Love. Kasimir hadn’t known the meaning of the word. He’d never loved her. All the time she’d spent worshipping him, all the sunny optimistic hopes she’d had that she could change him—what a joke. She felt like a fool. Because she was one.
Blinking fast, Josie watched Bree’s fluffy white puppy happily entwining herself around the happy couple, before running up and down the beach in pure doggy joy. She’d been like Snowy, she thought. Like Kasimir’s slavishly adoring pet, waiting by the door with his slippers in her mouth. Pathetic.
And now he’d gotten what he wanted all along. His brother’s company and his apology. Seducing Josie had just been a way for the notoriously ruthless womanizer to pass the time.
Everything changed, Josie. She had the sudden memory of his haunted eyes. When I...I fell in love with you.
She squeezed her eyes shut. No. She didn’t believe it. Kasimir was just a man who didn’t know how to lose, that was all. He’d wanted to keep her, but not enough to pursue her back to Hawaii. He’d let her go, and had never bothered to contact her since. If he’d loved her, he would have tried to fight for her. He hadn’t.
Should she still tell him?
Josie shivered. Still standing in the surf on the beach, surrounded by applauding friends and her new husband, Bree looked at her sister with worried eyes.
Straightening her shoulders, Josie forced her lips into a quick, encouraging smile. She couldn’t let Bree know. Not yet.
She exhaled as the group started walking back up the beach towards the Hale Ka’nani for the reception.
Bree was working sixteen-hour days as the new owner of the five-star resort and loving every minute of it. Her first act had been to double the salaries of the hotel’s housekeepers. The second was to fire the vendors who’d been double-charging their accounts. Employee morale had skyrocketed since the tyrannical reign of their hated ex-boss, Greg Hudson, had ended.
And both sisters’ futures were brighter than Josie had ever imagined. Thanks to Vladimir, there were no longer angry men demanding that Josie and her sister repay their dead father’s debts. Without a company to run, he had pronounced himself—at thirty-five—to be retired. But Bree confided she thought he missed working. “Not for the money. But for the fun.”
Fun? Josie had shaken her head. But who was she to judge what made people happy? Life was wherever your heart was.
Her own life had become unrecognizable. She’d left Honolulu a poor housekeeper, desperate, broke and completely insecure. Now, she’d started spring classes at the University of Hawaii, and instead of living in a dorm, she had her own luxurious beach villa, right next to her sister’s at the Hale Ka’nani. She’d finally gotten her driver’s license—and she’d bought herself a brand-new, snazzy red two-seater convertible. For which she’d paid cash.
But she was going to have to return the convertible to the dealer. And see if she could exchange it for something that had room for another passenger in the back.
Josie put her hand over her belly in wonder. As the small, intimate wedding reception began in the open-air hotel bar, and Bree and Vladimir cut their wedding cake together beneath the twinkling fairy lights in the night, she still couldn’t quite believe it. How could she be pregnant? She blushed. Well, she knew, but she’d never thought it could happen.
Pregnant. With Kasimir’s baby.
A soft smile traced her lips. She was starting to get used to the idea. Maybe Kasimir didn’t love her. Maybe Josie’s heart would never recover. But he’d still given her the most precious gift of all.
A child.
No one knew yet. She was afraid of what Bree would say. At twenty-two, Josie was young to be a mother. Other women her age were worried about the next frat party or calculus test.
But thanks to Kasimir, there was at least one thing Josie would never need to worry about: money. The day after she left Russia, before he’d even gotten the land in Alaska, he’d placed an amount in her bank account that she still couldn’t even quite comprehend, because it had so many zeroes at the end.
“Josie? Is everything okay?”
Looking up, she saw Bree in front of her. Her long blond hair tumbled over her flower lei and white cotton dress as she looked at her sister with concern.
“You look beautiful,” Josie whispered. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Cut the crap. What’s wrong?”
Trust her sister to see right through her. Forcing her lips into a smile, she said, “It’s your wedding. We can talk later.”
“We’ll talk now. Is it Kasimir?” Bree’s gaze sharpened. “Has he tried to contact you?”
“Contact me?” Josie gave a low, harsh laugh. “No.”
Bree scowled. Then grabbing Josie’s hand, she pulled her out of the outdoor bar and into a quiet, dark gazebo in the shadowy garden overlooking the cliff. “Look, you’re better off without him,” she said urgently. “Plenty of other fish in the sea. You’ll find someone really great, who appreciates you—”
Josie flinched. “I know,” she quickly said to end the horror of the conversation.
“Then what?”
She paused. “Let’s talk about it a different day. After your honeymoon.”
“Honeymoon?” Bree grinned. “I’m living in Hawaii, in my dream job, with the man I love! I’ll be on honeymoon for the rest of my life!”
“I’m so happy for you,” Josie repeated, ignoring the ache in her throat. Resisting the urge to wipe her eyes, she looked down at the wet, soft grass beneath her feet. “After years of taking care of me, you deserve a lifetime of love and joy.”
“Hey.” Bree lifted her chin gently. “So do you. And I can’t be happy until I know what’s going on.”
Josie blinked back tears, trying to smile. “You’ve always been a mother hen.”
“Always.” Her older sister looked into her eyes. “So you might as well tell me what’s going on, or I’ll be pecking at you all night.”
Josie took a deep breath.
“I’m...I’m pregnant,” she whispered.
Her sister gasped. “Pregnant? Are you sure?”
She nodded.
Bree took a deep breath, then visibly gained control of herself. “It’s Kasimir’s.” It was a statement, not a question.
“He doesn’t know.” Josie looked away, blinking back tears. “And I don’t know if I should tell him.”
“Are you going to keep the baby?”
Josie whirled to face her. “Of course I am!”
“You could consider adoption...”
“I’m not giving up my baby!”
“You’re just so young.” Bree’s hazel eyes were full of emotion. “You have no idea how hard it is. What you’re in for.”
“I know.” Josie swallowed. “You were only six when Mom died, and eighteen when we lost Dad. All these hard years, you’ve taken care of me...”
“I loved every minute.”
Josie looked at her skeptically.
“All right,” Bree allowed with a grin, “maybe not every single minute.” She paused. “I was so scared at times for you.”
“Because I was always screwing up,” Josie said sadly.
“You?” Her sister’s lips parted, then she shook her head fiercely beneath the colored lights of the wooden gazebo. “I was scared I would fail you. Scared I’d never be the respectable, honest, careful mother you deserved, no matter how hard I tried.”
Something cracked in Josie’s heart.
“That’s why you hovered over me?” she whispered. “I thought I was a burden to you, forcing you to give up ten years to look after me.”
“I felt like the luckiest big sister in the world to have a sweet kid like you to look after.” Bree took a deep breath. “But you don’t know what it’s like to raise a child. To fear for them every moment.” She looked down at the wet hem of her white dress. “To pray that your own stupid mistakes won’t hurt the sweet, innocent one you love so, so much.”
“You worried you might make a mistake?” Josie said in amazement. Shaking her head, she patted her sister’s shoulder. “You gave me a wonderful childhood that I’ll never forget.” Josie bit her lip, and forced herself to say what she’d been too afraid to say before. “But I’m all grown up now. You don’t need to be my mother any more. Just be my sister. My friend.” She looked at her. “Just be my baby’s aunt.”
Bree stared at her. Then, bursting into tears, she pulled Josie into her arms, hugging her tightly.
“You’ll be a wonderful mother,” she choked out, wiping her eyes. “You’re the strongest person I know. You’ve always been so fearless. You’ve never been afraid of anything.”