by Shannyn Leah
If Anya had been standing when her mother explained the accident had been staged to get Corbin away from Robert’s manipulating ways, she would have fallen over in shock.
Corbin was alive.
It was exciting that in only months her brother would be coming home to reunite with his family. But it was also terrifying because from what Eliza had explained Corbin was reluctant. Eliza had contacted him over a year ago and he was only now considering coming home. Anya couldn’t understand what her brother must be thinking, but she hoped wherever he’d been that he was happy.
These events were clear indications that her family wasn’t ordinary. In fact, they were reality television material of the rich and insane...and Anya missed each last one. Who was she kidding anyway? The drama she’d been living would fit right in with theirs and boost the make believe ratings.
Before the family parted, they made arrangements to have supper together at the pavilion down by the beach, which would provide them with privacy.
When each of them left to their crazy, but somewhat stable lives in comparison to the life Anya had been living, each one took a piece of Anya’s heart.
Eliza was the only one who stuck around.
Carl kissed Eliza on the cheek, an odd moment that was going to get some taking used to, before excusing himself.
Even Quinn took the hint, and followed behind Carl.
Anya was confident his absence did not go unnoticed. Before she even stepped out of the suite this morning, she would bet that Quinn had made a call to have her trailed through the resort by security. She was a prisoner trapped in her own home. If she left, Quinn would be there ready to drag her back.
Anya watched Quinn leave the restaurant, weaving his wide body through the busy tables. At the doorway he turned to look at her.
She didn’t flinch.
He didn’t flinch.
Even across the room his stare was so solid, so serious...so gorgeous.
Anya looked back at her mom with a smile that dropped quickly at her mother’s arched eyebrow stare.
“I think we are going to cut through all the small talk and not deny that you had planned on leaving this morning,” Eliza said.
Her mother hadn’t always been so outspoken and direct to the point. Slowly, over the years, her forthright manner had amplified, and finally now she was flat out calling it as it was.
Today, Anya wasn’t in the mood to talk about it.
“So, you’ve been having an affair with Uncle Carl since before Marc’s birth,” Anya observed, purposely trying to show her mother’s actions weren’t perfect either.
“So, you’ve been sneaking around with Mr. Barker.”
Ouch.
Eliza continued. “Two years ago and more presently, two days ago.”
They could play this game all day.
Eliza reached across the table and took Anya’s hand. “Anya, I’m not here to diminish whatever relationship you had with Quinn or will have in the future. Right now, that doesn’t concern me.”
Good. Conversation over?
Not so lucky, her mother continued. “I know that you were close to your father. Closer than any of your siblings. I’m particularly troubled about the time you spent together at the end of his life. I fear maybe you were mixed up in something that you can’t outrun.”
I am. But I can’t tell you.
“It’s alright, sweetheart, you don’t have to tell me.”
Had Anya voiced that out loud?
“But when you need me, I am here for you. You don’t have to run from your family. We have all evidently had our share of mistakes in the past and no doubt there are more to come in the future. That is life Anya. I cannot stop the mistakes you or any of my children make, but I can promise you that I am here when you need me. We can sit in the past and blame your father for our lives, heaven knows the man was selfish and deserves our blame, or we can accept that there is nothing more to do about the past except move on, together. This family loves each other through our flaws, and we stand by one another through our mistakes. I love you.”
Anya squeezed her mother’s hand fighting the battle with the tears that threatened. Her mother didn’t fight so hard and let a few droplets fall down her cheek.
They had made a lot of mistakes, but none of her family, except for Robert...and herself, had hurt other people.
Anya wanted to tell her mom. For a moment she felt the words pile up on her tongue, but she couldn’t force them out. She noticed a touch of additional worry came over Eliza’s face.
“Thank you Momma. I love you too.”
“I can’t force you to stay, but at least give us your cell phone number if you choose to leave. Talk to us. Do what you have to do, but don’t shut us out again. Please.”
Shut them out? Is that what it felt like she’d done to her family?
Anya had been only trying to fix her wrong without involving them.
Shame consumed her and she was even more saddened at how familiar the emotion felt.
When Anya hid from happiness, concealing the new life of what she truly believed she deserved, she’d unintentionally been hurting her family along the way. They’d all suffered fear and worry at Anya’s absence.
She could scream.
How did she fix this without telling her mother what she had done? She couldn’t, but she could give her mother reassurance and hope.
Anya held her hand out. “Give me your phone,” she said.
Eliza’s eyes lit up and she dug her cell phone out of her purse with lightning speed passing it to Anya.
Anya added her phone number to Eliza’s contacts and handed it back.
“I will stick around for a couple days, but then I have to leave again.” There was no getting out of it. Once she found Rebecca’s family, she would be flying back to Rebecca to reunite them.
Eliza’s face sobered, but retained a forced smile that didn’t reach her eyes or convince either of them.
“I don’t know for how long,” Anya continued.
Eliza nodded and didn’t press for answers for which Anya was grateful.
Hours slipped by as they talked at the restaurant. Mostly Eliza talked. She caught Anya up on all the details of the family, the resort and the minimal gossip of Willow Valley, which was mostly about events and new stores. While the town no doubt gossiped about every tiny thing about the Caliendos, it was quite the opposite for them. They didn’t know much about the townspeople, except who owned which business.
When they tired of sitting, they walked the grounds of the resort, with Eliza pointing out the changes. Some were subtle, like the update of painted walls, while others were unmistakable, like the new kids splash pad.
They ate lunch with the family before Eliza whisked her away to the far side of the resort where the preparations were in full swing for the upcoming Secret Garden Gala two nights from now.
Emma, having skipped lunch, met them in the center of the gorgeous outdoor garden. Gold and umber shades warmed the tented area accented by a sharp pink. Extravagant floral centerpieces were emphasised by feathers and twigs. The decor continued outside the tent around benches and tables. Anya could envision the strings of lights woven into the vines and trees, lighting the paths around the stunningly elegantly decorated area. It was incredible. It portrayed a rustic English country garden incorporating the wonderful scents of herbs, and flowers.
Employees were scattered around the area working on final touches and Emma barked orders.
“Hey,” she greeted with a full smile, but with eyes stuck to her iPad.
“Darling, it’s looking beautiful.”
“Thanks. It has been hectic without Violet and stepping in for the weddings this weekend.” She looked up finally. “I am so glad you’re throwing this mid-week giving me some extra time.”
“Do you need help?” Anya offered.
“No, I don’t want to put you to work. You just got home,” Emma said, but Anya saw her consider it for a moment. Emma shook h
er head, as if shaking the idea away.
“I don’t mind,” Anya said.
Her alternative was being squirreled away in her suite with Mr. Untrusting Quinn.
“I would actually love to help.” Anya took her excitement up a notch. “I have missed this and I used to help all the time. What do you need me to do?”
Emma was hesitant for about one second, sharing a quick look with Eliza. Then she put Anya to work. The time passed quickly and before Anya knew it, it was almost six in the evening.
Parting seemed difficult for Eliza, but she needed to get ready for dinner. Anya hugged her mother and promised to see her at supper.
On the way back to Anya’s suite, every camera she walked by, she didn’t dare look at, but felt the eyes of the man behind the security footage watching her.
How could she blame Quinn? She’d made it clear she wasn’t sticking around or helping him with his file anymore, which left him no alternative but to ensure his involvement.
So Anya wasn’t the least bit surprised when she found Quinn stretched out on her sofa...doing nothing.
She walked past him, trying not to show her irritation. Couldn’t she have one free minute to herself? Even more irritating was how much she liked having him here.
He used you...from the very beginning.
What did she see in him? What made her think there was more to him then he showed? Was she a glutton for punishment? Did she only go after men who were unavailable?
Anya noticed that he had showered, shaved and changed, looking deliciously delectable and like he was waiting for her to climb on top of him.
She needed to get rid of him and the thoughts that lingered when he was around.
Anya stopped in front of Quinn, feeling worn out and shattered from her day and ignoring the desire to curl up beside him and sleep. A glutton for punishment alright.
“I’m having dinner with my family tonight,” she told him, without including an invitation, and a warning in her tone that told him he wasn’t invited. “Meet me here after midnight. Do what needs to be done to the camera by my dad’s office.”
If the file was what he needed to move on, then the file would be what she gave him. After all, that’s what it had always been about, right?
“We will go get the files, together. Taking into account the occurrence of events, I trust Marc called you, but then you have been going to my mom first, to assure her of my well being.” Anya wasn’t sure why, but when he didn’t disagree, she noted that it was true...weird, but true. “I would like to clear up that I’ve talked to my mom about my future plans and we’ve come to an agreement. One that you aren’t entitled to know. You can go talk to her if you don’t trust my word.”
Anya wouldn’t be surprised if he did go and speak with Eliza but she found herself not caring one way or the other. At least, that’s what she told herself.
“You don’t have to stick around and report back to her on my whereabouts after tonight. Here. Midnight. You have my word.”
Anya walked toward the hall to escape anymore. She was done spending any more unnecessary time with a man who had forced a smile at times she had thought were special. He had conjured up phony laughter at moments when she’d laughed so hard she’d lost her breath. And a man who kissed and touched her, using her as no more than an instrument in the lengthy symphony he’d been orchestrating since his arrival at the resort.
Quinn’s arm reached out and caught her wrist as she passed. He was stopping her because he didn’t trust her. Because he thought she was going to leave again.
Anya sucked in a deep breath before looking down at him.
His head was slanted to look at her.
“You have my word,” she told him. “I’m not going anywhere. We will get your file. I promise.”
The expression on his face didn’t shift. She didn’t know which expression this was. It wasn’t the angry one glaring to find the file. Or the untrusting one questioning her every move.
“Are you okay?” he finally asked.
Like he cared.
“What are you going to do if I say no?”
Quinn sat up, keeping his fingers tightly around her wrist.
“What do you need me to do?”
Why was he offering? Pity.
He felt sympathetic that she’d discovered the truth about their relationship. Anya didn’t need sympathy...especially not his.
“I need you to take your file and leave.”
Without waiting for his response she tugged her arm free and walked away. She didn’t stop until she was behind her closed and locked bedroom door.
Ha! Locked. What a joke.
The man on the other side wouldn’t let a little household lock keep him out if he wanted in. But he didn’t want in. He never wanted into any part of her life except access to the file.
Anya stepped in the shower and tried to wash away the emotions involving Quinn. It was next to impossible, but after tonight he would be gone and she would let him go and take their past with him.
Chapter Eight
QUINN REDIRECTED THE security camera monitoring the Caliendo suites foyer as he had the night before, a temporary loop until he switched it back. They would be in and out in a half hour and no one would notice.
He met Anya after midnight at the door of her suite, as she requested. To his surprise, she answered when he knocked. He hadn’t been one-hundred percent convinced she would, but the look of defeat across her solemn face when she’d left him in the living room earlier that day semi-assured him that her promise was true.
Anya looked better this evening.
The warm color of her skin had taken over the white ghostly appearance that stole her radiance and, for the first time since she’d returned, she’d let her hair down. It was longer now, and the curls fell loosely around her shoulders.
He tried to ignore the rising desire that scorched all other thoughts, knowing those curls were her “after shower” curls. He remembered from being engaged in countless showers together, which had nothing to do with bathing, her hair always dried soft and wavy, and finger ready. Ready for him to dig his hands into. Quinn preferred her natural curls opposed to her product styled locks for that reason alone.
He also appreciated that she wasn’t hiding behind the oversized, black jacket she’d been wearing but it amused him that she chose a vibrant teal, short-sleeved chiffon blouse to pair up with her black skinnies. Teal wasn’t exactly a sneaking around color.
All the positive aspects of her appearance softened Quinn’s guilt at having tricked her back into her family’s lives, where she obviously need to be.
Anya noticed his observation and the fact he hadn’t stepped out of her way.
“What?” she asked crossly.
Shaking his head at her irritableness and his poor lack of gaping restraint, he automatically went to move aside and let her pass, but then recognized this would be the end of their time together. After they located the files, he would leave the resort and Willow Valley permanently. That meant he wouldn’t see her again.
Quinn leaned in first and kissed her cheek. He felt her stiffen beneath his touch.
“You look beautiful,” he said.
He moved away and caught her glare.
“You showered in my bathroom,” she accused accurately.
Quinn chuckled. “I live out of town, so it was quicker for me to shower here.”
He was glad to see some of her sassiness had returned after worrying about those haunted eyes of hers all afternoon. Her beaten down spirit had forced him to back off until midnight. He had headed through the bushes and hung out at the rickety cabin for a couple hours only to come back again.
Quinn wasn’t bothered by the waiting, walking and sneaking around. All three actions had become a daily basis in his life.
Now it was Anya’s turn to look him over. Her eyes dropped to the clean black slacks and black long-sleeved shirt he wore. He knew how to dress for camouflage in the night.
; He answered her questioning look. “I had spare clothes in my truck.”
“Where is your truck?”
“At the cabin.”
“You walked here?” Her shock also amused him since she’d been walking the exact trail for three days.
“Yes.”
Anya waved her fingers across his outfit. “I don’t look like this after I walk through the bush.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“It’s not an insult.”
He grinned. “Well in that case, thank you.”
Quinn was aware the longer they stood here staring at each other like love struck teenagers, the higher their risk of being seen. It was a strange and annoying feeling to struggle between the need for that file and the need for a few spare moments with Anya before they separated forever.
“We should go get the file,” she said. “That is what you spent months telling me I’m beautiful for, right?”
That wasn’t true.
Anya didn’t give him a chance to clarify and pushed past him.
Quinn didn’t like that these were her memories of them, but it was better for her if she didn’t know the deep, emotionally attached and protective feelings he had for her. Better for him too.
They kept close to the building, ducking under Marc and Violet’s suites like professional criminals who had already scoped out the layout.
Anya used her key card to get them back inside the foyer of the living quarters.
Quinn moved in first. In charge of being on the lookout, he glanced to the right down the empty corridor that led to the resort. It was a long glass hallway which provided no privacy, but was hidden from the rest of the resort. Then he looked left, where the glass doors led to the pool room.
Clear and clear.
He moved and nodded for Anya to pass.
At the door, he noticed her pause a moment and stare at the chip on the card, slowly rubbing her nail across the edge. She was thinking about his betrayal, he knew it.
Sweetheart, hating me is better than wanting me.
She didn’t look at him and quickly swiped the key card.
Finally, inside the office, they left the lights off and shut the door behind them.
Quinn had already ransacked through the drawers of Robert’s antique desk and the filing cabinets along the far wall. He hadn’t known what he was looking for, but he was guessing it would either be the manila files he’d delivered the requested information to Robert in or USB sticks he’d transferred the information onto.