His Bahamas Affair (The Albury Affairs) (15 page)

Reno tightened his hold
on her, loving her naked skin against his. “I’m sorry. I’ll never do that
again.”

“And you’ll never cheat
on me either?” she demanded which made him grin.

“I’ll never cheat on
you,” he echoed.

She slide her hands up
slowly until they were clasped at the back of his neck. “So like, does this
mean we’re like, going steady and stuff?” she asked in that nasal annoying
teenage girl voice.

He knew she may be kidding
around, she was also quite serious. She wanted to know where she stood in his
life and he’d opened that door with his jealous fit. He had no doubt that he
wanted her in his life, but the question was how long will she slum it until
she decided to go back to her high flying life?

She was rich and even
though
La
Paraiso
was doing remarkably well, he still couldn’t give her the life she was used to.
Could he really risk being made a fool of again? But this time he was also
risking his heart because he was truly serious when he said he could love her.
He’d already started down that slippery slope. If they were serious about
‘going steady’, they couldn’t rush it. They both needed to be a hundred percent
sure that they wanted each other till the grim reaper came knocking.

Listen to him, the
self-made playboy thinking about going for the long haul with one dame. N
ot
just any dame, one that made him dream of playing at the
ocean shore with their two kids while she watched from the porch, heavy with
number three.

Yeah, definitely a
dream, which he was willing to work on making it come true.

“If by going steady you
mean dating exclusively, then yes, we are going steady.”

Her smile faltered but
she recovered. He realized it wasn’t exactly what she wanted to hear but after
Georgia, he was not rushing into anything. He was going in with his eyes wide
open.

He kissed her forehead.
“Be patient. I want us both to be sure that the ‘could’ will turn into a
‘definitely’ with no regrets whatsoever the next time we say the words I, love,
and you.”

She nodded. “I
understand. But I would never regret being with you.”

He believed her, but he
also wanted to be sure of his feelings that he wasn’t acting on lust like last
time.

“Oh, here they come.
Jake looks like he’s had his ass tanned. Poor guy.” She released him, tucking
herself into his side as they watched Jake and his partner walk hand in hand toward
them.

Jake smiled at them,
his eyes begging for help. “Gil, honey, this is Loraine and her boyfriend,
Reno.”

Reno stuck out his hand
first. “Hi. If you want to feel me up too I’ll let you go as far as Jake did.”

That stretched Gil’s
pout into a smile. “Don’t worry, he’ll be paying for that for a long time.” He
gave Reno an appreciative perusal. “Granted, you are irresistible, but he
should have restrained himself like I am.” He cut Jake a withering glare before
he turned to Loraine. “You, I’ve heard so much about. Thank you for being
Jake’s friend when he needed one.”

Loraine took his
offered hand and pulled him into a hug. “No thanks needed. He was there for me
when I needed someone too.”

A look passed between
Jake and Loraine that Reno caught and it made him wonder if she meant the
stalker situation. That part of the story she hadn’t told him yet. She was
shaking when she told him the little that she had, adding on the nightmares he
wasn’t willing to push the issue. She’d tell him once she felt comfortable
enough.

“I guess I should thank
you, Jake, for being there for her when she truly needed someone.”

There was a surprised
then a questioning look on his face before Jake nodded. He was probably
wondering if he knew about the stalker. Reno didn’t give him any inclination
that he did.

“So what are you two up
to?” Loraine asked, returning to his side.

Gil pumped up. “We are
going diving! Isn’t it exciting?”

“You’ll love the reef,
it’s so beautiful. I wish I’d had a camera,” Loraine pouted.

Reno squeezed her to
him in a side hug. “I got that covered, babe. We should be collecting our
pictures when we get back to the main land. Gil, Jake, why don’t you join us
tomorrow when we go diving again. It should be fun.”

Gil and Loraine both
squealed happily as Jake asked him sensible questions about the dive. He wanted
to know about the dive company and the areas they would go. The risks, precautions
until Gil and Loraine told him to shut up and that he was killing their buzz
with scary questions.

Reno just laughed,
readily accepting to share their villa on the island, saving them a trip back
to the main land, which Loraine was happy about. She wanted to catch up with
her friend, and Reno just wanted to make her happy.

Weird.

* * * *

Loraine and Jake were
quietly laughing in the kitchen as they listened to Gil pepper Reno with
questions. The inquest had started with safe questions about the resort, and
then he very loudly asked Reno’s sexual preference to the current topic of his
intentions for Loraine. Reno answered all of them with a laugh in his voice and
never once got defensive or irritated. It was amazing how easy going he was.
“I’m so glad he’s not a bigot. Not very many straight guys would be comfortable
sitting and drinking with Gil, let alone being pawed the way I did,” Jake
commented, watching them through the window in the wall that faced the living
room.

“I’m glad too. Except
for cheating spouses, he’s very easy with everything else. I
kinda
love him,” she blushed pouring lemon juice into the
chicken souse.

Jake’s smile grew into
a grin. “I’m so glad you said that. I always thought you’d be too traumatized
to even consider an intimate relationship. And if you did, it would be with a
guy who wasn’t a giant!” He pointed to Reno over his shoulder with his thumb.
“Clearly I was wrong about that, too.”

“When he holds me I
feel safe. Like nothing bad could touch me ‘cause he’d always be there to
protect me.” She shrugged adding salt and hot pepper to the pot. “It may sound
naive but Pierre hasn’t haunted me since the day I first slept in his arms.”

“I noticed you haven’t
broken into a cold sweat after saying his name. So why are you still hiding
behind the blonde hair and blue eyes?”

Loraine purposefully
ignored his question and said, “Reno is good for me and I want to be good for
him.”

Jake was quiet for a
moment, probably wondering over the snub. She kept her eyes averted from him.
They’d always been open with each other but she wasn’t ready to go into that
just yet.

“He has nightmares of
his own?” he asked in a hush tone, not wanting Reno to hear.

She was relieved he let
the subject drop but she also knew Reno wouldn’t want his business known so all
she said was, “Guilt.”

He nodded catching on,
then with a skeptically raised brow. “How do the parents feel about the man in
your life? It’s clear he doesn’t come from the right side of the tracks.”

Loraine rolled her
eyes. “They don’t know. They don’t even know where I am and I’m not about to
tell them. I don’t want them ruining this for me. If it means living without
the Larson millions,” she shrugged, “so be it. It will only mean my freedom.”

“Wow! You really do
mean that.”

“I’d live in a tent at
the beach if it meant being with Reno. What about you? How exactly are you
affording a villa? I know Gil isn’t paying.”

He folded his arms over
his chest. “And why not?”

She pointed at him with
the cooking spoon. “You may be batting for the other team but its clear who’s
the wife in your relationship. Now spill!”

He cleared his throat
before he spoke. “Naturally, my parents cut me off when I decided to stop
hiding in the closet. Well, they were holding the money hostage hoping I’d come
back from my stint in military school straight. Instead, I used the one hour
internet time allocated in a week, withdrew ten thousand dollars every month
for the ten months I was there and went home with Gil who’d also been sent away
for liking the wrong gender. That’s when they cut me off but I already had one
hundred thousand safely tucked away and when I turned twenty-one, I got my
inheritance from my dead aunt, to my father’s chagrin. It couldn’t have come at
a better time. The hundred thousand was depleted after paying for college and
we were working fast food just to pay the rent at our one bedroom apartment in
Miami. Then we moved to Canada and I opened my software company.”

Loraine hugged him,
wishing he didn’t have to go through so much pain just to be happy. “I’m not
going to say sorry. Instead I’m going to congratulate you for taking your life
into your own hands and being happy.”

He pulled away,
tweaking her nose with his forefinger. “I hope you stay strong Loraine, ‘cause
that’s a man you don’t want to lose.”

She knew that already
and she was doing her utmost best to make sure they stayed together. Loraine
stared out at Reno with a smile. He was attempting to help Gil choose an
outfit. That was one man who was very sure of his sexuality, himself and what
he wanted. She just had to make sure not to give him any doubts about wanting
her.

“Gil, that man can’t
help you choose a good outfit. He lives in shorts and t-shirts and he can only
dress a woman.”

Hands on his hips, Gil
said, “If he can dress a woman he can help me.”

Reno chuckled. “What
Lori means is I like my women with very little on, preferably naked.”

“Oh,” he sighed
dramatically. “Well, we can’t all be perfect.” They all laughed, watching Gil
sashay out of the room.

“He makes you happy,
doesn’t he?” she asked Jake.

“Yes he does. What
about you?”

She nodded. “Happier
than I’ve been in a long time.”

“Well, I say it’s about
time. We both deserve some happiness in our lives after all the shit we’ve been
through.”

The upbeat tempo
carried into the next day when they went diving and Loraine fell even more in
love with the aquatic life. They took numerous pictures under and above water
and on the catamaran. She couldn’t wait to get her hands on the pictures and
show them to Melody. She planned to buy an album and fill it with memories of
the happiest moments of her life.

They took the catamaran
back to Nassau after a teary goodbye and promises to visit
La
Paraiso
before Gil and Jake went back
to Canada. When they got back to their apartment, she was happy to finally relax
and maybe talk Reno into going out for a real date that may hopefully end with
them tangled in the sheets, when he got the phone call that made his face so
pale it frightened her.

“Pack your bags, we’re
going back to the resort immediately!” he ordered hoarsely, running out of the
apartment and leaving her alone panicking. She prayed it wasn’t something
completely terrible.

Chapter Seven

Loraine wasn’t exactly
sure what to say as she stood there, staring down at the little person sitting
on the couch partially hidden by Melody’s body. She hadn’t believed it when
Reno told her about his phone conversation with Ruiz that had visibly rattled
him on their way back to the resort. But now as she stared at him at his
beautiful little face that was the miniature version of his father, there was
no doubt that this was Reno’s son.

A whirlwind of emotions
bombarded her but one stood out prominently—jealousy. Not of the boy but of his
mother. She’d actually dreamed of giving him his first kid, his first son.

The past few days with
Reno had made her want a number of things, hope for many more as she excitedly
planned for a future that at the moment looked bleak. Had Georgia come back?
Was she hoping for reconciliation with Reno? Why else would she bring their son
to him?

Is
this where I lose Reno?

Just the thought of the
possibility made her stomach plummet.

She turned to the heavy
footsteps to see Reno walking away, his brother at his heels. He hadn’t said a
word since they entered the house.

What
is he thinking and what does it mean for us?
Loraine
wondered watching them disappear around the corner to his home office.

“Loraine?”

She turned to face
Melody who was now standing next to her. She looked as confused as Loraine
felt. Out of everything that could happen to their lives, this was the last
thing she expected.

“Do you know how he got
here?” she whispered discreetly to Melody, watching as the boy fearfully shy
behind his stuffed elephant. He had it raised to cover his face, exposing just
his round brown eyes as they darted around the room.

“A woman, his nanny
brought him. She was told by his mother to take him to an orphanage because
Georgia didn’t want him anymore, but she brought him to his father instead. She
hoped he would be loved and cared for here.”