Regardless of whether he’d lied to her before, he’d done the honorable thing now and it was costing him dearly.
She leaned over and brushed her lips across his cheek. “I realize this isn’t easy, but we all appreciate it. I’ve already gotten calls from the mayor and the sheriff. I’m sure there will be more before the day is out. You can expect to be courted by the locals while you’re here. They’ll want to present their case.”
“Are they angry with you?” he asked. “The mayor didn’t seem pleased with you last night. Do they all blame you?”
She blew out her breath. “They think I’m young and gullible. Some of them blame that and not me directly. They’re too busy feeling sorry for me for being taken by a suave, debonair man. Others put the blame solely on my shoulders, as they should.”
Rafael’s face grew stormy. “It’s your land. You can’t allow others to guilt you into keeping it just because they don’t want their way of life to change.”
She shrugged. “I grew up here. They consider me a part of their family. Family doesn’t turn their backs on each other. A lot of them think I did just that. Maybe I did. I knew that if you and I were going to be together that I wouldn’t stay here. I knew I’d have to make the move because your business is based in the city. At the time I didn’t care.”
He slowed to pull into her driveway and stopped the car. For a long moment he stared out the windshield before finally turning to face her.
“So you were willing to give up everything to be with me.”
“Yes,” she said simply. Throwing his words back at him, she continued. “I don’t say that to hurt you. It’s simply the truth and we’ve both been honest and blunt. I’m not trying to make you feel guilty.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
She smiled. “Let’s not say anything. Let’s go eat instead. I’m starving. After breakfast we’ll go buy you the things you need for your stay and then maybe we’ll sit on the deck. Enjoy the day.”
Strangely enough, it sounded blissful.
Suddenly, after a not-so-great start to the day, he found himself quite looking forward to the rest.
Thirteen
Bryony tugged Rafael from shop to shop in the town square where she made him try on more casual clothing. Jeans. Lord but the man looked divine in jeans. They cupped his behind in all the right places and molded to his muscular legs.
And a T-shirt. Such an unremarkable item of clothing but on him… A simple white T-shirt displayed his lean, taut body to perfection.
He looked uncomfortable when he came out of the dressing room. He had on the jeans and the shirt she’d picked out and he was barefooted. Barefooted.
She was standing there drooling over a barefooted man in jeans. And she wasn’t the only one.
“Oh, my,” Stella Jones breathed. “Honey, that is one fine specimen you’ve got there. He looks hot in the GQ stuff, don’t get me wrong, but he fills out a pair of jeans like nobody’s business.”
Bryony shot the saleswoman a glare but had to admit she was right.
“Will this make you happy?” Rafael asked wryly as he turned, hands up.
“Oh, yeah,” Bryony murmured. “Me and every other female on this island.”
Stella chuckled. “Shall I bag up a few more pair like that one?”
“And T-shirts. Lots of T-shirts. I’m thinking white and maybe a red one.”
“Green wouldn’t be bad with those dark eyes and hair,” Stella advised.
Rafael rolled his eyes. “I’m going back in to change while you ladies sort it out.”
“No! No!” Bryony said in a rush. “Just let me pull off the stickers. No reason to change out of them. Stella will ring them up. You’ll be more comfortable.”
“And so will the rest of us,” Stella said over her shoulder as she sashayed off to get the rest of the clothing.
Rafael grinned and sauntered toward Bryony. “So you like me in jeans?”
“I think like is perhaps too mild a word,” Bryony muttered.
Although Bryony had been openly affectionate with Rafael the entire day, taking his hand, hugging him or twining her arm through his, he hadn’t made any overt gestures of his own. But now he slid his arms around her and pulled her into his embrace.
He rested his hands loosely at the small of her back and then slid his fingers into her back pockets, pulling her closer until she was pressed against his chest.
“I like you in jeans, too,” he said with a sly grin.
Her heart fluttered as she curled her arms around his shoulders.
“Yeah, but I’m wearing baggy jeans with an elastic maternity waist.”
“They fit your behind just fine.”
To emphasize his point he moved his fingers to where they were snug in her back pockets.
“We’ll have the whole island talking,” she murmured.
He snorted. “As if they aren’t already? I think everyone who lives here has been out to either look at us or tell me what a wonderful thing I did by stopping the construction. And I think it’s a widely known fact that it’s my child you’re carrying. What else could they possibly talk about beyond that?”
“Okay, you have a point,” she said wryly.
He leaned down and kissed her softly. “Why don’t we take our jeans-clad selves back to your cottage and I’ll fix us some lunch.”
She raised her eyebrows. “What have you got in mind?”
“I don’t know. It depends on what you have in your pantry. You cooked breakfast for us and you’ve taken me around town all morning. The least I can do is pamper you awhile. Are your feet tired?”
&n
bsp; She laughed even as her heart squeezed at the concern in his voice.
“My feet are fine, but I wouldn’t turn down a massage if you’re offering.”
He gave her a smile filled with genuine warmth. “I think that could be arranged.”
She flung her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. “Oh, Rafael. Today has been perfect. Just perfect. Thank you.”
When she pulled away, he had a befuddled expression on his face as if he didn’t know quite how to respond to her outburst.
“I had no idea shopping for jeans made you so happy,” he teased.
She flashed him a cheeky grin. “Only when I get to see you wear them.”
He patted her affectionately on the behind and then gestured for her to go ahead of him. “Let’s go then. All this shopping has worked up my appetite.”
She laced her fingers with his, delighting in the sense of closeness that had quickly built between them. Whether he remembered or not, the moment they’d arrived, Bryony had sensed a change in Rafael. He’d reverted to the more relaxed, easygoing man with whom she’d fallen in love.
He may not see himself as someone who would get away from the stress of the business world, or someone who would leave his cell phone off or his computer put away for a period of days, but Moon Island had changed him. She’d like to think that his relationship with her had changed his priorities. Maybe it was fanciful and naive for her to think such things, but it didn’t stop her from hoping that he’d rediscover the island—and her.
They drove back to the cottage but Bryony directed him to pull into her grandmother’s driveway instead of her own.
“I want to check in with her and see how she’s doing. I’ve only talked to her on the phone for the last week. I don’t often leave her for long periods of time.”
Rafael nodded. “Of course. Would you prefer I go ahead to your cottage and begin lunch?”
“Only if you want to. I don’t mind if you come unless you’re uncomfortable. I’m only going to talk to her a minute or two. Make sure everything’s okay.”
“Then I’ll go with you,” Rafael said. “I’d like to get reacquainted. You two seem to be very close. Did I spend a lot of time with her before?”
Bryony smiled. “You got along famously. You’d drop in on her every other day or so whether I was with you or not. You spoiled her by bringing her favorite flowers and a box of goodies from the bakery.”
“I sounded…nice,” he said, as though the idea were ridiculous.
She paused in the act of opening her car door and turned her head so she looked directly at him. “You say that as if you aren’t…nice.”
He shrugged. “Bastard has been used on more than one occasion to describe me. This morning being the most recent. I’ve been called a lot of things. Ruthless. Driven. Ambitious. Son of a bitch. You name it. But nice? I can’t say that being thoughtful was ever a priority. It’s not that I intended to be a jerk, but I was never really concerned about it.”
“Well, you were wonderful to my grandmother and I loved you for it,” she said. “You were wonderful to me, too. Maybe you don’t associate with the right people.”
He laughed at that. “Maybe you’re right. I guess we’ll see, won’t we?”
Bryony’s grandmother appeared on the front porch and waved for them to come in. Bryony reached over and squeezed Rafael’s hand. “Stop worrying so much about what you were or weren’t. No one says you have to stay the same forever. Maybe you were ready for a change. Here you could be whoever you wanted because no one knew you before. You got to have a fresh start.”
He raised her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. “What I think is that you’re a special woman, Bryony Morgan.”
She smiled again and opened her car door. As she got out, she waved at her grandmother. “We’re coming!”
Mamaw smiled and waved, then waited with the screen door open while Rafael and Bryony made their way up the steps.
“Good afternoon to you,” Mamaw said cheerfully.
She pulled Bryony into a hug and then did the same with Rafael, who looked a little dumbstruck by the reception.
“Come in, come in, you two. I just sweetened a pitcher of tea and it’s ready to pour. I’ll get us some glasses. Have a seat on the back porch if you like.