The ultimate temp job.
I think you have a lot of heroine inside of you.
She hated how she nearly gulped those words whole, letting them nourish her.
Luke made her feel like the main attraction, not an afterthought.
And standing here in the perfect dress didn’t quelch that feeling, not at all.
The perfect—oh, no! “I have to call the airport and make sure my sister’s dress has arrived. And I have to find a new location for her wedding.” She turned her back to Lucia. “Will you unzip me?” Then, to the saleslady, “I’ll take it.”
“Very good. Shall I have it steamed and sent to your hotel?”
“Yes, please.” And then, before Lucia could step in and put it on Benito’s account, she pulled out her credit card.
Maybe she’d simply have the hotel ship it home. A souvenir.
Lucia gave her a small smile as Scarlett signed the sales slip. “Where do people get married on this island, ma’am, other than the resorts?”
“Oh, on the North Beach, of course. And at the lighthouse on the point at the south end of the island. It’s a lovely place for a wedding.”
“Thank you.” She grabbed Lucia’s hand. “C’mon. We’ve got work to do.”
“What are we doing?”
“I can’t have my sister getting married at the resort. Not with…well, with the fireworks planned. We’re planning a new wedding, Lucia. And it all starts will my pal Raoul.”
She found him sweeping the walkway outside the resort. “I need your help, Raoul.”
“Anything for you, señorita.”
She just loved how he said that.
Of course, planning Bridgett’s new wedding only stirred her own fairy tale inside, from the flowers to the cake to the musicians to the candles that would light the path up to the lighthouse.
She made a point of checking out the view, standing at the pinnacle of the south-facing cliffs, again feeling as if she could soar.
“It’s even more beautiful than the view at the pavilion,” Lucia said.
“I hope Bridgett agrees. The reception yacht can pick them up at the landing below, and hopefully Raoul has lined up the limousines.”
“Yeah, all two that are on the island.”
“There aren’t that many guests, so maybe they can take cabs, too. But I want the wedding party to go over in the limos before the CIA shows up.”
Lucia’s smile fell.
“Sorry.”
“No. It’s good for me to remember that despite all the fuss, there will be no wedding.”
There would be no wedding for either of them.
“I don’t understand. Why are you doing all this for your sister? I met her—she isn’t very…”
“It’s okay.” Scarlett took the path up to the lighthouse, making a mental note for the florist as to where to assemble the bougainvillea arch. “Bridgett and I used to be close, but something changed when she left home to model. At first I blamed it on her busy life, but after that I decided that she just wasn’t the same person. She was who they wanted her to be. I’d lost her. I guess a part of me wants to believe she’s still there, that she knows that I love her, despite her changes. She’s not an afterthought to me. She’s a big deal.”
“That’s very noble.”
Was it?
“Well, there’s another part, too. See, I sort of made a spectacle at her engagement party. I accused her of stealing my boyfriend. Which of course she didn’t, but it felt like it. But it made me realize that he didn’t love me. At least not enough to come after me. I guess that’s what I’m holding out for—the guy who will come after me.”
“Benito tracked me down after meeting me at a diplomatic reception. He waited in the lobby the next day for two hours with lilies until I passed through. I had planned on making an impact, but I have to admit, I didn’t expect to be wooed by him so easily.”
“You weren’t an afterthought to him. You are a big deal.”
Lucia smiled, an expression on her face that made Scarlett want to weep. She put her arm around Lucia’s tanned shoulders as they walked back to the golf cart.
By the time they returned for the rehearsal dinner, the sun had just begun to set over the resort, the palm trees inky brushes against the painted sky. They cast tufted shadows upon the lawn, and the orange-streaked sunset turned the water to burning coals. Scarlett stood on the outskirts of the pavilion and listened to the priest Benito and Lucia had hired walk them through the steps. Then, Scarlett lined up with Benito’s best man, slipped her arm through his and imagined it might be Luke.
But Luke stood at the back of the pavilion, saying little. He left before the rehearsal ended.
“See you at dinner,” Lucia said after Scarlett walked back to her yacht with Benito.
Scarlett then spent a good half hour bemoaning her Minnesota wardrobe. She’d packed her only little black dress, a number she usually wore with a white blouse. But at least the color enhanced yesterday’s tan. She twisted up her hair, added a pink coral necklace and slipped into a pair of heels. Not necessarily beachwear, but it would have to do.
Of course, Luke would look like a model straight out of a magazine with his burnished gold hair, those light brown eyes that missed nothing. Probably he’d smell good, too. She added a little lipstick and perfume and told herself again this wasn’t a date.
Then, she made her way to the dinner.
Her sister had actually booked the deck restaurant in the hotel for her rehearsal dinner. Music drifted out from the party, the deck lit by lanterns and luminaries. Scarlett had sent Bridgett a note via Raoul about the change of wedding ceremony venues. The fact that she hadn’t shown up at the pavilion during rehearsal to duke it out with Lucia seemed a sign of success. Hopefully, Bridgett had a beautiful sunset rehearsal at the lighthouse.
God, please bless her party, her wedding. Yes, she would like to show Bridgett that she endorsed her marriage, that she hoped Bridgett and Duncan lived happily ever after.
Really.
And if they listened to her, they actually would live happily ever after.
She cut down the path to the cabana at the beach, where lights strung between palm trees twinkled against the night, where luminarias glowed to light the path toward the thatched-roof picnic shelter. The spice of the grill lured her in to stand at the edge of the wooden floor where Lucia and Benito danced the salsa.
She couldn’t dance.
Hopefully, Luke wouldn’t ask.
“Wow, you look beautiful.”
Coming from his lips, the words took away her breath. She turned and Luke stood there, wearing a white shirt, a pair of black linen pants.
He held out his hand. “Care to dance?”
“I…I don’t know how, Luke. I can’t dance the salsa.”
He gave her a soft, playful smile. Oh, her romantic heart didn’t stand a chance.
The song ended, the music changing beat. “This is a waltz. Just take my hand and hold on.”
“I’ve pretty much been doing that since we met in the cab.” Oh, for goodness’ sake. But he grinned at her and led her to the dance floor. “It’s a three-count. Onetwo-three, one-two-three. Start by stepping back with your right foot, and I’ll take it from there.”
Ho-kay.
She stumbled, and he caught her. “Relax.”
Relax. With his hand on her upper back, holding her? But as she breathed out, she relished the safety of his arms.
They started again and she counted out her steps, stiff, jerky.
“Close your eyes.”
“What?”
“You’re trying to lead. I get that—most women are worried that we men are going to lead you someplace bad—into the chairs, or the sand. But I promise to take care of you. Close your eyes.”
“Okay.”
Then, magic happened. She stopped worrying about the steps and just let him lead her, gently, easily around the dance floor, keeping the beat, safe in his arms.
; Around and around, one-two-three until she became the music and lost herself.
It ended too soon. She opened her eyes, expecting to see him smile.
But he almost seemed in pain, his eyes dark. “I’m so sorry, Scarlett, for what I’m about to do.”
Then he backed away from her, and in a voice that didn’t seem to belong to the man she’d come to know, a voice that he must have conjured, said, “Why didn’t you tell me you were still in love with your old boyfriend?”
Oh, please, let this be fake. She couldn’t bear the thought that all the rest had been pretend and this, this man who spat out venom, might be real.
Might be the true Luke Dekker.
Because this wasn’t the man she’d fallen in love with at all.
“My old boyfriend? What do you mean I’m still in love with my old boyfriend?” Her voice emerged as if through broken glass, halting, crisp.
He knew it would hurt her, knew that dragging up Duncan would only make it personal, make her react with real emotions.
Real hurt.
Real betrayal.
But hopefully those real emotions would also convince Benito, and send her packing from Lucia’s wedding tomorrow.
So he went for the jugular, despite the fact that the look on her face could tear him in half. “Yeah, your boyfriend, Duncan. The guy I just ran into, the one who told me he wants you back. That he is still in love with you.”
“But…Duncan never loved me—”
“Not like me, of course. But there is no figuring out love, is there, baby?” He raised his voice and cast his gaze around the crowd. C’mon Scarlett, play along.
She backed away from him, her mouth opening, her face white. “I…when did he tell you this?”
Oh, no, she didn’t really believe him, did she?
“Earlier today, while you were out buying your wedding dress. I ran into him, and we had a little heart-to-heart. He told me how your sister stole him away from you, but how he’s come to his senses. How he loves you and wants you back. But you already knew that, didn’t you?”
Her eyes widened and he hated the lie. And the fact he told it so convincingly. But great lies were built on truths. He’d just changed the name Bridgett to Duncan.
Still, the fact that Duncan had loved her hadn’t been a lie, and he didn’t know exactly how he felt about the fact that the guy might indeed still carry a torch for the girl he…
Loved. Oh, no. He’d been dodging that truth all day but he finally landed on the emotion bubbling inside. Love. He loved Scarlett. And he was about to eviscerate her in public. “And, according to Duncan, you love him, too. You even tried to break up your sister’s wedding to prove it.” Please, don’t flinch, Scarlett.
He forced himself not to look away, despite the look on her face.
“But…I don’t love Duncan.”
“Please. He’s here, on the island.”
“Well, of course he is, but—”
“And earlier today you were in his villa, when you should have been home, seasick.”
“What? I was—”
“I don’t want to hear any more. Just stop with the lies, Scarlett. I thought we had something. I thought—” and he didn’t want to admit it, but this part came right from the real Luke Dekker—“I thought we really had something that we could build on. I saw our future in your eyes, and I knew that you were the only person I would ever risk being with.” Could he say the next part? “And now…you destroyed that.”
Her eyes filled, her hand pressed to her mouth. She shook her head, almost pleading, and with everything inside him he wanted to yank back his words. But he had to seal the deal.
For Scarlett’s sake.
For Lucia’s sake.
For the sake of the mission.
It would help, however, if Scarlett confessed, even played along.
“I’m sorry I ever met you,” he said, dropping his voice to a growl. “I’m sorry I ever loved you.” He swallowed hard, then spit the last words out, hating himself. “You weren’t worth my time.”
Something flashed in her eyes then.
And the Scarlett he knew, the Scarlett he loved, the woman he’d just decimated, came to life.
“Yeah, well, me too, jack.”
Atta girl.
“Because you’re nothing but a fake.”
Except her words, her tone, the glisten of her eyes looked real. Too real.
“You’re just a man who speaks out both sides of his mouth. A liar.”
Watch it now, Scarlett. Be careful. But she was so terribly right, her words landing like a blade in his heart.
“I do love Duncan! I always have, and I should have figured out that this thing with you was just a fling. I…hate you. I’m so glad I finally figured that out.” She lifted her gaze to the onlookers, gathering courage. “You’d end up cheating on me with a bridesmaid anyway.”
Ow. Okay, that hurt.
“And I wouldn’t marry you if…if you were the last man on this island.”
Then she turned and found Lucia in the crowd. “I’m sorry, Lucia, I can’t stay. I hope Benito turns out to be a better groom than this jerk.”
“Good riddance,” Luke said quietly as Scarlett gave him one last look, shook her head and left the dance floor.
Mission accomplished.
Except, oh, how he wanted to run after her, grab her arm, whirl her around and pull her into his arms. I’m sorry, Scarlett.
I’m sorry.
He saw Claudio’s eyes on him as he turned away from her.
“So, she cheated on you this morning, while she was playing seasick?” Benito slipped up beside him, clamped a hand on his shoulder.
“Looks like it,” Luke choked out. Scarlett had reached the edge of the light and was now disappearing into the darkness.
“Sorry, Luke. C’mon, I’ll buy you a drink.”
But Luke didn’t want a drink. Everything he thirsted for he’d just pushed out of his life. And, given the way he’d used her own pain against her, he had no doubts she’d never want to talk to him again.
Benito walked him to the bar where Luke ordered a Coke.
“You don’t want anything stronger?” Benito asked.
“No. I don’t want to track down Duncan and hurt him.”
“Maybe the guys and I should do it for you.”
Luke shook his head. “If she wants him, she can have him.”
“Just like that, you’re going to give her up? No fight?” Lucia came to the bar and slid onto a bench. He frowned at her. She, better than anyone, had to know that he’d made up the entire spectacle.
“What do you expect me to do?”
“Run after her. Let her explain. Tell her that you love her anyway.” She glanced at Benito, then back to Luke. “That’s what love does. It hopes and believes in a logical explanation. And it forgives.”
Had Lucia lost her mind? She wasn’t seriously suggesting…or, maybe this had more to do with her own pain than Scarlett’s. Still, they had to stick to the script. He gave her a dark look. Pay attention, Lucia. “I can’t forgive this.”
“Then you never really loved her, man,” Benito said, raising an eyebrow. “You didn’t even let her explain.”
Lucia smiled at him, her eyes glowing, clearly ignoring Luke’s silent warnings.
“Let’s go find her, see if she has anything to say.” Benito hooked his hand around Luke’s neck. What could he do?
Please, Scarlett, be furious. Refuse to take me back. “But you’re at your rehearsal dinner.”
“Hey. We men have to stick together. Besides, my bride isn’t so sure this isn’t your fault. Are you, darling?”
Sure enough, Lucia looked at him as if she wanted to take a piece out of him. “Find her.”
His lips tightened to a grim line. She met his eyes without a blink.
He simply didn’t understand women. Didn’t Lucia know that if she and Scarlett showed up tomorrow, either—or both—of them could get hurt? He simply couldn’t
protect them both.
“Who says I want her back?”
“Do you love her?” Benito asked for the second time in less than two days.
Luke stared out into the darkness at the path she’d taken, seeing her face, the way tears pooled in her eyes…
“Let’s go.” Benito grabbed his arm, practically yanking him from the bar. They hiked across the dance floor, leaving the glow of the party, heading across the sand. Waves chased them on the shore, the music drifting on the breeze. The smell of the ocean called to him. Run.
“Who is this Duncan guy?” Benito asked.
“He’s from back home. They had a thing for a couple years. Then her sister came into the picture. He fell for the sister—”
“And dumped Scarlett? What was he thinking?”
Good question, except, Duncan clearly hadn’t been thinking. A guy who hadn’t even had the guts to ask Scarlett out on a real date didn’t deserve her. Add to that the fact that he let her twist in the wind for so long and didn’t even come clean after she’d embarrassed herself at the engagement dinner. Yeah, Luke would like to straighten out Duncan a little. “I don’t know. But more importantly, she isn’t over him.”
“She’s over him. She just needs to let go of the past and see what she has in front of her.”
Luke glanced at him.
“You, man.” Benito rolled his eyes. “Wow. It’s a good thing I’m making you get married tomorrow, or I’m not sure you’d ever tie the knot.”
That, actually, was completely accurate.
They cut past the cabana toward the hotel. “There she is.”
Indeed. Scarlett stood outside the cabana, near the pool…talking to another man.
And even though Luke knew he’d spun the entire tale, even though he knew—or felt pretty sure that he knew—that Scarlett didn’t love him, it still jolted him to see her reach out and take the man’s hand and smile up at him.
He reached out and wiped away a tear from her face.
Then he pulled her into a hug, her arms reaching around his neck.
No…it couldn’t be. Duncan?
She didn’t really want Duncan back, did she?
Luke froze, unable to move. She had come to Cancun to break up her sister’s wedding.
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