his brother Sam had vouched unconditionally for her. “Give her a chance, Wade,” he’d said. And Wade had because of Sam’s request. But the truth was that if she’d walked into his office without the benefit of his brother’s recommendation, he would have hired her anyway. They had unfinished business. Period.
“I’d love to join you, Gina,” he said softly, meaning every word, “but we’ve got a full day ahead of us.”
“Oh!”
Gina bounced up from the bed, realizing where she was and with whom. Wade enjoyed every second of that bounce and struggled to keep his lust from becoming visible. Wouldn’t take much to throw all rational thought out the porthole and spread his body over hers.
“Sorry, Wade.” She untangled the hair that had fallen into her face. “I guess I fell asleep. The rocking of the boat…”
She bent to put her shoes on and treated him to a luscious view. From his position, the dress barely contained her full breasts when she leaned over.
“This is embarrassing,” she said. “I’ve never fallen asleep on the job.”
“I won’t hold it against you. Anytime you want to slip into one of my beds, feel free.”
Gina rose then and looked into his eyes. “Too bad we have a full day ahead of us,” she bantered back, repeating his words.
Wade hid his amusement.
“Are we on the island?” she asked.
Wade shook his head. “Not yet. There’s a little matter of a dinghy ride to the dock.”
The sleep-induced rosy color drained from Gina’s cheeks. “How far?”
“Not far,” he said. “We’ll be ashore in less than five minutes.”
Gina groaned and Wade almost felt sorry for her.
“That’s five minutes too long.”
“Gina, you’re gonna have to trust me. I’ll keep you safe.”
She angled her chin and probed him with those dark sensual eyes. “Trust goes both ways, Wade. Do you trust me?”
Wade held her gaze for a moment then refused her an answer and walked out the door.
Trusting Gina had never been an option.
Four
Gina held her breath through most of the dinghy ride to the mainland. Wade glanced at her from time to time, but his primary focus was on getting the small boat to shore and mooring at the dock. Once there, he secured the dinghy and stepped off the boat with her suitcase, then reached for her hand. “You okay?”
Gina nodded. “I will be as soon as my legs stop trembling.”
Wade glanced down and raised a brow. “They look fine to me,” he said, with a gleam in his eyes. “Come on, let’s get you settled into your room.”
Gina got control of her legs once she’d reached solid ground. The sun shined in the clear-blue sky and children’s laughter rang out from the nearby beach. Catalina island was a nest for summer travelers wishing to get away from the daily grind of the big city. The mainland, visible on a clear day, was just twenty-two miles away. As they walked along the sidewalk, Spanish influences surrounded them, marking some of the history of the island. She noted a lovely tiled fountain bubbling up with a cool spray in the middle of a circular paved drive. Wade stopped for a minute in front of the fountain.
“Santa Catalina was originally named after Saint Catherine, the patron saint of spinsters,” he said. “Lucky for my company, the island is now a resort for lovers.”
“So the developer wants the resort to be known as an elite honeymoon destination?” she asked.
Wade nodded. “Can’t think of a better place locally. Most of the hotels have no phones and televisions in the rooms. People get real creative to entertain themselves. This whole island spells romance.”
Gina nodded as they walked past a row of swaying palms, the gentle sea breeze blowing by, the scent of sand and surf filling her nostrils. She supposed for most people that potent scent meant fun and sun and time away from the hassles of everyday life, but a resort surrounded by water only reminded her of things she’d rather forget.
Within a minute they were at the quaint town of Avalon and Gina looked down a long avenue, which she deemed to be the main street of town. The shops and cafés faced the water and swimsuit-clad vacationers swarmed them as others biked their way down the street. The only other vehicles on the busy thoroughfare were canopied golf carts. Wade continued to lead the way but soon stopped again, this time at a hotel. Villa Portofino. “Here we are,” he said. She looked up to see a hotel with all the trademarks of Italy.
Gina nodded. “Nice.”
“None better, unless you take a trip to Tuscany.”
Gina eyed him carefully, wondering why he’d picked such an expensive place for her to stay. This was just business and she would remind him of that again, if she had to. “So your hotel will have competition.”
“Not at all. We plan to build a lavish honeymoon resort with pools, tennis courts and a golf course. The Portofino is a great little beachfront hotel. It won’t give us any competition at all. This is where our employees stay when in town working on the project. You won’t be disappointed.”
Disappointment was the furthest thing from her mind when she entered the Bella Vista suite. True to its name, the suite’s wraparound balcony had a grand view of the lush hillside as well as the Catalina harbor. A king-size bed in the center of the room faced a large built-in fireplace and a table for two adorned by a vase filled with tropical flowers. The bath was full-size and encased with fine Italian marble. The whole suite was larger than her tiny guesthouse in Hollywood.
Wade set her bag down and walked to the window to stare out at the harbor. He’d waved off the bellboy, insisting on bringing her up here himself. “It’s a far cry from El Paso.”
Gina sucked in her breath. What could she say to that? Wade had made something of himself, despite his father’s meddling. He was his own man and he’d made the West Coast Triple B a success. Gina couldn’t argue with that. “I liked El Paso, Wade. It was the best summer of my life.”
He whipped around to stare into her eyes. “I thought so, too…once.” His eyes hardened on that last word.
Gina remembered her final week in El Paso. Sarah had been gone during that time, traveling from Dallas to Austin with her mother to interview for teaching positions. Mr. Buckley had been busy at work and Gina had been left pretty much on her own.
After their work was done on their uncle’s ranch, Gina would meet Wade and Sam for ice cream or a movie or just to talk. But before long, it was only Wade coming around. They’d gotten close that last week, closer than she might have imagined, spending all of their time together. And they’d fallen in love over hot-fudge sundaes, hot summer walks and hot sizzling kisses.
No one had really known that their friendship had escalated. It hadn’t been a secret, but they hadn’t made any announcements either. Certainly Sarah hadn’t known. Gina hadn’t the time to confide in her and when she’d returned from those interviews, Sarah had been edgy, anxious and unhappy, until she finally revealed her pregnancy to Gina and her parents.
Gina bit back her need to tell Wade the entire truth about Sarah. But destroying his friendship with Sarah wouldn’t make up for what Gina had done. She hadn’t trusted Wade and she had taken his father’s money and left El Paso. Her reasons wouldn’t matter to him, because Wade was a man who expected total loyalty. She had loved him back then, very much. But he wasn’t the same man she’d fallen in love with. And she wasn’t the same woman. The years had taught her hard lessons.
“What now?” she asked.
Wade became all business again. “Now? We have a late lunch meeting with James