Hold Me Tight: Heartbreakers (21 page)

She walked toward him just as Alexi came out of the house. He crossed his arms and leaned against a cedar post. But Jessica knew that easy stance hid Alexi’s instincts to protect her, to let her finish one phase of her life her way.

Alexi nodded to her and the grim set of his expression told her that he wouldn’t interfere—but he wasn’t leaving her alone. Jessica nodded back at him and met Howard’s furious stare. “Howard.”

“You left my father’s mansion for this?” he demanded. He glanced disdainfully at Alexi, who hadn’t moved, and then back to Jessica. His gaze went down her loose sweatshirt, torn a bit from maneuvering wheelchairs, to the dirt on her jeans from gardening to the mud on her work boots. “You moved in with this down-on-his-luck bartender? What is he going to say when he finds out that you deserted a family who needs you? That you’ve been paying them off for years to keep away from you?”

“That’s going to end, Howard. So is any contact with you. Alexi knows everything.”

He sneered at that. “You can’t cut off communications with me. I hold a good share of the company. And you’re a gold digger. You won’t walk away from everything my father built—or the money. You’re just having a fling, but you’ll come back and—”

“I’m walking away from everything, Howard. I am going to announce that at the board meeting. James Thomas and his son are stepping into my position. You’ll have to deal with them—”

His openmouthed, stunned expression was comical. “You don’t mean that.”

“The attorneys are at work on it now. I’ll sign the papers when I arrive. It’s time you stood on your own, Howard. Your life now is what you make of it, just like I’m going to stay here in Amoteh—with Alexi. I’m going to marry him.”

When Howard moved angrily toward her, Alexi straightened and moved down the steps. “Are you finished, Jessica?”

“Yes. Goodbye, Howard.” With that, Jessica walked toward Alexi and his arm circled her waist as they watched Howard’s sports car race out of sight.

Jessica leaned close to Alexi and placed her arms around his waist. She leaned her head against his shoulder, nestling into its strength and comfort. “Howard has always been able to see reality, especially when he stands to lose money. In his will, Robert provided that if I ever wanted to leave my duties as executrix, James Thomas would take my place. James and his
son will manage Sterling Shops better than I ever could, and Howard knows it. James is going to continue minimal payments to my parents and see that they have health care. I still love them, Alexi, but love isn’t being used by those who should love you.”

Alexi held her closer. “I’m going to that board meeting with you.”

“Okay,” she said simply.

“You need me.”

“I know.”

Alexi eased her away slightly and frowned down at her warily. “That was too easy.”

“I thought I’d give you a break. You’re an emotional kind of guy. I’ll hold your hand through the tough parts and we’ll celebrate later. I’ll buy you chocolate and flowers.”

He snorted at that, an image no Stepanov male would like, the reverse of the male-female roles. Then a lovely reddish hue rose up his tanned cheeks. “You are teasing, of course.”

“Of course. But I do have a very special present for you.”

“Give it to me at our wedding.”

After the board meeting, Jessica studied the man driving the big, weathered pickup. The vehicle contrasted with Alexi’s navy blue suit, light blue shirt—open now at the collar, with the pin-striped tie tucked into his pocket. In a whirlwind of three days, this new Alexi fitted into business schedules, efficiently clearing the way in the smaller details, so that Jessica could quickly end one phase of her life and begin another with him. He took her frustration and her orders with only a nod, carrying them out as if he’d always been a corporate man.

April’s sunshine spread over the green pastures on the way to Amoteh, and then the Pacific Ocean appeared in a sliver of blue-gray meeting the same shade of sky. A sailboat’s white sails skimmed that narrow edge between land and water, and Jessica settled into the feeling of home. She felt so light and young and happy, and Alexi was perfect to tease.

She stroked his cheek and smiled when he turned slightly to
kiss her fingertip. “You’re gorgeous, Alexi Stepanov. A real dreamboat.”

He frowned and that proud tilt of his head said he rejected the compliment. “A man is not gorgeous. This is Mikhail’s suit. I’ll wear it when we marry—soon. No more than a month.”

“Oh, you’re setting schedules for me, are you?”

“Yes. I know that you have to see for yourself what you have left, to remind yourself why you had to survive. A trip to your parents will only take a few days—”

“I want to go alone.”

“No, that’s out of the question.”

He shouldn’t have let Jessica return to her childhood alone; it would tear her apart.
Alexi stood on Strawberry Hill, looking at the wide expanse of mid-April sky and water. In the distance, Amoteh was beginning to stir with tourists. His father had decided that the finished house was meant for Jessica and Alexi, and was temporarily living with Fadey and Mary Jo. Viktor fully enjoyed family life around him. The Stepanov house blared with loud music and the reunited brothers danced and hugged and laughed. The teas were quiet with memories shared, while children listened and played on their laps.

Alexi let the wind stir in his hair and thought of the woman he loved. In the night, he’d sense her calling his name—“Alexi…”

The wind seemed to carry her voice now and Alexi frowned—Jessica was really calling his name. “Alexi…”

He turned to see her walking toward him, her body pale and curved and nude beneath the long coat she had opened. His necklace glittered on her throat, V-ing lower onto her chest.

Alexi understood her solemn expression as she came nearer, her green eyes never leaving him as she began to dance in front of Kamakani’s grave. She would tell him later of what she’d felt and what had passed, but she had finally ended her guilt, putting aside the past’s ghosts; then Jessica walked toward him and their future together.

Alexi looked at the woman, dressed traditionally, walking toward him on the beach.

He smoothed the shirt she had embroidered for him, his hand flowing over the designs that might seem too ornate for a man. He looked at his cousins, Mikhail and Jarek, all dressed in the same design, with a large collar, sleeves that billowed in the fresh, salty, ocean air. The embroidered designs seemed alive and warm, and each had been carefully planned and given by a woman in love. Alexi prayed that his brother, Danya, standing at his side would find a love who would embroider his plain shirt.

Tears shimmered in his father’s eyes and in his uncle’s—and perhaps, in his own, of course.

Unable to wait for Jessica to cross the distance to him, Alexi walked toward her. She welcomed him with a kiss and a blush that curled around his heart.

Jessica leaned close to him for just that moment that told him she needed him.

And then they walked toward the future.

“Take it off,” Jessica demanded as Alexi carried her into their home.

“But I love it. I’m never taking off this shirt,” he teased as he dropped her on their bed amid a flurry of lace and satin and flowers and love.

She tugged him down and placed the bridal headpiece, a circlet of flowers, over his head, then raised to straddle him. “I love you, Alexi Stepanov.”

He grinned and began to unbutton the shirt she had embroidered for him. “Of course.”