Chapter Nine
The local man driving the boat said nothing as Felicity clambered into the unstable
vessel, shunning his proffered hand. When she’d settled herself, she looked to the
ocean, refusing to glance at Rick. When they got back, she could plaster a smile on
and pretend all this never happened
. You sure about that?
And the bigger question, was that actually what she wanted? As they powered through
the surf, the boat lifting and landing over each wave, Felicity sneaked a look at
the man who’d apparently been her boss, her fiancé, and her lover.
No doubts about the lover part.
No. That connection was definitely real. She blushed as she thought about how uninhibited
she’d been with him. How hot, how ready. She shook her head.
Even if the fiancé, dedicated colleague, and business partner roles he claimed he’d
played in her past were to be believed, she could also add kidnapper to the list.
Really?
Yes, really. He
had
gotten them stranded on a deserted island on purpose. She looked ahead. He might
have sought her out, but that didn’t mean she owed him anything.
Didn’t it?
A large emerald island loomed through the sea spray. Not much farther. Thank goodness.
Felicity rubbed at her face. So why was her heart beating a ragged beat when it should
be feeling nothing but relief that she was getting her life back to normal?
Maybe because your life is anything but normal?
She sighed. True. Since the accident her life had been a little crazy. But not “Prince
Charming stranded on a desert island” crazy. She flicked a glance at Rick.
Damn.
His hot-chocolate eyes drilled into her and she looked away quickly.
You’re just confused about whether you
want
to keep that
in your bed any longer.
No, that wasn’t it. Knowing she wanted to keep Rick in her bed wasn’t the problem,
it was whether she wanted to keep him in her life
.
And in her experience, truncated for sure, the two
always
went together.
The island came up on them quickly.
“We’ll stay here the night,” Rick said after they’d clambered to shore. “This way.”
“Hang on,” Felicity stood her ground. “Who says we’ll stay here the night?”
“I do. Unless you have some private charter plane I’m unaware of?” His look held a
multitude of conflicting expressions: appeal, command, heat.
“Fine. Whatever.”
“Good. Arguing is a waste of energy in such a beautiful place.”
Almost running to keep up with him, Felicity could have kicked herself for letting
him take charge. Again. But this time, as before, he held all the cards.
“Holy crap, is the cruise paying for this?”
“Hardly.” Rick took her elbow and guided her through the huge teak doors into a suite
at least double the size of her room back on the
Pacific Empress.
She was happy enough to be in a real room instead of under the stars to let him lead
her, for now. The hotel overlooked the marine reserve and their room opened out onto
a balcony that allowed for a sweeping view of water in all directions. Inside, a perfectly
appointed lounge area had a huge white rug scattered with floor cushions, polished
dark-wood floors, and a fish tank quietly bubbling away. A table off to the side was
set for two with tropical fruit, a cheese plate, and a bottle of white wine chilling
in a silver bucket. “Nice that
this
was the hotel with space available at such short notice, don’t you think? It’s not
bad.”
Not bad? It’s gaw-geous.
“Uh-huh.”
“Seems we were lucky, actually. There’s a wedding party here this week. Apparently
they’ve taken almost all the accommodation available. Still hungry?” Rick headed for
the table and helped himself to a slice of mango.
“I’m fine.”
“Maybe you’d like to take a bath then?” Rick pointed toward a door.
A bath? I’d take a trickle of hot water at this stage.
Felicity rolled her eyes at him, hoping it looked like she was only checking out
the bathroom to hush him.
Wild horses ain’t gonna hold me back from a hot tub if it’s as lush as the rest of
this place.
She pushed open the door. Biting her fist, Felicity managed to suck up the whimper
at the magnificence of the room.
Get a grip.
What was it about great bathrooms that made hotels feel more luxurious? “Who cares?”
Felicity muttered quietly enough that Rick wouldn’t hear. “I’ll take it.”
The room was white from floor to ceiling. Tiled. Spotless. Perfect. All white, that
is, except for one wall, which was glass and made her feel as though she could step
out into the ocean. And the tub… “Be rude not to use you,” she said as she trailed
a finger over the porcelain. Felicity turned the taps and the massive claw-foot bath
began filling with water. Perusing the selection of organic cosmetics, Felicity chose
a delicate glass bottle of rose-petal bubble bath and poured it into the hot water.
“This will do, then?”
Felicity was startled by Rick’s voice at the door and, scowling at him, wrinkled her
nose. “It’ll be fine.”
“They’ve laid out a robe for you on the bed. Figured you might need those washed.”
He gestured at her filthy uniform shirt and pants.
“Thank you,” she mumbled and pushed past him to get the robe, the resentment at having
to be grateful to him for anything, let alone the hot tub of her dreams, making her
face hot. The bedroom on the other side of the lounge wasn’t as much of a surprise
after the bathroom. But the four-poster bed with billowing white curtains surrounding
it was still a pleasant sight after two days spent trapped in the sandy universe of
a tropical island. She fingered the hazy raw silk of the bedspread and the thought
of slipping between the crisp cotton sheets filled her with such joy that she let
out a happy sigh.
“Your bath is ready.”
Shame he had to ruin the moment.
She nodded at him.
“I might take a nap while you soak.” He sat on the bed and started to undo his shirt.
Felicity did a double take. “In here?”
“This
is
the bedroom, yes.”
“I meant, you’re sleeping in here as well?”
“That’s usually what I do in a bedroom. Mostly.”
Don’t. Blush.
No, she was not giving him the satisfaction of remembering their crazy sexual connection.
“I just assumed we’d have separate rooms.”
“This was the only room they had. Although I guess we could try the other hotels again.
I think I saw a motel down the road—a shower’s just as good as a hot tub, hey? I’ll
go drain your bath.”
“No.”
Gah. Bastard.
“I’ll just call reception and check.”
He shrugged and fell back against the pile of soft pillows.
She looked longingly at the bed, then turned, robe in hand, and stalked out the room.
There were no other rooms. And the receptionist didn’t think she’d have much luck
anywhere else. There
was
a wedding, a big one. Rick hadn’t been lying, for once. Felicity put down the phone
and headed for her bath, locking the bathroom door behind her. Maybe she’d sleep in
here, fill the bath with pillows. She smiled at the thought. It felt good to take
a little control back. She was going to take any small victory she could until things
got back on an even keel. No way was he going to win every battle. Not today.
She must have dropped off to sleep in the bath because Felicity woke in lukewarm water
and with the view lost to the deepening navy of an early evening sky. For a moment
she let the moment fill her senses, the scattering of stars just starting to wink
like the sequins on a ball gown, the scent of the bubble bath still plumping up the
air. This was good. This was what she was going to hold on to. Walking into the lounge
area, she found Rick seated at the table as if he’d planned their dinner to coincide
exactly with her getting out of the bath.
“I got us the seafood platter. I know how you like it.”
“After my compulsory seafood diet these last few days, I’m not sure it’s such a treat.”
He shrugged, but Felicity could see disappointment in the flex of his jaw.
Good.
“Guess there’s no point letting it go to waste, though.” Sitting down, she pulled
a huge quantity of the platter onto her plate. Not waiting for him to start, she tucked
in to a giant tiger prawn, cracking its shell and double-dipping it in perhaps the
most heavenly Thousand Island dressing she’d ever tasted. If she’d been alone, she
would have dipped her finger directly into the sauce.
Don’t let on, don’t let on.
Foolishly she looked up, straight into Rick’s eyes.
Hot chocolate. Gah.
The soft lighting emphasized the strong planes of his jaw, and the new shirt and pale
pants he’d changed into showed off his recent tan.
He is not
that
good-looking.
But the goose bumps on her flesh belied her indifference.
You’re just intimidated by him because he’s the only person in your life now who knew
you before the accident.
Really? So these goose bumps were because she was afraid of him?
Maybe. Maybe they’re a warning, a reminder that he’s a liar and probably a cheat as
well.
She didn’t trust him, that was for sure. But she wasn’t sure she trusted herself
either. Not with the way her body reacted to his touch, his gaze, his voice. Man,
she needed to calm down.
If she was in a relationship with him before the accident as he said, he couldn’t
be that bad. Right?
She looked up from her seafood bonanza. So he was pretty; pretty could get you into
trouble if you didn’t choose your company properly. She smirked.
“Something funny?”
“Nothing really. Just imagining what would happen if you and your pretty looks went
to prison for kidnapping.”
“Charming.”
“About as charming as you seducing me while pretending to be someone you weren’t.”
Rick put down his fork. “You should be thanking me.”
“Umm, let me think about that.” She put a finger to her mouth and pouted up at the
ceiling. “Nope, I don’t think so.”
He gritted his teeth, then obviously couldn’t hold himself back. “I might have pretended
to be someone else for a moment, but you’re intent on trying to replace your
whole life
with someone else’s. Felicity Williams would not leave her job, her company, her
life behind to go swanning about on a cruise ship. God, it’s such a waste. You’re
just using your anonymity to fill in time, waiting for memories that might never resurface.”
Was she really doing that? Felicity was torn between begging him to tell her what
she was like, who she was, what she wanted, and shutting down in case he told her
something about herself she didn’t like. “You seem awfully sure you know everything
there is to know about me.” She looked for a random detail she could verify. “What
was my cat’s name?”
“Brian.”
She slumped. He was right—it had been written on the back of the photo in her wallet.
“I can’t believe I’d call a cat Brian.”
“You thought it was ironic. Especially when it turned out
he
was a
she
. I’m sorry about her, by the way. Shame you had to put her down.”
“I killed my cat?”
“She had bad arthritis. You didn’t want her to suffer.”
That explained why she’d never found her pet. So she was a cat murderer as well as
a lonely workaholic. Great. “No one really wanted to talk to me at work, I could tell.
Was I mean or something?”
He laughed. “Not mean. But like I said, you liked to keep work and your personal life
separate. I guess it might have made you seem a little…”
“Like an ice queen, apparently.”
He shrugged. “You weren’t like that all the time.”
“No. You wanted to marry me and live happily ever after.”
His eyes darkened at her flippant tone. “Yes.”
“Hey, I don’t remember.”
“So you say.”
“Oh, right. Now it’s my fault we fell and I lost everything from the last five years.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You’re just pissed that I chose all this over you.”
“Damn right, I’m pissed. We were getting married. We had plans. Big plans.”
Felicity startled at the vehemence of his reaction. He sounded genuinely hurt. Even
a little lost. That didn’t go with the picture of the shark she’d painted. “So? You
just proved that I was right to leave. I’m not the person I was then. You would have
run away when you found that out.”
“I would never do that.”
“No? How can you be so sure? Everyone I’ve ever loved has left me in the end, I remember
that much. There’s no point on relying on anyone other than myself. I know that now.
How do I know it wasn’t you that put me in the hospital because you got cold feet?”
“Felicity! I would never… It was an accident.”
“If you say so.”
“I do say so.” He shook his head, his eyes wide, bafflement written in the frown lines
across his forehead.
“So what were we like, then? Together? If I was an ice queen I couldn’t have been
that much fun. I just can’t picture us together. We’re so different.”
“We weren’t that different. We were focused, driven. We were on the same path toward
creating some amazing changes for people who really needed them. What about when we
were together last night? And today? Your body remembers mine. You can’t deny that.
We fit together well. We had a chemistry—we
have
a chemistry. Tell me you don’t feel it.”
“So we have good sex. So what? My body might like yours, but my mind isn’t nearly
as accommodating. I don’t remember you and you lied to get to me. If you were really
going to marry me, you’d know how much I hate liars.”
He shook his head. “I was going to let this go, I even thought I had. I believe that
you have amnesia, but you keep going on about how much you hate liars so I have to
ask.” Rick stood and, grabbing his bag, pulled out the copy of
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
Shedding the dust cover, he revealed a diary. “What the hell is this all about?”