by Missy Lyons
“My father is going to hear about this!”
Ethan belted out laughter from deep in his chest. “That’s just what I’d expect you to say, princess.”
She couldn’t help laughing at the absurdity of her situation, and his laughter was contagious. Finally she stopped being so angry and rolled her eyes at him. It had been a long time since she paid men any heed at all, and when she suddenly took notice to one of them, nothing they did or said made any sense.
All the fight left her, and suddenly she didn’t want to argue anymore. It seemed pointless to continue a bitter feud with a man she barely met.
“Hey! Where are you going?” He tried to run in the water to catch up to her.
“I want to go dry off, Ethan,” she said, feeling perplexed.
“You’re not mad anymore?”
She shook her head. “I am not going to hold it against you for being here. If my father insisted on you coming, then you have a job to do. I just hope we can be adults about this.”
“Really? Just like that you want to let everything go? You aren’t going to run anymore? I don’t have to chase you across the island and guess which airport you are flying out of, or play detective?”
“You can do anything you want. I am not going to play games with you, Ethan. I am just going to ask you to back off a little and give some space and privacy.”
“Okay.” He seemed stunned, but she felt a sense of peace. This trip wasn’t about proving herself to anyone anymore.
“Truce?” She extended her hand, and he waited a moment before taking it in his and responding.
He looked skeptical. One eyebrow arched high, but he was willing to agree to a shaky agreement not to fight for a short time. “Agreed. Truce.”
Susannah smiled. Ethan could make her last week here hell while she was waiting for the research vessel, but if they could have some sort of truce maybe she had a chance of all this working out in her favor.
“Remember, just a little bit of space is all I ask.” She used the handrail to glide up the stairs and stopped when she heard him mutter something behind her.
“What was that?” She turned around and suddenly asked him.
“Nothing, princess. I will try and behave if you will.” Somehow she didn’t fully believe Ethan, but his word was all she could go by. For now, it had to be good enough.
* * * *
Colt Vance was knocking at her door by six o’ clock that evening. She leaned against the door and took in his six-foot-tall, sexy frame of maleness.
“Why, hello there, sexy!” She brightened whenever Colt was near her.
“Susannah, I should have called, but I wanted to see you in person. I hate to break our plans for the evening, but I have to go check on another business tonight in Jamaica. It’s rather hectic trying to get two restaurants opened at the same time.”
“Oh.” She felt disappointment hit her belly hard as a rock.
He reached up and ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, I hate to do this, but…”
“I could go with you.” It was a spur of the moment thing. She didn’t think about how awkward that might sound until the words were already out there.
He looked stunned.
She panicked. “Unless of course you don’t want me to. I am fine with that, too.”
“No, it’s a good idea. I didn’t think about that because I didn’t want to bore you with business, but I’d love to show you the site of the nightclub we’ll be opening.”
“Really? Because I wouldn’t want to intrude or invite myself.” Like she just did. She winced inwardly.
“Come with me. I think it will be nice to have your company.” His offer seemed genuine, and she didn’t want to spend another day away from Colt. “You may even be able to help me.”
She smiled and hoped she wouldn’t end up in getting in his way. “Okay. Just let me get my jacket.”
“Great.”
She felt his eyes on her as she went back to her bedroom and retrieved a light jacket. It wasn’t meant to be much protection from the elements. The thin, black material might provide a slight advantage against the wind, but it was meant to be pretty, not practical.
His hungry eyes roved her body. She knew she looked good tonight. The skintight black pants hugged her legs like a second skin. The midriff shirt showed off her flat stomach, and the jacket may cover her chest, but the rhinestones also brought attention to it. The three-inch black heels were modest but comfortable and matched her purse. She smiled under his loving gaze.
“You look…stunning.”
“Thank you.” Heat flushed her cheeks.
He offered her his arm, and she slid hers around it.
She sighed and leaned against his side as they walked arm in arm through the garden path. It was getting dark, but there were lights lining the edge of the gravel pathway and spotlights highlighting interesting landscaping features. “I am excited to spend another night with you no matter where you take me.”
“Hopefully you will enjoy it as much as I do.”
Of course she was going to enjoy it. It didn’t matter where she went, as long it was with him.
They were coming to a clearing, and Susannah was surprised when she saw a helicopter waiting for them. She didn’t even notice there was a helipad here before now, but she should have noticed the concrete pad.
She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the blades slowly spinning on the large machine. A man was in a flight suit checking the outside of the helicopter, and another was in the cockpit checking the gauges.
Her stomach turned over. Once. Twice.
Colt tugged on her arm, noticing her discomfort. “What’s the matter?”
She turned to look at him. Facing him was much better than looking at the helicopter. It made her physically ill to think about flying. She pointed to it. “Colt, I am not sure I can get on that thing.”
“Susannah, don’t be silly.” He waved away her concerns. “The pilot has twenty years experience in the military. We will be perfectly safe.”
“You know I have a fear of flying, but you don’t know why. I’ve always been bad at flying ever since…”
“Yes?”
“I had a bad experience as a child.” She hoped he wouldn’t press her, but she knew she would have to open up to him someday if they ever made this more than a fling.
“It’s okay if you don’t want to get on the helicopter, but if you want to come with me, we have to fly.” His gaze was patient and understanding. He waited a moment for her to decide, and it warmed her heart that he would allow her fears to remain and not to try to force her to overcome them.
Suddenly flying didn’t seem so scary. Not with him by her side.
“I don’t talk about this with many people, but I trust you won’t talk to anyone about it?”
“Go ahead,” he urged, and he gripped her hand in his.
Susannah swallowed her fears and opened herself up to the event that changed her life forever. She still had nightmares to this day. She nervously licked her lips. “When I was a little girl, I was kidnapped from my family. It was Mardi Gras, and there were a lot of people I didn’t know. I got lost, but some people recognized me. The men who captured me duct-taped me and flew me out in a box.” She waited for his reaction, and when he was silent she went on. “Even though it’s been years since it happened, I still wake up screaming sometimes, and I feel claustrophobic when I get into small spaces and tend to panic when I get in large crowds.”
“That’s why you have a fear of flying?”
She sighed. This was what she hated. The pity that followed. “Yes.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“It’s okay. I shouldn’t even have brought it up.” She pulled away and nervously switched from one foot to the other in the grass.
“Susannah, it’s okay if you don’t want to fly. I’m not going to make you do anything you don’t want to.”
“Thank you.” She loved that he was willing to ac
cept her the way she was without changing her. It made her heart swell with unspoken emotion.
“Can I have a kiss good-bye?”
“No.” She rolled back on her heels. She didn’t want tonight to end because of her childhood fears she allowed to control her.
“Susie, why—”
She put her fingers to his lips, stopping all protests. “I want to come with you. I don’t care if I’m afraid. I know I will be all right as long as I am with you.”
His lips twisted in a wry grin, and he bent low to kiss her. She was dancing on air, happy just to be with him. It wasn’t a passionate kiss, but it was as if their souls were one. He understood her and accepted her. No words were necessary.
He led her to the helicopter, and the copilot held the side door open for her.
“Hello, Mr. Vance. Welcome aboard.” The man nodded respectfully to her as she climbed up the pull-down stairs. Colt entered behind her and sat next to her on the bench seat. The pilot and the copilot got in the front cockpit. The dashboard lit up, and the blades on the helicopter gained speed.
“You okay?” Colt reached over and comforted her with his hand.
She nodded but swallowed nervously. “I normally take a tranquilizer anytime I have to step in a plane.”
“That’s why you were so nervous the day we met.”
She nodded and closed her eyes.
“It’s okay.” Susannah felt the helicopter lift off the ground slowly. She peered out the window and watched in amazement as the people and buildings got smaller. They rose so high that cars looked like ants, and then the land disappeared entirely, leaving only the wide, blue ocean.
Susannah tried to sit back in her seat and relax.
She was with Colt. Nothing should be able to take away her happiness, unless she let it.
Especially not her fears.
Chapter Sixteen
Colt tugged at his collar. He had not changed out of his business suit, which made him feel a little awkward on the island of Jamaica. Not many people even owned a business suit here, but he had to dress to impress some investors earlier in the day.
He left the matching jacket in the helicopter, but he still felt slightly overdressed in the button-down, white shirt and his linen pants.
Tonight, he was lucky to be able to talk Susannah into coming with him to check on the developing building of his nightclub on Jamaica so he could report back to his investors.
He was eager to find out what her thoughts were on the venture.
“Where are we going?” She looked confused at the empty parking lot next to the cliff. An old Jeep was parked there next to a rusted-out Chevy truck. “I guess I should have asked earlier.”
“We’re constructing a nightclub, and I have to check on the construction, and the head chef was going to have me sample some future menu selections while we are here on the island.”
“Here?” She sounded skeptical, and her eyebrows drew down as she looked at the crevice in the cliff side covered by ivy. Floodlights were set up on a chain-link construction fence surrounding it.
“Yeah, I know my father doubted the business sense in it, but I think it’s going to really draw a crowd.”
“You’re crazy.” Her sweet, tinkling laughter ignited his heart.
He smiled down at her. “You have to be crazy enough to take a risk in life if you are ever going to feel its rewards.” He led her through the opening in the fence and watched how her face lit up the moment she saw the beauty that enchanted him. Just past the entrance of the cave, which was barely framed with two-by-fours, was a massive cavern.
He guided her over the construction debris. “Watch your feet. I don’t know how they work like this.”
“I’m fine. I am used to watching my step in the fields. You only step in a cow patty once.” She laughed again, and he did, too.
“That’s a pretty picture.”
“Not really, but why are you doing a nightclub here? Shouldn’t this kind of thing be in the middle of a city?” Her fingertips traced a line of tiny, glittering minerals on the wall.
He led her down the passageway and then pointed to the lake. “This is why.”
Her jaw dropped. “It’s beautiful.”
“I have plans to do several things here. There is going to be a dinner-theatre type of experience with fine dining next to a lake. I’ve been researching it, and the acoustics are excellent for live bands and music.”
“Wow, that’s creative.”
Jasper and Brady were sitting at the folding table next to the lake. Food was waiting in silver catering trays.
“Mr. Vance! We didn’t anticipate you bringing a guest, but we have your dinner ready whenever you are, and there are plenty of plates.”
He noticed Susannah’s hand gripped his a little bit tighter.
“Thank you. I’m just going to show Susannah around a little, and we’ll be right back to try out the delicious dishes you brought us.”
“Of course, sir.” Jasper nodded and gave a friendly wave. He led Susannah away and tried to pay attention to the details, but it was hard while he was so close to her. Her perfume wafted into his nostrils and stirred his loins.
He purposefully ignored the temptation to take her in his arms and press her up against the wall. He focused his attention on minor details that he had to remember later. The electricity had already been routed through the cavern, and it was lit up nearly as bright as daylight. Colored lights highlighted the natural features of the cavern in color, and the walkways were lit up with clear lights.
He led her through a winding passageway into another large chamber. “This is going to be the center stage for the nightclub.”
“It’s incredible.” She gasped as she heard her voice echo.
“It is, isn’t it?” He smiled. “The acoustics are incredible, but we’ll soundproof it so the people here can be separate from the dinner guests.”
“Those are big plans.”
“That’s why it’s critical my investors are on board. We just got funding to finish the project in a meeting earlier.” He made a sweeping gesture to the far wall. “This is where the bar is going to be, and we have to make sure the floor is completely smooth, which is going to be the expensive part, but this is going to be a tourist attraction for years to come.”
“I can see why.” She looked around the vast room, completely awestruck.
“And because it’s underground, the temperature is controlled and always stays cool. We may have to heat the air slightly, but it should be a money-saving feature.”
“You’re crazy!” She grinned at him.
He frowned, not sure what to think of her confusing reaction. “I’ve never had someone react like that before.”
“It’s a crazy idea. Who else would make a nightclub in a cave? But I love that about you,” she whispered into his chest as she hugged him tightly, and he felt the breath leave his soul. She sighed as he hugged her back. It was like she was made to fit in his arms. “Dreamers like you can make the world an incredibly special place. Don’t ever stop.”
It shocked him that she understood him so well. His voice felt paralyzed. He heard the word love, and he wanted to say it back, but it was far too early for those fateful words. He was enchanted by this Southern lady, but he would chase her away if he were to admit he might be falling in love with her on their second date.
He knew most women were in love with the chase, and if he made it easy for her or admitted this early he had feelings for her she would probably grow tired of him.
Then this whole thing would just fall apart. He didn’t want that. Colt liked her enough he wanted her to stick around and see where this thing between them went.
What an odd statement to make. Don’t stop dreaming. “I won’t. I can’t.”
“Good.” Dimples appeared on her cheeks when she smiled.
He held her close to him, enjoying the way her curves fit just right against his body. Being near to her did disturbing things to his body, awa
kening his libido like no other woman. He wanted her again. To be inside of her, filling her, but not with the other men so close. They would come looking for him if Colt and Susannah took too long. “Ready to go back and get something to eat?”
“Okay.” She nodded, and they walked arm in arm to the other cavern with the table by the underground lake. Technically, it would be more likely to be called a pond, but size didn’t matter. The postcards and marketing material would sell it as an underground lake.
The guys were waiting impatiently, but Colt didn’t care. They had made him wait often enough. Island time was different than on the mainland. Everything on the island moved slower, traffic and people alike.
Jasper offered his chair to Susannah. Before sitting, she whispered a polite thank-you, tucked a napkin onto her lap, and scooted in.
“As you know”—Jasper began the sales pitch for the menu and held out a paper in front of him with many listings of names of food for Colt to take—“food that has to be imported from the mainland is very expensive, so we’ve put together some things that are island favorites and easily obtainable.”
“Mmm, smells heavenly. Are those bananas on the fire?” Susannah pointed to the small fire in the grill they had set up.
Brady served up a plate of bananas with black grill marks on the sides. “This was meant to be more of a dessert, served with ice cream, and it should satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth. These are grilled bananas brushed with rum.”
“Both ingredients are local and therefore cheaper.” Colt looked down at the banana on his plate and grinned. It looked good enough to melt in his mouth.
“Yes, and if we can control costs, you should be able to have a higher profit margin and your customers will have a better experience on the island.”
Susannah chewed her first bite and then groaned as if it was melt-in-the-mouth good. “I like it.”
Colt followed with a bite of his own. The banana was still warm, but the bouquet of flavors sang a symphony in his mouth. His eyes widened in surprise. “Excellent. This can definitely stay on the menu. What else do you have for us to try?”