Me And Mr. I.T. (Kupid's Cove Book 2) (20 page)

She looked down at the plaque and back again. “Oh, I’m taking the position,” she said, grinning from ear-to-ear.

Katie whooped and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. We all followed suit, then raised a glass to her, and the positive changes we knew she would bring to the hotel.

“I think she was surprised, to say the least,” I said as we walked along the beach after dinner. Katie and Gideon had begged off, Katie wanting to rest before tomorrow’s activities.

“She deserves the job. I’m glad she wasn’t upset that we knew and didn’t tell her.”

I looked up at the night sky, the stars twinkling and lighting the way for us, the moon a giant orb in the sky. “Me too. It’s bad enough that we’re lying to her about being newlyweds. I still feel guilty about letting them all think that.”

He took my hand and tugged me toward a grove of trees growing near an outcropping of a cliff, the darkness so deep even the moon didn’t reach it. Only shadows hung around the branches of the tree. He ducked under the lower hanging branches, since it was growing sideways and I followed suit, surprised to find a blanket, candle, and champagne bucket.

“Did you plan this?” I asked, looking around the space and realizing he had to have, unless we were taking advantage of someone else’s evening plans.

He nodded and pulled me down to the blanket, fluffing several pillows behind my back. “I did. I want to make the kind of memories that newlyweds make, even if we technically aren’t newlyweds.”

He lit the candle and I kissed him when he lay down beside me, the flickering flame creating a soft glow in the small space. The kiss reminded me of a soft breeze on a spring day. It was gentle, but raised anticipation inside me for the heat of the summer. His hands held my face and his thumbs rubbed my cheeks while he stoked the excitement within me, for tonight, and for every night after this one.

He let my lips fall from his and leaned back on one elbow, his head propped on his hand. “I want to tell you how proud I am to call you my wife, even if that isn’t your real title, right now. You make everyone in this corporation look good, without even trying. More than that, though, I can sense within you the kind of love you have to share with the right man. The man who will hold you every night, and kiss you awake in the morning. It’s your well of loyalty that has me concerned.”

I moved upward on the pillows a little, unsure of what he was getting at. “I don’t know what that means.”

He poured two champagne flutes and handed one to me. He raised his glass and I followed suit, clinking the glasses after he said a simple, ‘to you’ toast. He drank the glass of bubbly in one swallow, then refilled his glass and did it again. For whatever reason, I could feel the anxiety rolling off him.

“I’m waiting for an answer, Maltrand,” I said, taking the glass from his hand and burying the stem in the sand next to me. What does me being loyal have to do with anything?”

He caressed my face, his hand lowering to my shoulder and then the outside of my breast. “I don’t want you to be with me because we work together. I’ve witnessed how deeply loyal you are to Gideon, and I don’t want you to do what you think is best for the company.”

I reached up and caressed his face. “So you’re worried that I’m going to stay with you once we get back to Maui because we work together, and I don’t want to make waves with the boss?”

“I guess, maybe, I don’t know,” he answered, locking eyes with me. “You’re beautiful, smart, funny, and perfect, and I’m worried.” He paused and then looked away for a moment, taking a shuddering breath. “No, I’m scared to death to lose you because I’m just me.”

I sat up, and flipped one leg over his belly, resting on my knees as I held his face in my hands. “Just you? Why would you even say that? Moreover, what happened to the guy who was in my bed last night? The one who would stop at nothing to convince me my imperfections were perfect for him.” I leaned down and kissed his lips, tasting the champagne on his tongue. I ended it when I realized he wasn’t responding to it the way he should. I stared into his eyes, the look in them the same as the night he told me about his family.

“Tell me what happened. Something has happened. I can see it in your eyes.”

He lay there mute, rubbing my thigh and I wondered what could be so disturbing to him that he couldn’t answer my simple question. I climbed off him and sat, taking off my sandals and stocking, leaving them on the blanket.

“Hold your hand out,” I ordered and he looked up at me sharply. He did what I asked and I reached under my hair and pulled out both hearing aids, putting them in his hand. I had already left my contact in cleaning solution at the hotel, so that left one thing. I held my finger up and told him I would be right back. I walked along the cliff to the shoreline and knelt in the water, the waves splashing me, soaking through my thin dress. I used the bottom of the dress to scrub away my makeup until I was satisfied it was mostly gone. As I walked back toward the palm tree I tried to center myself and forget about the thief and the job, so I could focus on him.

When I returned he was downing another glass of champagne, his hand shaking just enough to make it noticeable to me. “Where did you go?” he asked. I had to read his lips, but it was easy because he spoke clearly.

I took his hand and put it on my cool face, the ocean water leaving the changes in the color of my skin obvious, even in this low light. I pulled my dress over my head, until I sat before him in nothing but a bra and panties.

“What are you doing?” he asked and I took hold of his hand.

“I’m sitting here with every single one of my imperfections visible. If I can sit here like this in front of you, and not worry that you’ll love me any less because of them, then you can’t be worried I will love you any less because of what’s happened.”

He reached out and caressed my breast through the lace of the bra. I closed my eyes, swallowing hard as I wanted him to continue, but his hand fell away. I opened my eyes in time to read his lips.

“Your imperfections make you perfect, Ellie. Mine make me dangerous.”

He said something else, but when he turned his head, I couldn’t see it. I grabbed his chin and brought his face back toward mine. “I’m going to put my hearing aids back in if you aren’t going to look at me when you speak.”

He looked down and I sighed with frustration, slipping the small appliances back in my ears. The sound of the ocean came back and the breeze in the trees made an audible whooshing sound.

He cocked his head at me. “What? Are they not working?”

I shook my head a little. “No, they’re working, but that was the first time I’ve ever taken them out by the ocean. When I put them back in, I heard the ocean like it was the first time. The sounds we take for granted when we walk around in our daily lives had been gone for a few moments, but the sound of the ocean coming back to me, and the wind in the trees, reminded me to say thank you to our Father for the beauty of nature.”

He smiled and ran a thumb down my cheekbone. “See, perfect, just like I said.”

The alcohol was starting to loosen his tongue, now that he had drank half a bottle. I waited, lying on my side with my head propped on my hand, for him to speak.

“While you were with Gideon and Katie, I ran downstairs to answer a question for one of the techs. I overhead two employees talking about me because they didn’t know I was there.”

“What were they saying?” I asked, surprised that something as minor as coworkers talking about him had put him into such turmoil.

“They said they hoped you knew what you were getting into considering my family.”

I took his face again and shook my head. “I’ve told you, I don’t care about your father and the things he did.”

He nodded, almost rhythmically as though he didn’t know how to stop. “It was the rest of what they said that had me in shock. I used a computer downstairs and found out what they said was true. My brother went to prison two days ago for nearly killing his wife and his son.”

I put my hand over my mouth, the shock making the whole space seem hushed around us. “I’m sorry, Maltrand. How did you not hear anything about this?”

“From what I could find through news channels, it happened Thursday. They arrested him still holding the fishing knife, his wife and son stabbed over twenty times between the two of them. They’re both going to live, but he pleaded no contest and is going away for life.”

I pulled him into me and held him around his shoulders, trying to offer him comfort the only way I knew how. “Would you like me to go with you when you see them?” I asked, but he shook his head.

“I won’t be going to see them. I’ve never met my nephew and my sister-in-law never liked me. She and my brother got together right before our falling out. She has family who will take care of her. Seeing me will only remind her of what went wrong in her life.”

“You might be surprised, Maltrand.”

“Maybe I’ll reach out to her in a few days before we leave the island, but she needs to heal first, and I need to take a step back and examine my own life.”

“Why?” I asked confused.

“So far my father killed my mother and then himself, and now my brother has done this. The odds aren’t good that I won’t be exactly like them when I get married.”

I leaned back and frowned, the pain in his eyes hard for my heart to bear. I ran my hands through his hair until I had brushed it out of his face. “We already are married, maybe not with a piece of paper, but all the same. I trust you with my life, Mr. I.T.”

“Apparently that might not be the smartest thing to do,” he spat, his body shaking, a reaction to news so much like his past stressing him to the maximum.

I held his face so he had to look at me. “I don’t have a worry in the world. Do you want to know why?” I asked.

He brought his hands up and took my face, holding it in a grip that told me he needed something, anything, to hold onto. I put my hands over his and we sat there like that for several minutes while I allowed him to center himself back to the blanket on the sand where only he and I sat, each of us deeply in love with the other.

“I love you, Mr. I.T.,” I whispered into the night air. “The reason I know I love you, and will never worry that you’ll hurt me, is because of your reaction to the news of your brother.”

“I don’t understand,” he said, hugging me tightly as I rubbed his back.

“What I mean is that your overwhelming fear that you will become your brother, or father for that matter, will keep you pushing against the emotions of anger and fear. Your tender touch, the way you always look out for me, the way you worry when I do too much, or know when I need cheering up, are the actions of man who can manage his anger. Can I ask you a question?” He nodded and let go of me, taking a deep breath.

“Anything, you can ask me anything,” he said, his eyes glassy from the alcohol, and the fear.

“What happened that caused this major falling out with your brother? I’m assuming you haven’t seen him in a few years?”

He ran a hand over his face. “No, I haven’t seen him since my freshman year of college. He and Kopa were married in January, and in March, I came home to find her walking around the house dazed and confused. I took one look at her and knew what happened. He left a black eye and a bruise on her arm in the shape of his fingers. I confronted him about it and he told me to mind my own business. He told me what occurs between a man and his wife is personal,” he explained, looking up to tree branches as though he needed guidance, “I knew I would never be able to have a relationship with him. He repulsed me because those were the words my father would always say.” He was jabbing the blanket in front of him with his index finger, his body shaking with the agony of the memories. “I tried to get Kopa to leave him. God, you don’t know how I tried,” he said, his voice choked with anger and guilt.

I climbed into his lap and held him, kissing his cheek. “You tried, that’s all you could do. If she made the decision to stay, when she knew how he dealt with anger, then that’s not your problem.”

He nodded his agreement. “I know. I know it’s not, but I’m struggling with the idea that I could one day be like my brother and father. One day I could hurt the woman I love, or worse, kill her. The same power is inside me, and I will wonder forever if the beast will rise to the surface and take control of me.”

“Maybe you should talk to a counselor in light of what happened with your brother,” I suggested, unsure where to go with this or how to make him understand he wasn’t cut from the same cloth as them. Then I had a thought.