“Please. You can’t even get in a boat. We live in the tropics, and you zip around on a helicopter even though you run a company that builds luxury sailboats.”
“Who cares? I’m good at this. Our sales have gone through the roof since I took over.”
“Yes, but you’re not working this hard for you. Or even because you enjoy what you’re doing. You’re killing yourself to grow this company in the hopes of impressing the man who started it. But he’s never coming back, Natalie. He has a new life in Europe. He’s moved on. If he still wanted you, he would be here, and he’s not.” Her voice softened. “He made his choice, honey. He let you go. Now, it’s time for you to let him go.”
Tears filled my eyes, blurring my vision. I reached for the ring on my hand again, twirling it with my fingers, blinking rapidly to keep from giving in to the misery.
She was right. I knew she was right. But there was a part of me that would never be able to let him go.
I’d spent more time alone these last few months than I’d ever spent with Luc, yet he was imprinted on my heart, in my soul. How could I let go of that? How could I move on when everything I believed in told me we were meant to be together?
“I’m yours, and you’re mine. And we are unbreakable.”
I sniffled and swiped at the stupid tears on my cheeks. “I have to go. Haych is waiting with the helicopter.”
I made it as far as the door before my mother said, “I’m not trying to upset you, Natalie. I just want you to be happy. I hate seeing you like this.”
“I know.” I stopped in the doorway with my bag, but I couldn’t meet her gaze. “And I’m not upset with you, I’m just... I’m not you, Mom. I know I have to let him go, but I’m not ready. That doesn’t mean I’m unhappy, though. I love my life. It might not be the life you wanted for me, but it’s mine, and I’ve worked hard for it. And even with all the pain I’ve been through, I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world because if I did, I wouldn’t have what I do right now.”
Her eyes softened, and she moved toward me. “I know that, honey. I just... I love you, Natalie. I want to see you smile again.”
I did smile. Every day. She just wasn’t usually around to see it.
“I’m fine, Mom. I’ll be fine. You and I are very different people, but I’m tough, just like you. I can get through anything. I had an amazing role model growing up.”
My mother’s red lips curled in a smile, and her eyes softened even more as she reached for me, hugging me tight. “Well, that’s true. You did.”
I rolled my eyes and hugged her back. “Go have fun with your millionaire yachter. I need to get home.”
“Good night, honey.”
I thought about our conversation as I left the building and climbed into the helicopter where Haych was waiting. I thought about it the whole way out to the island.
My mother didn’t know this, but I’d been on a handful of dates the last few months with men I’d met through my business dealings for the company. It had been my feeble attempt at “moving on.” Every one had been a major disaster, though, and after the third one with a man who was as boring as the tablecloth at our dinner, I’d finally given up.
There was nothing wrong with being single. I had plenty to keep me busy. And I was happy, contrary to what my mother believed. In fact, just the thought of going home brought a smile to my face I’d been lacking all day.
It was dusk when I stepped into the house, bypassing the front and moving to the kitchen around back. The scents of Italian spices filled the air, and my stomach rumbled at the thought of Sela’s world famous lasagna for dinner. Closing the door, I called, “Sela?”
No voices answered my call. No sound echoed from anywhere in the house.
A note on the fridge drew my attention. Dropping my bag on the kitchen table, I crossed and read Sela’s message.
N—
We went back to my place to feed the dogs. They were barking up a storm. Come down when you get back. I have wine.
—S
I smiled and read the note again. Sela was crazy about her dogs. If they’d been barking like that, one of the native animals on this island must have wandered down toward the beach—a wild pig or goat. Her dogs were probably beside themselves with excitement.
I set the note on the counter and turned for the hall, moving toward the bedroom so I could change out of my slacks and sleeveless blouse and join her.
“Well now,” a very familiar voice said when I stepped past the living room archway. “Look who finally wandered in.”
I froze, and my heart jerked into my throat. Wide-eyed, I whipped around and stared at Giovanni, sitting in a chair across the room, his hands clutching the armrests, his long hair—longer than it had been the last time I’d seen him in that dungeon eighteen months ago—hanging around his face.
“It’s been a long time, bella.” His light eyes were as cold and soulless as they’d been that last day. And they were pinned solidly on me. “You have no idea how hard I’ve been looking for you. My brother was smart to hide you. But not all that smart to leave you unprotected. Pity.” He slowly pushed to his feet. “I really would have liked for him to be here for this, but I promise I’ll take pictures.”
He stepped toward me, and my adrenaline surged. I grasped the closest thing I could reach, a native stone carving of some South Pacific deity, and hurled it toward him. He dodged the object. It crashed into the coffee table, sending glass shattering over the floor.
“Dumb move,” he growled as he lurched around the couch toward me.
I turned to run, but he slammed into me before I could get two steps away.
My body struck the hall table. Objects went flying. Glass cracked. I hit the ground with a thud and kicked out, but he wrapped a hand around my ankle and pulled, jerking me back toward him.
“You can’t run from me,” he screamed. “Not any more! I’m going to make you pay for what you’ve done. Exactly as I made that slutty friend of yours pay.”
My throat closed, but I fought and clawed and kicked against him. There was no way he’d let me live this time. And if he found the others on the island...
Panic squeezed my lungs until I gasped. But somehow I managed to nail him in the balls. He grunted and fell back.
Scrambling to my feet, I raced into the kitchen, threw the back door open, and screamed when Giovanni grabbed me by the hair and hurled me into the counter.
Canisters went flying. The wooden cutting board flew up and hit me in the cheek. I bounced off the counter and smacked against the tile floor with a grunt. Pain ricocheted through my body.
Dazed, I tried to get up, but my vision wavered, my head grew light. The room seemed to swirl around me.
A looming shadow drew close. I managed to sit up, to scoot back against the counter and look up. Blinked several times.
Giovanni stalked toward me, his hair a wild tangle around his face, his chest rising and falling with his deep breaths. “I didn’t realize this was going to be so fun,” he sneered, glaring down at me. “My brother probably never told you I like a good fight. He knelt in front of me, and his lips curled in a sinister smile when he whispered, “Nothing gets me hard faster.”