THE TYCOON TAKES A WIFE
CATHERINE MANN

HIS ROYAL PRIZE
KATHERINE GARBERA

www.millsandboon.co.uk

THE TYCOON TAKES A WIFE

“I thought you wanted a divorce.”

“I do.” He secured the lily behind her ear, his knuckles caressing her neck for a second too long to be accidental.”But first, I want the honeymoon we never had.”

She gasped in surprise, followed by anger … then suspicion.”You’re just trying to shock me.”

“How do you know I’m not serious?” His blue eyes burned with unmistakable, unsettling—irresistible?—desire.

She’d barely survived their last encounter with her heart intact. No way in hell was she dipping her toes into those fiery waters again.”You can’t really believe I’ll just crawl into bed with you.”

“Why not? It isn’t like we haven’t already slept together.”

Not that they’d slept much.”That night was a mistake.” One with heartbreaking consequences.

About the Author

RITA® Award winner CATHERINE MANN resides on a sunny Florida beach with her military flyboy husband and their four children. Although after nine moves in twenty years, she hasn’t given away her winter gear! With over a million books in print in fifteen countries, she has also celebrated five RITA® Award finals, three Maggie Award of Excellence finals and a Booksellers’ Best win. A former theater school director and university teacher, she graduated with a master’s degree in theater from UNC-Greensboro and a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the College of Charleston. Catherine enjoys hearing from readers and chatting on her message board—thanks to the wonders of the wireless internet that allows her to cyber-network with her laptop by the water! To learn more about her work, visit her website, www.CatherineMann.com, or reach her by snail mail at PO BOX 6065, Navarre, FL 32566, USA.

Dear Reader

Wow, I can hardly believe it’s already time to introduce you to the last Landis brother! What a delightful journey it has been for me sharing the stories of Matthew, Sebastian and Kyle Landis. Now in The Tycoon Takes a Wife, we learn what really happened to Jonah when he traveled to Europe. If you’re new to THE LANDIS BROTHERS, no worries! I’ve penned the tale so you can dive right into this delicious family packed with powerful men.

I do so enjoy connected stories, especially family sagas, so it came as no surprise to me when my interest was piqued by the royal family of Jonah’s wife, Eloisa. Stay tuned for more on those intriguing Medina monarchs later this year.

Thank you again for all your e-mails and letters about THE LANDIS BROTHERS as well as my other books! I love hearing from readers, so please feel free to contact me through my new website: www.catherinemann.com or write to me at PO BOX 6065, Navarre, FL 32566, USA.

Happy reading!

Catherine Mann

To my intrepid traveler and oldest daughter, Haley.

Congrats on taking the world by storm!

You’ll always be our princess.

Prologue

Madrid, Spain: One Year Ago

He wanted to drape her in jewels.

Jonah Landis skimmed his fingers along the bare arm of the woman sleeping next to him and imagined which of the family heirlooms would look best with her dark hair. Rubies? Emeralds? Or perhaps even a string of fat freshwater pearls. His knuckles grazed from her shoulder to her collarbone, his five-o’clock shadow having left a light rasp along her creamy flesh.

He usually didn’t dip into the family treasure trove. He preferred to live off the money he’d made with his own investments. But for Eloisa, he would make an exception.

Early morning light streaked through the wrought-iron window grilles in the seventeenth-century manor home he’d rented for the summer. A gentle breeze rustled the linen draping over the bed. At first he hadn’t even realized she was American, she’d looked so at home walking among the Spanish castle ruins. And exotic. And hot as hell. While she’d picked her way through the scaffolding making notes, he’d lost track of his conversation with fellow investors.

Most labeled him the impulsive one in his family, not that he cared much what others thought of him. Sure he took risks on a regular basis in his work realm and private life, but he always had a plan. And it had always paid off.

So far.

Last night, for the first time, he hadn’t planned a damn thing. He’d simply jumped right in with both feet with this coolly intriguing woman. He wasn’t sure how the decision would pan out in the long run, but he knew they were going to have one helluva summer.

The rest? They could take a day at a time.

“Uhmmm,” she sighed, rolling to her side and draping her arm over his hip.”Did I oversleep?”

Her eyes were still closed but their dark, rich color had cloaked the hauteur of an Ottoman empress. He’d lost plenty of time wondering about the woman behind them during historical reconstruction meetings.

He checked the digital clock resting on a carved walnut end table.”It’s only six. We still have a couple of hours before breakfast.”

Eloisa burrowed her head deeper in the feather pillow, her black hair fanning a tempting contrast across white cotton.”Am still so sleepy.”

She should be. They’d stayed up most of the night having sex … catnapping … showering … and ending up tangled together all over again. It didn’t help that they’d had a few drinks.

He’d limited himself to a couple, but those two seemed to hit her harder than him. He stroked back her long black hair, so smooth it glided through his fingers now as it had when she’d been over him, under him.

He throbbed from wanting her all over again when he should be down for the count for a while yet. She needed the rest more.

Jonah eased from the bed, fresh morning air from outside whispering over his skin.”I’ll call down and have someone from the kitchen send breakfast up here. If you have any preferences, speak now.”

She flipped to her back, eyes still closed as she stretched, her perfectly rounded breasts on amazing display as the comforter slipped to her waist.”Hmmm, anything is fine with me.” Her words were slurred with sleep.”I’m having the most wonderful dream—”

Eloisa paused, scrunching her forehead. She peeked through barely open inky lashes.”Jonah?”

“Yeah, that would be me.” He stepped into his silk boxers and reached for the phone.

Her gaze darted around his room quickly, orienting. She grasped the comforter and yanked it up, bringing her hand closer to her face. Suddenly she went stock-still and frowned.

“What’s the matter?”

She couldn’t possibly be shy after last night. It wasn’t as if they’d kept the lights off.

“Uh, Jonah?” Her voice squeaked up a notch.

He sank to the edge of the bed and waited, already thinking through at least five different ways he could distract her throughout the summer.

She extended her arm, splaying her fingers wide. Sunshine through the window glinted off the simple gold wedding band he’d placed there last night. Eloisa blinked fast, her eyes going wide with horror.

“Oh my God,” she gasped, thumbing the shiny new ring around and around.”What have we done?”

One

Pensacola, Florida: Present Day

“Congratulations to the bride to be, my little princess!”

The toast from the father of the bride drifted from the deck of the paddleboat, carried by the muggy Pensacola breeze to Eloisa Taylor back on the dock. Eloisa sat dipping her aching feet in the Florida Gulf waters, tired to the roots of her ponytail from helping plan her half sister’s engagement party. Her stepfather had gone all out for Audrey, far more than a tax collector in a cubicle could afford, but nothing was too good for his”little princess.” Still he’d had to settle for a Monday night booking to make the gala affordable.

The echo of clinking glasses mingled with the lap of waves against her feet. Dinner was done, the crowd so well fed no one would miss her. She was good at that, helping people and keeping a low profile.

Putting together this engagement party had been bittersweet, forcing her to think about her own vows. Uncelebrated. Unknown even to her family. Thank God for the quickie divorce that had extracted her from her impulsive midnight marriage almost as fast as she’d entered it.

Usually she managed to smother those recollections, but how could she not think about it now with Audrey’s happily-ever-after tossed in her face 24/7? Not to mention the cryptic voice message she’d received this morning with his voice. Jonah. Even a year after hearing it last, she still recognized the sexy bass.

Eloisa. It’s me. We have to talk.

She swept her wind-whipped ponytail from her face, shivering from the phantom feel of his hand stroking her face. A year ago, she’d indulged herself in checking out the heritage of her real father. A summer indulgence had led her to one totally wrong man with a high-profile life that threatened her carefully protected world. Threatened secrets she held close and deep.

Eloisa blinked back the memories of Jonah, too many given how little time she’d spent with him. They were history now since she’d divorced him. Not that their twenty-four-hour marriage counted in her mind. She should ignore the call and block his number. Or at least wait until after her sister’s”I do” was in the past before contacting him again.

A fish plopped in the distance, sailboat lines clinking against masts. The rhythmic, familiar sounds soothed her. She soaked up the other sounds of home, greedily gathering every bit of comfort she could find. Emeraldgreen waters reflected a pregnant moon. Wind rustled through palm trees.

An engine growled softly in the distance.

So much for a late-night solitary moment. She shook dry one foot, then the other and glanced over her shoulder. A limo rolled closer. Late arriving guests? Really late since after-dinner dancing was well underway.

Reaching for her sandals she watched the long black stretch of machine inching beside the waterway. The shape of the sleek vehicle wasn’t your average wedding limo. The distinctive grille glinted in the moonlight, advertising the approach of an exclusive Rolls-Royce. Tinted windows sealed off the passengers from view, but left her feeling like a butterfly pinned to the board of a science project. The private area should be safe. Yet, was anywhere totally secure, especially in the dark?

Goose bumps stung along her skin and her mouth went dry. She yanked on her shoes, chiding herself for being silly. But still, Audrey’s fiancé was reputed to have some shady connections. Her stepdad could only see power and dollar signs, apparently unconcerned with the crooked path that money took.

Not that any of those questionable contacts had cause to hurt her. All the same, she should return to the floating party barge.

Eloisa jumped to her feet.

The limo sped up.

She swallowed hard, wishing she’d taken a self-defense class along the way to earning her library studies degree.

Okay, no need to go all paranoid. She forced her hands to stay loose and started walking. Only about thirty yards ahead, and she would alert the crew member at the gangway. Then she could lose herself in the crowd of dancers under the strings of white lights. The engine grew louder behind her. Eloisa strode longer, faster.

Each breath felt heavier, the salt in the air stinging her over-sensitive pores. Her low heel caught between planks on the boardwalk. She lurched forward just as the car stopped in front of her.

A back door swung wide—not even waiting for the chauffeur—and blocked her getaway. She couldn’t continue ahead, only sideways into the car or into the water. Or she could back up, which would take her farther from the boat. Frantically she searched for help. Would any of those seventy-five potential witnesses in party finery whooping it up to an old Kool and the Gang song notice or hear her?

One black-clad leg swung out of the limo, the rest of the man still hidden. However that Ferragamo python loafer was enough to send her heart skittering. She’d only met one man who favored those, and she hated how she still remembered the look and brand.

She backed away, one plank at a time, assessing the man as he angled out. She hoped, prayed for some sign to let her off the hook. Gray hair? A beer belly?

Anything non-Jonah.

But no such luck. The hard-muscled guy wore all black, a dark suit jacket, the top button of his shirt undone and tie loose. He wore his brown hair almost shoulder length and swept back from his face to reveal a strong, square jaw.

A jaw far more familiar than any shoes. Nerves danced in her stomach far faster than even the partiers gyrating to the live band on the boat.

He pivoted on his heel, facing her full on, the moonlight glinting off the chestnut hints in his wavy hair. Sunglasses shielded his eyes from her. Shades at night? For a low profile or ego?

Regardless, she knew. Her ex-husband wasn’t content with just calling and leaving a message. No, not Jonah. The powerful international scion she’d divorced a year ago had returned.

Jonah Landis whipped off his sunglasses, glanced at his watch and grinned.”Sorry I’m late. Have we missed the party?”

To hell with any party. Jonah Landis wanted to find out why Eloisa hadn’t told him the entire truth when she’d demanded a divorce a year ago. He also wanted to know why his passionate lover had so dispassionately cut him off.

The stunned look on Eloisa’s face as she stopped cold on the dock would have been priceless if he wasn’t so damn mad over the secret she’d kept from him, a secret that he’d only just found out was gumming up the works on their divorce decree.

Of course when he’d met her in Madrid a year ago, he’d been distracted by the instantaneous, mind-blowing chemistry between them. And looking at her now, seeing her quiet elegance, he figured he could cut himself some slack on missing details that could have clued him in—like how much she’d fit into her Spanish surroundings.

The woman was a walking distraction.

Wind molded her tan silk dress around her body. The dimly lit night played tricks with his vision until she looked nearly naked, clothed only in shifting shadows.

Had she known that when she chose the dress? Likely not. Eloisa seemed oblivious to her allure, which only served to enhance her appeal.

Her sleek dark hair was slicked back in a severe ponytail that gave her already exotic brown eyes a tug. Without so much as lip gloss, she relegated most models to the shadows.

Once he had her name on the dotted line of divorce papers—official ones this time—he would have nothing to do with her ever again. That had been the plan anyway. He didn’t need round two of her hot-cold treatment. So he’d misread the signs, hadn’t realized she was drunk during the”I do” part. That didn’t mean she had to slap his face and fall off the planet. He was over Eloisa.

Or so he’d thought. Then he’d seen her and felt that impact all over again, that kick-in-the-gut effect he’d thought must have been exaggerated by his memory.

He tamped back the attraction and focused on seeing this through. He needed her signature and for some reason he refused to leave it up to lawyers. Maybe it had something to do with closure.

Eloisa inched her heel from between the planks and set both feet as firmly as her delicate jaw.”What are you doing here?”

“I came to accompany you to your sister’s engagement party.” He hooked an elbow on the open limo door, the chauffeur waiting up front as he’d been instructed earlier.”Can’t have my wife going stag.”

“Shhh!” Lurching toward him, she patted the air in front of his face, stopping just shy of touching his mouth.”I am not your wife.”

He clasped her hand, thumb rubbing over her bare ring finger.”Damn, I must have hallucinated that whole wedding ceremony in Madrid.”

Eloisa yanked her hand away and rubbed her palm against her leg.”You’re arguing semantics.”

“If you would prefer to skip the party, we could grab a bite to eat and talk about those semantics.” He watched the glide of her hand up and down her thigh, remembering well the creamy, soft texture under his mouth as he’d tasted his way up.

She stared at him silently until he met her eyes again.”You’re kidding, right?”

“Climb into the car and see.”

She glanced back at the boat, then at him again, her long ponytail fanning to rest along her shoulder.”I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.”

“Afraid I’ll kidnap you?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” She laughed nervously as if she’d considered just that.

“Then what’s holding you back? Unless you want to continue this conversation right here.” He nodded toward the boat full of partyers.”I thought you wanted me to be quiet.”

She looked back over her shoulder again, and while it appeared no one noticed them, who knew how long that would hold? Not that he gave a damn what anyone thought, unlike his enigmatic wife. He’d learned a long time ago he had two choices in this world. Let others rule his life or take charge.

The second option won hands down.

He cocked an eyebrow and waited.

“Fine,” she bit out between gritted teeth.

She eyed him angrily as she angled past and slid into the car without even brushing against him. Eloisa settled into the leather seat.

Jonah tucked himself inside next her, closed the door and tapped the glass window between them and the chauffeur, signaling him to drive. Just drive. He would issue a destination later.

“Where are we going?” she asked as the limo eased into motion, the tinted windows closing them in their own private capsule.

“Where do you want to go? I have a penthouse suite farther down on Pensacola Beach.”

“Of course you do.” Her gaze flicked around the small space, lingering briefly on his computer workstation to her left before moving on to the minibar and the plasma screen TV.

“I see you haven’t changed.” He’d forgotten how prickly she could be about money. Still, it had been refreshing. He’d had plenty of women chase him because of the Landis portfolio and political influence.

He’d never had a female dump him because of it. Of course back then he hadn’t known she had access to money and influence beyond even his family’s reach. Mighty damn impressive.

And confusing since she hadn’t bothered to share that even after they married.

He put a damper on the surge of anger, a dangerous emotion given the edge of desire searing his insides. To prove to himself he could stay in control, he slid two fingers down the length of a sleekly straight lock of her black hair.

Eloisa jerked her head away.”Stop that.” She adjusted the air-conditioning vent nervously until the blast of air ruffled her ponytail.”Enough playing, although you certainly seem to be an expert at recreation. I just want to know why you’re here, now.”

With all he knew about her, she still understood so little about him.”What’s wrong with wanting to see my wife?”

“Ex-wife. We got drunk and ended up married.” She shrugged casually, too much so.”It happens to lots of folks, from pop stars to everyday Joes and Josephines. Just check out the marriage logs in Las Vegas. We made a mistake, but we took steps to fix it the morning after.”

“Do you consider all of it a mistake? Even the part between ‘I do’ and waking up with a hangover?” He couldn’t resist reminding her.

A whisper of attraction smoked through her dark eyes.”I don’t remember.”

“You’re blushing,” he noted with more than a little satisfaction, grateful for the soft glow of a muted overhead light. So he was smug. Sue him.”You remember the good parts all right.”

“Sex is irrelevant.” She sniffed primly.

“Sex? I was talking about the food.” He turned the tables, enjoying the cat-and-mouse game between them.”The mariscada en salsa verde was amazing.” And just that fast, he could all but taste the shellfish casserole in green sauce, the supper she’d shared with him before they had after-dinner drinks. Got hitched. Got naked.

He could see the same memory reflected in her eyes just before her mouth pursed tight.

“You’re a jackass, Jonah.”

“But I’m all yours.” For now at least.

“Not anymore.Remember the morning-after ‘fix'? You’re my ex-jackass.”

If only it were that simple to put this woman in his past. God knows, he’d tried hard enough over the past year to forget about Eloisa Taylor Landis.

Or rather Eloisa Medina Landis?

He’d stumbled upon the glitch in a church registry, a”minor” technicality she’d forgotten to mention, but one that had snarled up their paperwork in Spain. The sense of shock and yeah, even some bitter betrayal rocked through him again.

No question, he needed to put this woman in his past, but this time he would be the one to walk away.

“Now there you’re wrong, Eloisa. That fix got broken along the way.” He picked up a lock of her hair again, keeping his hand off her shoulder.

Lightly he tugged, making his presence felt. A spark of awareness flickered through her eyes, flaming an answering heat inside him. He looked at the simple gold chain around her neck and remembered the jewels he’d once pictured there while she’d slept. Then she woke up and made it clear there would be no summer together. She couldn’t get out of his life fast enough.

Her breath hitched. He reminded himself of his reason for coming here, to end things and leave.

Now he wondered if it might be all the more satisfying to have one last time with Eloisa, to ensure she remembered all they could have had if only she’d been as upfront with him as he’d been with her.

He glided his knuckles up her ponytail to her cheek, gently urging her to face him more fully.”The paperwork never made it through. Something to do with you lying about your name.”

Her eyes darted away.”I never lied about my name—” She sat up straighter, her gaze slamming back into his.”What do you mean the paperwork didn’t go through?”

She seemed to be genuinely surprised, but he’d learned not to trust her. Still he would play this game out in order to achieve his ultimate goal—a final night in her bed before leaving her forever.

“The divorce wasn’t finalized. You, my dear, are still Mrs. Jonah Landis.”

Two

He had to be joking.

Eloisa dug her fingers into the leather seats, seriously considering making use of that bottle of bourbon in the limo’s minibar. Except indulging in a few too many umbrella drinks had landed her in this mess in the first place.

She’d taken pains to cover her tracks. Her mother had warned her how important it was to be careful. Keep a low profile. Stay above reproach. And never, ever invite scrutiny.

Eloisa looked out the window to see where they were headed. They passed nail salons and T-shirt shops along the beachfront, nightlife in full swing on open-decked restaurant bars. The chauffeur truly seemed like he was simply driving around, not headed anywhere specific—such as Jonah’s hotel.

She simply couldn’t pay the price for being impulsive again.”We signed the divorce paperwork.”

His blue eyes narrowed.”Apparently there’s something you neglected to tell me, a secret you’ve kept mighty close to the vest.”

Eloisa bit her lip to hold back impulsive words while she gathered her thoughts and reminded herself to be grateful he hadn’t stumbled upon her more recent secret. Her empty stomach gripped with nerves. She tried to draw in calming breaths, but had to face a truth learned long ago. Only when working at the library could she relax.

Best she could tell, there weren’t any books conveniently tucked away in this superbly stocked luxury ride. Although the backseat area was packed with enough technology to provide a command central for a small army. Apparently Jonah preferred to have the world at his fingertips. Odd, but she didn’t have time for distractions right now.

“What secret?” she asked out of a long-honed habit of denial. To date, no one had pressed the point so the strategy hadn’t let her down yet.”I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

His jaw went tight with irritation.”That’s the way you want to play this? Fine.” He leaned in closer until she couldn’t miss the musky scent of him mixed with his still-familiar aftershave.”You forgot to mention your father.”

Her chest went tighter than her hands twisting in the skirt of her dress.”My dad’s a tax collector in Pensacola, Florida. Speaking of which, why aren’t you home in Hilton Head, South Carolina?”

He gripped her wrists to stop her nervous fidgeting.”Not your stepdad, your biological father.”

Apparently, Jonah wasn’t easily diverted tonight.

“I told you before about my biological father.” A shiver passed over her at even the mention of the man who’d wrecked her mother’s life, the man she lied about on a regular basis.”My mother was a single parent when I was born. My real father was a bum who wanted no part in my life.” True enough.

Her dad—no more than a sperm donor as far as she was concerned—had broken her mother’s heart then left her to raise their child alone. Her stepfather might not have been Prince Charming—wasn’t that damn ironic?—but at least he’d been there for her and her mother.

“A bum? A royal bum.” Jonah stretched a leg out in front of him, polished snakeskin loafer gleaming in the overhead lamp.”Interesting dichotomy.”

She squeezed her eyes shut and wished it was that easy to shut out the repercussions of what he’d somehow discovered. Her mother had been emphatic about personal safety. Her biological father still had enemies back in San Rinaldo. She’d been foolish to tempt fate by going to Spain in hopes of unobtrusively learning about half her heritage on the small island country nearby. Damn it all, fear was a good thing when it kept a person safe.

She steadied her breath, if not her galloping heart rate.”Would you please not say that?”

“Say what?”

“The whole royal thing.” While her stepfather frequently called Audrey his”little princess,” he—and the rest of the world—didn’t know that Eloisa was actually the one with royal blood singing through her veins, thanks to her biological father.

Nobody knew, except Eloisa, her deceased mother and a lawyer who conducted any communication with the deposed king. Eloisa’s so-called real father. A man still hunted to this day by the rebel faction that had taken over his small island kingdom of San Rinaldo off the coast of Spain.

How had Jonah found out?

He tipped her chin with one knuckle as his driver slowed for jaywalking teens.”You may have been able to fool the world for a lot of years, but I’ve figured out your secret. You’re the illegitimate daughter of deposed King Enrique Medina.”

She stiffened defensively, then forced herself to relax nonchalantly.”That’s ridiculous.” Albeit true. If he could figure it out, how much longer until her secret was revealed to others? She needed to know, hopefully find some way to plug that leak and persuade him he was wrong.

Then she would decide what to do if his claim was actually true, a notion that could have her hyperventilating if she thought about it too long.”What makes you think something so outlandish?”

“I discovered the truth when I went back to Europe recently. My brother and his wife decided to renew their wedding vows and while I was in the area, I stopped by the chapel where we got married.”

A bolt of surprise shot through her and she couldn’t help but think back to that night. She’d been emotionally flattened by her mother’s death and had only just returned to finish her studies in Europe. She’d shared some drinks with the guy she’d secretly had a crush on and the next thing she’d known, they were hunting for a preacher or a justice of the peace with the lights still on.

Visiting the place where they’d exchanged vows sounded sentimental. Like that day meant more to him than a drunken mistake.

She couldn’t stop herself from asking,”You went back there?”

“I was in the neighborhood,” he repeated, his jaw going tight, the first sign that the whole debacle may have upset him as much as it had her.

He’d let her go so easily, agreeing they’d made an impulsive mistake rather than asking her to crawl back in bed with him and discuss it later. A huge part of her had wanted him to sweep away rational concerns. But no. He’d let her leave, just as her father never claimed her mother.

Or her.

She tore her eyes away from the tempting curve of his mouth, a mouth that had brought such intense pleasure when he’d explored every patch of her skin later that night after their”I do.” Except they’d exchanged vows in Spanish, which had seemed romantic at the time. Between her hiccups.”Everyone knows King Enrique doesn’t live in San Rinaldo anymore. Nobody knows where he and his sons fled after they left. There are only rumors.”

“Rumors that he’s in Argentina.” Jonah lounged back in the seat, seemingly lazy and relaxed, except for the coiled muscles she could see bunched under his black jacket.

She knew well he came by those muscles honestly. Her first memory of him was burned in her brain, the day she’d joined the restoration team on a graduate internship to assist with research. Jonah had been studying blueprints with another man on the construction site. She’d mistakenly thought Jonah worked on the crew, from his casual clothes and mud-stained boots. The guy was actually a couple of credits away from his PhD. He wasn’t just an architect, he was a bit of an artist in his own right.

That had enticed her.

Only later, too late for her own good, had she discovered who he was. A Landis, a member of a financial and political dynasty.

Eloisa looked away from his too-perceptive eyes and swept her hem back over her knees.”I wouldn’t know anything about that.”

Lying came so easily after this long.

“It also appears that neither you nor your mother has been to Argentina, but that’s not my point.” His eyes drilled into her until she looked back at him.”I don’t give a damn where your royal papa lives. I’m only concerned with the fact that you lied to me, which gummed up the works for our divorce.”

“Okay, then.” She met his gaze defiantly.”If what you say is true, maybe it means the marriage is void, too, so we don’t need a divorce.”

He shook his head.”No such luck. I checked. Believe me. We are totally and completely husband and wife.”

Jonah slid his fingers down the length of her hair until his hand cupped her hip. His hand rested warm and familiar and tempting against her until she could swear she felt his calluses through her dress. She struggled not to squirm—or sway closer.

She clasped his wrist and set his hand back on his knee.”File abandonment charges. Or I will. I don’t care as long as this is taken care of quickly and quietly. No one here knows about my, uh, impetuosity.”

“Don’t you want to discuss who gets the china and who gets the monogrammed towels?”

Argh! She tapped on the window.”Driver? Driver?” She kept rapping until the window parted.”Take me back now, please.”

The chauffeur glanced at Jonah who nodded curtly.

His autocratic demeanor made her want to scream out her frustration but she wouldn’t cause a scene. Why did this man alone have the power to make her blood boil? She was a master of calm. Everyone said so, from the stodgiest of library board members to her sixth grade track coach who never had managed to coax her to full speed.

She waited until the window closed before turning to him again.”You can have every last bit of the nothing I own if you’ll please just stop this madness now. Arguing isn’t going to solve anything. I’ll have my lawyer look into the divorce issue.”

That was as close as she would come to admitting he’d stumbled on the truth. She certainly couldn’t outright confirm it without seeing what proof he had and hopefully have time to take it to her attorney. Too many lives were at stake. There were still people out there tied to the group that tried to assassinate Enrique Medina, had in fact succeeded in killing his wife, the mother of his three legitimate heirs.

Enrique had been a widower when he met her mother in Florida, and still they hadn’t gotten married. Her mom vowed she hadn’t wanted any part of the royal lifestyle, but her jaw had always quivered when she said it. Right now Eloisa sympathized with her mother more than she could have ever imagined. Relationships were damn complicated—and painful.

Thank goodness the limo approached the paddleboat again because she didn’t know how much more of this she could take tonight. The car stopped smoothly alongside the dock.

“Jonah, if that’s all you have to say, I need to return to the party. My attorney will be in touch with you first thing next week.”

Eloisa reached for the door.

His hand fell to rest on top of hers, his body pressing intimately against her as he stretched past.

“Hold on a minute. Do you really think I’m letting you out of my sight again that easily? Last time I did that, you ditched before lunch. I’m not wasting another year looking for you if you decide to bolt.”

“I didn’t run. I came home to Pensacola.” She tried to inch free but he clasped her hands in his.”This is where you can find me.”

Where he could have found her anytime over the past twelve months if he’d cared at all. In the first few weeks she’d waited, hoped, then the panic set in as she’d wrestled with contacting him.

Now, they had no reason to talk.

“I’m here now.” His thumb stroked the inside of her wrist.”And we’re going to fix this mess face-to-face rather than trusting the system again.”

“No!” Already her skin tingled with awareness so much more intense than when he’d cupped her hip—and she’d been mighty aware.

Damn her traitorous body.

”Yes,” he said, reaching past and throwing open the door.

He was letting her go after all? But hadn’t he just said they were going to confront things face-to-face?

However, who was she to waste time questioning the reason he’d changed his mind? She rushed out of the limousine and turned at the last second to say goodbye to Jonah. Why was her gut clenching at the notion of never seeing him again?

She pivoted on her heel only to slam into his chest. Apparently he’d stepped out of the vehicle as well. Distant voices from her sister’s party drifted on the wind, something she could barely register since his sun-bronzed face lowered toward hers.

Before she could breathe, much less protest, his mouth covered hers. His eyes stayed open, which she realized must mean hers were open, too. Just like a year ago, she stared at his eyes, the kind of blue poets wrote about. His wild and fresh nature scent was the same sort evoked by a literary walk through Thoreau’s Walden.

And just that fast, her lashes fluttered closed. She savored the taste of him on her lips, her tongue again. Her hands slid up to splay on his chest, hard muscles rippling under her fingers.

Then unease niggled at the back of her brain, a sense of unrest. Something was off about this kiss. She remembered what it was like to be kissed by Jonah, and as nerve tingling as it felt to be pressed against him, to inhale the scent of him, this wasn’t right.

She tried to gather her thoughts enough to think rationally rather than just languish in sensation. His broad hand moved along her waist, lightly, rhythmically.

Totally in control.

Where everyone could see.

He was putting on a display for the partyers on the boat, damn him. Indignation, anger and a hint of hurt smoked through her veins, chasing away desire. She started to pull back then reconsidered. The damage was already done. Everyone at the party had seen them kiss. They would assume the worst. She might as well take advantage of the opportunity to surprise Jonah for a change. And yes, even to extract a little revenge for how he’d staged this whole encounter tonight to knock her off balance rather than simply notifying her through their attorneys.

Eloisa slid her arms around his waist, not that anyone could see behind him. But what she was about to do wasn’t for public viewing anyway.

It was all for Jonah.

Eloisa grabbed his butt.

Jonah blinked in surprise, her hand damn near searing through his pants. He started to pull away … then sensation steamrolled over him. This kiss wasn’t going the way he’d planned. He certainly hadn’t expected her to take control of the game he’d started.

Now that she had? Time to turn the tables again.

Gasps of surprise drifting on the wind from the boat, he cupped her neck and stroked his tongue along the seam of her lips, just once, but enough, if the hitch in her breathing was anything to judge by. Her body turned fluid as she pressed closer to him. Her hands skimmed up along his spine to his shoulders. Then she speared her fingers through his hair, sending his pulse spiking and placing his self-control on shaky ground.

Without question, he wanted to take this encounter further, but not here. Not in public. And he knew if they moved to the limo, reason would pull her away again. So with more than a little regret, he ended the kiss. He’d made his point anyway.

Jonah eased away from her, still keeping his hands looped behind her back in case she decided to bolt—or slap him.”We’ll finish this later, princess, when we don’t have an audience.”

When he could take this to the natural finish his body demanded. And when she was totally consenting rather than merely acting on impulse. The kiss may have started as a staged way to make her family aware of their connection, but halfway in, he’d realized his instincts were dead-on.

He couldn’t walk away without one last time in her bed.

Her lips pursed tight as if holding back a retort, but her hands shook as she slid them from behind him to rest on his chest. He watched over her shoulder as a small group left the boat and started toward them on the boardwalk. A trio led the pack. Thanks to photos from an investigator, Jonah IDed the three right away. Her stepfather, Harry Taylor. Her half sister, Audrey Taylor. And Audrey’s fiancé, Joey.

Eloisa leaned closer and whispered through tight teeth.”You are so going to pay for doing this.”

“Shhh.” He dropped a quick kiss on her forehead, liking the taste of his revenge so far. His appetite for it—for her—only increased the longer he spent by her side.”We don’t want them to hear us fighting, do we, dear?”

Jonah slipped his arm around her shoulders and tucked her by his side, her soft curves pressed enticingly against him.

She stiffened.”You can’t be planning to tell them … uh …”

“About your father?”

Her brown eyes flashed with warring anger and fear.”About your theories. About you and me.”

“My lips are sealed, princess.”

“Stop calling me that,” she said through gritted teeth as the footsteps thunked louder and closer.

“You and I both know it’s true. There’s no more denying it. The only question is, how far will you go to keep me quiet?”

She gasped.”You can’t mean—”

“Too late to talk, Eloisa dear.” He squeezed her lightly as the group closed in, her family leading.”Trust me or not.”

The older man in the lead fanned a hand over his wind-blown blond hair, whisper thin along the top. His daughter—the bride to be—was an even paler version of her father. Even her hair seemed bleached white by the sun, yet she didn’t sport even a hint of a tan. Her fiancé hovered behind, fists shoved in his pockets. He shuffled from foot to foot as if impatient to be anywhere but here. A small crowd gathered behind them while others watched from the deck railing.

Jonah extended his hand to Eloisa’s stepfather.”Sorry I’m late, sir. I’m Eloisa’s date for tonight’s shindig. I’m Jonah Landis.”

She wouldn’t be able to dismiss him as easily this time.

Harry Taylor’s eyes widened.”Landis? As in the Landises from Hilton Head, South Carolina?”

”Yes, sir, that would be my family.”

“Uh, Harry Taylor, here. Eloisa’s father.”

The guy all but had dollar signs flashing in his pupils like some cartoon character.

Jonah stifled the irritation for Eloisa’s sake. He appreciated the advantages his family’s money had brought him, but he preferred to make his own way in the world.

Meanwhile, though, Jonah knew how to deal with money suck-ups like this. He’d been on guard against them since the sandbox. Even kids figured out fast whose dad had the biggest portfolio.

A photographer stepped from the back of the pack, lifting the lens to his eyes. Eloisa tucked behind his shoulder as flashes spiked through the night.

Smiling widely, Harry shuffled aside to clear the way for the photographer to get a better angle. The old guy all but offered to hold the photographer’s camera bag.

Audrey elbowed her yawning fiancé, hooking arms with him and stepping closer.”When did you and Eloisa meet, Mr. Landis? I’m sure our guest—the editor of the local events section of our illustrious paper—will want plenty of deets for her column.”

“Call me Jonah.” He could feel Eloisa’s heart beat faster against him.

He could claim her easily here, but then their separation would be out in the open as well. He intended to be much closer to her.”I met Eloisa during her study-abroad program last year. I found her impossible to forget and here I am.”

Every word of that was true.

Eloisa’s sigh of relief shuddered against him.

Audrey loosened her death grip on her fiancé's arm long enough to sidle beside her sister for the next round of pictures.”Aren’t you full of surprises?”

“Not by choice.” Eloisa smiled tightly.”Besides, this is your night. I wouldn’t want to do anything to detract from that.”

Her stepsister winked, eying Jonah up and down.”Hey, if he were my date, I’d be lapping up all the media attention.”

What the hell kind of family was this?

Jonah pulled Eloisa closer to his side, sending a clear”back-off” signal to Audrey. She simply smiled in return, tossing her hair over her shoulders playfully. Her fiancé seemed oblivious, poor bastard.

Eloisa buried her face against Jonah’s shoulder and he started to reassure her—until he realized she wasn’t upset or even seeking him out. She was just hiding from the clicking camera.

The photographer snap, snap, snapped away, the flashes damn near blinding in the dark night.

Audrey reached for her sister.”Come on. Just smile for the camera. You’ve been hiding out here all night and I could use some fun and interesting pictures to add to my wedding album.”

Eloisa thumbed off the band from her ponytail. Her hair slid free in a silken sheet that flowed over her shoulders and down her back. She’d never seemed vain to him, but then most women he knew primped for the camera. Even his three sisters-in-law were known to slick on lipstick before a news conference.

Except as he watched her more closely he realized she used the hair as a curtain. The guy might be getting his photos—to deny them would have caused a scene with Audrey—but there wasn’t going to be a clear image of Eloisa’s face.

Realization trickled through of a larger problem between them than even he had anticipated. He knew she wanted to keep her royal heritage a secret. That was obvious enough and he respected her right to live as she pleased. But until this moment he hadn’t understood just how far she would go to protect her anonymity. A damned inconvenient problem.

Because as a Landis, he could always count on being stuck in the spotlight. Just by being with her, he’d cast her into the media’s unrelenting glare.

He’d wanted revenge, but didn’t need to unveil her secret to repay her for her betrayal. He had other, far more enticing ways of excising her from his mind.

Three

Eloisa wished that photographer would tone down the flash on his camera. Much more of his nonstop shutter bugging and she would have a headache. As if this evening wasn’t already migraine material enough.

Thank God the party had finally all but ended, only a few stragglers hanging on and sidling into the photo ops. Jonah—the cause of her impending headache—stood off to the side with her stepfather. Determined to keep her cool, Eloisa stacked tiny crystal cake plates left haphazardly on the dessert table. Her sister watched from her perch, lounging against the end of the table.

Audrey balanced a plate with a wedge of the raspberry chocolate cake on one hand, swiping her finger through the frosting and licking it clean.”You should let the catering staff take care of that. It’s what they’re paid to do.”

”I don’t mind, really. Besides, the cleaning staff charges by the hour.” She also needed a way to burn off her nervous energy from Jonah’s staged kiss.

“That doesn’t mean you need to work yourself to the bone. Go home.”

She wasn’t ready to be alone with Jonah. Not yet. Not with her feelings still so close to the surface. But judging from the stubborn set of his jaw as he stood under a string of white lights, he wasn’t leaving her life anywhere anytime soon.

“I’m staying here with you.” Eloisa sidestepped a band member carrying two guitar cases.”No arguments.”

“At least have some cake. It’s so amazing I almost don’t care that I’ll have to get my wedding gown resized.” Audrey swiped up another gob of frosting, her blue eyes trekking over to Jonah, then sliding back.”You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you, sister dear?”

“So you said earlier.” Eloisa placed the forks in a glass so all the plates stacked evenly and handed over the lot to a passing catering employee.

How rare that someone accused her of being full of surprises. She’d always been the steady one, tasked to smooth things over when her more-sensitive baby sister burst into tears.

“But it’s true. What’s the scoop with this Landis boyfriend?” Audrey gestured with her plate toward Jonah who looked at ease in his suit jacket, even in Florida’s full-out May heat.

Eloisa had found his constant unconcern fascinating before. Now it was more than a little irritating, especially when she couldn’t stop thinking about the feel of plunging her fingers into his thick hair when they’d kissed.

She forced her hands to stay steady as she clasped them in front of her, leaning against the table beside Audrey, her half sister topping her by five inches. Her willowy sister looked more like her blond father.

But they both had their mother’s long fingers. What would it have been like to turn to her mother right now? And how much it must hurt Audrey not having their mother around to help plan the biggest day of her life.

Certainly their mother’s shocking death from an allergic reaction to medication had stunned them all. Eloisa had been numb throughout the entire funeral, staying in the fugue state all the way back to Spain, to her study program.

And into Jonah’s bed.

Waking up the morning after with that ring on her finger. She’d felt the first crack in the dam walling up her grief. She’d barely made it out of Jonah’s rented manor home before the tears flowed.

Which brought her back to the dilemma of Jonah.

What was the scoop? Why had he shown up now when he could have sent a lawyer? It wasn’t like he wanted to see her or he could have contacted her anytime in the past year.”His arrival tonight came as a total shocker to me.”

Audrey set aside her plate, plucked a pink stargazer lily from the beach-themed centerpiece and skimmed it under her nose.”You never mentioned meeting him before.”

She hadn’t mentioned even the working relationship because she’d been afraid they would hear in her voice what she could barely admit to herself then, much less now.”Like I said earlier, this is your time, your wedding. I wouldn’t want to do anything to distract from that.”

Audrey bumped her waif-thin shoulder against Eloisa’s.”Could you please drop the altruistic gig for just a few minutes while we squeal over this like real sisters? He’s a Landis, for crying out loud. You’re rubbing elbows with American royalty.”

“Who wouldn’t squeal over that?” She couldn’t resist the tongue-in-cheek retort.

“You, apparently.” Audrey twirled the lily stem between her fingers.”Heaven knows I would be calling a press conference.”

Eloisa laughed, then laughed some more, so much better than crying, and let all the tension from the evening flow out of her. Audrey had her faults, but she never pretended to be anything other than who she was.

Which made Eloisa feel like a hypocrite since she hid from herself every damn day.

Her laughter faded.”Forget all about this evening and Jonah Landis. I meant it when I said these next couple of weeks are totally about you. This is the wedding you’ve been planning since you were a kid. Remember how we used to practice in the garden?”

“You were always the best maid of honor.” She tucked the stargazer lily behind Eloisa’s ear.”I wasn’t always a nice bride.”

“You were three years younger. You got frustrated when you couldn’t keep up.”

“I still do sometimes.” Her smile faltered just a bit.

“Remember the time we picked all the roses off the bushes?” Eloisa steadied the lily behind her ear, the fragrance reminding her of their childhood raid on their mother’s carefully tended yard.”You took the rap.”

Audrey rolled her eyes and attacked her cake again with her pointer finger.”No huge sacrifice. It’s not like I ever got in trouble. I cried better than you did. You were always into being stoic.”

“I’m not the weepy sort.” Not in public anyway.

“Tears can be worth their weight in gold. I may be the youngest, but you should take my advice on this one.” Audrey fixed her stare on her father, her fiancé and Jonah.”When it comes to men, you have to use whatever tools you have.”

“Thanks for the advice.” Not that she could see herself taking it even in a million years.”Now can we get back to focusing on your wedding? We have a lot to accomplish in the next couple of weeks.”

She tried to stem her reservations about Audrey marrying a guy with questionable connections. Her little sister had ignored all the warnings, even threatening to elope if Eloisa didn’t keep her opinions to herself.

Audrey pulled another flower from the centerpiece for herself.”And about Jonah Landis?”

Eloisa shrugged, suddenly hungry for the cake after all.”He’s my date.” She forked up a bite from the lone remaining slice on a plate the caterers hadn’t yet cleared.”It’s as simple as that.”

“Guess you don’t need a ride home tonight.” Audrey needled with the same practiced teasing she’d used on her since the days of Eloisa’s first boyfriend—the librarian’s son who occasionally snitched the keys to the reference room so she could read the Oxford English Dictionary in total privacy after hours.

“I have my car here.”

“One of Joey’s brothers can drive it over for you.” Audrey arched up on her toes.”Hey, Landis? My sister is ready to go. How about you get your chauffeur to pull up that Rolls Royce limo of yours. Eloisa’s been on her feet all day.”

Jonah’s gaze slammed into hers, narrow and predatory. She’d seen that look before, right before she’d shimmied out of her dress and fallen into bed with him.

Shoveling a bite of cake into her mouth, Eloisa tried to tell herself it would be enough to stave off the deeper hunger gnawing through her tonight.

Eloisa shifted uneasily in the limo seat.

Climbing back into Jonah’s car had seemed easier than discussing driving arrangements in front of the gossip rag reporter. Now that she was alone with Jonah, however, she questioned her decision. The drive to her town house felt hours away rather than a couple of miles.

Searching for something, anything to talk about other than each other, Eloisa touched the miniprinter and laptop computer beside her. She started to make a joke about checking Facebook from the road, but paused when her finger snagged on a printed-out page.

She looked closer before she could think to stop herself. It seemed like some kind of small blueprint—

Jonah pulled the paper from the printer and into a briefcase.”Why were you so camera shy at the party earlier?”

“I prefer to keep a low profile. Not everyone is hungry for a spot on the front page.” Ouch. That sounded pretty crabby coming out, but Jonah had a way of agitating her every nerve.

“Do you avoid the press because of your father? You can’t expect to stay under the radar forever.”

Did he realize how intimately their thighs pressed against one another? Eloisa slid her hand from the printer and scooted an inch of space between them.”My mother and I managed over the years. Do you intend to change that?”

She bit her lip, unable to stop from holding her breath after finally voicing the question that had chewed at her all night long. Her mother may have managed but it didn’t escape Eloisa’s notice that she’d screwed up mere days after the funeral. She waited through Jonah’s assessing silence so long that dots began to spark in front of her eyes.

“Breathe,” he commanded, holding her gaze until she exhaled then nodding curtly.”Of course I’ll keep your secret. If anyone finds out, it won’t be from me.”

Sighing with relief she flopped back in her seat and fanned her face, relaxing for the first time since she’d heard his engine growl around the corner. That was one secret taken care of, and she had no reason to believe he could have found out her other.”You really could have saved me a lot of angst tonight if you’d told me that from the start.”

“What kind of guy do you think I am?”

A rich one judging by his clothes, his lifestyle and famous surname? Yet all of those were superficial elements. She scoured her mind for things she’d learned about him a year ago … and most of it focused on attraction. She wasn’t so sure she liked what that said about her.”I’m not really sure how well I know you.”

“Then you’ll have the next two weeks to figure me out.”

“Two weeks?” Her muscles kinked all over again.”I thought you wanted a divorce.”

“I do.” He secured the lily behind her ear, his knuckles caressing her neck for a second too long to be accidental.”But first, I want the honeymoon we never had.”

She gasped in surprise, followed by anger … then suspicion.”You’re just trying to shock me.”

“How do you know I’m not serious?” His blue eyes burned with unmistakable, unsettling—irresistible?—desire.

She’d barely survived their last encounter with her heart intact. No way in hell was she dipping her toes into those fiery waters again.”You can’t really believe I’ll just crawl into bed with you.”

“Why not?” He angled closer to her, so close she would only have to lean just a little to rest her cheek against his amazing hair.”It isn’t like we haven’t already slept together.”

Not that they’d slept much.”That night was a mistake.” One with heartbreaking consequences.”A mistake I do not intend to repeat, so get back on your side of the car.”

“Fine then.” He eased away, leather creaking at his every lazy, slow movement.”Whether or not we have sex will be your call.”

“Thank you.” She laced her fingers together on her lap to keep from hauling him over again. Why hadn’t she eaten more cake?

“Just give me two weeks.”

“What the hell?” The words slipped out of her mouth, startling her as much as it appeared she’d surprised him.”I can’t deal with you right now.” There. She’d actually been honest with him about how she felt.”My sister needs me.”

And then she had to muck it up with a half truth to hide how much he tempted her.

”Doesn’t she have a wedding planner or something?”

“Not everyone has unlimited funds.”

“Your father doesn’t send support?”

“That’s none of your business, and regardless, it wouldn’t have been Audrey’s anyhow.”

“Ah, but if you had a king’s ransom tucked away, I am certain you would have shared it with sister dear. Am I wrong?”

His words stung and she hated how that hinted at his power over her.”I’m not a pushover.”

Although Jonah was right, damn him, that if she did have money, she would have written her sister a big fat check to cover wedding expenses.

Regardless, she didn’t want Enrique Medina’s money. Her mother had insisted she didn’t want it either, but she’d married another man for what appeared to be financial security. What a confusing tangle.

She knew one thing for sure.”I’m not a minor. I make my own way in the world. Besides, he’s not a part of my life and I am not for sale.”

She wouldn’t allow herself to be dependent on any man. Even months after the fact, it scared her to her teeth to think of how close she’d come to mirroring her mother’s past—alone, unloved.

And pregnant.

Four

Jonah told the driver to wait, then pivoted toward Eloisa as she raced toward her town house. Hopefully he would be sending the driver on his way soon, because quite frankly, he didn’t trust Eloisa not to bolt the second he left.

Not that it was any great hardship to be with her. God, he could watch her walk all night long, the gentle sway of her hips and the swish of her ponytail illuminated by the street lamp.

He didn’t expect to get any further than talking tonight. He needed to take his time with her now in a way he hadn’t back in Spain.

Problem was? He could only afford to take these next two weeks off, then he needed to get back to work on his next restoration project. Working on architectural designs around the world fed his wanderer’s spirit.

Next stop? Peru in two weeks.

And if he hadn’t finished business with Eloisa by then? Could he just walk away?

He refused to consider failure. They would go to bed together again. And they would exorcise the mess from last year.

Hands stuffed in his pockets, he followed Eloisa along the walkway. Waves rolled and roared in the distance, the shore three streets away. She lived in a stucco town house, the fourth in the row. New, they’d been built to resemble older, turn-of-the-century construction. Each unit was painted a different beachy color—peach, blue, green and yellow.

She marched toward the yellow home, calling back over her shoulder.”Thank you for seeing me safely to my front stoop, but you’re free to leave now.”

“Not so fast, my dear wife.” He stopped alongside Eloisa at her lime-green door. Keys dangled from between her fingers but he didn’t take them from her. He wanted her to ask him inside of her own free will, no coercion. But that didn’t exclude persuasion.

She faced him with a sigh.”You managed a whole year without speaking to me. I’m sure you’ll do just fine without me for another night.”

“Eloisa, just because I didn’t contact you doesn’t mean I stopped thinking about you.” That was sure as hell the truth.”We left a lot unsaid. Is it so wrong for me to want these next couple of weeks to clear the air before we say goodbye?”

Eloisa studied her clunky key chain, a conglomeration of whistles, a lanyard from some children’s festival and a metal touristy-looking token.”Why a couple of weeks?”

Damn. It wouldn’t be that persuasive to say that was all the time he had available to pencil her into his work schedule. His brother Sebastian’s marriage had fallen apart because of his insane hours at his law practice.

“That’s how long my attorney says it will take to get the ball rolling.” He’d asked for Sebastian’s help this time, as he should have done a year ago.”You can’t blame me for wondering if you will disappear again.”

Sure the morning after their spur of the moment wedding, they’d both agreed it was a mistake. Okay, they’d both agreed after she’d slapped him. Then she’d gasped in horror and yanked on her clothes as she’d stumbled toward the door. He’d expected once she cooled down, they would at least talk about things, maybe take a step back—a few steps back.

Except once she’d left his place in Spain, she’d ignored any further communication other than mailing the paperwork his way. So actually, the crummy paperwork was her fault.

And his. He couldn’t deny it. He shouldn’t have been so damn proud he didn’t show his lawyer brother Sebastian.

Jonah tugged the dangling keys from her loose grip, sifting the bulk in his hands. The touristy token caught his attention. He looked closer and found … an ironwork reproduction of the house he’d worked on restoring the previous summer. Interesting. Encouraging.”Nice key chain.”

“I keep it as a reminder of the risks of impulsiveness.” She tugged her keys back, gripping them so tightly her fingers turned bloodlessly white.

“Risks?” Anger kicked around in his gut. She was the one who’d walked out, after all. Not him.”Seems like you walked away mighty damn easily. If it wasn’t for this inconvenient legal snafu—” not to mention her lies”—you would have gotten away scot-free.”

“Scot-free?” Her face went pale in the moonlight.”You can’t possibly think this didn’t affect me. You have no idea how deeply I’ve wrestled with what we did, the mistake we made.”

Confusion dulled the edge of his anger. She’d left. She’d never called. Why the hell had she been hiding out if their time together stayed with her this heavily?

“Well, Eloisa? What do you say we make every effort possible to put this to rest once and for all? For the next couple of weeks, you can just call me roomie.”

She gasped.”You can’t really expect to bunk at my place?”

“Of course not.” Jonah focused on the little piece of memorabilia on her key chain, a sign that she’d remembered and even cared. He let her relax for a second before retorting,”I could phone the chauffeur and we could be taken to my beachside suite.”

Shaking her head, she slid the key into the lock.”You’re outrageous.”

He clapped a hand over his chest with a half smile.”That hurt. I prefer to think I’m being considerate to my wife’s needs.”

“I’m just dying to hear how you reached that conclusion.” Shaking her head, she pushed her front door open and stepped inside without giving him the boot.

He took that as an invitation and followed. Victory pulsing inside him, he checked out the space she called home for clues about her. The more he knew the better his chances. He wouldn’t make the same mistake again of letting her keep him in the dark.

The living area was airy and open with high ceilings in keeping with the historic-reproduction feel. Her tastes ran to uncluttered, clean lines with a beach theme—white walls, wood floors and rattan furniture with cushions in a muted blue, tan and chocolate. And of course books—in end tables, shelves, curio cabinets. She’d always carried books in her purse in Spain, reading during breaks.

Her reed roll-up shades covered the windows from outdoor eyes. Only the French doors gave a glimpse to a garden patio with an Adirondack chair and ferns. Did she lounge there and read? Soak up the sun?

What he wouldn’t give to take her to his penthouse suite with a rooftop pool and deck where they both could do away with restrictive bathing suits.

He slid his jacket off and hooked it on the coatrack made from a canoe paddle.”Nice place.”

“I’m sure it’s not near the luxury level you’re used to, but I like it.”

“It’s lovely and you know it. Don’t paint me as a bad guy here just to make it easier to dismiss me.”

She glanced back over her shoulder, her purse sliding from her shoulder onto the island counter separating the kitchen from the living space. She tossed her keys beside the bag, the cluster jangling to rest.”Fair enough.”

He’d spent more than a few nights in tents or trailers during the early, intense stages of a restoration project, but he didn’t intend to make excuses to her.”Would you like more luxury in your life?”

His brothers showered their wives with pampering extras and while his sisters-in-law vowed they didn’t need them, he’d noticed they always used those spa gifts.

He thumbed a thick silver binder with an engagement photo of Audrey Taylor and her fiancé.”You said earlier you’re swamped with wedding plans.” He tapped the three-ring binder.”If we stay at my suite, you won’t have to cook or clean. You can indulge in the spa. A massage would take care of your stress at the end of the day. You and your sister and all the bridesmaids could avail yourselves of the salon the day of the wedding, my gift to the bride, of course.”

She slid out of her gold strappy heels and lined them up side by side on the floor mat by the patio door.”You can’t buy me off any more than my father could.”

He took his cue from her and toed off his python loafers, nudging them near the coatrack. How much further could they take this undressing together?”I was brought up to believe it’s not what a gift costs, it’s whether or not the gift is thoughtful. Needed.”

“That’s nice.” She relaxed a hip against a barstool.

“Then pack your bag and let’s go to my penthouse.”

She stiffened again.”I’m not leaving.”

“Then I guess I’m bunking on your sofa.” He stifled a wince at spending the night on the couch at least six inches too short.

“You can’t tell me you actually wanted me to stay together?” Her eyes went wider with shock.”Every woman on that site in Madrid knew what a playboy you are.”

”Were. I’m a married man now.” He still had his ring and hers in a jeweler’s box in his suite. He wasn’t sure why he’d brought them.

She shook her head slowly with a weary sigh.”I’m too tired for this tonight, Jonah. Go back to your hotel. We’ll talk tomorrow when we’ve both had a good night’s sleep.”

“Honestly? I don’t trust you.”

“Excuse me?” she gasped in outrage.

Then something else shadowed through her eyes. Guilt?

“You didn’t tell me about your father, a pretty major part of your past. You may have done a damn fine job hiding the truth over the years. But when my divorce attorney compared the information you filed on our marriage license at the church registry with your passport information, he found a red flag in the slightly different way you listed your name and your parents. He dug deeper and found your birth certificate. The original one, not the one reissued when Harry Taylor adopted you.” The shock he’d felt upon discovering the whole mess roared back to life inside him.”With a little help from a private detective, the rest of the pieces fell into place about your real father. I’m surprised you got away with it for this long.”

“You had no right to send private detectives snooping into my private business.”

Her words stoked his barely banked anger.”I’m your husband. I think that gives me a little latitude here. For God’s sake, Eloisa, what if I’d gotten married again, thinking we were divorced?”

“Are you seeing someone else?” Wow, she sure had that prim librarian gig down pat. She could have stared down an armed gang.

“Hell no, I’m not seeing anyone else.” He couldn’t keep himself from comparing other women to her and they all came up short.”Bottom line? Like I said, I don’t trust you. You ran once before. I intend to stick close until we have this settled.”

She pointed to the binder.”I have my sister’s wedding. I’m not going anywhere.”

“There are a lot of ways to lock a person out of your life.” He’d seen his brother Sebastian and his wife put a massive chasm between each other while living in the same town.

“You can’t really expect to stay here, in my town house.”

He would have preferred they stay in his suite where he could have wooed her with all the resort offered, but sleeping under the same roof would suffice.

Jonah picked up her keys from the island and held them up so the Spanish charm caught the light.”We both have a lot of unresolved business to settle in two weeks. We should make the most of every minute.”

She stared at the keys in his hand for so long he wondered if she was halfway hypnotized.

Finally, Eloisa pressed her fingers to her forehead.”Fine. I’m too tired to argue with you. You can stay, but—” she held up a finger, the stern glint in her eyes relaying loud and clear she was done compromising for the night”—you’ll be sleeping on the sofa.”

All the same he couldn’t resist teasing her, suddenly needing to see if her smile was as blinding as he remembered.”No welcome-home nookie?”

She frowned.”Don’t push your luck.”

”A guy can still hope.” He turned on a lamp, his gaze dropping to the glass paperweight sealing off a dried rose and seashell. He scooped it up, tossed it, caught it, tossed, caught …

“Could you put that down, please?” she snapped with an edge to her voice he hadn’t heard since the morning she’d left.

He looked back at the paperweight in his hand. Was it something sentimental? A gift from another guy perhaps? He didn’t like the swift kick of jealousy, but damn it all, she was his wife, for now at least.”Should I be worried about a boyfriend showing up to kick my ass?”

“Let’s talk about you instead. What have you been up to over the past year, thinking you were a bachelor?”

“Jealous?” God knows he was because she hadn’t answered his question. Except if there had been another guy, surely he would have been at the party with her tonight.

His conclusion wasn’t proof positive, but he took comfort in it all the same.

She snatched the paperweight from his hand.”I am tired, not jealous.”

Did he want her to be? No. He wanted honesty. So he settled for the same from himself.”I’ve spent the past twelve months pining for my ex-wife.”

As much as he’d meant to be a sarcastic joke, it hadn’t come out of his mouth the way he’d planned.

Confusion flickered through her dark eyes.”The way you say that, I can almost believe you. Of course I know better.”

“I thought you said we barely knew each other. We only spent a month together. And we spent most of the time in bed.” He sat on the sofa, stretching his arm along the back.”Let’s talk now.”

“You first.” She perched on the edge of the chair beside the sofa.

“You already know plenty about me. My family’s in the news and what you don’t see there you can find on Wikipedia.” He watched her chest rise and fall faster with nerves, lending further credence to his sense she disliked anything high profile.

“None of that information tells me anything reliable about who you are.” She counted on her fingers.”I remember you were always on time for work. You never talked on your cell phone when you spoke with the foreman on the site. I liked that you gave people your full attention. I remember you downplayed the Landis connection so well I didn’t even know you were related until three weeks into the job.” She folded her fingers down again.”But Jonah, that’s not enough reason to get married. Even with the divorce, we have a history now. We should know more about each other than our work habits.”

“I know you like two sugars in your coffee,” he offered with a half smile.

This didn’t seem the right time to mention he knew her heart beat faster when he blew along the inside curve of her neck. The sex part would have to wait.

Talking appeared to be the only way to get closer to her, so he would talk.”You want to know more about me? Okay. My brother Kyle got married recently.”

“You mentioned that already when you talked about their vows renewal.”

“They went to Portugal, which is how I ended up in Spain again.” Nostalgia had pulled him over there, the hope that if he revisited the places he’d been with Eloisa he could close the door on that chapter of his life.”The press doesn’t know the reason they renewed their vows so soon after saying them in the first place. They got married to safeguard custody of my niece, my brother Kyle’s daughter. Her biological mom dumped her on Phoebe, then disappeared.” Anger chewed his gut all over again when he thought of how close his niece Nina had come to landing in foster care.”The whole mess really rocked our family. Thank God little Nina is safe.”

“You love your niece?” she asked, her face inscrutable.

“Gotta confess, I’m a sucker for kids. I take pride in being the favorite uncle. Want to see pictures of the rug rats?”

“You carry family pictures?” she squeaked incredulously.

“Got a whole album on my iPhone.” He unclipped the device from his belt and tapped the screen until pictures filled the display. He leaned closer to her.”My brother Sebastian and his wife remarried after divorcing each other. They have a son.”

He brought up an image of his toddler nephew taking his first steps. Then clicked to an infant girl.”That’s Sebastian and Marianna’s daughter. They adopted her then her birth mother changed her mind.”

He swallowed down a lump in his throat and kept his eyes averted until he could speak again.”Here’s my brother Matthew—”

“The senator from South Carolina.”

“Yes. This is him with his wife and their daughter at the beach.” He shuffled to the next photo.”And this is a family portrait taken in Portugal. There’s Mom with her husband, the General, his three kids with their spouses and children.”

“Your family is huge.”

Her family wasn’t so small either, when taking into account her biological father and his three sons, but mentioning that didn’t seem prudent.”Christmas can be rather noisy when we all get together at the family compound in Hilton Head.”

“It’s amazing you can gather everyone for any event with all the high-profile commitments.”

“We make time for what’s important.” Would she see and understand that his family was about things more important than a press release or bank balance?

She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms defensively.”Your brothers are happily married, which means your mother is probably riding your back to produce a happily-ever-after of your own with a wife and make chubby-cheeked cherubs, so you dig up me.”

Not even close to what he’d intended. He placed his phone on the end table by the glass paperweight.”That’s one helluva scenario to draw from a simple update on my brothers.”

“You’re not denying it.”

He was losing ground here and he wasn’t even sure why.”My mother may be a strong-willed politician in her own right, but I’m also very much her son, strong will and all. No one coerces me into anything.”

“Unless that influence comes from the bottom of a bottle.”

“I wasn’t drunk the night we got married.” He’d only had two of the local beers.”That was you.”

”Are you saying you actually wanted to be married to me?”

“I thought so at the time.”

Her mouth fell open, her eyes wide with horror.”You were in love with me?”

“The magnitude of your horror is positively ego deflating.”

She shoved up to her feet.”You’re playing with me.” She walked across the room and opened a closet full of linens.”I don’t appreciate your making fun of me.”

The way she so easily dismissed what had happened between them a year ago really pissed him off. Okay, so their wedding had been an impulsive mistake. His brothers had been getting married. He’d had this idea that what he felt around Eloisa resembled what his brothers described about finding”the one.” He may have been wrong about that. She may have had a couple of drinks, but she’d been clear about how much she wanted him, too, how much she’d needed him.

Need wasn’t love. But they had felt something for each other, something strong and undeniable.

“I would never mock you.” Frustration sliced through him with a razor-sharp edge.”There are far more interesting things I would like to do with you tonight. Let’s back up to the part about sex.”

She laughed.”At no time were we talking about sex.”

“You mentioned making cherubs.” Yeah, they were engaging in good old-fashioned bantering but damn, he found it arousing and a fine way to take the edge off his anger.”I’m sorry if your mother never got around to giving you the talk, but sex makes babies.”

Her face closed up again.”You’re not half as funny as you think you are.”

“I’m halfway funny? Cool.”

She dumped an armful of linens into his lap.”Make up your own bed on the sofa. I’m done here.”

He watched her grab her purse before pounding up the steps to her bedroom, and he couldn’t even rejoice over the fact she’d let him stay. Her door clicked shut behind her, the sound of a lock snicking a second later.

Somewhere along the line he’d misstepped. And he didn’t have a clue what he’d done wrong now any more than before.

Upstairs in her room, Eloisa sunk to the edge of her bed, sliding down to the floor. She clutched her knees, tears making fast tracks down her face.

Seeing Jonah touch that glass paperweight had almost driven her to her knees earlier. After she’d lost the baby four months into her pregnancy, she’d had a private memorial service all her own for her child. She’d taken a tiny nosegay of white rosebuds to the beach and let waves carry them away as she’d prayed.

She’d kept one rose for herself. The bloom had dried far faster than her tears. Then she’d had the bud encased in glass along with a couple of tiny shells and some sand from that stretch of shoreline.

Jonah obviously loved children, evident not just from his words but from the way his eyes had gone soft over that family photo album. Each beautiful baby’s face had torn a fresh hole in heart, tormenting her with what her child—hers and Jonah’s—might have looked like.

The doctors had told her it was just one of those things. There was no reason why she couldn’t have more children, but she couldn’t see any way clear to having forever with any man, much less starting a family.

Between fears about threats from her father’s enemies to even deeper fears about living out her mother’s legacy … Eloisa swiped her eyes with her forearm.

God, she was mess.

What would Jonah say if he learned she’d kept the pregnancy a secret from him?

She still didn’t understand why she’d delayed contacting him about the baby. She’d told herself she would let him know before their child was born. When she’d miscarried and her emotions had been such a turmoil of grief, contacting him seemed an overwhelming hurdle.

Every day that passed, it seemed easier to stay quiet. Telling him now wouldn’t serve any purpose.

Her cell phone chimed from inside her purse, startling her midsob. She definitely didn’t feel like speaking to anyone this late. Thank goodness the chimes indicated a text message.

She fished out her phone. Her sister’s name scrolled across the screen. Eloisa thumbed View.

R U home? Worried about u.

Eloisa clutched the phone. She’d never shared her burdens with anyone before. The secrets were too big, too deep. Unburdening herself would be selfish. She stifled back the crazy notion of what it might feel like to spill her guts to her sibling.

Eloisa typed out, Am home and ok. No worries.

She sent the message and pushed to her feet. She needed to splash water on her eyes and go to sleep. Would that be possible with Jonah downstairs on the sofa?

Her phone chimed in her hand. Audrey again.

What about tycoon hunk? Is he there?

She set the cell on the bathroom counter next to the sink. Her fingers hovered over the keypad. What should she tell her sister?

He was most definitely bothering her by his mere presence so much more than she could have even expected. But if she wanted time to figure out what to do about him, her father, her biology, she needed to play along with his bizarre game a while longer.

Beyond that? What did she want?

Eloisa looked at herself in a mirror framed with seashells and sand dollars. She picked at a strand of hair that had slipped loose from her severe ponytail, her face devoid of makeup. But her cheeks were flushed in a way they’d never been before—except for that too-short month in Spain.

The truth settled inside her with a resounding thud. She couldn’t be the sort of person who would walk into that living room, whip the covers off Jonah and say to hell with the consequences, she was making the most of her marital status. She’d gone that route before and it only led to their current mess.

A tempting alternative tickled at her brain. What if she did sleep with him again, but the next time was more about fun, with no ring? She’d let things get too serious before. That had obviously been a mistake on so many levels.

Could she forget the past and have an affair with her ex-husband?

Five

Eloisa made it through the night without a trip downstairs, although it had been rough going when she’d woken up at around four.

But finally the morning sun streaked through her reed roll-up blinds. She could leave her room without feeling she’d caved. Since it was only six-thirty, she might just get to watch him sleep, something she’d missed out on during their one night together.

She pulled on a white terry-cloth robe, securing it tight before leaving her bedroom. Halfway down the stairs she realized the sofa was empty. Well, empty other than the thin quilt straggling off the side. The pillow still bore the deep imprint of a head. Eloisa padded barefoot down the rest of the steps, her toes sinking into the carpet runner along the wood.

Where was Jonah? The spare bathroom downstairs was silent, the door cracked open, steam still lightly fogging the mirror and a pale blue towel hung on the rack. Had he left as abruptly as he’d shown up, even after joking about wanting a final night together? Just the thought of being with him again sent a tingle along her skin, a tingle doused by the possibility he’d already left.

Her bare feet picked up speed along the hardwood floor, but the kitchen was empty, too.

“Uh-huh …” His voice drifted inside.

She spun around. The French doors were open an inch. She sagged back against the island counter and stared through to the patio. Jonah lounged in her Adirondack chair, cell phone pressed to his ear. Curiosity held her still and quiet when she probably should have done something to announce her presence, like slam a couple of cabinets open and closed.

His jean-clad legs stretched out long and so damn sexy, showcased by the morning sun. There was something hot and intimate about his bare feet and while she couldn’t see his chest, his arms appeared bare as well.

Memories of making love in Spain flamed hotter in her mind after simmering below the surface all night long. She may have had a couple of drinks and lost some inhibitions, but she remembered the sex. Good sex. Amazing sex. She’d been so hungry for him as she’d torn away his shirt, popping buttons in her frenzy. His chest had captured her attention all by itself. She’d known he was muscular. The ripples under his shirt had been impossible to miss, but she hadn’t been prepared for the intense definition, the unmistakable strength and power far more elemental than any money or prestige.

She’d always considered herself the cerebral sort, attracted to academic types. So it had totally knocked her off balance when she’d gone weak-kneed over a peek at Jonah’s pecs.

“Right,” he said to whoever was on the other end of the line. He thrust a hand through his still-damp hair, slicking it back.”I realize that cuts a week off our timeline. Go ahead and send me the new specs. I’ll get back to you with an answer by the end of business today.” He listened and nodded.”I can be reached at this number. Meanwhile, I’ll be on the lookout for your fax.”

He disconnected and didn’t show signs of dialing again, apparently done with chitchatting for the moment. Any second now, he might stand and notice her. Eloisa looked around for some excuse to appear busy rather than to be eavesdropping. She snatched the empty coffeepot from the coffeemaker.

Jonah stood, stretching his arms overhead.

Her mouth went dry. His chest was everything she remembered and more. She’d forgotten about the deep tan. The honey-warm glow of his skin made her want to taste him all over.

She visually traced the cut of his six-pack lower, lower still down to … oh my … he’d left the top button of his jeans open.

No boxers.

Just a hint of a tan line.

Eloisa grabbed the counter for balance.

She tore her gaze off his bare stomach and brought it to his face. He was looking straight back at her as she stood in the kitchen, stock-still, holding on to the counter with one hand. Her other held a coffeepot dangling uselessly from between her fingers.

“Sorry, uh, Jonah,” she babbled, startling into action and shoving the coffeepot under the faucet as he sauntered inside.”I didn’t mean to interrupt your call.”

“It’s okay. We’d already wrapped up business.” He tucked the phone half into his pocket, studying her as intently as she’d studied him.”Are you making coffee or tea?”

The intensity of his gaze made her edgy. Was her robe gaping? Her hair a mess?

She glanced at the pot … Damn. She’d forgotten to turn on the faucet.

“Coffee.” Eloisa turned her back to him and focused on making extra-strong java. Hopefully by the time the last drop dripped she would have scavenged some self-control and dignity.”Were you talking to your lawyer about moving forward on the divorce?”

“That was a work call.” The heat of his voice and breath caressed her shoulder and she hadn’t even heard him approach. He moved quietly for such a big man.

“You have a job?” she asked absently, setting the glass pot on the counter rather than risk dropping it. When had her fingers gone numb?

He flicked her ponytail forward over her shoulder.”I think I’m insulted you have to ask.”

Ducking away, she opened the cabinet and foraged for her favorite hazelnut-cream-flavored beans.”Weren’t you working on your grad studies like the others when we met?” She glanced back at him.”I assumed …”

He cocked an eyebrow.”You assumed that I was a perpetual student content to live off Mom and Pop’s nickel? You sure painted quite a picture of me with very little info.”

She finished pouring coffee beans into the coffeemaker, closed the lid and hit Start. The sound of the grinder grated along her already ragged nerves.”You made assumptions about me, too.”

“Such as?” He leaned against the counter, dipping his head into her line of sight.

“I gave off the appearance of being someone different during those weeks in Madrid.” She crossed her arms over her chest, keeping her robe closed and her hands off his chest.”That time of my life was very out of character for me.”

“How so?”

“I’m a homebody, not a world traveler. I like my books and my Adirondack chair with a mug of coffee. That sort of exotic adventure was a onetime good deal. I lucked into a scholarship program that granted me the extra credits I needed. Bottom line, I’m a bookish librarian, not a party girl who gets drunk and impulsively marries some hot guy.”

“You think I’m hot, huh?” His blue eyes twinkled as brightly as the rising sun glimmering through the sliding patio doors.

“You already know I find you physically attractive.” She conjured her best”librarian” voice that put even the rowdiest of hoodlums in place.”But there are more important issues to address here.”

“Of course.” He selected an apple from her wicker fruit bowl on the counter.”I have a theory.”

“What would that be?” They were nearly naked. He had an apple.

Where was the snake? Because she certainly was tempted.

He gestured with the fruit in his hand.”I think you are the sort of woman who travels the world and impulsively takes risks, even knowing sometimes those risks may not work out. Deep down you want to take more of those risks because you also know that sometimes things do work out.”

“You seem to have decided a lot about me.”

Without answering he crunched a big bite off the side. Why couldn’t he have chosen one of the more innocent oranges or plums?

She watched his mouth work. She’d done that before, in Spain during a late-day picnic with the whole crew. Back then she’d only indulged in what-if fantasies about Jonah, never for a second thinking she would one day act on them.

And here she was daydreaming about the feel of his mouth moving along her skin …

Except his mouth was moving because he was talking and she didn’t have a clue what he’d said.

“Pardon me?” She rearranged the plums until the fruit was balanced again.

He set aside his half-eaten apple.”Our time together was intense. You can learn a lot about a person in time-compressed moments.”

What was he driving at?”But you agreed with me the morning after that we’d made a mistake.”

“Did I?”

She stared back into his serious blue eyes and tried to understand him, understand this whole bizarre reunion. But he wasn’t giving away anything in his expression. She wasn’t so sure she could say the same for herself.

Eloisa touched his hand lightly.”Don’t play mind games with me. I know what I heard. And it’s not like you came after me.”

“I’m here now.”

What if he’d come after her right away? She would have told him about the baby. She wouldn’t have been able to stay silent if face-to-face with him. How much different things might have been.

Or maybe not. Her mother certainly hadn’t experienced a fairy-tale ending when she’d gotten pregnant.

Eloisa shook off the haze of what-ifs.”You’ve shown up for your one night of sex. Followed by a divorce.”

“Who says we can’t change our minds?” Before she could answer, he pitched his apple into the corner trash can.”I have to check on that fax.”

Blinking fast, she watched him walk out the door shirtless, her head still spinning from his abrupt departure. The front door closed, but she could still see him through the skinny windows on either side of the door. The limo loomed conspicuously in the parking lot, idling alongside the curb. Jonah ducked his head and climbed inside and she remembered that mobile office/command center.

And she realized he’d never answered her question about his phone call or what he did with his life now. While Jonah seemed to have figured out so much about her, she had precious little other than Wikipedia information on him.

If she really wanted to move forward with her life, the time had come to quit drooling over the guy’s body and start seriously looking at the man underneath.

He’d seen the desire in her eyes underneath her veneer of calm.

Jonah tugged on a black polo shirt while he waited for Eloisa to finish her shower upstairs. No amount of work in his fax machine could distract him from thoughts of her under the spray. In some ways he thought he remembered every nuance of her body. That night was burned in his memory.

Would his fascination with her ease if he had more time with her? He certainly hoped so because he didn’t want another year like the one he’d just endured.

The sound of water faded, then ended. Silence echoed for what felt like forever before he heard the rustle of her upstairs in her bedroom. Getting dressed.

He’d never considered himself a masochist, but listening to her was serious torture. Jonah pivoted away from her door and opened cabinet after cabinet in search of a coffee mug. As he started drinking his second cup, he heard her door click and swing open.

Jonah poured some java for her, spooning two sugars in the way he remembered she preferred. And why he recalled that detail, he didn’t know. He turned to face her.

He stopped short. Reality definitely beat the hell out of memories—and she wasn’t even naked.

Eloisa stepped into the kitchen barefoot, wearing a simple blue sundress. The flowing lines clung subtly to her curves, and her skin glowed warm and pink from the shower. Her black hair was wet and pulled back in her signature ponytail, exposing her neck. He’d seen her arousal earlier when he’d hung up the phone and he could probably persuade her now ….

But he didn’t want to win in some all-out seduction. He wanted her to come to him.

Eloisa took the cup from his hand carefully, so carefully their fingers didn’t even brush.”Did you get your paperwork?”

“Yes, I did.” His next job didn’t begin for another thirteen days. Most times, he would have headed out early. He was about to tell her about the nineteenth-century Peruvian hacienda he’d been hired to renovate and expand into a resort.

Then remembered she’d only asked because she thought he was contacting his attorney about the divorce.

She blew air across the top of the cup, watching him through upswept lashes.”I don’t have much for breakfast, just some granola bars or toast and whatever’s in the fruit basket. You’re welcome to what’s here.”

If only she meant that the way he wanted her to.”I can feed myself.”

“Good then.” She nodded.”Tell me more about your job.”

Hey, wait.”But I don’t have one, remember? I’m just a lazy playboy.”

She lowered her cup, genuine contrition lighting eyes as dark as her coffee.”I was wrong to make that assumption. I genuinely want to hear now.”

He wasn’t so sure he wanted to be in the hot seat, and definitely didn’t know what had brought her to this about-face from pushing him away to shooting the breeze together.”Don’t you have to get to work or help your sister with wedding plans?”

“Audrey’s busy today, and I have a half hour before I have to leave for the library.”

”I’ll let the chauffeur know.”

“No need.” Turning away, she cradled her mug in both hands and walked to the sofa, her hips swaying gently, loose folds of the dress swishing a hypnotic follow me.”My sister’s fiancé took care of returning my car. She already texted me that it’s out in the parking lot.”

“Then you’re all set.” He watched her place her coffee on the end table.

She pulled his blanket from the sofa and began to fold.”Tell me about your job.”

He set his mug beside hers and reached for the end of the quilt trailing the ground.”What do you want to know?”

“Why do you hang around historic sites rather than slick new buildings?” She came closer, nearly chest to chest, and met his hands.

His eyes held hers and he considered kissing her right then and there, but he was determined for her to close that last gap. He knelt to sweep up the ends of the blanket and stood again.”I’m a history buff, always have been even when I was a kid, and my family traveled overseas a good bit.”

Finishing the final fold, she clasped the quilt to her chest and sat on the sofa.”Tell me more.”

She hadn’t taken the chair this time and he wasn’t missing the chance to get a little closer.

Jonah swept aside a couple of froufrou decorative pillows and sat beside her, keeping space between them. For now.”I’m an architect. I specialize in historic landmarks.”

“That’s why you were in Spain last year.” She sagged back, her face relaxing into a smile for the first time since he’d seen her last night.”But you were also a student, right?”

He shifted uncomfortably. Couldn’t he just give her a résumé?”I finished my dissertation.”

“You completed your PhD? I’m impressed.”

He winced. He hadn’t shared that with her to wow her. He preferred not to talk about himself at all.”I enjoy the subject matter.” He shrugged offhandedly.”I had the luxury of not worrying about school loans.”

“But you were also in Spain in a more official capacity?”

“Yes, I was.” What did she hope to accomplish by grilling him?

“Why did you keep it a secret?”

Was this a trap?”I didn’t keep anything a secret.”

He just didn’t feel the need to relay everything to everyone.

“You’re playing with words.” She leaned closer, her shower-fresh scent, the tropical perfume of her shampoo, teasing him.”You can’t blame me for making assumptions when you won’t share. Well, tell me now. What else were you doing there?”

To hell with figuring out motives or playing games. He had her here. Talking to him. Not running. If he had to scavenge chitchat to make headway with her, then fine. Might as well dish up some information about his past.”When I turned eighteen, I decided I didn’t want to live off my family. While I was in college, I started flipping houses.”

“You worked construction in college?” She set aside the quilt and reached for her coffee.

Good. He had her relaxing bit by bit.”Is there something wrong with that?”

She paused midsip.”Of course not. I just … Okay, I made assumptions about your college years.”

“I didn’t have time for the frat-boy scene, princess.” He’d worked his ass off, and considered the time well spent as it gave him real-world experience once he’d graduated.”So I flipped houses, made investments then took things to another level by underwriting renovations of historic manor homes and castles. I made more investments.” He shrugged.”And here I am.”

“What about your family’s influence in world politics? What about your inheritance?”

Some of the women in his life had been sorely disappointed to hear about his lack of interest in being a part of the political world his family inhabited.”What about it?”

“Do you just leave the money sitting around?”

“Hell, no. I invest it. I expect to leave more for my kids.”

“You want children?” She averted her eyes, setting her mug down.

“Damn straight, I do. A half dozen or so.”

She pushed to her feet abruptly, backing away, nearly stumbling over her bare feet. Eloisa grabbed the chair for balance.”I need to finish getting ready for work.”

What the hell had caused her quick turnaround? He’d been sure he was making headway and suddenly she was checking her watch, shoving on her shoes and scooping up her purse.

Maybe he’d hit a snag there by pushing too hard, too fast. But he wasn’t one to admit defeat. It was all about building on the progress he’d made, one brick at a time. He watched her rush around the town house, gathering herself on her way out the door. And as she turned to wave goodbye, he realized.

She’d put on lip gloss.

He thought back to the evening before. She’d been stunning, silhouetted against the waterside, wind rippling her dress and lifting her hair. She had an unstated style and innate grace that proclaimed her timeless beauty regardless of what she wore.

And he was damn sure she hadn’t worn makeup last night or a year ago. Yet for some reason, she’d slicked on gloss today. Sure, it was a minor detail, but he found himself curious about every detail surrounding the woman he’d married.

They’d made a decent start in getting to know each other better today. Although they’d mostly talked about his job. And now that he thought about it, he didn’t know much about her career since she’d transitioned from being a student.

If he wanted to get closer to Eloisa, perhaps it was time to learn a little more about her workplace.

Six

Eloisa perched on the second-to-top step of the rolling ladder, replacing two copies of The Scarlet Letter. They’d been returned by a couple of high schoolers who’d lost their classroom edition and had to check it out from the library in a panic before the test. And while work usually calmed her, channeling peace through the quiet and rows of books … Today the familiar environment fell short of its normally calming effect.

She placed the blame squarely on her husband. Having Jonah show up in her life again so unexpectedly was unsettling on too many levels. No wonder she was having trouble finding her footing. She’d contacted her attorney and it appeared Jonah’s claim was correct. The divorce hadn’t gone through after all. Her lawyer had received the paperwork just this morning, although he vowed he had no idea how Jonah had learned of her Medina roots.

The lawyer had gone on to reassure her he would look into it further. In fact, he planned to go straight to the source and speak with her father and brothers directly. If they didn’t have the information, they would need to be warned, as well.

She aligned the books and started back down the ladder. A hand clamped her calf. Gasping, she grabbed the railings to keep from pitching over backward. She looked down fast—

“Jonah,” she whispered, her world righting and narrowing to just him,”you scared the hell out of me.”

“Sorry about that. Wouldn’t want you to fall.” He kept his hand on her leg.

Eloisa continued down, his hand naturally sliding up for an inch, and another. Her heart triple-timed as she wondered how long he would keep up this game.

She descended another step.

His hand fell away. The heat of his palm remained.

Soft chitchat sounded from a couple of rows over, the air conditioner nearly as loud as the conversation. Otherwise, this section of the library was pretty much deserted this morning.

Eloisa gripped a shelf since the floor felt a little wobbly.”What are you doing here?”

“I came to take you out. Unless you have to do something with your sister’s wedding plans, in which case, I’m here to supply lunch.” He gripped the shelf just beside her, his body blocking the rest of the row from sight and creating a quiet—intimate—haven.

A lunch date? God, that sounded fun and wonderful and more than a little impulsively romantic. So unwise if she wanted to keep her balance while finding out what made Jonah Landis tick.”I already bought a sandwich on my way in.”

“Okay, then. Another time.” He looked past her, then over his shoulder, a broad shoulder mouthwateringly encased in his black polo shirt.”Mind if I have a tour of the place before I leave?”

Her mouth went dry at the thought of more time with him. She eyed the water fountain.”It’s a public library. As in open. To the public. Like you.”

He traced down the binding of a misplaced Dickens book.”I was hoping for my own personal tour guide. I’m partial to sexy brunette librarians who wear their long hair slicked back in a ponytail. And if she had exotic brown eyes with—”

“I get the picture, you flirt.” She held up her hand and stifled a laugh.”You want a tour?” She pulled A Tale of Two Cities from the shelf and tucked it under her arm.”Of a library?”

“I want a tour of your library. You saw my workplace in Spain.” He propped a foot on the bottom step of the ladder.”Now I want to see yours.”

Could he really be serious here? Could he perhaps, like her, need some additional insights in order to put the past behind him? The whole flirtation could just be his cover for a deeper confusion like she felt.

And she was probably overanalyzing. Didn’t men say things were a lot simpler for them?

Regardless, what harm could there be in showing him around the library? She couldn’t think of anywhere safer than here. Now where to start?

If she took him downstairs to the reception area, she would face questions later from the rest of the staff. Better to go farther into the stacks.

She mentally clicked through other areas to avoid. A book-group discussion. A local artist in residence hanging her work. Eloisa discussed the facility’s features by rote.

Jonah reached ahead to push open a doorway leading into a research area.”What made you decide on this career field?”

She looked around. Definitely secluded. She could talk without worrying about being overheard, but also she wouldn’t have the same temptations of being alone in her town house with Jonah.”My mother spent a lot of time staying under the radar. I learned low-key at an early age. Novels were my …”

“Escape?” He gestured around the high-ceilinged space that smelled of books and air freshener.

“Entertainment.” She shoved a chair under the computer desk.”Now they’re my livelihood.”

“What about after your mother married what’s-his-name?” Jonah followed, palming her back as she rounded a corner.

“My mother still liked to keep things uncomplicated.” How in the world had her mother ever fallen for a king? And a deposed king at that, with all sorts of drama surrounding his life? Enrique Medina seemed the antithesis of her stepfather, a man who might not be perfect, but at least had been a presence in her life. Loyalty spurred her to say,”His name is Harry Taylor.”

“Yeah, what’s-his-name.”

Eloisa couldn’t help grinning. Her stepfather wasn’t a bad guy, if a bit pretentious and pompous…. And she knew in her heart he loved his biological daughter more than he loved her. It hurt a little to think about that, but not anywhere near as much as it used to.”While I appreciate your championing my cause, I truly can stand up for myself.”

“Never doubted that for a second,” Jonah answered without hesitation.”What’s wrong with other folks—like me—throwing our weight in along with you?”

She simply shook her head.”I thought you wanted a tour.”

“We can tour and talk.”

Sometimes she wasn’t sure if she could walk and chew bubblegum around this man. She plastered on a smile.”Sure we can. And here’s my office.”

Eloisa swept the door open wide and gestured for him to follow her into the tiny space packed full of novels, papers and framed posters from literature festivals around the world. She placed the Dickens classic on a rolling cart to be shelved later.

The door clicked as it closed. She turned to find the space suddenly seeming way smaller with Jonah taking up his fair share of the room that wasn’t already occupied by her gunmetal-gray desk, shelves and an extra plastic chair for a guest.

Maybe her office just felt claustrophobic because there weren’t windows or even a peephole in the door. Not because they were alone.

Totally alone.

He hadn’t planned on getting her alone in the library.

Yet here they were. Just the two of them. In her tiny, isolated office.

Jonah pivoted away to find some distraction, something to talk about, and came nose to nose with a shelf of books. Art books and history books, all about Spain and Portugal. She wasn’t as detached from her roots as she tried to make out.

Jonah thumbed the gold lettering along the spine of a collection of Spanish poetry. He recalled she spoke the language fluently.”Have you ever met your biological father in person?”

“Once.” Her voice drifted over his shoulder, soft and a little husky.”I was about seven at the time.”

“That’s years after the last-known sighting of him.” Jonah kept his back to her for the moment. Perhaps that would make it easier for her to share. So he continued to inventory her books.

“I don’t know where we went. It felt like we took a long time, but all travel seems to take forever at that age.”

He recalled well the family trips with his three brothers and his parents, everything from Disney to an Egyptian pharaoh’s tomb. Their vacations would have been so different from that mother-daughter trip to see a man who barely acknowledged her existence. Sympathy kicked him in his gut.”Do you remember the mode of transportation?”

“Of course.”

“Not that you’re telling.” He couldn’t stop the grin at her spunk.

“I may not have a relationship with my father—” sounds rustled behind him, like the determined restoring of order as she moved things around on her desk”—but that doesn’t mean I’m any less concerned about his safety, or the safety of my brothers.”

”That’s right. Medina has three sons.” He clicked through what he knew about Medina from the research he’d been able to accomplish on his own—when he should have been working. But damn it all, this was important.”Did you meet them as well?”

“Two of them.”

“That must have seemed strange to say the least.”

“I have a half sister, remember? It’s not like I don’t understand being a part of a family unit.” Her voice rose with every word, more than a little hurt leaking through.”I’m not some kind of freak.”

He turned to face her again. Her desk was so damn neat and clean a surgeon could have performed an open-heart procedure right there. Germs wouldn’t dare approach.

Jonah, however, had never been one to back down from a dare.”Your mother would have already been remarried by the time you were seven.”

“And Audrey was a toddler.” She clasped her hands in front of her defensively.

Her words sunk in and … holy hell.”Your mom went to see her old lover after she was married to another guy? Your stepfather must have been pissed.”

“He never knew about the trip or any of the Medinas.” She stood straight and tall, every bit of her royal heritage out there for him to see. She ruled. It didn’t matter if she was sitting in a palace or standing in a dark, cramped, little office. She mesmerized him.

And she called to his every protective instinct at the same time. What kind of life must she have led to build defenses this thick?

“Your stepfather didn’t know about any of it?” Jonah approached her carefully, wary of spooking her when she was finally opening up, but unable to stay away from her when he sensed that she could have used someone to confide in all these years.”How did she explain about your father?”

She shrugged one shoulder.”She told him the same thing she told everyone else. That my father was a fellow student, with no family, and he died in a car accident before I was born. It’s not like Harry talked about my dad to anyone else. The subject just never came up for us.”

Jonah skimmed his fingers over the furrows along her forehead.”Let’s not discuss your stepfather. Tell me about that visit when you were seven.”

Her forehead smoothed and her face relaxed into a brief flicker of a smile.”It was amazing, or rather it seemed that way to me through my childish, idealistic eyes. We all walked along the beach and collected shells. He—” she paused, clearing her throat”—uhm, my father, told me this story about a little squirrel that could travel wherever she wanted by scampering along the telephone lines. He even carried me on his shoulders when my legs got tired from walking and sang songs in Spanish.”

“Those are good memories.”

She deserved to have had many more of them, but he kept that opinion to himself. Better to wait and just let her talk, rather than risk her clamming up out of defensiveness.

“I know it’s silly, but I still have one of the shells.” She nudged a stack of already perfectly straight note slips.”I used to listen to it and imagine I could hear his voice mixed in with the sound of the ocean.”

“Where is the shell now?”

”I, uh, tucked it away in one of my bookcases at home.”

A home she’d decorated completely in a seashore theme. It couldn’t be coincidence. He gripped her shoulders lightly.”Why don’t you go see him again? You have the right to do so.”

“I don’t know where he is.”

“But surely you have a way to get in touch with him.” The soft give of her arms under his hands enticed him to pull her closer. He should take his hands off her, but he didn’t. Still he wouldn’t back off from delving deeper into this issue.”What about the lawyer?”

She avoided his eyes.”Let’s discuss something else.”

“So the lawyer is your point of contact even if the old guy never bothers to get in touch with you.”

“Stop it, okay?”

She looked back at him again hard and fast. Her eyes were dark and defensive and held so much hurt he realized he would do anything, anything to make that pain go away.”Eloisa—”

“My biological father has asked to see me.” She talked right over him, protesting a bit too emphatically.”More than once. I’m the one who stays away. It’s just too complicated. He wrecked my mother’s life and broke her heart.” Her hands slid up to grip his shirt.”That’s not something I can just forget about long enough to sit down for some fancy dinner with him once every five years when his conscience kicks in.”

He churned over her words, searching for what she meant underneath it all.”I miss my father.”

His dad had died in a car wreck when Jonah was only entering his teenage years.

”I told you I don’t want to see him.”

Jonah cupped her face, his thumb stroking along her aristocratic cheekbone.”I’m talking about how you miss your mother. It’s tough losing a parent no matter how old you are.”

Empathy softened her eyes for the first time since they’d stepped into her office.”When did your father pass away?”

“When I was in my early teens. A car crash. I used to be so jealous of my brothers because they had more time with him. Talk about ridiculous sibling rivalry.” He’d always been different from them, more of a rebel. Little did they know how much it hurt when people said he would have been more focused if only his father had lived. But he refused to let what others said come between him and his family.

Family was everything.

“We almost lost our mother a few years ago when she was on a goodwill tour across Europe.” The near miss had scared the hell out of him. After that, he’d knuckled down and gotten his life in order. His skin went cold from just thinking of what had almost happened to his mother.”An assassin tried to make a statement by shooting up one of her events.”

“Ohmigod, I remember that.” Her fists unfurled in his shirt and her hands smoothed out the wrinkles in soothing circles.”It must have been horrible for you. I seem to recall that some of her family was there…. You saw it all happen?”

“I’m not asking for sympathy.” He clasped her wrists and stilled her hands. She might mean her touch to be comforting, but it was rapidly becoming a serious turn-on.”I’m only trying to say I understand how you feel. But, Eloisa, once you’re in the spotlight, there’s no way to step back out.”

“I completely get your point,” she said emphatically.”That’s why I’ve kept a low profile.”

He brought her hands together, their hands clasped as he tried to make her understand.”You were born into this. There’s no low profile. Only delaying the inevitable. Better to embrace it on your own terms.”

“That’s not your call to make,” she snapped, pulling her hands away.

God, it was like banging his head against bricks getting this stubborn woman to consider anything other than a paradigm constructed a helluva long time ago.”Are you so sure about your father’s reasons for choosing to close himself away?”

Her spine starched straight again, ire sparking flecks of black in her eyes.”What are you hoping to accomplish here?”

He’d been hoping to learn more about her in an effort to seduce her and had ended up pissing her off. But he couldn’t back down.”You don’t have to play this their way anymore, Eloisa. Decide what you want rather than letting them haul you along.”

Her hands fisted.”Why does this need to get so complicated, and what the hell does it have to do with you?”

Anger stirred in his gut.”I’m the guy who’s still married to you because it’s so complicated. Damn it, Eloisa, Can you understand my need to do something, fix this somehow?”

“Maybe there’s nothing to fix. And even if there is, do you know what I really want?”

”Okay. Mea culpa.” He thumped his chest.”You’ve got me there. I haven’t got a clue what you want from me.”

“Well, prepare to find out.” She clasped his face in her hands, only giving him a second’s warning.

Eloisa planted her mouth on his.

He blinked in shock—for all of three seconds before he hauled her against him and kissed her right back.

As her arms slid around his neck, he decided the time had come to take this as far as she would go.

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