Читать книгу Ultimate Romance Collection - Rebecca Winters, Amalie Berlin - Страница 71

Fourteen

Two weeks later

“How long are you planning to be mad at the world, Swan?”

Swan glanced over at Candy. Her best friend had returned to the Keys after hearing about what happened and she’d decided to stay. Swan was glad Candy had returned home but she was saddened by what had brought her back.

“I am not mad at the world,” Swan said, taking a sip of her orange juice.

“But you are still mad at one particular man,” Candy said, coming to sit beside Swan on the sofa.

Swan couldn’t deny that was true so she didn’t. “And what if I am?”

“He had a job to do, Swan. He was given orders. Surely you understand that.”

Swan glared at Candy. “I’m sure none of my godfathers’ orders included sleeping with me.”

“I’m sure they didn’t but David didn’t force himself on you.”

“No, but he deceived me.”

“So did the others.”

Did Candy have to remind her? “And I’m not talking to them either.”

That wasn’t totally true since Swan had reached out to Georgianna where she was being held at a federal prison in Orlando. The woman had refused to see her. Swan knew Georgianna was undergoing psychiatric evaluations to see if she was fit to stand trial.

Swan’s godparents were heartbroken and she understood how they felt. Like her, they’d had no idea Georgianna harbored such hatred toward Swan, enough to do what she’d done. With both Rafe and Horacio dead, it was Rosie who was singing like a bird, telling everything she knew for a lessened sentence.

According to Rosie, Georgianna had manipulated a number of the men at naval intelligence into doing whatever she wanted them to do. When you were the admiral’s daughter, you could wield that kind of power. She had even threatened a few with blackmail. She’d deliberately recorded several of the men having sex with her and then threatened to give the tape to her father and accuse them of rape.

Some of the men were not only married but a number were high-ranking military officers. Fearful of court-martial, the men had done whatever Georgianna asked, including falsifying records. So far, more than twelve men had been named in the scandal.

“I take it David hasn’t called.”

Swan drew in a deep breath. She had seen him last week when they’d had to show up at the naval station to give statements. “Yes, he’s called. Several times. But I refuse to answer. Like I told him, we have nothing to say to each other. His assignment is over.”

“And do you honestly think that’s all you were to him, Swan?”

“Yes, but it doesn’t matter.”

“I think it does,” Candy countered.

“And you think too much,” Swan said, easing off the sofa.

The first week after the incident on the boat, she had closed her shop while naval investigators did a thorough search of Rafe’s tattoo parlor. She had used that time to take care of Jamila, who was still broken up over Horacio. Jamila had loved him and in a single night had seen him become an abusive monster, a man she hadn’t known. Then in the end, Jamila had watched him die before her eyes.

Swan knew Jamila was going through something that only time could heal. That’s why when Swan had reopened the shop this week and Jamila had asked for extra work hours, Swan had given them to her.

“So what are you going to do?” Candy asked her.

Swan glanced over at her. “About life? Work?”

“No, about David.”

Swan just couldn’t understand why Candy couldn’t accept that David was no longer in the equation. “I’m a survivor, Candy. Although it was hard, I made do after my parents’ deaths and I will make do now.” She glanced at her watch. “I’m getting dressed to go into the shop today. The cruise ship comes into port tomorrow, so business will pick up. I want to make sure most of my new pieces are on display.”

Another thing they had found out was that Horacio had been fired from the cruise ship months ago but hadn’t told Jamila. He had moved into Rosie’s place while the woman had been gone. The duplicity of the people she’d thought she knew simply amazed Swan.

“And I need to be on my way,” Candy said. “I promised my folks we would go out to dinner tonight. You can join us if you like.”

“Thanks for the invite, but I’ll pass. I just want to have a relaxing evening here tonight. I might go swimming on the beach later.”

Swan had called Jamila and told her she would bring lunch from their favorite sandwich café. However, there were no clients in her shop when Swan got there, so she decided to do something she usually didn’t do, which was close for lunch.

Normally, the shop remained open and she and Jamila would alternate lunch duties. But today she wanted to check on Jamila, talk to her to see how she was faring. Although Swan had been there for Jamila last week, they hadn’t had a real honest-to-goodness talk since Jamila had admitted to being her cousin.

“What are you doing?” Jamila asked when Swan put up the Closed sign and pulled down the blinds.

Swan smiled over at her. “New store policy. From here on out, we will close at noon for lunch.”

“What about the sales you’ll lose?”

Swan shrugged. “Sales aren’t everything. Besides, it’s just for an hour. Come join me in my office.”

“All right, let me grab some sodas out of the refrigerator.”

A few minutes later, she and Jamila were enjoying their lunch when Swan gave Jamila a long look. “How are you doing?”

Jamila shrugged. “Okay, I guess. Trying to move on. I loved Horacio so much only to find out he wasn’t the man I thought he was.”

“I know the feeling.”

“No, you don’t.”

Swan snatched her head up, frowning. “Excuse me?”

“I said you don’t know the feeling, Swan. David Holloway was nothing like Horacio. David intended to save you and Horacio would have killed me if that woman had ordered him to do so. Big difference.”

“But like you, I was betrayed.”

“How?” Jamila countered. “Your godfathers sent David Holloway here to prove your innocence and he did.”

Jamila put her soda can down and then added, “And another thing. What man takes a chance and swims across the ocean to save a woman? Do you know how far from land we were? Think about that.”

Swan had news for her—she had thought about it. She could never forget how David had appeared seemingly out of nowhere on that boat, looking tough and ready to kick asses while wearing nothing more than an outlandishly tight pair of swim trunks with a military belt around his waist. Even when she’d been in what seemed like a dire situation, that hadn’t stopped the woman in her from noticing how dangerously sexy he’d looked at that particular moment.

“When I mentioned what an astounding feat he’d accomplished to his friends,” Jamila said, reclaiming Swan’s attention, “they said that’s why they call him Flipper. Did you know that’s his code name as a SEAL?”

Swan wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Yes, I knew he was called Flipper. But no, I didn’t know it had anything to do with him being a SEAL because I didn’t know he was one. I assumed Flipper was his nickname.”

Swan forced from her mind the day she’d asked him about those dolphin tattoos. He’d told her then they represented Flipper. That had been the day they’d made love in this office. Right here on this desk.

She wished she wasn’t thinking so hard about that now.

She looked over at Jamila. “Why are we talking about me instead of you?”

“Because I think you should and because I think I should,” Jamila continued. “Talking about your situation actually helps me believe that not all men are jerks and that there are some who still possess real honor, Swan. Whether you want to admit it or not, David Holloway is an honorable man. He couldn’t help being attracted to you any more than you could help being attracted to him.”

Swan stuffed the wrappings from her sandwich into the empty bag. “Now you sound like Candy.”

“Maybe there’s a reason why I do,” Jamila said, stuffing her own wrappings into a bag. “It might be because Candy and I can see things that you refuse to see. I often think about what could have happened to us had David and his friends not shown up when they did. Do you ever think of that?”

Swan drew in a deep breath. “I try not to.”

“I think you should,” Jamila said, standing. “Thanks for bringing lunch. It will be my treat the next time.” She then walked out of the office.

Swan stayed in her office after Jamila left, trying to put their conversation out of her mind. She was working on her computer, verifying inventory, when her office phone rang. “Thank you for calling Swan’s. How may I help you?”

“Hello, island princess.”

She smiled upon hearing her godfather’s voice. “Godpop 2. How are you?”

“I’m fine. I just wanted to check on you. So much has happened and I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

She had spoken to each of her godfathers and had thanked them for believing in her. They had taken a risk with their individual careers to do that. “I’m fine. How is Godpop 3?”

“He’s fine but as the director of naval intelligence, he has his hands full with the investigation. It seems that more names are popping up in this scandal each day.”

“And how are Godpop 1 and Barbara?”

“They are as well as can be expected under the circumstances. Learning about Georgianna was a shocker for all of us. We had no idea. When we decided to send Lt. Holloway to prove your innocence, the three of us weren’t sure just what he would uncover. The only thing we knew for certain was that you weren’t guilty of anything.”

“Thanks for believing in me.”

“You have Andrew’s blood in your veins. You could no more be a traitor to your country than he could. Considering all that happened, I’m glad Holloway remained in Key West when he could have left.”

Swan sat up straight. “Wasn’t David on assignment?”

“Not the entire time. His assignment officially ended when he sent that ink in to be analyzed and we discovered it was tainted. I told him that he no longer had to stay in the Keys since by then we knew you weren’t involved and we would take over the investigation from there.”

“Then why did he stay?”

“To protect you.”

“He told you that?” she asked.

“Yes. I remember the conversation like it was yesterday. I told him he could consider his job assignment complete and go home to Texas and enjoy the remainder of his leave. But he said he wanted to hang around Key West for a while.”

Her godfather paused. “I asked him if the reason he wanted to stay was because he thought your life might be in danger. He said he felt that as long as Duggers and Jacinto didn’t know they were suspects, then no, your life wasn’t in any immediate danger. He informed me that the reason he wanted to stay was because you had come to mean a lot to him. I told him in that case how he spent the rest of his leave was his decision. And, Swan?”

She drew in a deep breath. “Yes?”

“As his commanding officer, I felt the need to remind him that although he was no longer on assignment, since the issue that had started with you was an ongoing investigation, he could not tell you anything.”

When Swan didn’t reply, her godfather asked, “You’re still there, Swan?”

“Yes, Godpop 2, I’m still here.”

“Did you not know how Holloway felt about you?”

“No. I thought I was just an assignment.”

“You were at first and I’m glad you were. Otherwise you would be in jail wrongly accused of a crime you hadn’t committed. But on the flip side, I’m also glad that when you stopped being an assignment, Holloway had the insight to stay and look out for you because he cared for you.”

Long after her telephone conversation with her godfather ended, Swan remained seated at her desk, leaning back in her chair and sitting in silence while thinking about what Candy, Jamila and her godfather had said.

Some people never got betrayed, but she had been, a lot. William, Rafe, Horacio, Rosie, Georgianna and even Jamila. No one had been who she’d thought.

She remembered David and replayed in her mind all the time she’d spent with him since that day he’d first walked into her shop.

Was anything he’d told her true? Did he really come from a huge family? Was his mother even celebrating a birthday? Did he honestly have three sisters-in-law?

One thing was for certain, both Candy and Jamila were right. David hadn’t pushed her into sleeping with him. In fact, Swan was the one who’d invited him to dinner at her place with the full intent of having sex with him.

She got up from her desk and walked over to the window. She knew from Jamila that David had left the island with his friends after that first week, after he’d completed all the questioning by naval intelligence. Was he back home in Texas? Did his parents really own a medical supply company? What parts of what he’d told her were true and what parts were fabricated for his assignment?

And why did she still love him so much it hurt...even when she didn’t want to love him? Even when she didn’t know how he felt about her? He might have told her godfather he cared for her but David hadn’t told her anything. Shouldn’t he have? But then, had she given him a chance to do so?

The answer to that flashed in her mind quickly. No, she hadn’t.

He had saved her life that night, swam across the ocean to do so, and then she’d told him she didn’t want to talk to him. And he had honored her wishes...for that one night. Then he had called her almost every single day since, and yet she had refused to take his calls.

He hadn’t called today.

Did that mean he’d given up and wouldn’t try contacting her again? Was she ready to put her heart on the line and contact him?

She wasn’t sure. But what she was certain of was that they needed to do what they hadn’t done before. They needed to get to know each other. She needed to know which parts of what he’d told her about himself were true and which were false.

She wanted to get to know the real David Holloway.

Then what?

Hadn’t she convinced herself she wanted no part of a man in the military? And what about her decision to never to get seriously involved in an interracial relationship like her parents had? Why did all of that no longer matter to her when she thought about her and David deciding to have a future together?

Maybe that’s how love worked. It made you see the possible instead of the impossible. It made you want things you told yourself were not good for you because you were afraid to reach beyond your comfort zone.

Taking a deep a cleansing breath, she decided to call David tonight before going to bed. She had no idea what she would say to him but the words would come.

She doubted he would want to come back to the Keys anytime soon, so she would let him know she would come to him if he still wanted to talk. She would see what he said before asking Jamila if she could take care of the shop while Swan was gone. David might very well tell her that it was too late, that they had nothing to talk about. But there was a chance he would embrace her words. Embrace her.

Her mood suddenly lightened, knowing that was a possibility.

* * *

Flipper entered the hotel room and tossed his luggage on the bed. Different hotel but same city. He had given Swan two weeks and now he was back. They needed to talk and clear up some things. She hadn’t accepted his calls, but now he was here and he wouldn’t be ignored.

He shook his head when his cell phone rang. “Yes, Coop?”

“Have you seen her yet?”

“No, I just got here. In fact, I walked into my hotel room less than five minutes ago.”

“Okay. And there’s another reason I called. Bristol is pregnant.”

“Wow, man. Congratulations. I didn’t know you guys were trying.”

Coop laughed. “We’re always trying. But seriously, we figured it was time Laramie had a playmate.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“I hope things work out with you and Swan, Flipper.”

“I hope so, too.”

“And do me a favor.”

“What?”

“For once, open up. Tell her how you feel. Don’t beat around the bush. You have a tendency to do that. Women love a man to get straight to the point and share their feelings. I hate to say it, bro, but you’re not good at doing that.”

Coop was right, he wasn’t. “I never had to do that before. I’ve never truly loved a woman before Swan.”

“I understand. But you do love her, so make sure she knows it. A woman has to believe she’s loved.”

Flipper chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” Coop asked him.

“You’re giving relationship advice. Do you know how much like Mac you sound?”

Coop chuckled as well. “You would have to point that out. I guess it comes with loving a woman.”

“I guess so.”

“No guess in it, remember it. Know it. Feel it. Take care and good luck.”

After ending the call with Coop, it wasn’t long before Flipper got calls from Bane, Viper and Mac as well, all letting him know they hoped things worked out for Flipper and Swan. All giving him advice. They were married men who had the women they loved and they wanted him to have the woman he loved as well.

He appreciated good friends who not only watched his back but who also cared about the condition of his heart. They knew about the pain he had lodged there and it got worse every day he and Swan were apart.

Flipper glanced at his watch. Swan’s store would be closing in less than an hour. He would give her time to get home and relax before paying her a visit. He refused to let her put things off any longer. They needed to talk.

He loved her and it was damn time she knew it.