With This Kiss (Windswept Bay Book 3) (5 page)

She hugged him then kissed his jaw. “I needed it too. We’re going to go to the cafeteria and grab her a cup of hot tea and honey. And one for ourselves too. Waiting is horrible. Can we get any of you fellas anything?” She looked from her husband to her brothers who had conveniently ignored her and Grant’s show of affection. Normally they might have teased them about it but not today.

Trent who was standing closest to Grant and who had given Jillian a hug, smiled. “We can take care of ourselves. You two girls take care of Shar.”

Jake, Max, and Cam agreed.

“So there you have it,” Grant said. “Do y’all need help?”

“We’ve got it.” She smiled. “We’ll be right back. If that doctor comes out before we get back call me immediately.”

“Sure thing.”

“Thank you,” Jillian said. “We won’t be long.”

They hurried toward the elevator and pushed the button to the cafeteria floor.

“She’s holding up,” Cali said. “But I knew she would.”

“Always,” Jillian commented. “I wonder what BJ will think when they tell him their suspicions.”

“I don’t know. Can you imagine finding out you not only have a brother but also that you are inheriting half of a multi-million dollar corporation?”

“Talk about culture shock,” Jillian gave a dry laugh. “But then, you just married a man worth more than I can count.”

Grant just happened to be a world famous Sea Life mural painter. Cali shot Jillian a sardonic look. “Hasn’t changed me a bit I hope.”

“Of course it didn’t,” Jillian said. “Stuff like that doesn’t impress you.”

“Exactly, so maybe it won’t matter to Brandon, or BJ. I wonder what the B stands for. Do you think it's Brandon?”

They reached the cafeteria and within moments had their hot tea. There were tables in the area and Shar walked to the table closest to the condiments. There was a discarded newspaper laying on the table and a couple of gossip magazines. She set the two cups on the magazine and then turned to grab the honey. Cali was carrying two cups also, since they’d decided to grab one for their mom. She set hers on the table next to Jillian’s and accepted the packets of honey her sister handed her. They both ripped open packets when Cali looked down at the magazine.

She stopped squeezing the sticky sweet contents into the paper cup of hot tea, her gaze caught on the photo beneath the paper cups. “What?”

Her brows knit together and she looked closer, pulling the cup off the page she gaped.

Jillian gasped beside her. “
Olivia.
That’s Olivia.”

Cali moved the other cup and picked up the gossip paper…and both of them gaped at their sister. The third triplet.

She was locked in a passionate kiss with the mega movie star Brad Pearson.

“This can’t be right?” Cali whispered. Olivia hadn’t come home for months. She’d even missed Cali’s wedding and hadn’t made it up this weekend for Shar’s wedding. She hadn’t even called much.

“She’s his publicist,” Jillian said. “She knows better than to do this.”

Cali looked at Jillian. “I don’t know what’s going on here but now’s not the time to worry about it.”

“I totally agree. Here, let me have that.” Jillian took the magazine and rolled it up then stuffed it into the big purse she carried. “There. We’ll read it later and hope Mom or Dad don’t see it. Right now we need to focus on Gage.”

Cali took a deep breath and started squeezing honey into tea and stirring furiously. “This has been a crazy day. First the wedding falling apart, then Gage being shot, his missing brother possibly being found, and now our level-headed sister, who knows not to get involved with a client is on the front of a gossip rag.”

“All true,” Jillian said, sounding dazed. “I just can’t figure it all out. I hope the next thing that happens is that the doctor comes and tells us Gage is going to make it.”

Cali picked up the cups. “I agree. I just hope no one else sees one of these magazines until Gage is okay.”

Chapter Six

BJ walked with Shar down the hall. Shar was holding up miraculously well, but he could see in her eyes and the waver of her lips sometimes that the effort was costing her. She was a strong woman. That much was evident.

Then why had she taken her first look at him and fainted?

And why did she look haunted every time their eyes met?

“Thank you for coming to wait with us. I’m sure Gage will want to talk to you when he wakes up.”

“Why is that?” he asked, “I still don’t know what he wanted from me when he stopped by my boat.”

She looked thoughtful, her brow knit together and he could see her mind working behind those green eyes off hers.

“I really think that is for Gage to tell you. And I have my suspicions as to why he stopped by your boat but I don’t know for sure. If I had his phone to check his messages I might be sure what his reasons were.”

“He had his phone in his hand before he was shot. It’s probably on my boat somewhere.”

Her expression brightened. “Then we’ll tell Levi and he can have one of his officers bring it over.”

BJ rubbed the back of his neck. It was knotted with tension. “I hope you don’t take this wrong, I wouldn’t want to upset you at all right now with what you have going on. But, this is all very strange. Stopping by my boat, me a complete stranger, putting himself in danger of being late for his wedding. Why would he do that?”

She stopped walking. “BJ, like I said, I have my suspicions but I can’t reveal that to you. It’s not my place. I can assure you that Gage will be able to explain it when he wakes up after surgery.” She looked away as tears formed in her eyes.

He waited for her to blink them away and compose herself again.

“What does BJ stand for?” she asked.

“Brandon James.”

“Oh, and do you have family around here?”

“No, from what my mother once said, we lived here when I was a boy, before my father died. So I finally decided to come take a look at it. I liked it and so I’ve been doing some charters and thinking about staying on for a little while.”

Was he imagining that he saw her eyes flare with excitement?

He started to ask her again what was going on but someone called her name.

“Shar,” her brother Levi called from behind her. “The doctor just came out.”

BJ stored the questions for later. Right now he just hoped the doctor had good news.

Shar's heart lodged in her throat as she lifted her skirts and hurried down the hall toward the doctor. She came to a stop beside her father and the rest of the family parted to let her stand in front of the pretty female physician.

All the emotion she was trying to suppress had been building to an overwhelming storm inside of her with each passing moment that she hadn’t heard Gage’s progress.

“How is he?” She nearly gasped, her words cracking.

“He’s out of danger. The damage wasn’t as extensive as it could have been which is what saved his life.”

Shar covered her face with her hands and bit back a cry and fought the urge to fall apart. She grabbed her dad’s arm. “He’s going to be okay.” She had once believed she didn’t want to share her life with anyone. That a man would try to hold her back and curb her need to devote much of her life to the rescue of sea turtles and protecting the eggs on the beaches. But then Gage came along and turned her world and her thinking upside down. And now becoming Mrs. Lancaster was her heart’s desire. To share her life with him as they both worked with the turtles.

But now all she wanted was him.

The doctor explained some details that she tried to keep up with but she just needed to know when she could see Gage.

“We’ll get him in ICU and the nurse will come get you. I’ll be checking on him periodically.”

“Thank you,” her dad told the doctor.

All Shar could do was nod. All she could think about was that she would see Gage soon.

Gage slowly began to come awake. He remembered much of what had happened. He remembered seeing his brother, the gun, and fighting for his life. He remembered Shar’s kiss.

He’d taken that memory with him as he’d faded in and out in the emergency room.

“Gage. Can you hear me? I love you. The doctor says you’re going to make it.”

His heart thundered and he struggled to open his eyes. He needed to see her. Needed to apologize for messing up the wedding. And then he felt her press her lips to his.

Warm, sweet lips covered his and made him dizzy with love and longing for her. And he opened his eyes…her kiss showed him the way home.

“I want to wake up to those lips every morning,” he murmured and wrapped the arm without the IV in it around her shoulders and held her tightly.

She cried then. Buried her face in his neck and sobbed. “Oh Gage. You came back to me.”

He rubbed her hair, breathed in the soft scent of her and gently kissed her temple. “Of course I did.”

She hiccupped and then took his face in her hands and kissed him. And then she looked at him so tenderly. “Did you stop to see your brother?”

His head cleared and he remembered. “Brandon. I’m sorry, Shar. I should have let it wait. But the information came through and I had to pass the marina on the way to the resort and I couldn’t pass it by. I had to at least get a glimpse of him. I never meant to be late. To stand you up.”

“I know. And I understand. But, he still doesn’t know. I don’t think he has realized that you and he share those amazing blue eyes with each other.

Gage managed a smile. “You noticed that?”

“Of course I did. And so has most of my family who knows what’s going on. DNA will probably have to be done but the eyes made me a believer.”

“They come from my dad.” He remembered how sure he’d been the moment he saw BJ’s eyes.

Shar caressed his face from temple to jaw. “He doesn’t know yet. He’s here and he has questions. But he has no idea about being your brother. Gage, he thinks his dad died when he was a small boy.”

Gage closed his eyes letting the information sink in. “It makes sense. From what we can figure she married quickly, changed her name and may have been using an alias when she married.”

Shar looked worried. “Don’t stress too much over it right now. He’s here. You’ll have time to talk to him but right now you just need to get better. When you’re out of the ICU then you can think about this.”

Gage rubbed her back. “You are amazing,” he murmured. “I love you. And right now all I want to think about is getting out of this bed and making you my wife.”

She smiled. “Soon. Rest now. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

His eyes drifted closed and he knew he had a smile on his face as the meds he was on pulled him back to sleep.

Chapter Seven

Two days after the shooting on his boat BJ went back to the hospital. Shar Sinclair had called him and told him Gage would like to speak to him. “What time?” had been his only question.

He’d been busy over the couple of days since the shooting as he cleaned up his boat and waited. He’d mulled over everything that had happened and no answers to the mystery of what Gage Lancaster wanted with him had come. He’d researched Gage on line. Having learned from pulling up the wedding announcement that Gage was actually Benjamin Gage Lancaster, the son of Milton Lancaster head of Lancaster Industries. He and his father had built Lancaster Industries into a hugely successful company.

He’d also learned that Gage was the heir of the company and since Milton’s death there was a lot of speculation about the company right now.

What did Gage Lancaster want with him?

And how could it have been so important that he had been willing to be late for his wedding?

Today he would find out.

He wore jeans and a blue t-shirt as he knocked on the door of the hospital room. Shar answered the door. She looked better without the worry and stress that she’d been riddled with two days ago. Her smile lit up her face as she greeted him.

“BJ, come in. Please.”

Gage was sitting up in bed and he smiled when BJ walked in and held out his hand.

“You look better today. I’m glad you’re okay.”

Gage gave him a firm handshake. “Thanks. I’m supposed to be released tomorrow. And I thought about waiting until then to speak to you. But I decided this couldn’t wait any longer. And you deserved to know what was going on.”

“I have to admit that I’m curious,” BJ said. “What would Benjamin Lancaster want with me?”

Gage looked at Shar and she went to stand beside him and from the drawer beside the hospital bed she pulled out a yellow folder. She handed it to Gage then placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled at BJ.

This was getting deeper by the minute BJ decided.

“Shar told me that your father died when you were young. I’d like you to look at these photos.”

BJ took the file and flipped it open. He was just ready to get this over with and get back to his life. He stalled though when he saw a picture of his mother and a man who was carrying a toddler on his shoulders as they walked down the beach. They were all smiling. Happy.