A Reputation For Revenge (16 page)

Kasimir’s heart stopped in his chest. “It’s not a dream. Josie—”

“Stop it!” Her sweet, lovely face hardened as her eyes narrowed. “It
was
a dream. I knew you were ruthless. I knew you were selfish. But I didn’t know you were a liar and more heartless than I ever imagined!”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. He swallowed. “If you’ll just—”

“No!” She cut him off every bit as ruthlessly as he’d once done to her, again and again. He flinched, remembering. She took a deep breath, and her voice turned cold. “As soon as my land in Alaska is transferred to your name, there’s only one thing I want from you.”

“Anything,” he said desperately.

Josie lifted her chin, and for the first time, her brown eyes held a sliver of ice. He saw her soul there, what he’d done to her, in a kaleidoscope of blue and green and shadows, glittering like a frost-covered forest, frozen as midnight. “I want a divorce.”

A
LMOST FOUR WEEKS
later, Josie watched her sister and Vladimir get married in a twilight beachside ceremony in Hawaii.

Seeing their happiness as they spoke their wedding vows, a lump rose in Josie’s throat. The sun was setting over the ocean as they stood barefoot in the sand, the surf rushing over their feet. Bree wore a long white dress, Vladimir a white button-down shirt and khakis, and they both were decked in colorful fresh-flower leis. As the newly married couple kissed to the scattered applause of friends and family surrounding them on the beach, Josie felt a hard twist in her chest. She told herself she was crying because she was so happy Bree had found love at last.

Josie had filed for divorce the day before.

When her lawyer had called yesterday morning to tell her that the land in Alaska now officially belonged to Kasimir, Josie had thanked him, and told him to file papers for their divorce.

She’d had no choice. She’d given Kasimir all her trust and faith, and he’d still selfishly asked her to make a sacrifice that would have destroyed her—a sacrifice that didn’t even have to be made, if he’d just been honest enough to confess!

But her heart was breaking. She’d loved him so. She loved him still.

She’d never forget when Kasimir had told her he loved her on that cold winter day in Russia. She’d thought she would die
of happiness. Now, Josie looked down, her tears dripping like rain into the bouquet of flowers she held as matron of honor.

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.”

“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, headfirst. 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.”