Читать книгу Brides, Babies And Billionaires - Мишель Смарт, Rebecca Winters - Страница 78

Eleven

“So have you thought of a name for her yet?”

Rita looked at her bakery manager and shook her head. “No, but I have plenty of time.”

“Yeah, you do. But just remember, Casey’s a great name for a girl.”

Laughing, Rita slid the tray of cookies into the oven. It was good to be home. She’d needed that visit to her family, but being here was what felt right. Back in her apartment over the bakery, doing familiar work with people she loved, it was all good.

Sure, she missed Jack desperately, and there was an ache around her heart that she was really afraid would be permanent. But she would learn to live with it. Learn to live without him, because she had to.

“Thanks, Casey, I’ll keep that in mind.”

When her phone rang, Rita answered, still laughing. “Hello?”

“Rita, this is Thomas.”

Jack’s father? For a second a thread of fear wound through her. Was Jack okay? Had something happened? Would she always be wondering about him? The answer was of course, yes.

Sighing, she said, “Hi, Thomas, everything all right?”

“Oh, yes, yes. Everything is great, really. I was just wondering, though, if you might do an old man a favor.”

Setting the timer on the oven, Rita wandered to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water. She uncapped it, took a long drink and said, “Of course. What can I do?”

She heard the smile in his voice when he said, “I hoped you could come down to The Sea Queen to see me.”

“You’re on the ship?”

“Yes,” he said. “I’m taking the first cruise. Thought I’d get a little golf in on the islands. But there’s something I’d like to give you before I go.”

Rita did some fast thinking. She really liked Jack’s father and just because the man’s son was behaving like a loon didn’t mean she couldn’t be close to his family. Thomas was, after all, her daughter’s grandfather. And Jack’s sister was going to be the baby’s doctor. Family mattered, whether Jack could see that or not. “Of course I can. What time do you want me there?”

“Wonderful,” he said, pleasure ringing in his voice. “As for what time, the sooner the better.”

Now she was curious. Jack hadn’t said anything to her about his dad going on the first cruise. But then, she told herself, maybe he didn’t know. What could Thomas possibly have to give her that was important enough for her to go scurrying down to the harbor just before the ship sailed? “Okay, I’ll just arrange for my manager to take over and I’ll come right down.”

“Thank you, Rita. I’ll leave word at the dock and they’ll bring you to my suite.”

“Okay, then,” she said, still baffled, “I’ll see you soon.”

She hung up and just stared at the phone for a second or two. Rita had no idea what was going on, but the sooner she got to the harbor, the quicker she’d find out.

* * *

Half an hour later, she was boarding the ship and being met by a young man in a navy shirt and sharply creased white slacks. The Sea Queen was stitched onto the breast pocket of his shirt and just below, he wore a name tag that read “Darren.”

“Mrs. Buchanan?” he asked and when she nodded, he said, “If you’ll come with me, Mr. Buchanan is waiting in the owner’s suite.”

The crowds were frantic. People rushing around, having their pictures taken, waving to people on the dock. Children ran past her, their laughter hanging in their wake. The scent of the sea flavored the air and Rita lifted her face into the wind briefly before boarding an elevator with Darren.

“Everyone seems really excited,” she said.

“They are,” Darren assured her. “It’s a great ship and it’s always fun to go out on the first cruise.”

Probably would be, she thought and told herself that one day she’d have to try it. Right now, sitting on an island beach with nothing to do sounded pretty good.

She had no idea what deck they were on when the elevator stopped and they stepped off into a luxurious hallway. But it was quiet with none of the eager abandon down on the main decks. Darren led her to a door at the end of the hall, then opened it for her.

“Mr. Buchanan said you should just go on inside, ma’am,” he said, then strode quickly away, back to the elevator.

Rita walked into the massive suite, closed the door behind her and for a second, all she could do was stare with her mouth open. It was more than elegant. It was opulent.

Midnight blue carpeting was so plush her feet sank into it. There was a huge living area, with a flat-screen TV, an electric fireplace and several couches and chairs all done in cream-colored fabric. There was a bar, and out on the private balcony, she could see a table and chairs as well as lounges.

She’d love to get a look at the rest of the suite before she left, but for right now... “Thomas?”

Someone stepped into the room from the terrace, but it wasn’t Thomas. Even before he spoke, she knew it was Jack because her blood started bubbling and her heart leaped into a gallop.

“Thanks for coming, Rita,” Jack said.

She backed up. Cowardly, yes; she’d be embarrassed later. “What’re you doing here? Where’s your father?”

“That’s the thing. He’s not here. I asked him to call you for me, since I figured you wouldn’t speak to me anyway.”

“You were right about that,” she snapped and turned for the door. She had to get out of there. Off the ship, back to the bakery.

But Jack was too fast and his legs were much longer than hers. He beat her to the door and stood with his back against it, blocking her way.

“Move, Jack.”

“Not yet.”

“You really don’t want to push me right now,” she warned, though she didn’t know what she could do to move him if he didn’t want to be moved. Gina would kick him, but Rita just wasn’t the kicking kind. Too bad.

“Just hear me out. Then if you want to leave, I won’t stop you.”

“Why should I?”

One corner of his mouth quirked up and her heart thudded painfully in her chest. “Because you’re curious. Admit it.”

She hated that he was right. Hated that he could make her body burn with a half smile and hated that just standing this close to him made her want to lean in and take a bite of his lower lip. “Fine. Talk.”

He shook his head. “Not here. Come in. Sit down.”

When he took her arm, she pulled free of his grasp. She didn’t trust herself to stay mad if he was touching her and she really wanted to stay mad. She’d earned it, hadn’t she?

“No,” she said. “I’m not sitting down. I’m not staying. Just say whatever it is you want said and get it over with.” She felt a little wobbly. Too many emotions churning inside at the same time. Didn’t he know how hard this was for her? Didn’t he care at all? Shaking her hair back, she said, “Unless you’ve brought me here to declare undying love, then just let me go, okay?”

“That’s why you’re here,” he said softly.

“What?” She couldn’t have heard him right, Rita told herself. Jack wouldn’t have said that unless he had another agenda. “What’re you saying, Jack?”

“I love you.”

She swayed in place and he instinctively reached out one hand to steady her. Tears blurring her vision, Rita slapped at his hand. “No, you don’t. You’re just telling me what you think I want to hear.”

Irritation bloomed on his face. “I should have known you wouldn’t react the way I expected you to. You’ve always surprised me, so why should now be any different?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m trying to tell you that I was wrong. That I love you. That I want you—but if you’re not going to believe me why bother?”

“I didn’t say I didn’t believe you—” She broke off, stared up into his eyes and saw, along with sparks of exasperation, the love she’d always hoped to see. “You love me?”

“Now will you sit down?” he asked.

“I think I have to,” she said. She was shaking all over and her heart was pounding so quickly it sounded like a frantic drumbeat in her ears.

Once she was perched on the couch, Jack started pacing. He glanced at her and said, “You were right.”

“Always a good start,” she said. “Right about what?”

“Pretty much everything.” He paced away from her, then whirled around and came back. “I was hiding. Not just from pain, but from life. I didn’t really see that despite how many of you kept trying to tell me. I guess it’s not easy for a man to admit he’s been a damn coward.”

“I didn’t say you were a coward.”

“No,” he agreed, “that’s one thing you didn’t say. But it’s true anyway. Hell, Rita, seeing Kevin again, it shook me. Then the wedding, him and Lisa, you and me... It was like an overload or something. My brain just exploded.”

“So you told me to leave.”

“It seemed like the right thing to do at the time—”

She started to speak but he cut her off for a change.

“—but it wasn’t. Damn it Rita, I’ve missed you. Your voice, your scent, the taste of you. Hell, I miss that loud laugh of yours so much I keep thinking I hear it echo around me.”

“Loud?” she repeated.

He grinned. “Loud. And sexy as hell.”

Rita took a breath and held it, really hoping this was going to keep going the way she wanted it to.

“That day in the desert almost finished me and did a hell of a lot more to Kevin.” Jack stopped pacing, stared into her eyes and said, “But he got past it. Moved the hell on, found a life, while I was still stuck in the past, trying to rewrite history.”

“Oh, Jack.” She was glad to hear that he had done some thinking, but she hated hearing him put himself down like this, too. It was, she thought, the way of family. I can call my sister names but if you do it, we go to war. Well, that’s how she felt here, too.

“Just let me get all of this out, okay?” He pushed one hand through his hair. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking the last few days and last night, it all sort of came together.”

“How?” She needed to know. Needed to believe that this was all real and that somehow he wouldn’t go back down that dark road he’d been so determined to stay on.

“The dream came again.”

And she hadn’t been there to help him through it. Pain for what he’d been through chimed inside her as she pushed off the couch to go to him. “Jack...”

“No,” he said, smiling. “It wasn’t the same at all this time. In lots of ways. And it doesn’t matter right now. All that does matter is that I finally figured something out.”

She looked up into his eyes and for the first time, noticed that he seemed different somehow. There weren’t as many shadows in his eyes. He looked...lighter. As if at least a part of the burden he carried with him had slipped off. And that gave her hope.

“What, Jack? What did you figure out?”

“That I was an idiot. Telling you to go when I should have been begging you to stay.” His gaze moved over her face like a touch. “Hell, Rita, I should have been thanking the Fates for bringing you back to me and instead, all I could think about was if I loved you and lost you it would kill me.”

Tears blurred her vision but she blinked them back. She didn’t want to miss a moment of this. “So,” she said wryly, “to keep from losing me, you lost me.”

“Yeah.” He sighed. “Like I said. Idiot.”

“Agreed.”

He laughed shortly. “Well, thanks.”

“Hey, who knows you better than me?” She asked and reached up to smooth his hair back from his forehead.

“Nobody,” he said, voice hardly more than a whisper. He laid both hands on her shoulders and stared directly into her eyes when he said, “Forgive me, Rita. I was too messed up to see what I had. What I lost. I told you once that you had to leave before I loved you.”

“Yeah,” she said, the memory of that pain filling her. “I remember.”

“That was a lie, too.” He rested his forehead against hers. “I loved you the minute I saw you on that beach. When you smiled at me, my heart dropped at your feet. I didn’t want to acknowledge it and that’s the idiot part.” He slid his hands up to cup her face and wiped away a single tear with his thumb. “But my heart is yours, Rita. Always has been. I love you.”

She sucked in a gulp of air and held it. “Say it again.”

He grinned. “I love you. More than I ever thought possible to love anyone.”

“Jack...”

He frowned a little. “Is that an irritated sigh, or a dreamy one?”

Rita smiled up at him. “Dreamy. With just a little bit of irritation tacked on to the end for what you put us all through.”

“That’s fair,” he said, nodding. “Rita, I want to stay married to you. I want to raise our daughter and however many more kids we have together. I love you. Always will. I’m sorry I hurt you. Sorry I hurt my family. My friends.”

She reached up to cover his hands with hers. “I love you, Jack.”

“Thank God.” He sighed in relief. “You’ll never be sorry, Rita. I swear it.”

“I never was sorry, you dummy,” she said and went up on her toes to kiss him.

Jack took her mouth like a drowning man taking his first clear breath. She leaned in to him, wrapped her arms around his neck and held on as he picked her up and swung her in a circle, their mouths still fused together.

Finally though, breathless, he broke off and grinned down at her. “I love you.”

“Keep saying it,” Rita told him. “I want to hear it. A lot. In fact, I’m going to send Kevin and Lisa a thank-you card for inviting us to their wedding.”

“Oh!” Jack let her go long enough to walk to a table, pick something up and come back to her. “Hey, that reminds me. I brought this along for you to see. Kevin sent me an email this morning. I learned my lesson there, too, and opened it right away. Then I printed it.”

Rita’s eyes blurred again as she looked down at the picture of Kevin and Lisa, standing side by side. The picture was captioned “Got my new legs. I’m an inch taller than I used to be. Thanks again, Jack. For everything. Give us a call sometime.”

She looked up at Jack. “That’s so great.”

“Yeah, it is.” He took the picture, tossed it to the table again, then held her hands in his. “And one of these days, I’ll thank him for waking me the hell up in time to save the only thing that matters to me.” He cupped her cheek with one hand. “You, Rita. I love you.”

“I love you back,” she said and felt her world completely right itself and steady out. He’d been worth the fight. Worth the pain. Worth everything to get to where they were now.

Bending down, he kissed her baby belly and then stood up to face her. “You know I told you I’ve been doing a lot of thinking the last couple of days and I wanted to ask you something. How do you feel about naming our daughter Carla? After my mom.”

Rita’s heart melted. It was perfect. It was all so perfect. She stepped into his embrace. “I think I love it. You’re back, Jack. Really back, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.” He gave her a smile. “I’m finally home. You’re my home, Rita. I know that now.” His arms closed around her and she felt the steady thump of his heart beneath her ear. She had Jack. She had her daughter. She had everything.

The ship’s horn sounded and Rita jumped. “Hey, we’ve got to get off the ship before it sails.”

He only tightened his hold on her and laughed. “No, we’re not getting off.”

Confused, she stared up at him. “What do you mean?”

“Just in case you didn’t kill me,” Jack said, grinning, “I arranged for Gina to come to town to run the bakery for two weeks. My dad’s coming out of retirement to run the company and you and I are sailing to St. Thomas.”

“You can’t be serious,” she whispered, a little panicked, a little excited.

“Absolutely serious.”

“But, I don’t have any clothes...”

“We’ll buy whatever we need.” Then he kissed her and admitted, “But I’ll say I’m going to want you naked most of the time.”

Oh, boy. A tingle of anticipation set up shop low down inside her. But could she really just leave? On the spur of the moment?

“But—” Was this happening? When she woke up that morning, she’d been alone and afraid she would stay that way. Now, she had Jack, a dream vacation and the life she’d always wanted being handed to her. How could she keep up?

“Oh,” he said, that tempting smile curving his mouth again, “Gina said to tell you she had lots of ideas on how to ‘fix’ your bakery.”

Rita’s eyes narrowed on him. “Oh, you’re going to pay for that,” she promised.

“Can’t wait,” Jack said and bent to kiss her again. “You brought me back to the world, Rita. Let me show you some of it.”

And just like that, it was all right. She’d go with him anywhere.

“Show me, Jack. Show me everything.” Love shone so brightly all around them it was blinding, and Rita would never stop thanking whatever Fates had brought them back together.

“Come with me,” he said and dropped one arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close to his side as he led her out to the balcony. And there they stood, wrapped in each other’s arms, looking ahead as they sailed into the future. Together.

* * * * *