Love Lost and Found (12 page)

Chapter Twelve

“I can’t fit it in.”

“’Course you can.” Rick put the last piece of coconut and chocolate cake to her lips
and let the thick, rich icing begin to melt there.

“You’re trying to destroy me,” she complained but took the cake and licked her lips,
savoring the sweet burst of tropical flavors.

“Give those to me,” he said, laughing. “You’re going to fall over otherwise.”

“Not sure I’ll fall over, but I might melt.”

Passing him the bags full of fruit, carved wooden trinkets, a sarong, a beautiful
printed bedspread, and some fish for their dinner, Felicity laughed as well. “I don’t
know how the heck we’re going to get all this back on board.”

“Well, we’re going to eat half of it,” he said with a wink. “And then I’m going to
smear some of it on your body and lick it off.” Leaning in, he nicked her earlobe
with his teeth. “Who cares about the rest?”

She laughed and batted him away, self-consciously patting at her hair, which she could
tell had reverted to its bird’s-nest frizz.

“You’re not melting yet. One last thing.” Rick took her hand and led her toward a
nondescript stall with the usual stacks of coconut bras and fake straw hats. Passing
under the tarpaulin awning and into the sticky humid interior, Felicity saw nothing
that she could imagine Rick wanting to take back with him to San Francisco. And there
was certainly nothing that piqued her interest. Nothing, until a young woman with
hair to her waist pulled back a fabric screen far enough for Rick to peer inside,
but not enough for Felicity to see anything more than a table covered in black cloth.
“Is this what you were after?” the young woman asked Rick.

Rick nodded, “Yes, that’s the one.” He tugged Felicity inside.

“I figure you didn’t remember to pack any jewelry,” he said. “And then I saw this.”
Putting the bags on the floor, he held on to her hand and, picking something up from
the table, turned back to her. “Close your eyes. I hope you like it. It reminds me
of our island.”

Felicity smiled and did as he asked. The smooth, cool feel of metal was in sharp contrast
to her sticky skin.

“You can open them.”

Looking down, Felicity felt her heart jump a little. “Oh, it’s beautiful.”

“Really?”

“Completely. Wow. Thanks, Cashypants.”

His smile turned wry. “Are you really going to keep calling me that?”

She held up her wrist, watching the black pearls and scattering of small diamonds
glint in the half light. “You did just drop a bunch of cash on this, didn’t you? Seems
like you’re trying to live up to your name. Not that I don’t appreciate it,” she added
quickly.

She looked at the bracelet again. If someone had asked her to describe Pacific art,
she would have thought of the blunt crisscross patterns and mixture of wood and shell
that adorned almost everything they’d seen at the market. But the delicate circles
that enclosed her wrist were every bit as Pacific as a coconut carving, only they
were much more to her taste. Small discs of gold held the black pearls, as dark as
the obsidian on Tabween Island, but with a luster that the rock never managed. On
the edges, diamonds glinted, some in the familiar crisscross pattern, others simply
encasing the pearl in the center.

Outside the jewelry stall, Rick scanned the market. “I think we’ve probably done this
place to death, don’t you? Drink? Followed by a gentle sunset horse ride back to our
accommodations?”

Felicity looked gratefully at Rick and when he took her hand, linking his fingers
with hers, she looked down and saw the bracelet sparkling even more brightly in the
early-evening sun.

“I think you should wear that and nothing else for the rest of the day,” he growled.

“Not a bad idea.”

The grin that lit up Rick’s face gave Felicity a shiver of pleasure. The best of this
bad situation was turning out to be pretty damn good.

The horses were really just local ponies, but Milly, the chestnut mare she was allocated,
nudged her hand and whinnied as if she wanted to reassure Felicity that she considered
herself very much the thoroughbred.

“Did you see that? She likes me.” Felicity turned to smile at Rick and caught him
struggling with a tall black gelding, whose streak of white across the nose had obviously
been part of his naming process. Flash did not seem pleased to be taking care of Rick,
and Rick didn’t look too happy about the pairing either. Flash stamped his foot and
his nostrils flared as he backed up, making it a real struggle for Rick to get the
halter untied from the fence.

“If you let him think he’s in control, he’s going to make things difficult for you
every chance he can.” Giving Milly a pat on the nose, Felicity walked over to Flash
and, grabbing the reins, pulled him closer to the fence. She rested her head against
his, letting their breath mingle, and smiled. “It’s okay. Cashypants likes to think
he’s in control of everything, and we both know it’s not true. But it’d be a whole
lot easier if you cut him some slack and pretend he’s the one in charge. Otherwise
we’re never going to get back to that suite before it gets dark and I think having
a bath while the stars come out will just about be the perfect end to today. So if
you wouldn’t mind?”

As if he completely understood, Flash stepped forward, bowing his head and whinnying
softly.

Rick’s relief was printed clear across his face as the frown dropped away. “Are you
some sort of horse whisperer?”

Felicity laughed. “Maybe. I think it’s more that I wasn’t trying to pick a fight.”

Rick shook his head.

“You’re not really a horse person.”

He shrugged. “They remind me of an old business competitor. Come on, saddle up. If
we don’t get a move on you won’t get your star-sparkled bath this evening.” Without
waiting for her or Flash to give him an excuse to back out, Rick put a foot in the
stirrup and leaped into the saddle. The gelding took a couple of steps back, then
steadied, giving Felicity a look, before letting Rick lead him away from the fence.

“What did you mean about horses reminding you of an old competitor?” Felicity asked.

Rick’s lips tightened and he leaned down to pat Flash on the neck.

Interesting.
“I mean, sorry if you’ve already told me. But, you know, sieve for a memory, me.”
The horses kept up their steady pace along the sand and Felicity waited for an answer.

Finally, Rick said, “We never talked about it.”

Never?
His tone was cold. Dismissive. “Maybe we should have.”

“I don’t like to waste energy thinking about the past.”

Felicity stiffened but he jumped in. “I don’t mean you.”

Felicity waited for him to offer more, but when the sound of horse hooves thumping
compacted sand continued to be the only noise, she let out a sigh. “Don’t you think
you maybe
should
talk about it? If it bugs you this much?”

“Who says it bugs me?” Rick turned to her and, in the golden light of the fast approaching
sunset, Felicity couldn’t help the breath disappearing from her lungs at the sight
of him. His back straight, his hand relaxed on the reins of his haughty black gelding,
and the light making his skin gleam so it appeared to be covered in armor, Rick McCarthy
looked delicious.

“It totally bugs you. Was it that bad?”

He snorted. “Depends what you call bad. Does cozying up to my sick brother to get
a job with us, working his way onto a development team and then giving up the IP to
the highest bidder count?”

Felicity bit her lip
.
“And he looked like a horse?”

Rick laughed. A short, loud sound. “He made all his money on the racetrack. Didn’t
really have any passion for biotech.”

Felicity tried to picture a young Rick, wringing his hands as something he’d built
was taken away from him. He was driven, she’d already gathered that. Here was at least
part of the story why. And by the sounds of it, he’d chosen
this
Felicity to let into his past, not her previous self.

Deciding to let it drop, Felicity looked out across the sand to where the ocean met
the sky. The world had been painted pink and gold earlier, but now sunset’s paintbrush
had picked up deep violet, navy, and the lightest dusting of rust, scattering the
colors over the sky and sea with equal measure. She pulled on Milly’s reins and lay
over the mare’s neck. “Isn’t life amazing?” she whispered in the horse’s ear. “One
minute you’re lost, running from the whole world. And the next, the universe is being
painted like this just for you.” The horse gave a whinny and pawed the sand. “You’re
right,” Felicity said and patted her before she sat back up in the saddle. “Not just
for me.” She looked after Rick’s disappearing back and wondered at how much she was
willing to open herself up to a man who held so much so close to his chest. “Guess
we’ll have to see.” Taking one last look at the sunset on the water, Felicity dug
her heels into Milly’s flanks and took off at a rising trot after Rick and Flash.

When she woke next morning, the first thing Felicity spotted was the bracelet. Rick
had clearly dismissed all thoughts of any past business bitterness once he’d dismounted
Flash, and when they got back to their room, they spent the evening naked, eating
fish and fruit before getting down and plenty dirty in a messy hot tangle all over
the room. She looked about and smirked as she pictured the two of them, naked and
practically steaming around the room. In the shower, yep. That had been her idea.
Against the wall, yep. That had been his. Out on their private balcony, yep. And yet
she hadn’t been able to get enough of him. The thought of it started a heat between
her thighs again and she wondered whether he’d slipped some sort of Viagra into her
dinner. Surely wanting this much sex dried up after you gave it a good run.
Maybe that’s what happens when you’re a nun for five months.
Or maybe it had something to do with finding the right guy.
Really?
Felicity flicked through the short time she’d spent with Cashypants as if it were
a photo album. He’d hunted her halfway around the world and spun a huge story to get
her alone on a desert island. That certainly got an A for ambition. Then he’d tried
to encourage her memory back by putting her in charge and letting her get in touch
with her inner survival nut. Felicity smiled.
Not sure that one gets an A for anything.
But it certainly got kudos for effort.

Their time on Espiritu Santo and now on Oyster Island was turning out to be more than
a little fun, and all the activities he’d planned were just what she liked. Perfect,
in fact. “Turns out you know me way better than I know myself,” she whispered to his
still-sleeping form.

If she was honest, being with Rick had been the most alive she’d felt since the accident.
But even though these past days were the closest she’d ever been to feeling as though
she was living life on the big screen, there was still one thing missing from this
Hollywood screenplay.
What about love?
Rick kept making comments about how much she’d changed and how much he liked the
changes. But had they been in love? The old Felicity sounded too calm and controlled
for love, no matter how much Rick said she was great. Had Rick broken through the
old Felicity’s ice-queen shell? And even if the big L-word had been in the mix then,
didn’t mean it was now.
Do you really need to hear him say it?
Well he would, wouldn’t he? If he did?
He still wants to marry you, doesn’t he? Love has got to figure in there somewhere.

Felicity shut her eyes.
And what about you?
That was the issue, wasn’t it, because despite all that Rick had done, despite the
crazy tempo her heart put up around him, she was scared that if she let herself love
him, he’d turn out to have loved the five-years-older Felicity, not her, and would
be marrying her out of some kind of misplaced loyalty. Did he love her
now?

She looked over at Rick, sprawled across the bed, his dark hair stark against the
pale-blue pillow, his jaw roughening with the stubble grown while he slept. He was
perhaps the most handsome man she’d ever known.
And he asked
you
to marry him.
So, what was next? Risk her heart for a chance at finding some of the life she had
before the accident? Or keep everything neatly tucked away for safekeeping?

Rick stirred and his eyes flickered open, the gold at their edges echoing the light
of the Pacific morning sun. “Hey you, that’s a serious face to start the day.”

“Oh, is it? Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“You didn’t,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “But now that I’m awake I think
we should make use of this lovely big bed. The one in my cabin on your cruise ship
is a sad and sorry affair.”

The cruise ship
.

Felicity closed her eyes for the kiss. This felt right. Wonderful even.
So don’t fight it.
“Rick,” she said, pulling back a second.

“Ummm.” He tugged at her chin but she resisted. She was strong. Strong enough for
this. “How can you know if you love me?”

The sleep left his face and he dropped his hand. His pupils dilated as he concentrated.
“I’ve known you for five years. I’d know if I wanted to marry you or not.”

“You knew the old Felicity for five years. I’m new. Or I feel new. And you’ve told
me I’m different. What if you like the old Felicity better than me?”

“I like this you plenty. I thought I showed you that these past days.” He paused and
looked genuinely upset. “I don’t know what else to do. Tell me how I get you to come
home with me.”

He had been trying to show her. The gifts, the trips, but more importantly the shared
confidences and the insight into his personal life all added up to a pretty clear
illustration that he cared about her. Wasn’t that enough? In that moment, she decided.
Time to jump and see what was at the bottom of the fall. “I am going back with you.
I need to finish my contract on the
Pacific Empress
, but then I’ll come back.”