UP In Flames. Lori Foster
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nodded. “But that was before college. I came back a different woman.”
She looked at him, and he could tell his reaction mattered to her. He smiled. “If what I’ve seen so far is evidence, I’d say you’re very different.”
“Yes.” She let out a breath, satisfied. “But they didn’t like it much. They’re constantly trying to make my decisions for me, especially about who I marry. I needed time away from their campaigning.”
“What about your friends?”
“They mean well, but they don’t understand.”
“Understand what?”
“Me.” They walked several yards before she added, “They thought I should go back to my fiancé, that we’d make a perfect couple. Jerry is well established, influential. They all thought he worshiped me, but...”
Again his stomach clenched and his heart thumped awkwardly. The man she described was everything Adam would never be, the perfect cultured mate for a woman of her breeding. Adam had always known when Mel married, it would be to someone exactly like that.
He’d hated it then, and he hated it now.
The rain had stopped, but the humidity was almost choking. He felt he couldn’t get a deep enough breath. “So what happened?”
“I didn’t love him. And he didn’t love me.”
A warmth surged through Adam, making his muscles ripple. He clenched her hand a little tighter. “Your parents and your friends don’t think love matters?”
“They thought I’d grow to love him.”
She looked out over the ocean, avoiding his gaze. But Adam didn’t mind. Just seeing her profile was nice. He liked the upward tilt of her nose, the way her long lashes cast shadows over her cheeks. He even liked her ears.
Damn. “Do you think it’s possible you would have?”
Blue eyes darted his way, incredulous. “No. Not ever.”
“Then you made the right decision.”
“I know. But now what?” With her toes pointed, she kicked up sand and swung his hand just a little. “I mean, I need to find a job of some sort and get my life together.”
Frowning, Adam asked, “You need to find work?”
Her eyes widened. “Oh! I don’t mean that I’m broke or anything like that. But you see, Jerry is a lawyer, and I was his secretary. After I broke my engagement, it didn’t seem right to work for him. And I wanted to do something new, anyway. Besides, work shouldn’t only be about money.”
Adam shook his head in disbelief. “Only the rich could have such an attitude.”
“That’s not true.” She frowned at him. “Don’t you want to enjoy your work? To have goals to reach for and take pride in? Don’t you want to make a difference somehow?”
“I wanted to make a difference to my mother. She deserves some peace now, some time to take it easy. And I wanted to give my brother a chance, lots of chances, to do the things I didn’t get to do.”
Very tentatively, she asked, “You say all that as if it’s impossible now.”
“No. I’ll get to that point eventually. But it should have been today.” He released her hand to run his fingers through his hair, only to encounter the makeshift bandage. His fist dropped to thump against his bare thigh. “If I hadn’t gone overboard, I’d be on Marco Island right now, buying a small resort. My mother and Kyle are probably sitting by the phone, waiting for my call this very minute.”
“Adam...”
He heard her concern but couldn’t bear it if she felt sorry for him. He shook his head, dredging up lost control. “Forget it, Mel.”
“But if you have the money to buy one resort, then surely you could just get another.”
He laughed at her, more aware than ever of the differences in their outlooks. “This particular resort was dirt cheap because it needs a lot of work that Kyle and I could have done after it was ours. Unlike you or your family, I’m well used to working up a sweat. I could have turned the resort around. But the agent, Mr. Danvers, was clear that if I missed the deadline, it would be sold to the next bidder, who was only slightly below me. I scrambled around for two weeks getting things in order—only to fall off the goddamned boat.”
Adam abruptly shut his mouth, disgusted with the situation and with himself. Why had he opened up to her like that? The details of his real estate deal were none of her business. Hell, he’d wanted to impress her, not drive home how shaky his financial position still was.
“Tell me about your family, Adam.”
He scrubbed at his face, then twisted to see her. She knelt in the sand beside him, her expression sincere, curious. Adam shrugged. “Kyle is totally different from me, more like my mother. He smiles all the time, and nothing gets him down. When we were younger, and things got rough at home, I’d always end up in trouble, fighting with someone or mouthing off at school. Not Kyle. Everyone likes him.”
“And your mother?”
“She’s the strongest person I know.” His eyes narrowed and he looked out at the endless expanse of sea. “Even when Dad died, she held up, doing what had to be done, getting through each day. As soon as I could make enough money, I moved them away from Brockton, so we could all have a new start. We didn’t go far, even stayed in Ohio, but now they were looking forward to Florida.” His jaw tightened and he threw a fistful of sand. “Damn, I hate to let them down.”
Mel’s hand touched his, and she whispered, “I’m sorry.”
Her soft apology made him realize what a heel he’d been. It wasn’t her fault he’d lost his balance, but he let her believe he’d jumped in to rescue her. Oh, hell.
“I fell in, Mel.”
She touched his shoulder. “I know. Trying to save me.”
He glared at her over his shoulder. “Didn’t you hear me? I fell in. Yes, I made a grab for you, but no, I did not leap in to rescue you. Hell, that would have been an idiotic thing to do. If I hadn’t lost my balance I would have just told the captain to turn the stupid boat around.”
She looked confused. “You lied to me?”
“No, I didn’t lie. You just assumed.”
“And you didn’t correct me!”
Shrugging, he said, “You were so anxious to...comfort me. I didn’t want to miss the experience.”
She fumed in impotent silence for three seconds, then kicked sand at him and stalked off.
“A repeat performance, Mel!” he shouted to her retreating back. “You keep playing the same scene—get mad and walk away. Only here, there’s no place to walk to.”
“Go to hell,” she yelled without turning.
She took off at a furious trot, and she was nearly out of sight around a cove heavy with mangrove trees when Adam decided he’d have to apologize “Mel? Come on, Mel, wait up.”
No answer. Grabbing his bag, he headed after her, calling her name. “Mel!”
The sun hung low in the sky, a heavy red ball turning the water in the cove crimson with its reflection.
He picked up his pace, his injured head pounding with every step, then almost ran into her when he rounded the bend she’d taken. “Damn it, you could have...”
His words dropped off. Ahead of them, some hundred yards up the beach, was a house. Well, sort of a house, more like a ratty shack. It was almost in the ocean because of the eroded shoreline. Exposed pilings beneath the structure showed how precariously it stood, and to Adam’s mind exemplified the seriousness of their situation.