Reckless (Fractured Farrells: A Damaged Billionaire Series Book 2) (10 page)

Malia stuttered at the implication. “No. Of course I’m not. I mean, I have no reason to be—”

“Because you’re the only woman I’ve thought about ever since that first night, Malia. Sometimes obsessively so. But there hasn’t been one of my fantasies that you haven’t had a starring role. And after today, I intend to make those fantasies come true.”

Malia’s mouth went dry and for a moment she forgot how to speak.

“You still there?”

“Yep. I’m here, but I have to go. Glad we figured out Lindsey isn’t crazy. Thanks, bye.” She hung up as quickly as she could and put the phone back in her pocket.
Good grief, what was she going to do with that man?

Instead of letting herself worry about that any more, she turned her attention to trying on the clothes. Even though everything was in her size, only about half of it fit right. Malia narrowed it down to two pairs of shorts and three shirts. She didn’t even try on the dress and collected everything and headed back out. Lindsey was back on her phone as she approached.

“I think I’m good.” Malia hung up whatever she wasn’t getting on the returns rack.

“Done? Do you want another size of anything? We can do one more quick walk around the racks to make sure we didn’t miss anything.”

Considering all the things Lindsey had found when they first came in, she didn’t think it was possible that they missed anything. “This is enough for a week. I don’t think I’ll be staying here much longer than that.” She had to be able to find a couch to crash at before a week was over. Or at least a nice tent to pitch on the beach.

Lindsey looked skeptically at the small amount of clothes in her arms, but didn’t push it. “I’m sure you can always make a second clothing run if needed. Let’s move on to underwear and pajamas. Are you a nightgown or pajamas person?”

Malia frowned. “Does a t-shirt count as a nightgown?”

“Yep. And now you’re going to get a real, legit nightgown! Come on.”

Well, she couldn’t very well sleep naked in Robert’s room. Even if he wasn’t going to be staying with her, she didn’t want to be out of options. And none of the shirts they’d picked up from the women’s department were long enough to cover much of anything.

As they crossed to the other department, Malia took the chance to try to learn more about Lindsey, the woman she’d so recently thought was a killer. “So do you come to Hawaii for work often?”

“I work on consolidations, so I travel a lot to the different properties and assist them rolling their financials into the main financial reporting for the company as a whole. Trust me, it’s even more boring than it sounds. If I could come out every quarter, I’d love it, but realistically I can only fit about one or two trips into my schedule a year.”

“I have to admit...that does sound boring.” It would be some strange torture to get to come to a place this magical and then be forced to go over financial statements. But Lindsey was probably more inclined to numbers than Malia had ever been. “Is your family okay with the travel?”

“Well, Daniel and I don’t have any children, so it’s not too hard on him. He’s actually with me this week. We decided to make a little vacation out of it.”

“A vacation where you work and he doesn’t?”

Lindsey cracked a smile. “It’s not ideal, but it’s still nice to be here together. He’s actually spent all day getting a private surfing lesson out at the North Shore. With stuff like that to distract him, he’d be happy if he didn’t see me all week.”

“Well, I think it’s sweet that you two make it work. So let’s get this trip finished so you can get back to him.”

“Oh, honey,” said Lindsey. “We’re not even close to being done.”

Unfortunately, Lindsey was right. It was still two hours before they left the mall and, considering that Malia hadn’t wanted to get much of anything, they ended up leaving with bags and bags of stuff. Every time Malia thought they were close to being done, Lindsey would somehow finagle her into a different store or department. And she’d hoped she could use the rest of the payday she’d gotten from Dean, but the ending bill was too much for her fragile bank account to take.

Of course, by then her pleas with Lindsey to leave everything and just go back to the hotel empty-handed had fallen on deaf ears and she ended up using even more of Robert’s generosity.

From there, Lindsey tried to talk Malia into going out for a nice dinner, but Malia couldn’t even think about it. “I think you should go find Daniel and take him out.”

Lindsey shook her head as they settled into the backseat of the car that had waited for them the entire time.
Even more money spent on her.

Malia brought a hand to her forehead and rubbed at her temples. This was getting out of hand. The idea of having an expensive dinner on top of this made her nauseous, but Lindsey had been looking forward to it. She’d said it was the reason she’d volunteered to help Malia out in the first place. But Malia knew she wouldn’t be good company at this point.

“Really, I don’t feel good and it’s been such a long day. But I’ll tell Robert that we went out, I promise.” Which wouldn’t solve the problem of spending more of Robert’s money, but at least she wouldn’t have to go through eating some amazing food and feeling so bad about it. If Lindsey and her husband got a nice, romantic night out, at least his money would go to someone who deserved it.

Lindsey finally sighed and directed the driver to go back to the resort. “But I’m only doing this because you look exhausted,” she clarified. “And not in the bitchy, you look like shit way. In the sense that you look like you need to crawl into bed for about twenty-four hours straight.”

Malia was grateful that Lindsey seemed to understand where she was coming from. Especially considering Lindsey hadn’t really listened to anything Malia had said.

After twenty minutes of intense downtown traffic, the car stopped at the resort. “You can head on up,” said Lindsey. “I’m going to have them bring these bags up to your room. If you want to grab something small to eat from one of the shops, they can drop them off inside if that works.”

“That would be great. Thanks for everything.” Malia stepped out of the car and bent down to look back at Lindsey. “And I really want you to enjoy that dinner.”

“I will, but you go rest! I can’t imagine the day you’ve had.”

Malia said one more quick thanks before she turned back to the hotel. Except she didn’t go into the lobby. She kept walking, the sunset over the water drawing her away. The beach was still relatively busy, but there was plenty of room for her to walk down to the water. Just out of the reach of the waves. She slipped out of her shoes and stepped into the warm water. The second it lapped up around her shins, she let out a sigh of relief. This is what she needed. Not shopping or sleep. Just the serene beauty of her adopted home. The only place she’d truly felt like she belonged.

“Hanging in there?” asked a deep voice from behind her. A familiar voice that practically vibrated through her.

“Not really,” she admitted, squinting over at the sunset. She didn’t want to look at him. Bad things happened when she looked at him. Knowing her self-control, she’d jump him right here on the beach and all the poor innocent children would be scarred for life.

“Did Lindsey take care of you?”

“She was great. We spent all your money, though.”

He let out a laugh. “I have a lot of it, you know.”

Oh, yeah. She knew.
She’d known about how rich the Farrells were since she was ten years old, and the thought of it had never been far from her mind. “I don’t need money.”

“Even if you don’t need it, I can—”

“I’m not bragging. I literally don’t need money.” She finally risked a glance behind her to see Robert’s handsome face highlighted by the bright sun. Just like the first time they’d met. “My family lost the house when I was really young. I’ve lived on and off the streets for most of my life. You throw me anywhere in the world with nothing but the clothes on my back and I can make it work.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not—” She stopped herself from finishing the sentence. It technically wasn’t his fault, but saying the words was just too hard. “It’s something you need to know about me. When I say I don’t need your help, it’s not my pride getting in the way. It’s just a fact.”

“What if I want to help you? Doesn’t that get any consideration?”

“That would get a lot more consideration if you didn’t want to sleep with me too. I’ve never slept with anyone for money.”

“Is that what you think I’m trying to do? Turn you into a whore?” There was a bite to his voice and she knew she’d offended him.

She gave up and walked out of the water until she stood in front of Robert. “I just can’t help but feel that your kindness comes at a price. And I don’t know if I want to pay it.”

“So, what? You want me to just let you go off and be homeless when I can do something about it?”

“You can’t save everyone.”

“I’m not trying to save you. I’m trying to be a decent fucking human being.”

“You pass by people in need every day. I’m no different.”

“You’re different to me. Ever since I first saw you, I’ve been going insane, and the thought of you being alone with nothing terrifies me more than it should. So what the hell am I supposed to do about it?”

She had no idea what to say to that. The very idea of anyone being obsessed with her was just so foreign. She tried so damn hard to keep people away from her, and somehow Robert had slipped through despite her best efforts. Were they supposed to date? He didn’t even live on the island, but for someone who probably had a fleet of private jets, that wouldn’t be an issue.

“Why don’t we just start by watching the sunset?”

Without hesitation, he took her hand and sat on the sand, not even hesitating to get his nice pants all sandy. His tie was gone and he’d never replaced the jacket she’d taken off him earlier that day.

She settled in next to him, still holding his hand. When she was so close to him and he was being so nice, it was easy to forget their differences. The history her family had with his. He was just a nice guy who felt great to be near.

As the sun sank in the sky, she focused on that. Forgetting the past for a moment and just letting the moment sink in. There was no green flash tonight. Something in the air must not have been quite right, but Malia didn’t mind. The entire scene was perfect.

Even after the sun set, they stayed on the beach for a while. She had a feeling Robert didn’t get many of these quiet moments, and she’d never been able to share this with anyone. Normally, if she was out with friends, there was so much need to talk and fill the quiet spaces.

Robert set his arm around her at some point and she rested her head on his shoulder. He was a bit too muscular to really be comfortable, but he was warm and comforting all the same. Finally, it got to the point where they would need to get up and leave. Malia hated to ruin the moment, but she had to ask, “Do you think someone is taking pictures of us right now?”

Robert glanced around them, but there were enough people around with phones taking pictures of the beach that it was impossible to tell. “I’m going to figure out who that was. Will you think I’m controlling if I don’t let you go anywhere on your own until I find the son of a bitch?”

She smirked. “Yeah. I think that might be going a bit overboard on the controlling part.”

“Damn. I guess I can’t leave your side for the rest of my stay.”

“Also controlling.”

“But a lot more fun.”

Malia looked back out onto the ocean. Even though she was on land, she couldn’t help but feel as though she was getting in over her head. But she didn’t think she was going to get out of this. That was a lie. She didn’t want to get out of this. Maybe she’d made up her mind while sitting on the beach with Robert. Maybe she’d made up her mind the second she kissed him back in his room. But she had undoubtedly made her decision.

“Robert,” she said softly.

“Hmmm?”

“I think we should go back up to your room.”

––––––––

R
obert somehow managed to appear professional as he and Malia crossed the lobby into the elevator. He even managed to keep a straight face and hands to himself as the floors ticked by. But the second his keycard was in the door and the lock clicked free, all bets were off.

Malia fell into his arms and he took control from there.

Bracing the back of her neck, he went in for a kiss, the kiss he’d been thinking about all day while having to listen to presentations about returns on investments and occupancy rates. He didn’t care about any of that.

All he cared about right now was this woman: the feel of her skin on his, her lips against his lips, her hands running down his back, his hands crushing her breasts and running along the curve of her waist.

Fuck it.
He should’ve taken the day off and stayed with her all day.

He backed her against the wall as he took time to re-familiarize himself with the body he’d been separated from forever. Okay, just a few hours but it had felt like forever.

Her oversized denim shirt was off in seconds, and she pulled at her tank top and bra in one quick motion, leaving her in just her tennis shoes and shorts.