“Let me help you out,” he said, guiding her up the steps and grabbing her towel on the chair. He wrapped it around her and gave her arms a gentle squeeze. “There. Better get you inside or you’ll get chilled. It’s warm tonight, but not that warm.”
While she stepped into a pair of flip-flops, he grabbed his own towel and gave himself a cursory rubdown. He ushered her inside the house and she stopped just inside the door.
“I’m okay now,” she said in a low voice that made him wonder if she would sound that way in bed. “Thanks. And good night.”
He watched her walk away, his gaze latching on to her bare legs and shoulders. Curling his fingers into a fist, he felt a punch of desire that surprised him. She was beautiful and classy, but so were other women. He liked the way she defended Joel like a mama bear. Her combination of toughness and sensual softness mesmerized him. He couldn’t remember aching for a woman with such fierceness. Was it because she was turning him down?
The truth was Rafe didn’t usually get turned down. Hell, for the most part, he didn’t even have to ask. Women came to him, and they all knew he wasn’t looking for anything serious or permanent. Although he’d confined his involvement to women who were both intelligent and beautiful, he could tell there was something different about Nicole. And he wanted a taste of it.
The next morning, Rafe’s driver took Nicole and Joel to the preschool where they met a teacher and went for a tour. She was prepared to dislike it and searched for reasons to nix the choice, but the Montessori-based school was clean, the staff-to-student ratio optimal and most importantly, the children appeared happy and well-tended.
After their visit, Nicole and Joel returned home. While Joel rushed to the playroom, Nicole went to her bedroom and booted up her laptop, eager to check her email.
Sipping the perfect coffee brewed by Rafe’s staff, she immediately noticed an email with an attachment from the P.I.
Her heart hammering in her chest, she downloaded the document and quickly read it. Rafe’s history was laid out for her in black and white. His birth, his father’s death and his subsequent displacement. His foster family had taken care of him as best they could, but they’d been unable to afford to send him to college. A football scholarship had helped him complete his education.
With unabashed curiosity, she read the rest of the report. He’d worked on yachts during summers off from high school and college. Before he acquired his first yacht, it appeared as if he’d worked nearly twenty hours per day. She couldn’t help feeling impressed. Rafe had worked and lived the American dream.
Under his criminal records, he’d been charged with assault on five different occasions.
The notation stopped her cold.
Taking a deep breath, she tried to read the rest of the report, but she feared she might faint. Stepping away from her laptop, she sank on to the bed and tried to gather her wits.
Assault. Assault. Assault. Assault. Assault. She gulped at the thought. What had made Rafe use his fists? Did that mean he would use them again? On Joel?
A cold chill rushed through her.
She could not let Rafe hurt Joel. She would do anything to stop him.
Returning to her laptop, she read the rest of the report. She should operate from truth. Rafe had been a bouncer for two of the hottest clubs in Miami. His charges had all been related to his job and they’d all been dismissed. Perhaps that should have made her relax, but it didn’t.
If Rafe was capable of violence, how would he use his strength against her or Joel? The instinct to take Joel and run roiled through her. If Rafe ever found out she was even thinking of running away with Joel, he would never let her near his son again. She was totally trapped unless she purchased flexible flights. Nicole printed off the investigator’s report then conducted a search for a schedule of flights that left Miami for international destinations. She placed her passport with Joel’s in the drawer and locked it. She needed all of this available for use at a moment’s notice if Rafe threatened Joel.
The rest of the week, Rafe must have arrived home after Nicole went to sleep and left before she rose. Although Nicole didn’t trust Rafe with Joel, she mentally gave him a black mark for not spending more time with Joel. If he was going to ignore his son, why should Joel move here?
The chauffeur drove Nicole and Joel to preschool and Nicole kissed him good-bye. The sight of him uncertainly entering his schoolroom tugged at her heartstrings. If only Rafe hadn’t reappeared, Joel would be safe and secure in his own comfort zone in Atlanta.
She swam several laps in the pool in hopes of reducing her frustration. In other circumstances, she would welcome this time as a long-delayed break, but the situation was far too complicated for her to relax.
Her cell phone rang and she noticed the incoming call was from Rafe. She felt a spurt of adrenaline. “Hello,” she said.
“Hi. How are you?”
“Fine, and you?” she asked, keeping her tone cool.
A brief silence followed. “You don’t sound fine. What’s wrong? Is the new assistant okay? What about Joel?”
“Everyone is fine. Joel is at school.”
“Oh, bored?”
Standing, she paced around the pool. “No, but I am used to working.”
“In that, you and I are the same. I’ve got a good distraction coming. I’m going to take you and Joel for a cruise on Friday evening. We won’t return until Saturday night.”
Surprise rushed through her. “Really? You’re so busy. I wouldn’t have thought you could make the time for this kind of trip?”
“I’m making the time. Just pack what the two of you will need. In the meantime, if you’re really bored, you could do some shopping to furnish the house.”
Nicole blinked. “Shopping. Why me?”
“I’m still making up from the time I spent in Atlanta. I hope to be caught up next week. It would be a huge favor to me if you would take care of it.”
“But I don’t know your taste,” she protested.
“I trust you,” he said, and she felt a stab of bitterness that she couldn’t trust him in return.
“I don’t know much about the shopping down here,” she said.
“No problem. Just give Maddie a call and she can fill you in. See you tomorrow night.”
Just before dusk, Rafe welcomed Joel and Nicole on to his yacht. He gave them the grand tour and enjoyed Joel’s enthusiasm. Joel was especially excited to see the engine room and the game room. The three of them were served dinner and watched the lights as they left the harbor.
Joel was so wound up that it took him a while to settle down.
“I’ll read the bedtime stories tonight,” he said to Nicole.
She hesitated then nodded. “Okay.”
Rafe had made the offer impulsively, but as soon as Joel sank down on the bed beside him with a book, he realized why he’d wanted the good-night time with his son. As he read the story about the big strawberry and the little mouse, he remembered piling into a bed with his brothers and listening to his father’s deep voice as he told stories. His father had made them up on his own, stories of adventure that had evoked his imagination. He and his brothers had competed for the positions on his father’s left and right side. Rafe couldn’t remember a time when he’d felt more safe and secure.
Now, with his son curled against him, Rafe felt a wave of emotion at the bond forming between them. He wanted that sense of safety and security for Joel. He never wanted his son to experience the uncertainty he had.
“Do you like strawberries?” he asked Joel.
Joel gave a big nod. “I like them as much as the little mouse does. Again,” he said. “Read it again.”
Rafe laughed. “The same book?”
Joel nodded again. “It’s the best book in the world,” he said solemnly.
“Hmm,” Rafe said, ruffling his fingers through Joel’s hair. “Then I guess it’s worth hearing again.”
He started at the beginning and Joel moved his lips, wordlessly repeating each word of the story. The fact that his son had clearly memorized the book brought him enormous pride. Rafe ended up reading it yet another time, then he turned to another book. With Joel fully relaxed against him, Rafe glanced down and saw that his son was asleep.
His heart twisted. Joel’s ability to let down his guard with him made something inside him swell with emotion. He wanted Joel to trust him. It was vital to him.
Gently, he tucked the covers over his son and slid out of bed, returning to the upper deck.
Nicole stood next to the side of the ship, looking into the distance.
He stepped beside her. “You think he liked his first day on the yacht?”
She turned to glance at him. “It was obvious he loved it.”
“I’m glad he’s a good sailor. I worried a little about seasickness and had both the meds and the sea bands ready for him just in case.”
“That was thoughtful,” she said.
“You sound surprised.”
“You’re a new dad. I wouldn’t expect you to be prepared for everything.”
“What about you? Do you like it out here?”
She inhaled. “Who wouldn’t?”
“Someone who gets seasick.”
She gave a low reluctant laugh that made him want to bend his head down and feel the sound against his skin. “It’s so quiet and peaceful out here,” she said.
“Right now it is. I’ve been out in some pretty rough storms where it’s anything but peaceful.”
“When did you first develop your fondness for boats or the ocean?”
“My father took us out a couple of times. I was very young, but I still remember it like it was yesterday.” He thought of his father, his hair whipping in the wind as he called out instruction to him and his brothers. A wave of longing and nostalgia washed over him. “He was a good dad.”
“In what way?” she asked and he felt her searching his face.
“Don’t get me wrong. He could be tough as nails. With four sons and a wife who was-” He paused, feeling another twist of loss for his mother. “Fragile, he had to stay on top of everything. He taught us to work hard, taught us to swim and play poker. He even taught us all to cook.”