“I have no idea.” Gavin shrugged, going back to the table and taking one of the petite fours. He bravely put it in his mouth as he came back and waited until he swallowed to tell her what she’d eaten. “Chocolate-covered goat cheese.”
“Whoever made that has no taste buds.”
“It was pretty good. I’m going to grab a couple more when I finish this plate.”
“You thought that was good?” Amazed that Gavin liked the appetizer and wanted more had her reconsidering everything she perceived about his likes and dislikes toward food. Not only that, maybe her taste buds were off. To her, it had tasted hideous.
“You want to try one of the lamb skewers to get the taste out of your mouth?” Gavin offered.
“I’ll pass. I’ve lost my appetite.”
“Not very adventuresome where food is concerned, are you?” he teased.
“Not when it comes to chocolate-covered goat cheese,” she said stiffly, still tasting the cheese.
Why couldn’t she get rid of the aftertaste? She had been raised on goat’s milk, none of the goat cheese she’d ate before had that flavor. “Why did it taste like a flower?”
“There was a hint of lavender.” Gavin gave her a approving glance.
Ginny made a face at him. “A hint? What I ate was a flat-out assault.”
Remaining where she was when Gavin went back to get seconds, Ginny was debating whether she was brave enough to try a slice of cheesecake when she saw Allerton and Soleil making their way toward her.
“Your mother just came up with a brilliant suggestion.” Allerton maneuvered himself and Soleil closer, blocking her view of Gavin, just as Desmond Beck initiated a conversation with him at the buffet table. That certainly screamed setup.
“I wouldn’t call it brilliant.”
Ginny nearly gagged as Soleil practically preened under Allerton’s regard.
“But I believe it may solve the problem between you and Gabriel. I want all of us to get along. I want you to feel free to come visit your father and me any time, to make this island your second home.”
Gavin came up behind Soleil and Allerton, going around them to show he was near.
Soleil gave her a superficial smile, attempting to reach out for her hand. Again, Ginny took a step back, unable to stop herself.
“Sorry, it’s become a habit for being cautious. In the States, we’re terrified of getting the virus.” The thought of letting Soleil touch her made her skin crawl. The only thing worse would be if Allerton made the attempt.
“I would like for us to get along, too,” Ginny lied, continuing smoothly. “What was your suggestion?”
“You and I could go alone to Clindale Island and walk around. Maybe that would jog your memory.”
“That is brilliant, but I’m sorry, I can’t go along with your suggestion.”
“Why on earth not?” Soleil wasn’t ready to take no for an answer. “We could spend the day together. Those years when we lived on the island were some of the happiest moments of my life.”
Ginny had thought so, and sadly she was coming to the realization many of those memories had been centered on the islanders and few were of times she spent with her parents.
Was Soleil putting on an act in front of Allerton like she was? If it was just her life at stake, Ginny might have chanced lowering her guard, but she wouldn’t with Gavin’s.
“They may have been for me, also, but I’ll never know, because I was too young to remember.” Ginny gave a frustrated sigh. “I appreciate how difficult this has to be for you. You want to help Mr. Allerton find his artifact, which he believes your daughter stole from him. I truly wish I could be more helpful, but unless he has a magical reset button we can push, we have to accept what was done was done and move on.”
“That’s easy for you to say.” Allerton’s palpable resentment left a bad taste in her mouth, worse than the goat cheese. His anger must have been building all those years since discovering the artifact was gone, and then being denied access to the person who’d stolen it. His resentment may have stagnated, but like a fungus, it grew every time he thought of it. Gabriel Allerton was used to getting what he wanted. He was used to having money and erasing anything or anyone standing in his way. Except her. And no amount of money could buy the memories buried in the deepest recesses of her mind.
“I have another idea,” Ginny suggested. “Gavin and I could go over to Clindale Island, spend the day exploring on our own.” Ginny saw both Soleil and Allerton were going to nix that suggestion, but she hurried on persuasively. “Maybe something will come back to me, if I’m not being pressured. If something comes to me, I’ll make sure to tell you. You can search us both before and after to make sure we aren’t trying to sneak the artifact back. If, after I spend the day there and we can’t make any headway, I’ll consent to the polygraph test. Either way, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.”
Allerton gave her a considering look. “My men will be stationed around the island with boats.”
“However you want to do it is fine. Is that agreeable?”
“Yes. Like you said, I have nothing to lose.”
Ginny felt as if a huge weight had just been taken off her chest. Afraid she inadvertently showed her relief, she sought to rectify her mistake by keeping them busy answering her questions.
“Is there someone who lives on the island who can act as our guide and interpreter?” She would have to contain her excitement when she saw Manny’s family again ….
“No. The island is completely empty. A hurricane destroyed most of the homes and all of the villagers who had lived there for generations.” Pleasure dripped from Allerton’s forked tongue at imparting the horrendous information.
Ginny had to concentrate on her mother’s hand on Gabriel’s arm to keep from falling to the floor in heartbreak. “That’s terrible.” With a deadpanned voice, Ginny raised her eyes to Allerton’s, seeing the pleasure within his. Like the monster he was, he had sensed when his opponent was hurt. “When was the hurricane?”
“Three years ago.”
Chapter Twenty-One
He had been responsible for the casualties. Ginny felt it in her bones.
Wanting to run screaming from the room, she forced down the hatred and accusations that she wanted to hurl at him. She felt the expectancy from him as he watched her for any telltale signs that could prove she remembered the people on the island.
Ginny plucked one of the chocolate goat cheese petit fours off Gavin’s plate, shoving it into her mouth. She didn’t have to mask her reaction; it came as soon as the taste hit her tongue.
This time when she gagged, she didn’t fight it. Jerking a cocktail napkin from Gavin’s other hand, she started retching into it. The onlookers hastily moved away in disgust as Ginny retched louder, deriving a sick pleasure at paying Allerton back for the sadistic way he had told her.
A handful of napkins appeared in front of her face, and Ginny reached out to take them from Desmond Beck with her eyes streaming tears.
“Are you all right?” he asked courteously.
“I think so. Thank-you. God, what was that?” she asked, using a clean napkin to wipe her tears away.