blaring beep of the luggage cart honked at Melanie and the operator yelled into the loud speaker, “Move to your left.”
Melanie’s feet sidestepped the cart while she contemplated Latonya’s words. The passengers swallowed Melanie in their haste to get to their destinations. The rest of the way through the airport, Melanie kept to herself.
Three taxis waited for the Harrison entourage outside the airport doors. Kendra bustled from each cab, talking fast to each driver and then handing out an envelope. The sunshine offended her white skin. She circled her arm, signaling a black town car. The driver pulled ahead and parked in front of the cabs. The driver emerged, dashing to the curbside door. Luke, still talking on the phone, nodded at the driver and waited for him to open it.
“Melanie, our cab is the third one in line,” Kendra barked. “The tip’s already included.”
Stevie ushered Vivian to the first cab. A burst of White Linen clogged the air as Stevie passed, holding Vivian’s hand. The two of them settled in and Latonya took the second cab all to herself. They were settled in their cabs and took off, leaving the airport.
Kendra rested against the headrest. Misery covered her face and she closed her eyes and patted her stomach. “I’m already exhausted and my stomach hasn’t recovered from the flight. You should make yourself comfortable. Our destination is a good distance away, on the north side of the island.”
The entire forty-minute drive strained Melanie’s nerves. She’d been impulsive most of her life, but this felt like stretching the limits. The attraction she felt for Luke didn’t help the situation. Her body could lust after him but her mind and her heart wouldn’t. She wouldn’t fall for him again. She could handle this.
The cab stopped in front of the house with a squeaky brake. Melanie’s eyes took a moment to adjust to the house, big and grand enough to make her feel like a speck of sand at the bottom of a large hill. The modern, angled, architectural marvel crowned the top of the hill with veins of deep green mountainside running out from underneath. The same feeling of being awe-struck charged through her bones as it had when she’d seen his home in Belvedere. The man had done beyond well for himself.
“The house is incredible,” Kendra commented, flipping close the lid on her tablet. “Every now and then a network executive or the owner of a magazine asks him to open up his doors and showcase the home on television or have a writer put together an article. Mr. Harrison turns them down. He doesn’t like the outside world knowing much about him.”
Unable to tear her gaze off the estate, Melanie picked up her bag, noticing the banyan trees she’d read about in a magazine on board the plane. The leafy, full trees filled in the landscape. The house sat in a semi-private neighborhood with houses at least a half mile apart. The cab driver opened her door and Melanie got out, feeling odd about not tipping. The walkway up the front steps snatched Melanie’s breath up the steep climb until height gave way to a flat, landscaped yard.
Breathless once they reached the top, Kendra paused and held onto the rail. “I’ve got to check the luggage situation. Wait in the foyer until I check on the bedrooms to make sure everything’s in order.” She hit her palm on the rail and shook her head. “I’m still out of breath.”
Melanie dropped her trusty tote bag on the floor, out of the way of anyone entering the house. She stared at the spacious open room with a ceiling going up at least two more stories. A large stone fireplace scaled up one wall and the other, where the back of the room should have been, didn’t exist. The back wall was missing entirely. The deck, a pool, and the distant view of the beach could be accessed by simply crossing over the tile floor. Nothing protected them from the weather and she began to head outside, to see what sort of trick Luke had built. Surely, the room required something in order to protect the rest of the house from rain or storms. “How do they open?” she asked aloud.
“They’re called pocket doors,” Luke said, sneaking up behind her.
She turned suddenly, catching him approaching her. “I didn’t know you were there.”
“The doors are retractable.” He pointed to the side walls, where a narrow chamber ran the length of the wall on each side. “I press a button and the doors close.” His hand dropped to his side. “Come with me, let me show you something.”
Intrigued, Melanie walked alongside Luke. He smelled like the breeze coming off the ocean. They walked past the stone fireplace, and over to the large patio. “You actually live here. This house is all yours.”
“I don’t apologize for my success.” Luke rocked back on his heels. “You should know that about me.”
“You’ve come a long way from your days of scraping by.” She stepped in front of him and gazed over at the pool. The circular swimming area made an optical illusion, giving the edge the appearance of spilling into the ocean. The small waterfall at the end recycled the water. Tiny white lights lit up the pool’s perimeter and the sky above faded from blue to green. One step in any direction and the illusion broke, sucking the magic out of the scene. The place felt both grandiose and full of warmth and color all at once.
Luke moved up behind her; his hands dangled dangerously close to her thighs. “I’ll assume by your critical gaze that you don’t like my house. Most people who come over can’t stop talking about the place.”
“I do like your house.” The thin watch she wore dropped down her wrist. “I’m
thinking of how far you’ve come. I’m happy for you,” she admitted sincerely. “You did everything you set out to do and you’ve done well.”
“I could say the same about you.” Luke’s hands brushed against hers.
“Luke,” she said with emotion, “you embarrassed me on the plane today.”
Luke spun her around. The corner of his mouth tugged up. “How did I embarrass you?”
She faced him fully now. “I don’t like Latonya, Kendra, and anyone else on your staff knowing what transpired between us when we were younger. You insult me every time you bring up the past, for example, on an airplane where everyone can hear us, and not think twice. I don’t want our past flung around in casual conversation.”
“Dully noted,” he answered shortly.
“You don’t know me anymore, Luke.”
“I know you better than you think.” His hand bumped into hers.
A pleasant, silky warmth spread through her middle and down her thighs. “Keep your theories about me to yourself. My work with Vivian will be temporary. No more kisses. No more intimacy.” She really did feel offended. He had no right to make assumptions about her. She’d become someone else. She’d shed the skin of her past and liked herself much better now. She changed the subject entirely. “You should spend more time child-proofing this house than analyzing me. Look around: there are sharp edges and hazards everywhere. There are outlets with no covers.” She pointed at the unprotected outlets. “There’s no gate around the pool. I assume Vivian can’t swim yet.”
“I’m waiting to install the fence after Damon’s wedding. Vivian should have an adult with her at all times anyway. There’s a playroom for my daughter too. As for the other subject…” Luke’s phone rang and he picked it up, narrowing his eyes at the number on the screen. “I have to take this.”
“I’ll go.”
Luke grabbed her wrist. Whatever he’d wanted to say must have changed because his hand disengaged from her wrist and he said, “Fine; I’ll see you later.”
Intent on getting settled and taking a shower, Melanie crossed back to the interior side of the house. This house would be her home for the next several weeks and she worked on someone else’s schedule and time, which meant, more waiting. Tonight she could relax and get to bed early. Tomorrow she would start a rigorous schedule with Vivian. A package on the table behind the couch addressed to Damon Harrison caught Melanie’s attention. She ran her finger over the brown box and thought about how she’d never met Luke’s family, not even his mother. She’d known his father had passed away a short time before they’d met, but Luke wouldn’t speak of him and when she tried to get close to him, the topic of his family drove them apart further. How odd to think now of all times, she would finally meet his brothers. She glanced back at Luke.
He was the combination of sexy and wealthy. He exuded defiance and demanded attention. Luke stood in front of the knee-high stone wall and stared out at the beach. The beats of her heart pumped fast and loud. She couldn’t look at him without her body tensing and her head thinking crazy thoughts. She told herself to not get too close. This wasn’t about her. The entire purpose of getting back in Luke’s good graces revolved around the need to do something with the desperate bone her brother had thrown her way. The consequences of messing up would cost her brother more time stuck behind bars; more years down the toilet, and their family forever trapped in limbo, a place between knowing and not knowing. Melanie forced herself to turn and walk away.
Chapter 9
Melanie woke up in the morning slightly jet-lagged and groggy. She showered and dressed early and made her way down to the kitchen. Anxiousness blossomed inside her at getting started on her work. She lived for her job. Down-time wasn’t something she enjoyed. She liked to keep her mind active, her skills polished, and her schedule crammed from morning until night.
She thought she’d be the first in the kitchen. Turns out, she walked in last. “Good morning,” she said, upon entering and spotting the feast on the counter: pineapple, Star fruit, and papayas sat cut up on the kitchen counter like a rainbow. Bagels, cream cheese, croissants glowing in butter, and scrambled eggs.
Latonya used the entire kitchen when she cooked. Pans on all four burners, plus another two on the island stove bubbling with hot water. Green onions, mushrooms, olive oil, fresh herbs, and three different kinds of cheese lined the counter. The smell of bacon and fresh-baked cookies tricked the senses. Melanie grabbed a cup for coffee, plucking one of the mugs from in between rows of spatulas and measuring cups. Not a free inch of counter space existed. The disarray didn’t match Latonya’s cool and collected demeanor, not a hair out of place or her deep purple nail polish chipped.
“There’s coffee, juice, milk, whatever you need, you ask,” Latonya said, coming up for air from below one of the counters. “This is my work space and I don’t like people rifling through my cupboards.”
“She really doesn’t,” Kendra said, from the table.
“If there’s something I don’t have, write it on the list on the refrigerator. I go to the market every two days, sometimes more.”
Next to Vivian, Melanie found an open chair at the end of the long table. Directly in front of Vivian sat a plastic bottle full of milk. Vivian wriggled and squeezed the eggs in her fists, shoveling them in her mouth in between grunts. Melanie reached out and removed a piece of egg lodged between her gapped front teeth. “Hi,” she said to Vivian and repeated, “Hi.”
The bowl of lumpy oatmeal in front of Stevie steamed and she scooped up a hearty helping. Something resembling raisins dripped down. The morning light from the kitchen windows drew the eye to a sparkling square-cut ruby around Stevie’s neck. The natural course of wrinkles latticed up her neck to her cheeks, and the faintest blonde upper lip couldn’t hide from the direct sunlight.
Kendra sat at the table with her head buried in the tablet. “I’ll get house keys made up for everyone this afternoon,” she said, not touching her plate of honey dew, cantaloupe, and pineapple parked alongside a heap of cottage cheese. “I’ve got a few items to add to your shopping list, Latonya.”
“Add Sippy cups too,” Melanie said. “Bring back a variety. Some with straws, some without, the brand doesn’t matter.” The thin, stretchy dough of the croissant melted in her mouth.
“We looked into some a while back,” Kendra replied, “at the suggestion of Vivian’s pediatrician. They’re on back order.”
“They’re on back order?” This made zero sense to Melanie. “We are talking about the same ones found in every grocery store.”
Kendra punched the screen with her finger and decided to give Melanie the time of day. “The ones I ordered have GPS tracking.”
Laughter hurled out Melanie’s mouth and she looked from Kendra to Stevie. “You’re serious?”
Kendra squirmed. “Well, I thought, I mean, the pediatrician did tell Stevie we need to transition Vivian away from the bottle. I spent good time researching Sippy cups. The major complaints included lost cups, missing straws and lids, cost of replacing the cups. I may not have children of my own, but I’m good at averting problems down the road. I don’t want there to be any problems with this transition.”
“I’m sorry to hear that Mr. Harrison would expect something as complicated as childhood to go smoothly. You can’t avoid Vivian being two. Get plastic cups with straws. This is a common sense solution. Your employer has overcomplicated the matter. He should stick to selling gemstones.”
“Good morning,” Luke said, strolling into the room. He leaned against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest.
“I’m sure she didn’t mean to insult you,” Kendra said, narrowing her gaze.
“Oh, I’m sure she did.” Luke allowed the silence to fester, until Latonya dropped a pan, diverting everyone’s attention. “I thought kids hung onto bottles for years. Why is this matter urgent?”
“Vivian is too old for a bottle,” Melanie spoke up, when no one else would. “Sounds like Vivian’s p
ediatrician already communicated this to you or Stevie, whoever of you is in charge. The muscles in Vivian’s mouth need to be worked out and strengthened like any other muscle. Straw cups can help with this. It’s a good start.”
“I don’t remember hearing anything about needing to strengthen Vivian’s mouth muscles,” Stevie said, laughing. “I’ve taken Vivian to almost all of her doctor’s appointments since her mother wasn’t responding well to motherhood. I don’t see why we should be running and jumping at whatever you decide. You’ve only been with us a few days. My nephews didn’t speak until they were three, then they never stopped talking. Children talk when they’re good and ready. There’s been so much change with transitioning to living with her father. I don’t think one more piece of change is good for her. The travel to Maui uprooted her entire routine. She didn’t go to bed until late last night. Now you want her to get rid of the bottle.” Stevie turned to Luke. “Tell me I don’t have to listen to her.”
“The two of you need to work together.” Luke swung his leg and stood up straight. “I’m sure you’ll come up with a common sense approach to a solution.”
“Everything I do has a purpose from this point on, whether you like it or not.” Melanie grabbed her plate and her coffee cup. “I’d like to talk with Vivian’s pediatrician. Will you get me authorization?”
“I’ll add it to my list of jobs to complete today.” Kendra smirked at Melanie. “Don’t expect it today. You do realize there’s a wedding taking place soon.”
“Get Melanie what she needs.” Luke picked up his mug of coffee. “Kendra, let’s go to my office.”
Melanie sipped her coffee in silence as they left the kitchen. Luke trusted her enough to not give into Stevie’s way, which counted a lot to Melanie. “I don’t suppose any one wants to talk about moving Vivian to a booster chair?”
Latonya sharpened her knife. “I think you’ve made enough changes for one morning.”
“I haven’t even really gotten started. The two of you are going to learn how to use signs to communicate with Vivian. She can’t tell you what she wants. How would you feel if you couldn’t form a single word? We’re going to stop anticipating her answers. Vivian has to work for what she wants.”