Harlequin Romance September 2021 Box Set

by Andrea Bolter

  “With your approval, tonight we will prepare one of the island’s best-known dishes, mofongo.”

  “That’s with chicharrón and green plantains?” Luna asked.

  “Senorita, you’ve tasted it before?”

  “No, I read about it in one of the magazines on the coffee table.”

  The three of them chuckled.

  “Senor, I’ll give you the honor of peeling the plantains and slicing them.” The chef passed Charlie a cutting board and a knife. “These look like bananas, but the taste is much different,” he said as he handed Charlie a bunch of the fruit. The skin was tough and thick. After peeling, Charlie began slicing them into disks.

  “Senorita, if you’ll heat the olive oil in the skillet.”

  Once they’d fried and drained the plantains, Chef Diego presented them with a mortar and pestle. “We call this a pilón. We will mash the plantains with the chicharrón, and garlic, and a little broth, as needed.” The chef began placing chicken strips onto a sizzling grill. “Chicharrón are pork rinds that have been fried and seasoned.”

  Luna began the mashing, seeming to enjoy the task. “What’s the history of this recipe?”

  “Ah, good question. We believe it is an adaptation of the West African dish, fufu. Often you will see mofongo served in a rounded half-sphere shape. So we’ll use these bowls as our mold.” He showed them the glazed clay bowls.

  “Why that shape?”

  “As we tamp the mofongo into the bowl, we’re going to scoop out the center and fill that with the grilled chicken. Then we will unmold it and surround it with hot broth, and as you eat you discover the chicken inside. Various fillings can be used.”

  Charlie was getting hungry from the descriptions and aromas. Once the mofongo was finished, the chef departed, and he and Luna took their plates to the courtyard again, as there could hardly be a lovelier place than under the twilight sky.

  They also brought out the platter of fresh fruit that had been provided and the arroz con dulce, Puerto Rican rice pudding resplendent with raisins and spices.

  As they ate, Luna regaled him with stories about other exotic destinations she’d been to. Charlie had traveled plenty himself for work, but chitchat didn’t come as easily to him, so he appreciated her keeping the mood light while they ate. It was as if all of the years in his self-imposed isolation had caught up with him. There had been so much sorrow and anguish, so much grief and stabbing pain, that he’d forgotten there were other emotions. Being with Luna it registered how truly lonely he was.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “WOULD YOU LIKE to go for a swim?” Luna asked once they’d finished their dinner. Old habits forced her through a mental process before she made the suggestion. It was dark now in the courtyard by their private pool. Charlie might be able to make out the outline of her body, but no one was going to pass judgment on her figure.

  Even though they’d been out on the water snorkeling earlier, she’d quickly shrugged off her cover-up before they’d dove in and, likewise, slipped it right back on when they were done. It was frustrating that her brain had drudged her through all of those calculations, but as she’d learned in therapy, they were merely floating thoughts. While she couldn’t seem to stop them, they didn’t have to have any power over her unless she let them.

  “That would be...nice.” Charlie sounded tentative. But it was too early to go to bed and they hadn’t made any other plans for the evening.

  They cleared the plates and put everything on the cart, which Charlie wheeled to outside of the villa entrance as arranged. That way none of the staff would come through during the night, and a new cart with breakfast would be magically delivered in the morning.

  “I’ll just go get changed,” Luna said and headed for the bedroom. Luckily, she’d brought several swimsuits. All modest one-pieces, of course. No bikinis for her. She threw on one of the terry-cloth robes with the Dorada logo that had been provided and belted it around her. Back outside, there was a cabinet filled with fresh towels near the pool.

  Charlie strode out in swim trunks and nothing else. While he talked about his social awkwardness and she’d noticed that conversation with him could be choppy, he didn’t seem to have any physical inhibitions. Lucky him, she thought.

  She tossed her robe onto a chair and they got quickly into the pool. He dipped under the water and came back up, his hair dripping. “Ah, good idea, senorita.”

  “Muchas gracias.”

  She swam to the far end of the pool and he met her there, and then together they swam back. It was so relaxing to take lazy strokes, one after the other, like a moving meditation. Anush had been right—this getaway was what she needed. An escape with nothing that needed her attention. Except for a developing problem. A six-foot, green-eyed problem that was moving through the water next to her. Because after a day on the snorkeling boat and then cooking and eating with him, she was enjoying Charlie’s company far more than she ought to.

  This week was meant to include as much pretending as one of the films she’d acted in. Part of Anush’s impetus was to help Luna prepare to date again, but she’d sworn she wasn’t going to waste her time on the losers and users she tended to meet. In any case, she’d have her hands full reestablishing herself in LA. Dating wasn’t going to be in the picture anytime soon.

  For Charlie, he’d be going home to his English estate, hopefully with the spirit he’d need to socialize more, maybe date. This week was a sort of warm-up for both of them. She needed to cancel out the already developing feeling that it was going to be hard to say goodbye to him.

  They swam to a bench in the pool, where they sat and looked up to the moon in the star-filled sky. “Did you know Luna means moon in Spanish?” she asked softly.

  “Are you of Spanish descent?”

  “No. My mom just heard it and thought it was pretty.”

  “Like you.” The world deemed her pretty, too. If she was wearing the right outfit and had the right makeup and hair and so on. Somehow, though, Charlie saying so touched her. A smile crept across her mouth.

  “What were you doing in Kentucky for a year?” he asked, not allowing for any meaningless blather.

  “I—I got so far away from myself that I couldn’t see my way back.”

  His eyes met hers in a direct stare. Now it was him who wanted to say something, but he seemed to be having trouble getting it out. “Yes,” he whispered, as if he couldn’t articulate more. His words echoed hers. “I know the feeling of not being able to see my way back.”

  Their faces inched closer together as they sat on the bench in the pool. Were they about to kiss? In an instant, she wanted to. More than anything in the world. One inch closer still, and their eyes stayed joined in a lifeline. The intensity was almost too much to bear. He was hesitating. Maybe she should make the first move. Tilting her head slightly, she leaned in.

  She saw the arch in his shoulders as his back stiffened. His body language was clear. If she had thought the swell of yearning for each other was mutual, she’d been very wrong.

  * * *

  It was another long night of lying on the sofa, staring out of the villa at the night sky, but with sleep not coming. This time, Charlie had so much on his mind it was no wonder slumber eluded him. Luna had tried to kiss him in the swimming pool after dinner. What’s more, he had most certainly wanted to kiss her back. To claim her tender lips and feel them move under his. To hear a catch of desire in her breath. The mere thought of that made his blood run scalding hot. It had been a decade. Ten long years, during which he’d scarcely even thought of intimacies with another woman, and never imagined that was something he’d ever have again. He assumed that was in the past for him. As if his hormonal system, his entire sexuality, had died along with his wife.

  It was a subconscious reaction to lean away when it seemed a kiss with Luna was looming. Nothing like that was supposed to happen betwe
en them and he was glad he didn’t act on the moment. It was too sudden, too shocking. But he couldn’t stop ruminating over it. Welcome or not, Luna was digging up the mental and emotional grave he’d been buried in.

  Quite early in the morning, Madison Morgan called, thankfully ending his restless night. “Charlie, I’m calling to inquire how things are going. Did the bed arrangement settle itself out?”

  “We’re sleeping separately, as intended.”

  “For now.”

  Charlie could only nod to himself at her single-mindedness. Sadly, he’d be proving her wrong but he was curious. “Can I ask you something? How do you go about matching people up?”

  “That’s my own secret formula, Charlie. As a mastermind, I’m sure you understand.”

  “Still, I wonder why you chose Luna and I as a pair?”

  “Your question tells me you should leave your intellect in your luggage and just let things flow for the week.”

  “If you’ve done your work to know me at all, you’d know that’s not in my character.”

  “Exactly, Charlie. Exactly.” And with that, Madison ended the call. Charlie sank farther into the cocoon of the sofa where he’d spent the night replayed Madison’s words.

  “Hello,” Luna called out softly when the sun had moved higher in the sky. Charlie rose and ran his fingers through his hair. She appeared in a long beach dress made of a golden fabric. With her hair as flowing as the garment, she was a mystical vision from the heavens. A throb in his loins made him feel like an animal. It was an exhilarating, virile sensation. He liked it.

  “Let me get the cart with our breakfast,” he said and hurried to the entrance, wanting to be the provider.

  “Thank you,” she replied ever so sweetly as he wheeled it in. A vase filled with flowers adorned the breakfast offerings.

  After coffee, they dug in to the selections, and the ubiquitous and welcome tray of fresh-cut fruit. If she’d been upset by his unwillingness to kiss her last night, she didn’t let it show. Then again, she was an actress, after all. “What would you like to do today?” He grabbed his tablet, ready to punch in their requirements.

  “Another day on the water, perhaps? I’d like to try paddleboarding.”

  “Your wish is my command.” With a couple of taps, he organized it so that someone would meet them at the shoreline with the equipment.

  “And let’s have the chef just deliver our dinner. Whatever he chooses. We had enough food decisions to make yesterday.”

  * * *

  Soon enough they were at the waterfront. As they were both novices, a Dorada staff member named Martino, who was dressed in shorts and a polo shirt with the resort’s insignia, gave them a few tips. He showed them how to use the paddles, and they practiced until they had the feel for it. Then they kneeled on their boards and headed away from the beach as Martino left.

  “Do you want to try kneeling, sitting, lying prone, or standing?” Charlie said, keeping his board as near to Luna’s as he could.

  “I want to stand.”

  He did, too, but he also wanted to watch as Luna stood first. He felt better able to assist her if she needed it from where he was. As instructed, from her kneeling position she brought up one knee to her chest and flattened her foot on the board, then repeated the action with the other. With that stance, she was able to stand fully erect and stabilize herself. A huge smile spread across her face. “I did it!” Her enthusiasm was infectious, so Charlie repeated the same steps, until he stood tall on his own board. “Once you get the hang of keeping your balance you can just look out to the horizon while you paddle.”

  “It’s marvelous.” Charlie could hardly believe himself. From a mansion with dark heavy curtains he rarely drew open to walking on water with a gorgeous companion in the Caribbean. He couldn’t be further from his norm. He was beginning to wonder which one was him, and who he wanted to be. Amelia wouldn’t have liked what he’d become over the last decade. An outsider. A loner. Without excitement, without joy. He thought he owed his endless mourning to her and Lily, as a testament of his love for them. But walking in the memorial garden he’d planted for them on the estate’s grounds was often the only time he saw sunlight. They deserved better than that from him.

  They coasted quietly, both soaking in the sea and sun. Neither noticed an unexpected rough wave coming toward them. “Yikes!” Luna exclaimed and was promptly knocked off her board by its force. Her board skidded to one side, her paddle toward Charlie. He was able to squat and grab it.

  Luna tumbled under the water, tossed by the undertow. Charlie kneeled to speed up his paddling, racing to get to her before the situation became perilous. The water wasn’t terribly deep but he didn’t want her to get hurt. He was able to reach his arm to her and sighed with relief when he felt her hand grab it and clutch on to him.

  Anguish stabbed into him. The arm he gave Luna was the figurative arm he had never been able to extend to his wife and baby. Intellectually, Charlie knew there was nothing he could have done to prevent the accident that took away the world as he knew it. He hadn’t even been there. But that didn’t stop him from being haunted by the fact that he hadn’t been able to save them.

  He hoisted up Luna until she could get her knees balanced on his board. “All you all right?” he asked right away to be sure.

  “Oh, yeah.” She laughed. “I guess we’re beginners, after all. We should have seen that coming. Wait, are you okay?”

  “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “You’re the one who looks white as a ghost.”

  * * *

  “Thank you. That was very noble of you to react so quickly,” Luna said to Charlie a bit later, as they were lying on a blanket atop the sand. She’d been surprised that Charlie looked so shaken after she’d taken the tumble off her paddleboard. “Thankfully, I’m a fairly competent swimmer.”

  Had he been afraid for her safety because he’d come to care about her in the short time they’d known each other? It was a charming notion, but she doubted it. Her potential peril tapped into something else in him, that much was obvious.

  “I suppose in Los Angeles, you’re in swimming pools and the Pacific Ocean quite a bit?”

  “When I get the chance. I had been working a lot before my hiatus.” Charlie handed her a cold bottle of tangerine soda from their picnic basket along with an assortment of seasoned nuts in a container. “Although hiatus is a polite word for what I did.”

  “You said Los Angeles had become too much for you.”

  “When I fled to Kentucky, I was two days from beginning a new film. I violated my contract and left a lot of people in the lurch.”

  “You said you were due to start another film after this week in Puerto Rico.”

  “Yes.”

  “So your reputation wasn’t ruined to the point that people didn’t want to work with you.” She nodded her head, appreciating the support. Charlie Matthews might be a sad man, but he was a kind one at the same time.

  She couldn’t help recalling last night in the swimming pool. When she’d almost kissed him. It felt so right until, in the blink of an eye, it felt so wrong. And now those impulses were moving through her again. Pulling her toward him. She’d be lying if she didn’t admit that his assist when she was swept off the paddleboard had been welcome, even if she didn’t need it. No man had ever really cared for her well-being.

  “True,” she replied, agreeing with Charlie’s assessment that her career hadn’t been irrevocably damaged by her sudden departure, as the reason was purposely never explained to the parties involved. “I’ve done a great job of hiding my feelings for years.”

  “That’s the spirit.”

  At that she chuckled, and Charlie did, as well.

  “I suppose it’ll be good to get back to work. This next one is an action blockbuster film. I play the love interest to the main superhero.”

&nb
sp; He shook his head back and forth. “This is terrible to admit to you, but I don’t line up to see those big-event movies when they’re released. I can report, though, that half of London does. They buy advance tickets and merchandise and create a frenzy. From a business standpoint, it’s quite a phenomenon.”

  “And made me very wealthy. I’ll tell you, though, someday I’d like to make more personal movies about ordinary women with real-life super powers.”

  “I’m sure you will.” Another vote of confidence from him. Luna had better watch herself. A billionaire who had nothing to gain by sucking up to see what he could get from her could be a risky attraction. She didn’t want to leave Puerto Rico with a broken heart.

  Once the afternoon sun had lowered and they’d had their fill of mastering paddleboarding, they returned to the villa and showered. On a whim, Luna put on a slinky silver dress with spaghetti straps. She’d normally throw a scarf or light cardie over it, because every inch of her body she’d ever revealed ended up as someone else’s concern, so she’d learned to cover up. Not that something as simple as a pashmina stopped the scrutiny, but at least they weren’t discussing her skeleton. Tonight she was feeling comfortable enough around Charlie that she didn’t feel the need to cover up.

  The way those brilliant green eyes took her in when she emerged from the bedroom was all the validation she needed. Around him, she was the least self-conscious she’d ever been. She’d had only the briefest fleeting thoughts about her body when they were paddleboarding, which was huge progress for her. “You are, er, enchanting,” he stuttered out, all the more adorable because he was awkward with the compliment. He looked awfully good himself in a black shirt not tucked into the jeans that were snug around his muscular legs.