If you had family, Crew believed, but no one by your side to love, you were only half a person. It went both ways, though. If you had true love, but no family to come home, too, you were still only half a person. To feel the full effect of a happily-ever-after, you needed your true love and your family to keep you standing strong. They were the ones who’d hold your hand in a storm, fall to their knees with you when the rest of the world let you down — they were everything that made you a whole person.
Poor Haley had gone so many years without that special bond. And though he’d had it all along, for years he’d taken for granted those who mattered most. At least it wasn’t too late for either of them.
They reached the room, and he slowly opened the door and ushered her inside. She stopped in her tracks.
Crew was proud of himself. Since he wanted to uproot her life, he’d gone all out to make this night special, do it the correct way. Nothing but scented candles lit the room; they cast dancing shadows on the wall and released the sweet scent of jasmine in the air.
A table was set in the middle of the room with silver and crystal and the finest bottle of champagne he could get his hands on. A menu of cold salad, lobster fettuccine and chocolate mousse was ready to be served when they were, and overflowing vases of flowers sat on the two end tables. A few roses lay across her plate.
“What is the occasion?” she asked in a whisper. She looked up at him with gleaming eyes.
Yes, he’d done well, he thought as he pulled her close.
“Every day I’m with you is an occasion to celebrate,” he told her, surprised by how much he meant the words.
“Crew, you make me melt,” she said as she kissed him in appreciation.
Before he got lost in her touch, he led her to the table, where he picked up one of the delicate flutes and poured a glass of the sparkling wine.
“To yesterday, today, and tomorrow. May each and every day we face be as magical as this very moment,” he offered as a toast, and she clinked her glass against his.
He held out her chair and had her sit, then moved around to the other side of the table so he could relish her every expression and gesture. When he watched her pick up her fork with her long, slender fingers and begin to nibble on her salad with her luscious mouth and tiny white teeth, moaning her approval, his body had no choice but to tighten.
He had to remind himself again that there was a purpose to this night. Yes, he planned on getting her into bed afterward, but he needed her to accept his offer to move with him. He refused to leave the island without her.
Feeling the inside of his pocket, where a small velvet box rested against his heart, he couldn’t believe he was working up a sweat. Why on earth was he so nervous?
Because, for once in his life he was going into something to which he didn’t know the outcome. He normally never gambled on anything; he was all about guaranteed wins. With Haley, although he felt that she loved him, what if he were simply seeing what he so desperately wanted to see?
She spoke of her fears, but Crew found himself the one now afraid — afraid of losing her. It was unthinkable.
“The resort has sold,” he told her. “The papers were signed today and the new owners will take over at the end of this month.”
Haley’s fork clattered to her plate. She quickly picked it back up and threw him one of her trademark fake smiles.
“That is wonderful, Crew. I’m very happy for you,” she said, her voice almost convincing.
He didn’t understand why she was upset. He’d told her for months this was in progress. Was she that attached to Catalina Island? If she was, he could most likely find another development property nearby. Not on the island, as he’d signed a non-compete clause, saying he wouldn’t build another resort there that could possibly be better than this one. But the California mainland was only twenty-two miles away, and he could easily commute to another spot on the coastline to do what was now his passion, restoration.
“Is everything OK, Haley? You seem a little...I don’t know…”
“I’m very happy for you, Crew. Very happy,” she said, rising from the table. When her arms twisted around his neck and she sat on his lap, he didn’t fight her; nor did he when her lips moved over his.
But after a few moments, he pulled back and tried to get the situation under control. Sex would come later. Right now, he had a very important question.
“Make love to me,” she pleaded, and she wiggled herself against him. This was hard; he was hard. Harder. Hardest. No! He couldn’t do this right now. He had to think. The night was planned out for a reason.
“Haley…” he groaned as her breasts pushed into his chest and her fingers began undoing his shirt.
“No more talking, Crew. Make love to me,” she demanded as she slipped from his lap and knelt before him, unbuttoning his pants and freeing his pulsing arousal.
He intended to stop her, even moved his hands to her hair to push her away, but as her sweet, hot mouth circled over him, his head fell back in ecstasy.
Afterward. They’d talk afterward…
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Crew woke up alone in the bed. The sheets were cold where Haley normally slept, and a sense of unease filled him.
He’d lost his head for a while last night, totally and completely lost it. Yet how could he refuse her when she was begging him to make love to her? He’d never claimed to be a saint and she’d pushed him beyond the limits of what he could possibly handle.
He’d gladly do it all over again. She’d been spectacular.
Wait. Now Crew was sitting up quickly in bed. No matter how good it had been, it wasn’t even close to worth it if she’d somehow managed to sneak out on him. He’d felt her pulling away, and should have been thinking of more than his sexual needs. He needed Haley in his life.
Relief whooshed through him when he discovered all her things still there in the room. She hadn’t left him, not yet, at least.
He knew she was planning to run, but he wasn’t going to let her get far. She’d put him under her spell last night, but even if he had to find a damned chastity belt for himself, he wasn’t going to let her pull that trick again until the ring in his pocket was on her beautiful finger. Hello, cold showers.
*****
Haley’s Cinderella-size feet enjoyed their shoeless freedom, relishing the feel of the cool wet sand between their toes. She left a pattern behind her as she walked lazily along the beach. She’d gone several miles and it was past time to turn around, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it just yet. Last night had been special, something that she could remember Crew by.
She loved him. How could she not when he’d been nothing but kind to her, done nothing but show her how to be a better person? Everything he’d done so far had been about her, for her, and now she owed him his freedom.
She’d be OK. She didn’t know how, but she would make it through this. He’d taught her how to respect herself, to be comfortable with the person she was inside. He’d taught her that she was a beautiful woman. Though it wouldn’t come easily for her, she would never put on a dunce cap and stand in a corner again. That was all thanks to Crew Storm.
In the far recesses of her mind, she knew she was running away. She knew she was far more afraid of his rejection — of actually hearing him say the words that he didn’t want her anymore. If she were the one to walk away, maybe, just maybe, it wouldn’t hurt as badly.