“Women only,” said Kat firmly as Sebastian opened his mouth and then shut it, a disappointed look on his face.
“Spa in the morning, and then we’ll shop for something to wear for the party. Our treat,” said Georgia.
Noni shook her head. “Aw, come on. You guys don’t have to do all that.”
“Yes, they do,” said Pilar. “I need you out of the house for preparations.”
“What about Max?” said Noni.
“He’s going to help me,” said Pilar.
“Oh?” said Noni, lightly poking Max in the shoulder. “Did you know about this all along?”
Max giggled. “I’m very good at keeping secrets,” he said.
The group was just heading out the kitchen door when the front doorbell rang.
Pilar wrinkled her forehead. “Who could that be?”
The housekeeper slipped out to see who it was and the little boys followed.
In a moment they heard Max’s joyful shout. “Dad!” he yelped. “Dad, you’re back!”
* * *
Enzo had looked all over town, in and out of every little boutique and shop, trying to find the right gift for Noni, but nothing had seemed quite right.
It wasn’t that there weren’t beautiful things. This was the Hamptons—there were nothing but beautiful things all around him. Carefully cultivated, one-of-a-kind, immaculately arranged, beautiful things. With equally beautiful people offering them for sale.
It didn’t help that he knew, as of tomorrow, Noni would be heir to hundreds of millions of dollars and could surely buy any little thing that caught her eye here or anywhere else.
Chocolates or flowers wouldn’t be enough, a bottle of good Scotch was too impersonal, lingerie too painfully intimate…He supposed jewelry was the answer—a necklace or a bracelet, but he didn’t see anything he could imagine her truly loving.
He wished he could take her for a vacation somewhere to celebrate. He imagined flying her to Paris, staying in a little flat with a view of the Seine. Or Venice, where they could get lost among the canals. Or even better, home to Argentina, where he could show her the country that he loved so well…
The common thing among all these daydreams was that he had her to himself. That it was just him and her—alone again. Nothing to distract them. Nothing to keep them apart. He felt that he would give all that he had for that possibility.
Hell, he thought, he would give all that he had for just five more minutes under the rainy boardwalk, for a moment or two in her arms again, anywhere.
He wandered into an antique shop, surprised to see how dusty and overstuffed the place was. Unlike the minimalist boutiques he’d been shopping in, this place felt as though, if he picked up even one thing, he might create a domino effect and knock over an entire store’s worth of teetering goods.
The elderly salesclerk didn’t even look up from the magazine she was thumbing through when he passed by.
He examined some ancient books, sneezing from the dust and wiping his now grimy hands off on his jeans when he was done handling them. He flipped through some old records, giving up when he realized that Noni wouldn’t have a record player. He peered through a smeared display case of jewelry, hoping to find a literal diamond in the rough.
He almost gave up after being startled by a large orange cat that sprang out at him, hissing, when he lifted an old quilt off a sprung horsehair couch. He carefully sidestepped the angry feline and had just turned to go when he saw it, stacked in a corner among some old umbrellas and carved wooden canes…
The perfect present.
Chapter Thirty-One
When Jacob came into the kitchen with Max in his arms, Noni noticed a little twinge in her stomach that felt uncomfortably like disappointment.
He was wearing a black T-shirt under a somewhat wrinkled blue dress shirt. He looked tired and a bit wary, glancing nervously at her brothers, who flanked her on either side.
She took a deep breath and smiled, trying to push down her uneasy feelings. “Jacob!” she said. “You’re back so early!”
He smiled at her, putting Max down with a little pat on his head. “I finished up early so I could be back for your birthday.”
Noni looked at Pilar, who shook her head. “I certainly did not tell him.”
“No, Benny mentioned it to me”—he winked at Noni—“but I’m sure I would have remembered the date, anyway.” He took a step closer, lowering his voice. “Actually, I was hoping to whisk you away for the weekend. I thought maybe—”
“No, no,” said Pilar loudly. “That will not do at all. Noni is having a party here.” She waited a very long beat before she reluctantly added, “Which I suppose you can come to if you wish.”
“Oh,” said Jacob, smiling, “well, of course. That’s very kind of you to offer.”
Pilar shrugged. “I’m going to the beach. Who is coming?”
“Me!” yelled Tomás.
Max looked at his father. “Can we, Daddy?”
“I was hoping to talk to Noni a bit, Max, but maybe later we—”
“I will take him,” said Pilar. She looked at everyone else. “Don’t you all have somewhere to be?”
“Um, thank you!” called out Jacob as Pilar herded everyone out the back door. Pilar, followed by all four dogs, slammed the door behind her without answering.
He looked at Noni. “Wow, Benny wasn’t kidding about Pilar. She’s a formidable old thing.”
Noni frowned. “My mom doesn’t know Pilar at all. I don’t know why she insists on acting like she does.”
“Anyway”—he caught her in a hug—“I can’t believe we’re finally alone.”
She stepped back gently. “Actually, we’re not.” She looked over at the Liz, who gave her a smile and a wink as she was carrying in the breakfast dishes to the kitchen. “Why don’t we go out to the gardens?”
* * *
It was a hot and muggy day. The air felt saturated, and the roses and lilies were looking sulky and wilted. Their scent hung heavy on the air.
As she led Jacob down the path, Noni chattered mindlessly, trying to cover up her uneasy feelings. “Max has been learning to ride,” she said, “and Enzo says he’s actually really good.”
Jacob frowned. “Horseback riding? That seems awfully dangerous.”
“Oh no, we kept him on the safest ponies, and either Pilar or Enzo was always with him, plus he always wore a helmet.”
His frown deepened. “Pilar and Enzo? Where were you?”
“Well, I had to work. But don’t worry, they both really liked Max and—”
He cut her off. “Listen.” He took her hand. “We can talk about Max later. Right now I just want to talk about us.”
She met his eyes and he smiled at her, lightly touching her face with his fingertips. “I missed you so much, Noni. Even just these few days away…it feels like a miracle that you’re back in my life again.”
She nodded, thinking of Max.
“You don’t really need to go to this party, do you?”
His hand was warm against her skin. “Pilar’s party?”
“I have a much better idea. In fact, it’s all planned out.” He took a large envelope out of his jacket and handed it to her. “Happy birthday.”
She stared at the envelope for a moment.
“Open it,” he encouraged her.
She did. In it was three airplane tickets.
He grinned. “We’re going to Mexico. Just you, me, and Max. For a birthday celebration. It’s all planned. We leave tonight.”
She gaped at him. “What?”
“There’s a little seaside town called San Blas. You’ll love it. Super romantic. I figured we can stay at least a week or two, maybe longer if we really like it—”
She thrust the tickets back at him. “No. I mean, I’m sorry, but I can’t. I have a job, Jacob. I can’t just up and leave with no notice. Besides, Pilar has already been planning, and my brothers and their families flew all the way back from London to be here for
me. I’m not just going to take off at the last minute.”
He shook his head. “I don’t want to ruin anyone’s plans, but I just thought this would be good for us. Give us a chance to have some time together. A chance to get to know each other again. Let Max see what it’s like to have a real family.”
She blinked, conflicted. “That sounds lovely. It really does. And I definitely want that. But can’t we go after the party? Maybe a few weeks from now? I need to make sure that Jandro and Sebastian have someone to cover the stables. You see, Enzo quit and I’ve been picking up the slack while everyone was in London. I can’t just leave them without warning.”
Jacob shook his head. “Listen to you. You sound like their slave. Why are you at the beck and call of your half brothers?”
She stepped back, stung. “I’m not. I work for them. They pay me. And like any other job, I can’t just decide to go on vacation on a whim without checking in first. Plus, I’m not about to run out on a party that has already been planned for me. That would be awfully rude.”
She didn’t want to tell him that it was the first time anyone had ever planned a birthday party for her. In fact, she remembered the year she had spent with him; he had missed her birthday altogether.
He looked away and seemed to collect himself and then turned back to her and gave her a dazzling smile. “Okay. I get it. I’m sorry. I was being selfish. I just…just wanted you to myself, you know? But hey, at the very least, have dinner with me tonight. I’m staying at a friend’s place on Shelter Island while they’re out of town.”
“Yes, okay,” she agreed, relieved that he’d stopped pressing. She took his hand. “I’m sorry that I sound so ungrateful. It’s an amazing gift. Thank you. I’m sure we can change the tickets for later, right?”
He nodded. “Absolutely.”
She took a deep breath and then stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.
He caught her face in his hand before she pulled away and bent eagerly to her mouth.
She kissed him back. She felt she had to. She thought of Max. She thought of the family they could have. The family they used to be.
She smelled the cloying scent of overwarmed flowers. She felt Jacob’s tongue, rough in her mouth, his hand slowly sliding down her back…
He broke the kiss and looked into her eyes, smiled at her and stroked her cheek. “I missed you so much,” he whispered.
She closed her eyes.
She would not let herself think of Enzo.
* * *
Enzo had ended up at the stables anyway, exercising a couple of the horses he didn’t know well enough yet. He was just putting the last one into its stall for the night when his phone rang. It was David.
“Enzo? Where are you?”
There was music and laughter in the background.
“I’m at the stables. Where are you?” said Enzo, amused.
“I knew it! I knew it! Raj, you owe me twenty bucks! He’s at the barn! Man, Enzo, we’re supposed to be on vacation! Come on, we’re at this great bar on Shelter Island—it’s right on the beach. Come join us.”
Enzo shook his head. “Are you even legal to drink, David?”
David laughed. “Come on, man, I’m twenty-four!”
Enzo smiled. “I thought you were younger.”
“Come oooon! Wait…here. Raj wants to talk to you.”
Enzo listened as the phone got shuffled around. Raj’s deep, accented voice came on.
“Enzo, you must come. I need you. I think I am the oldest person in the place by a decade at least.”
Enzo laughed. “That’s what you get for bar hopping with a bunch of kids.”
“Indeed. However, as captain of the team, I must remind you that a team is not made entirely on the field. There are other ways of bonding.”
“Like flaming tequila shooters!” yelled Lachlan in his thick Australian accent.
“That sounds like a nightmare,” said Enzo.
Raj laughed. “I promise you will not have to drink any tequila shooters. Come and join us. For the team.”
“For the team!” shouted Mark and Lachlan together in the background.
Enzo groaned. “Fine. Text me the address.”
He hung up the phone and did one last tuck check before he left for the night. Mark had more than enough staff who lived on site, so Enzo didn’t have to close down the barn, but he liked to be sure that everything was under control.
It was still light out when he got into his truck. As he drove to the Shelter Island Ferry, he turned off his air-conditioning and rolled down his windows. The best thing about being near the beach was that even when the days turned hot and humid, the air always cooled down in the evening.
The line for the ferry was surprisingly short for a Friday night, but Shelter Island wasn’t exactly the most popular spot for nightlife. The island was one of the quieter, less developed parts of the Hamptons. The gentle hills and forested swaths of land made it feel a step or two apart from some of the more crowded villages and towns. He wondered how his rambunctious teammates had ended up out there.
He parked his truck on the little ferry and then got out to stand at the front of the boat and enjoy the view. The sun was lower now, and the light danced across the water in glittering sparks. The sea air was cool against his face, and, not for the first time, Enzo reminded himself that he was a very lucky man.
He had a job he loved and he got to work with the kind of horseflesh that he’d only dreamed about growing up in Argentina. The ponies he trained were world class, and it was a pleasure to just be near them. He lived in beautiful places all over the world. He made more than enough money—a ridiculous amount, actually, now that Mark was paying his salary. And it was easy to live well, to make sure his mother was taken care of, and still put a good chunk aside every month.
He watched the dark forested shore loom ahead as the ferry skipped through the water, and frowned. What more could a man ask for? he challenged himself. What more could a man want?
Her onyx eyes swam up into his head like a vision. Her silky hair. Her creamy shoulders. Her soft lips…
He shook it off.
All at once, he was glad that he had agreed to come out and drink.
Chapter Thirty-Two
The house Jacob was staying in was exquisite. A gray and white three-story Greek revival perched high up on a hill over the sound. They parked on the circular driveway and stood side by side for a moment, taking in the incredible view of the sunset reflecting off the water.
“The guy who owns this place is a Wall Street broker,” said Jacob to Noni as he unlocked the front door, “but he has an amazing art collection. He actually has two pieces from my Fire series in the garden. You remember those?”
Noni nodded, recalling the huge, intricate steel and iron orbs that had a hollow in the center for bonfires. She had helped Jacob forge them.
“Those were some of my favorites,” she said. “I’d like to see them again.”
“I’ll show them to you later. We can come back after dinner and light a bonfire or two.”
They were alone in the house. Max had begged to stay the night at Pilar’s again, wanting to continue the fun he was having with Tomás. Pilar had said she didn’t mind, that she wanted Max to be there in the morning to help her get started on the party, anyway.
The house was as beautiful inside as it was out. Hushed and opulent, with gleaming dark wood floors and warm halos and pinpricks of light designed to show off the breathtaking collection of art on the walls.
An appreciation and knowledge of art were among the few things that Noni was grateful that Benny had given her. The only times she could really remember her mother paying her any real attention was when she took Noni through the countless museums and galleries, big and small, in all the towns that they had lived in through the years.
Some of Noni’s best memories were the mornings when she would wake up and find her mother at the kitchen table, dressed and waiting, a cigarette in one hand
and a cup of coffee in the other. She would hand Noni a glass of juice and announce that she was skipping school, that there was something she wanted her to see.
And Noni saw amazing things. It was surprising what exhibits passed through even the most out-of-the-way places. They saw Picasso sketches and a lesser Caravaggio; she stood inside a Louise Bourgeois spider and found an entire collection of Chagalls in a tiny town the artist briefly lived in.
If you knew where to look, Benny had told her, you could always find something worth seeing. And Benny always knew where to look.
For the longest time, Noni had assumed she would be an artist because Benny assumed she would be an artist. And, she had to admit, she did have some talent. Perhaps even more than Benny did.
However, no matter what medium Antonia tried—watercolor, oils, sculpting, ceramics—it always felt like work. She always felt like she was struggling against something, pushing at a stone that she could never quite budge. Working with Jacob at the forge was the closest she had come to really liking the work she was doing, but even then it didn’t feel like a calling or a passion. More like an interesting hobby.
It hadn’t been until she had combined the forge with the ponies that something had clicked for her. That she knew she had finally found what was she was meant to do.
The only other time she’d felt that sensation was the first time she’d played a game of polo, smashing that ball across the pitch as her pony ran at full tilt under her.
Another calling—another passion—she had realized at once.
“Take a look around,” said Jacob. “I’m just going to change real quick.”
He turned up a wide staircase, and Noni watched as he climbed, objectively admiring his broad back and slim waist and the way his wheat-colored hair curled a little at the ends.
There was no doubt that he was a very handsome man, she reminded herself as he reached the top of the stairs and disappeared down the hallway.
She went into the kitchen to get a glass of water and wrinkled her nose when she saw all the high-tech gleaming stainless steel surfaces. The stove alone must have cost tens of thousands of dollars, she thought, running her hand over it. She much preferred Pilar’s kitchen, with its warm wood counters, herringbone brick floors, and deep porcelain farmhouse sink.
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