by Judy Kentrus
The intensity of the beating sun was warning enough to surrender to the shade. She picked up her towel and cooler and hot-footed across the sun-kissed sand. The bottoms of her feet immediately cooled when she stepped under the protection of the blue-and-white-striped tent, and she made herself comfortable on one of the two lounge chairs.
The breeze coming off the water wasn’t enough to dry the beads of sweat on her forehead and under her nose. She used the corner of her towel to dab at the wetness and settled her head against the soft, padded cushion. She’d just closed her eyes when the sound of male voices coming from the beach outside a neighboring villa was a reminder that life was still out there waiting.
“My serve, and be prepared to get your ass whipped.”
“In your dreams, Splat. Oh, that’s right; you don’t mind hitting the floor hard because the soft sand will cushion the blow to your old body.”
“In your dreams. Just you and me, one on one.”
Her eyes flew open at the nickname she hadn’t heard in twenty-four years. There had to be lots of volleyball players named Splat. No, don’t think about him. He made his choice—career and money were more important than everlasting happiness with you.
Their voices settled, and the constant slap of powerful hands meeting the leather surface of a ball lulled her into a dreamy haze. That was the last thing she knew until she was awakened by the tent top crashing down on her head.
Chapter 2
“Oh my God, are you okay?” asked a male voice that was filled with concern as his hands lifted the lightweight canvas off her body.
Immediate panic had set in when she couldn’t breathe, and she inhaled deeply when the constriction was lifted away. She turned her head and watched one of the bare-chested men secure the tent stake in the sand.
“I think so.” She attempted to swing her legs over the side but was stopped by the sight of a half-naked man kneeling next to the lounge. She looked up and met her own reflection in mirrored sunglasses that she knew protected a pair of hazel eyes that could change color like a mood ring. A white sweatband encircled his head, but the wet ends of his salt-and-pepper hair was evidence he’d played a hard game. The face was older, but the smile was the same persuasive smile that had been her undoing twenty-four years ago.
The memories she kept behind a locked door in her heart escaped. It all came back like it was yesterday, no, an hour ago. The picture of that heartbroken girl of twenty-five, on her knees sobbing her heart out and begging him not to leave, was much too real. But she was no longer that pitiful soul. She was a successful businesswoman and mother. She’d discovered there was life after Sean Patrick Harrigan and wasn’t about to play the fool the second time in her life.
She pretended ignorance by offering a hesitant smile. “I know that face. Sean Harrigan?”
“In the flesh,” he said before he stood up and moved out of the way so she could swing her legs over the side to rest her feet on the sand.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Just startled.”
“Sorry to mess up your nap,” the other man said. “I’ll make sure maintenance resets the corner.” He held out a hand. “Will Palmer. My wife, Jocelyn, runs the spa. Sean and I share a love of volleyball, so we play whenever he visits.”
“Nancy Jean Griffin. Nice to meet you.”
“Now, if you two will excuse me, I’m going to surprise my wife with a quick visit.” He winked at Sean. “Want me to make an appointment for a massage so they can work on your old bones?”
Sean smirked and flexed the muscles in his upper arms to prove his point. “Watch who you’re calling old. We’ll finish our game another time.”
“You’re on!”
Sean glanced at the vacant lounge. “Mind if I sit down? You wouldn’t happen to have an extra bottle of water in your cooler?”
“Be my guest. I always carry extra water.”
Her hand shook lightly when she retrieved the last two bottles and passed him one. She really was happy to see him, but common sense stepped up to the plate. He’d walked away from the life they’d planned together. Money and success had been paramount to him, and his father had had connections that would have enabled him to fast-track his career.
He removed the sweatband from his head before he drank half the cold liquid. She wasn’t surprised when he tipped his head back and poured the rest of the cold water over his head. A long time ago, she’d mirrored the action that usually led to some very wet and hot lovemaking. When he was twenty-five, his muscles had been firmly developed, but twenty-four years later, he’d gained body mass that glistened from sweat. His stomach was still flat, the muscles just as solid. He scraped his fingers through the neat crop of salt-and-pepper hair that gave him a distinguished appearance. If he was trying to portray a sexy guy coming out of the shower, it was working.
Nancy drank some of her own water to clear the dryness in her throat. “Now that you’ve quenched your thirst and cooled your brain, what are you doing here?” She wished he’d remove his sunglasses. She’d always been able to tell when he was lying and his lack of shock at seeing her here was a reminder there was no such thing as coincidence.
“That’s not the greeting I expected after twenty-four years,” he replied with a slight chuckle. “How are you, Nancy Jean?”
“I’m fine, wonderful. I’m surprised to see you after not hearing from you for more than two decades, but I get the impression you’re not surprised to see me.”
“I stopped for gas yesterday afternoon and thought I recognized you when you walked out of the Shell mini-mart. When I returned to the resort, I caught another glimpse of you, but the front-desk clerk wouldn’t confirm it was you or tell me where you were staying.
As was her habit, she twisted her gold wedding band around her finger, a connection to Nelson she wasn’t ready to sever. “So you know my married name?”
“Yes. I’m sorry about your husband.”
“So am I. He was everything a woman could wish for and a wonderful father to our daughter, Kaitlyn. Did you ever take the plunge?”
He wiggled the ring-free finger on his left hand. “I was married to a bitch for five years.”
“That’s not very complimentary.”
“She wasn’t you.”
His statement took her by surprise, but she enjoyed reminding him of what he threw away. “You had your chance and blew it.”
“It’s true what they say. We all learn by our mistakes. After my divorce, I thought about
contacting you, but I didn’t know if you would be receptive to renewing our friendship, considering I walked away and crushed all the plans we made.”
Nancy gave him a consolatory pat on the tip of his tanned knee that was inches from her
own. “Sean, don’t be ridiculous. We were twenty-five years old, and life as we knew it then is no more. We’ve moved on and I’m a big girl. You made it perfectly clear you had no plans for me in your life after grad school. There was lots of money to be had, and your father was going to put you in touch with very influential people who would fast-track your career.”
“Those sound like the words of a pompous ass.”
“At the time, they were. Now, why are you really here?”
“I’m investing in the island baseball stadium. How long will you be staying?”
“I’ve been here a few days, so another week and a half. I had plans to meet someone, but he had to cancel at the last minute.”
“So there’s a he in your life?”
“For about a year.” It had to be her imagination that his question seemed laced with disappointment. She was putting up a good front and needed time alone to think about how she really felt about Sean popping back into her life.
She pushed herself up from the lounge and deliberately presented her bikini-clad butt in his face when she bent over to pick up her bag and towel. “I’ve had enough fresh air for one day. I’m going to take a long hot shower and stay in for the rest of the eveni
ng. Even though he couldn’t be here, we have nightly chats.”
“What villa are you in?”
“Winter Iris.”
“What a coincidence. I’m not that far away, in the Blue Casbah. Is this a serious relationship, or can you have dinner with me some night? I’d love to spend some time with you.”
“Let me put it this way, Blue is every woman’s dream. He’s considerate, thoughtful and knows my favorite flower, music and even what I like to drink.”
“Blue? What the hell kind of name is that?”
“An old family name,” she lied. She leaned into him and kissed his suntanned cheek. “That was for old time’s sake. See you around.”
Sean watched the best thing he’d ever had in his life walk away. She was still tall and slender, but she’d filled out in all the right places. The sight of her in a white bikini with all that suntanned skin made his mouth water. He’d caught the familiar scent of coconut oil on her skin. That preference hadn’t changed. The sunlight caught the few strands of silvery white in the blond hair that she had in a clip at the back of her head. She still wore an ankle bracelet on her left leg. He’d given her one for her twenty-fifth birthday and wondered if she’d kept the gift given in love.
If he could have turned back the clock, they would be celebrating their twenty-fourth wedding anniversary. They might even have had a couple of children. The memory of what they’d almost had stabbed at his heart. He’d made the biggest mistake of his life and foolishly given up his love. History was not about to repeat itself.
Sean brushed the sand off the bottoms of his feet before stepping into the leather sandals he’d left on the beach. A short walkway gave entrance to the Blue Casbah, the villa he usually stayed in when he visited the Casa Blanca Resort. He stripped on his way to the bathroom and set the water temperature in the shower to cool before stepping into the rain-like spray. The water on his neck and back felt good against his heated skin.
He thought about his meeting with Nancy. “It didn’t go as planned. She flicked you off like a pesky fly.” His voice echoed off the walls of the shower. “What did you expect her to do? Fall down at your feet and forgive you for being a bastard?”
Women were drawn to him because he was the son of a US senator and had a hefty financial portfolio. At twenty-five, with a newly minted law degree, he’d been seduced by a career in politics, following in his father’s footsteps. After a number of years, the glitz and glamour had tarnished, and he’d stepped away from his father’s demands that he run for office. He still enjoyed working in the world of finance and quite frequently butted heads with Senator Lloyd Harrigan, his very influential father.
He dried off hurriedly and returned to the bedroom to get a pair of shorts and T-shirt. The message light on his phone was flashing, but he ignored it, already knowing whose calls he’d missed. Since he had the cell number of the owner of the Casa Blanca, he wasn’t going to waste time with calling the front desk.
“Hi, Sean. Everything okay with your villa?”
“It’s perfect, as usual. Lacey, I need a favor. What’s the number of that florist in town?”
“Does it have something to do with our attractive blond guest in the villa next to yours?”
“I refuse to answer on the grounds I might incriminate myself,” he teasingly replied.
“Bud’s Buds. They deliver.”
“Thanks for your help.”
He’d just finished placing his order with the florist when his cell phone rang. It was a call he reluctantly had to take and prepared for the blustering storm on the other end.
“Sean, where the hell have you been? I’ve been calling your cell all afternoon!”
“I was playing volleyball with a friend.”
“Bullshit! You’re there to do a job. Did you make contact with that bitch lawyer?”
“If you’re referring to Nancy Jean Griffin, yes, and I resent you calling her a bitch. She’s an old friend.”
“We’ve got a lot invested in this hotel and conference center and stand to make a great deal of money. Just because she’s got political authority, I’m not about to let her destroy all the plans we’ve made. I’ve made personal and political investments in that state, and my friends on the Gambling Commission will approve our application to turn the property into a casino.”
“I told you I want no part of anything illegal.”
“As chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I’ve never done anything to initiate a federal investigation. I provided you with a complete dossier on her. You’ve only got three weeks. She’s a lonely widow, and you poked her for two years. Hell, you almost married the bitch. Use your wiles to make her pant after you again and make her see things our way.”
It took everything in him to contain his escalating temper. The time had come to inform his father of the decision he’d been debating for the past year. He had his own financial investment firm, but the pressure and demands, especially from his father, raised the question: Was it all worth it? He had very rich and powerful friends, but financial success had lost its luster. Maybe it was a decision he should have made a long time ago, but he couldn’t dwell on what might have been. There were no guarantees in life, and he needed to make these changes to have a life with the woman he foolishly gave up.
“Dad, you are a crude bastard. I’ll do what I came here to do, but we’re done.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just what I said, we’re done. Find yourself another banker who knows how to swim in a tank of cutthroat lawyers.”
“You’re just upset because I need you to go after an old friend you wanted to marry. She had you by the balls, and I talked you out of pinning yourself to a small-town girl who could do nothing for your career.”
“And I made the biggest mistake of my life. No, this has been a long time coming. The last year, you’ve been skirting the line, and I pulled you back. I’m walking away. It’s also time that you considered not running for re-election.”
“Now don’t do anything foolish. We’ll talk when you get home.”
“I’m sure we will. And the next time you call her a bitch, I’m going to punch you in the mouth.”
“You would actually strike your father!”
“You’ve never known me to bluff.” Sean ended the call before his father could reply.
He tossed his cell phone in his travel bag on the bed. He felt relieved telling his father about his decision to end their business relationship. The senator could bluster all he wanted, but Sean’s decision was final. Burning the bridge felt good, and there would be no turning back. He’d come here for a specific purpose, and then he’d cut all professional ties with his father.
So how did he get the woman whose heart he broke to forgive him?
Nancy finished arranging the slices of cantaloupe on the plate beside the smoked turkey, cheddar and crackers. This wasn’t the dinner she’d planned, but when she needed to think, she liked to nibble on finger foods. The table and chairs on the patio right outside her villa were her favorite place to eat. In the center of the table was a tall, clear vase she’d purchased to display the sea shells she’d gathered during her walks.
The blue waters of the gulf were somewhat calm, and she enjoyed watching the white-fringed waves tickle the sand. Having grown up on the Jersey Shore, she loved the water with all its moods. The sun was setting and the vibrant colors of pink, orange and soft red were breathtaking. A few gulls circled the beach, looking for an evening snack. The refreshing breeze felt good on her bare arms and legs that already bore a golden tan.
She reached for her glass of white wine and took a few contemplative sips. What to do about Sean Harrigan? Her initial knee-jerk reaction had been to want to throw her arms around his neck in welcome, but that would have been her reception a long time ago. That disillusioned girl was no more. She’d returned home after graduation, wondering how she could go on without him. Her parents were concerned about her depressed state of mi
nd and asked only a few questions about Sean. They gave her a month to mope around the house. Her father had a fellow lawyer who was looking for a law clerk and was willing to take her on until she took the bar exam.
Nelson Griffin was fourteen years her senior, but he was the kindest, most gentle man she’d ever met. He was patient and supportive and helped her study for the bar exam. He held her when she cried over the betrayal of her love. They became close, and he offered a different kind of love, one that wouldn’t disappoint and hurt. She agreed to marry him. His only request was that they start a family right away because he was older and wanted to enjoy having a family with her. Kaitlyn was her gift to him. She was devastated over the loss of the man she came to love.
Her relationships with the two men had been so different. Nelson recognized her worth and helped her develop into the successful woman she was today, gave her a wonderful daughter and loved her unconditionally. Within five years of their marriage, she made partner, not out of family favoritism. He made her work to prove her worthiness to put her name on the door. They eventually took on two other partners, and she’d entertained taking on more help because of her political demands.
Sean, the love of her youth, was exciting, supportive and had helped her get through law school. He dried her tears of frustration, made her laugh and loved her unconditionally.
Fate had deemed their paths would be different from all their hopes and dreams. Sean had given her no warning, but the mature, grown-up Nancy eventually accepted he needed to follow his dream. Despite what he’d done, she’d never hated him.
“Fate has brought Sean back for a reason. Is it time to find out if my life is supposed to take a new direction?”