When She Was Bad...

“Oh, yes. Celebrities have taken a fancy to this place because it’s so out of the way. And Mr. Castellano wants us to encourage repeat business, so every other month I fly to New York and do some buying.” He leaned closer and spoke in a low voice. “I could name one movie star who’s staying here right now, but we promise complete confidentiality.”

“I understand.” While he buckled the ankle straps, she asked, “Was that Evan Atwell I just heard in the shop?”

“Yes, do you know him?”

“I used to date him in San Francisco. Does he come here often?”

“I believe this is his first trip.”

“And his friend? I’ve never run into him before.”

“Mr. Rambeau is turning out to be one of my best customers. Yesterday he bought a two carat diamond pinkie ring and today a pair of cuff links. He has a good eye. They were the most valuable pieces of men’s jewelry in the shop. There.” He stood and stepped to the side of the small room. “Rise and walk.”

She did, and the sandals couldn’t have fit better if they’d been made especially for her.

She sighed. “They’re lovely, but—” But she was going to buy them anyway. Why did she have to have such a weakness for shoes? It was the only authentically debutante gene she possessed.

“Don’t worry about the price. Your gentleman is putting them on his tab.”

Pepper’s eyes narrowed. “My gentleman?”

Reynaldo’s eyes twinkled. “Tall, dark hair, looks a little like James Bond on vacation.”

It was such an apt description of Cole that Pepper nearly smiled. But she couldn’t let him buy her such expensive shoes. She pushed through the door of the dressing room and stepped into the shop. Cole turned from where he stood at the counter.

“I’m not going to let you buy these shoes,” she said as she walked toward him. But she nearly stumbled when she drew close enough to see the look in his eyes. He was surprised. In fact he was staring at her as if he’d never seen her before.

Well…good. Maybe she’d chosen the right dress after all. The goddess look and the shoes might just be worth it.

“You like the dress?” she asked.

“What?”

She bit back a satisfied smile. She hadn’t just surprised him. She’d stunned him. But despite the thrill that moved through her, she said, “I can’t let you buy clothes for me.”

“Okay.”

“Good.” She turned to take the jeans that Reynaldo had carried out of the dressing room and handed her credit card to Reynaldo. While he hurried away to get the authorization, she drew Cole aside. “While I was in the dressing room, Evan and Jean Claude came in and bought a ten thousand dollar pair of cuff links.” Then she filled him in what else she’d overheard.

“Interesting,” Cole murmured.

“I know nothing that they said constitutes proof, but I’m beginning to think they might have the Monet. Jean Claude could have stolen it from Aunt Irene in the airport and then somehow put her on the plane to Eden. I hate to think that Evan could be involved, but this isn’t looking good.”

“No.”

“Tell me that they could be working on a different kind of deal.”

“They could be working on a different kind of deal. We won’t know until your aunt can tell us just how she got on the wrong plane.”

“No word yet?”

Cole shook his head.

“I hate this waiting.”

He smiled at her. “Welcome to the world of investigative work.”

Reynaldo returned to the counter, and when she’d signed the bill, Cole put a hand on her wrist. “If I can’t buy the dress and shoes, then you have to accept the other presents I’ve bought for you. Think of them as early Valentine’s Day gifts. Deal?”

She met his eyes, but she couldn’t read anything there. “Gifts in the plural?”

“Yeah. I like to make a good impression on a first date.”

A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. For the first time she noticed the bag he was holding. “How many presents exactly?”

“Uh-uh. First, do we have a deal?”

She glanced at the bag again and saw that it carried the logo of the flower shop. So that’s where he must have disappeared to while she and Reynaldo were busy in the dressing room. Flowers were safe enough. “Deal. Now tell me how many presents?”

Instead of answering, he pulled out a small box and took out one of the island flowers. She caught the delicate exotic fragrance. “The florist attached it to a comb so it would stay in your hair.”

“Let me.” Reynaldo plucked the flower from Cole and fastened it near her ear. Then he turned her so that she could see herself in the mirror behind the counter. But it wasn’t her own image that she looked at. It was Cole’s. She wanted always to remember the way he was looking at her right now. It had something moving through her in a steady warm stream.

“Do you like it?” he asked.

“Yes.” She very much liked what she was looking at. He was wearing a khaki shirt and khaki slacks which were a perfect complement to his bronze-colored skin.

Then she saw that he was removing another box from the bag. “I was going to give you this at midnight, but since you wouldn’t let me buy you the dress and the shoes…”

This box was not from the florist shop. It was small and the name of the jewelry designer was still visible beneath the blue bow. Cartier. Her eyes flew to his.

“We have a deal,” he said. “I’m going to hold you to it.”

Yes, they did have a deal. But she wasn’t thinking about her agreement to accept the presents. She wasn’t thinking much at all, not with the flood of emotions pouring through her. Her fingers shook as she pulled away the ribbon and opened the box. Then she had to blink at the brightness of the stones shining up at her. The spray of diamonds in each earring reminded her of fireworks, hot and bright on the Fourth of July. Tears pricked behind her eyes. Hesitantly, she touched one of the diamonds with her finger to test if the heat were real. But the stones were cool. She knew she had to say something, but she wasn’t sure she could speak past the tightness in her throat.

With one finger, he lifted her chin so that she had to meet his eyes. Then he used the same finger to trace the path of a tear as it ran down her cheek. “You don’t like them?”

“I love them.” She set the box on the counter, then took them out and fastened them in her ears with shaking hands. She turned to look at him. The only other thing she could think of to say to him was “You shouldn’t have,” and it sounded so trite.

“Beautiful,” he said.

“Jewelry fit for a goddess,” Reynaldo said as he gathered up the empty boxes.

“I was talking about the woman,” Cole said as he lifted her hand and kissed her fingers.

“That too,” Reynaldo agreed.

Taking a deep breath, Pepper managed a smile. If she had just one more night with this man, she was going to make the most of it. “This is turning out to be a very expensive first date for you.”

He smiled as he tapped the shoe box on the counter. “You’re not getting off cheaply yourself.”

She linked her fingers with his. “What do you say we make sure we get our money’s worth?”

THE MOMENT HIS CELL phone rang, Butch lurched across his desk to get it. When he heard Angelo’s voice on the other end of the line, he said, “Tell me you’ve got good news.”

“Good news and bad news.”

Butch frowned. “Explain.”

“I tracked her to a fishing cabin on the far side of the island. She rented a boat there and she’s gone.”

Butch felt his heart sink. “What do you mean she’s gone?”

“The woman who owns the cabin says she was hell bent on getting to Escapade Island tonight. They left about an hour before I got here.”

Frowning, Butch glanced at his watch. It was 9:30. The sky was darkening now, so that would give her another half hour of daylight. The trip between the islands usually didn’t take longer than that. “Hold on, Angelo.” Butch turned to H who was watching the lobby through the one-way glass. “They borrowed a boat and they’re on their way here.” Then he frowned and spoke one word into his cell phone. “They?”

Angelo cleared his throat. “That’s part of the good news. The man she was with is ex-navy and he sailed once in the America’s Cup. She should be in good hands.”

It didn’t sound like good news to Butch. He was almost afraid to ask what the bad news was. “And?” he prompted Angelo.

“The boat they borrowed started out on the far side of the island, and it’s nothing more than a motorized raft.”

“Shit,” Butch said

“You want I should try and find them?” Angelo asked.

“Hell, yes, I want you to find them. I want you to search every inch of the water between that damn island and this one.” By the time Butch flipped his phone shut, H had turned from the window.