Solstice Burn (9 page)

“Yeah?”

“I want kids too, but I had to stop thinking about it. I kept thinking to myself, ‘how can you want children when there’s no one in your life?’ Still, I want a family someday.”

“Me too, darlin’.”

“But don’t you see? That’s never going to happen for someone like me if I don’t change. Something’s gotta give.” She sighed, unsure if she should be confessing her innermost secrets to him. “Having some time off…it’s given me a new perspective, is all.”

“I know how you feel. I think about this vacation and how it’s affected me. I’ve traveled many places, but I’ve never met someone like you.” Chase placed his lips to her hair and spoke softly. “And now that I have, it has me thinking, reconsidering what I’m doing. We may have only known each other a few days, but I’ll never forget this. Being here with you…you’ve changed everything for me.”

Penny allowed his words to resonate. They quietly held each other, absorbed in their contemplation. Indulging in her fantasy, Penny closed her eyes and imagined a life with Chase Abbott.

Penny blinked her eyes open, a stream of sunshine warming her face. She reached behind her and fingered the cold sheets. Her disappointment that Chase no longer warmed her body was soon replaced by pleasure as her vision focused on the plethora of flowers. Despite their impending departure from paradise, having to part ways with Chase, she’d never felt so loved by anyone. Instead of trying to rationalize away the million reasons why she shouldn’t fall for him, she decided to embrace the situation for what it was.

Sometimes, life couldn’t be explained. It was unpredictable, both brutal and generous, and instead of denying the love in her heart, she’d own it. Regardless of her emotions, things would come to a head. Either they’d find a solution, a way to be together, or they wouldn’t. If he didn’t want to see her after she confessed how she felt about him, it would make no difference to the outcome. With her fragile and vulnerable heart already in his hands, she was helpless to stop the inevitable. After everything Chase had said and done, optimism ruled her mind.

Penny donned a bathrobe and retrieved a bottle of water from the refrigerator. Chase’s whispered voice bled through the screen door, and she wondered if someone was in the villa with them. Something about his hushed tone warned her not to eavesdrop, but curiosity got the best of her as she saw him on the veranda, talking on the phone.

“Raine, I’m not doing this with you now. I told you I was going to be away for a few days. When I get back, we’ll work things out,” he said. “I’ll be home soon.

Raine. His ex-girlfriend, Raine?
Penny’s stomach lurched, and she hid from his sight, her back against the wall. Her pulse raced as she listened to the conversation.

“No, I’m not lying. I just told you what we did. Evan and I dove the hole. We may go back again today. Yeah, it was cool.”

Is he still seeing her? He lied. Oh my God, how could I have been so stupid?
Tears pricked her eyes as he continued.

“Yes, I’ll see you as soon as I get back. Everything’s been arranged.” Chase paced. “Sure I miss it, but duty calls.” He rested back onto a lounger, pushing his sunglasses over his eyes, and blew out a breath. “Would you stop it, already? I’m not hiding anything. What am I doing down here? What do you think I’m doing? Relaxing is all. Look Raine, I’ve gotta go. I want to get in another dive before I leave.” He took a deep breath and blew it out. “I promise as soon as I get home, I’ll take care of it for you. If you don’t want to wait for me, call the service. Yeah, yeah, you know I’m the best.”

His laughter resounded through the air as he paused to listen.

“Okay, then you’ll wait for me. My flight gets in Saturday night. I’ll have time. No, don’t worry, we’ll do it soon enough. All right now. Take care. Bye.”

Penny swallowed the sob that formed in her throat as she tiptoed out of his villa. As soon as she reached her hotel room, Penny called the concierge and arranged for a taxi. By the time she reached the lobby, she had booked a flight home. She slid into the backseat of the cab and shoved her sunglasses onto her face. As the tears rolled down her cheeks, she slowly erected the emotional wall she’d carefully built so long ago. The familiar barrier was like a pair of well-worn sneakers, not terribly attractive but exceedingly practical.

She told herself that broken hearts healed. She’d throw herself into the mountain of work that she knew waited for her. Love was for fools, and she had twice learned the merciless lesson. Chase was wrong. She’d always been an excellent student. It would be a cold day in hell before she ever let herself fall for someone again.

Chase sat in his office, bouncing the ball against the wall. He’d thought long and hard about why Penny had left him. He’d been an idiot for accepting Raine’s phone call. He’d simply been enjoying a fine Caribbean sunrise, watching the waves roll in as the dolphins frolicked in the peaceful morning surf. When his phone buzzed, he’d considered not answering, but with the samples on the way, he’d wanted to make sure they’d arrived. Instead of discussing the specimens, Raine had called to discuss her latest breakup and her need for him to check out a malfunction in her favorite dive equipment.

At the time, Chase hadn’t given much thought to the conversation until he’d discovered Penny had gone missing. After several attempts to contact her on her phone, he’d called the concierge to see if she’d arranged for a spa appointment or excursion. When he learned she’d left for the airport, it only took seconds of shock to put the pieces together. He surmised that she’d overheard his phone call, and assumed he was still seeing Raine.

His first instinct had been to hop a plane to New York City, but he soon grew angry that she’d thought so little of him not to even give him a chance to explain. After returning home, he immediately missed her infectious laugh, the warmth of her in his arms. He considered that his experiment had not failed. He’d tested Penny all right. Indeed, she was adventurous like he’d expected. But so much more than that, she’d woven the threads of her being into his heart. On their last night on the island, he’d known on the dance floor he couldn’t let her go, and two weeks later, not a damn thing had changed.

Drastic times called for drastic measures. Chase suspected she’d be pissed when she found out what he’d done. He tapped his pen on Evan’s desk, silently rehearsing his argument. A knock alerted him to Evan’s presence. He stood in the doorway wearing a broad grin on his face.

“It’s done. She’s here.” Evan approached and handed Chase an iPad.

“Excellent.” His eyes fell to the screen, his heart pounding as he caught sight of her fidgeting with her phone. “You put her in my office?”

“Yeah, you know Garrett’s going to kick both our asses for this. Already have two text messages from him.”

Garrett Emerson, CEO of Emerson Industries, was a friend, but he wasn’t at all happy that they’d let Penny onto the executive office floor without a valid appointment. The fact that she’d been allowed to stay led him to believe that Garrett wasn’t as angry as they’d initially thought. Although Garrett was traveling, he could have put an end to it at any point with one call to security.

“What did you tell him?” Chase chucked.

“What do you think? I told him that you roped me into this half-assed plan to get your girlfriend to move to California.”

“Hey, for the record, I did text him and I asked if I could borrow his nameplate from his office”

“And?”

“He had a few choice words for me. But, I guess the good news is that he didn’t say no. So we’re on.”

“Why not just go to New York and get her?” Evan asked.

“Because I want her to see what it’s like out here, where I work, my home. If I went all the way to New York, there’s a chance she’d have me booted from her office or apartment before I had a chance to talk to her. She’s pissed at me.” He shrugged. “Honestly, I’m still a little pissed at her, too. The bottom line is that she played it her way on the island and now, I’m playing it mine. No, this is how it’s going to have to be.”

“What did you tell her?”

“I didn’t tell her anything. She’s supposed to be meeting with the CEO to discuss her new client,” he explained. The head of Emerson’s legal department, Ryder Tremblay, had contacted Penny’s employer, specifically requesting her assistance on an unnamed project.

“Good luck, man.” Evan shrugged and shook his head at his friend.

“Thanks, but I don’t intend to fail,” Chase responded, shoving out of his chair.

As he strode down the hallway toward his office, he knew he’d be in deep shit with Garrett if this didn’t turn out well. But as he glanced to the tablet and caught sight of Penny, he could have cared less about the consequences. What he’d felt for her on vacation had been as real as the floor underneath his feet, and within hours, she’d be his.

Penny checked her email, irritated her boss had made her fly all the way to the west coast to meet face-to-face with some spoiled CEO. She could have gone the rest of her life and not ever visited California. The second she’d stepped off the plane, a fresh rush of grief had set in, knowing that Chase Abbott lived somewhere in the state. Her epic fail of a vacation had left her heart splayed apart. After she’d heard him talking with Raine, she’d been devastated. Although she’d thrown herself into work, she’d been unable to shake the memory of Chase from her mind.

She glanced around the office, recalling how Chase had carefully avoided telling her where he worked. Given that he’d neglected to mention he was still seeing his ex, she surmised he’d planned on keeping his whole life a secret. After being given the assignment to go to California, she’d googled Chase, but failed to discover anything regarding his employment. Aside from articles regarding high profile technology patents he’d filed, she’d only found him mentioned in the charity columns, referring to him as a wealthy philanthropist.

Penny’s eyes fell to the nameplate on the desk, Garrett Emerson, and she wondered what the hell was taking him so long. It was typical of her petulant rich clients, acting as if no one else’s time was important but theirs. He probably got off to a late tee time and was wrapping up things at the nineteenth hole.

The sound of the door opening startled her, but she steeled her nerves, refusing to let him see the annoyance on her face. Instead, Penny relaxed into her professional demeanor. By the time the hour was wrapped, she’d have convinced him that the next time they met it would be over Skype.

“Enjoying the view? I’ll admit it’s not the Caribbean but it’s gorgeous nonetheless,” Chase commented.

“What are you doing here?” Penny jumped up, dropping her cell onto the floor. Her eyes met Chase’s and he gestured to the chair.

“Please sit.” It was a command, not a request, his voice low and dominant as if he were angry.

“What kind of a game are you playing? I’m out of here.” Tears brimmed in her eyes and she bent to the ground, sweeping her hand underneath the desk. “I can’t do this. You…us…why did you…”

A strong hand caught her wrist. She lifted her lids to meet his gaze, and glared at him.

“Your phone.” Chase held it up in the air. When she reached for it, he gave her a wry smile. “No, no, no, counselor. I’m keeping this until you hear me out. No more running.”

“Jesus, Chase.” She yanked her arm out of his grip and sat back into her chair, wrapping her arms around her waist. “What did you do? There’s no client, is there?”

“There’s a client, darlin’ and you’re looking at him. I’ve already paid for your time.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“No, this is no joke.”

“Are you crazy? You can’t do this.”

“Do what?” he asked.

“You can’t just fly me out here because you want me.”

“Yeah, I think I pretty much did.”

“Fuck you,” she seethed.

“I plan to darlin’, but first we have to get a few things straight.”

“You want to talk? Are you serious? What is there to talk about? No, don’t even answer. I heard you talking to your ex that day, so as far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing to say. I don’t want to do this.” Penny shoved out of her chair but he blocked her with his body. His familiar scent took her by surprise, memories of their time together flooding her mind. She stifled a sob; heartbroken, her words faltered.

“I don’t know what you thought you heard that day, but Penny, please.” His voice softened and he reached for her, cupping her cheek. She lifted her teary lids to meet his gaze. “You are the only person I’ve dated for months. And Raine and I? It’s been over for years.”

“I heard you talking to her,” she bit out.

“You heard me talking to her, yes, but she works here.”

“Oh God…you work together. Are you kidding me?” She shook her head and exhaled loudly. “I’m so stupid.”

“Yes, but I just told you, it’s over between us. She’s had twenty different boyfriends since we broke up and is probably now on to number twenty-one. That day on the phone…the only reason I even took the call was because we’d just shipped samples. I wanted to make sure everything got home.”