“Me?” Josie cried.
Bree gave a laugh, shaking her head as she smiled through her tears. “The stunts you used to pull. Snowboarding in Alaska. While I was hesitating over the safest way, or worrying about the risks, you’d just fly straight past me, head-first. And that’s how you love.” She looked at Josie. “You’re still in love with him, aren’t you?”
Josie’s lips parted. Then, wordlessly, she nodded.
“Are you going to tell him? About the baby?”
“Should I?”
With a rueful little smile, Bree shook her head. “That’s a choice that only you can make.” She paused. “Because you’re right, Josie. You’re all grown up.”
Josie hugged her sister tight, then pulled away, wiping her eyes. “I do love him. But he doesn’t love me. I know now that he’s never going to come for me. I’ll never see him again.”
“I don’t know about that.” There was a strange expression on Bree’s face as she looked at a point above her ear.
Frowning, Josie turned around.
And saw Kasimir standing behind her, just outside the dark gazebo, in the warm Hawaiian night.
* * *
Kasimir’s heart was thudding in his throat.
Josie’s big brown eyes looked up at him in shock, as if she thought she was dreaming. She was chewing her pink bottom lip in an adorable way, wearing a simple pink cotton bridesmaid’s dress, with her soft brown hair hanging in waves over her bare, tanned shoulders.
So beautiful. So incredibly beautiful. Seeing her face, breathing the same air, almost close enough to touch—Kasimir felt alive again for the first time since she’d left him. Especially when he saw she was still wearing her wedding ring.
Kasimir ran his thumb over his own gold wedding band. He’d never taken it off. It had become a part of him.
And so had she.
When he’d burst into the wedding reception, he’d immediately looked for Josie. Instead, he’d seen his brother standing near the bar. It had taken all of Kasimir’s courage to tap him on the shoulder.
Still laughing at a friend’s joke, Vladimir had turned around. The smile dropped from his face. “Kasimir,” he whispered. “I didn’t expect you.”
“Then you shouldn’t have sent me an invitation.”
“No—that’s not what I meant. I—”
“It’s all right. I know what you meant. And until a few hours ago, I didn’t know I was coming either.” Reaching into the pocket of his jacket, Kasimir pulled out the contract. He pushed it into his brother’s hand. “I can’t take this. I don’t want it.”
His brother stared down at the signed contract now in his hand. “Why not?” he said faintly.
Kasimir blinked fast. “The truth is, I never really cared about taking over your company.”
His brother snorted. “You gave a damned good impression.”
Kasimir tilted his head and gave a low chuckle. “All right. Maybe I did want it. But what I wanted even more,” he said in a low voice, swallowing against the ache in his throat, “was to have my brother back.” He lifted his eyes. “I’ve missed you. I don’t want to run your company. But...” He paused. “A merger... We could run Xendzov Mining and Southern Cross together. As partners.”
Vladimir stared at him. “Partners?”
“We’d have the second-largest mining company in the world. With your assets in the northern hemisphere, and mine in the southern.... We could dominate. Win. Together.”
Vladimir blinked, his eyes dazed. “You’d give me a second chance? You’d trust me with your company? After the way I betrayed you?”
Kasimir gave him a crooked smile. “Yeah.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re brothers. But no more big-brother-little-brother stuff. From now on, we’re equals.” He tilted his head, quirking a dark eyebrow. “What do you say?” Nervously, Kasimir held out his hand. “Will you be my business partner? Will you be my brother again?”
Vladimir stared at him for a long moment. Then he pushed his hand aside roughly.
Kasimir sucked in his breath.
His brother suddenly pulled him against his chest in a bear hug. His voice was muffled. “I’ve missed you. What do I say? Hell, yes. To all of it.”
When the hug ended, both brothers turned away.
“Sand in my eyes,” Kasimir muttered, wiping them with his hand.
“Stupid wind. Lifting sand from the beach.” Wiping his own eyes, Vladimir cleared his throat in the windless night, then looked back at him and smiled, with his eyes still red. “From now on, we’re equals. Through and through.”
Kasimir snorted. “About time you figured that out.”
“And by the way, your timing couldn’t be better. Thanks for coming to save me. Turns out I’m no good at running a hotel.” He gave a sudden grin. “This will save my wife the trouble of firing me.”
Kasimir laughed. “Although she might miss you when you start commuting to Russia on a daily basis.”
“Hmm.” He grew thoughtful. “About that...”
The brothers spoke for a few minutes, and then Kasimir sighed. “I am sorry I missed your wedding.”
“So am I.” Vladimir punched him on the shoulder. “But having you back is the best wedding present any man could ask for.” He lifted an eyebrow with a grin. “Though something tells me you didn’t just come here for wedding cake. Or even a business deal.”
“You’re right.” Kasimir took a deep breath. “Where is she, Volodya?”
At the use of his old nickname, Vladimir’s eyes glistened. “Sorry,” he said gruffly. “Sand again.” He gestured towards a nearby cliff. “There. Talking to my wife.”
Kasimir had looked past the outdoor bar to a gazebo, strung with colorful lights, on the edge of a cliff. He saw a moving shadow. Josie. At last! He’d turned to go, then stopped, facing his brother. He’d said in a low voice, “I’m glad we’re friends again.”
“Friends?” Vladimir’s smile had lifted to a grin. “We’re not friends, man. We’re brothers.”
Kasimir was glad and grateful beyond words that after ten years of estrangement, he and Vladimir were truly brothers again. But even that, as important as it was, wasn’t the reason he’d flown for almost twenty-four hours straight from St. Petersburg across the North Atlantic to Alaska, and then across the endless Pacific to Hawaii.
Now, Kasimir took a deep breath as he looked down at Josie, facing him beneath the gazebo in the moonswept night. At the bottom of the cliff, he could hear the ocean waves crashing against the shore, but it was nothing compared to the roar of his own heart.
“What—what are you doing here?” Josie stammered. The music of her sweet, warm voice traveled through his body like electricity.
“My brother invited me to the wedding.”
“You missed it,” she said tartly.
“I know.” He’d known he was too late when from the window of his plane, he’d seen the red sunset over Oahu. But the lights of Honolulu had still sparkled like diamonds in the center of the sunset’s red fire, against the black water. Like magic. Because he knew Josie was there. “But the real question is,” he whispered, “am I too late with you?”
Josie’s lips parted.
Looking between her sister and Kasimir, Bree cleared her throat. “Um. I think I hear my husband calling me.”
She hurried away from the gazebo, her wedding gown flying behind her. And for that alone, Kasimir could have forgiven her anything.
Turning, Josie started to follow. Kasimir grabbed her arm. “Please don’t go.”
“Why?” She looked at him. “What could we possibly have to talk about?”
“Vladimir and I worked through things,” he said haltingly. He gave an awkward smile. “In fact, we’ve decided to combine our companies. Be partners.”
Her jaw dropped. “You did?”
“I was in Alaska this morning, at the homestead. I had everything I ever wanted. And I suddenly realized something.”
“What?” she whispered.
He looked at her. “I realized there’s no point in having everything,” he said softly, “if you can’t share it with people you love.”
Josie looked at him, her eyes wide. Swallowing, she looked away. “I’m happy you and your brother are friends again.”
“Not friends.” Kasimir grinned, remembering. “Brothers.”
Josie looked at him, her eyes luminous and deep. “I’m glad,” she said softly. Then she looked down. “But that doesn’t have anything to do with me. Not anymore.”
Kasimir knew his whole life depended on his next words. “He’s not the reason I came back to Honolulu, Josie.”