The Mysterious Stranger (Triple Trouble) (12 page)

He was stunning.

Instead of his usual trousers and polo shirt, or even jeans, he wore a gray suit, complete with a crisp white shirt and silk tie. He’d recently showered and shaved, and he looked as if he’d stepped from the pages of a men’s magazine.

She wanted to touch his face and feel his smooth, warm skin. She wanted to inhale the scent of him, to be held by him and know his strength again. Although she’d done her best to forget the kiss they’d shared the previous night, she hadn’t been able to. Now, seeing him again brought it all back. Her body ached with the passion he’d aroused in her. Fire raced up her thighs, while flames heated her breasts.

She wanted him, which was understandable under the circumstances. He’d kissed her in a way that had left her shaken and hungry with needs she had forgotten existed. But what was more frightening was that she was finally ready to admit she liked him. Last night, when she’d been vulnerable and hurting, he’d held her close and comforted her. Despite his concerns that she was faking her memory loss and was potentially a horrible person, he was kind and gentle. And she admired how he was trying to make a home for his niece.

Liking and wanting were a deadly combination. Even without the benefit of her memory and past experiences, she knew she was in trouble. Jarrett held himself apart from the world. She didn’t know what his secrets were, but sensed they were as much a part of him as the color of his eyes. He would never be what she needed a man to be. Yet that didn’t stop her heart from thundering as he leaned one shoulder against the door frame and gave her a lazy smile.

“How committed are you to this horseback-riding trip?” he asked.

The low, sultry tones of his voice slipped down her spine like liquid satin. Her mind didn’t understand what he was asking, but her body didn’t care. “I, um, want to go.”

“Too bad. My business to St. Thomas is going to keep me there overnight. I thought you might care to join me. I would be busy this afternoon, but we could have dinner together tonight.”

Alone. He didn’t say the word—he didn’t have to. She heard it loud and clear. A night alone with Jarrett. She tried to swallow but couldn’t. Her gaze met his and she read the passion there. Passion and something else. Something dark. Then he blinked and only the desire remained.

Alone with Jarrett on a tropical island paradise. Just the two of them and the night. Every cell in her body rippled in anticipation. How could she refuse? How could she risk saying yes? Things would happen if they went away together. Things that she wasn’t ready to deal with. Besides, she’d made a promise to Anna Jane.

“I can’t,” she said regretfully. “I would like to, but it’s just not going to work out.”

One dark eyebrow rosé slightly. “You’re not tempted?”

“More than you know,” she blurted out.

“Then what’s the problem? If nothing else, the free afternoon would give you time to explore the city. You might recognize something.”

She hadn’t thought of that. “I would like to, but I’ll have to pass. I told Anna Jane that we’d go horseback riding and I don’t want to disappoint her.”

His posture didn’t shift, but she could have sworn his body tightened. “She’ll get over it.”

She shook her head. “I gave her my word. Besides, I don’t want to leave her alone.”

“Leona and Frank will be here.”

There was something else going on, something she didn’t understand. Ariel was sure of it. “Right now Anna Jane needs to be with people who keep their promises. She’s been abandoned enough for one lifetime. I’m not going to do anything that might hurt her.”

Jarrett stared at her for a long time. Then he took a step closer, leaned toward her and kissed her cheek. “Thank you,” he murmured, and was gone.

More confused than ever, Ariel stared after him. What had that been about? Why was he thanking her? She shrugged and resolved to put him out of her mind. At least until he’d returned from his trip.

* * *

Jarrett fastened his seat belt and nodded at the pilot.

Instantly the jet engines roared as the small plane rolled forward down the runway. The flight would take less than twenty minutes, barely enough time for him to glance at a magazine. But instead of reading, he turned toward the window. As they rosé gently into the sky and banked northeast, he caught a glimpse of the beach by his house. He wondered if Ariel and his niece had already left for their horseback-riding trip.

If Ariel’s plan had been to seduce him, he’d given her the perfect opportunity. But she hadn’t taken the bait. Instead she’d kept her promise to a nine-year-old child, insisting that was more important than a night of passion. If he hadn’t felt her trembling response the previous evening, he might have been insulted. But he knew Ariel had wanted him as much as he’d wanted her.

So now he could make his decision about trusting her. He was finally willing to believe she was who she claimed—a woman with no memory of her past. He should be pleased. And he was. Except for the fact that what had started out as a simple test had instead become a genuine request. He wanted Ariel to be with him now. He wanted to have her join him for dinner and to spend the night with her. He wanted to be with her and he wanted to make love to her.

Which made the guilt difficult to ignore. He’d been wrong to mention the possibility of her recognizing something on the island. Now that he believed her story, his taunt had been cruel and unnecessary.

The view changed to vivid blue sea. He straightened in his leather seat and closed his eyes. He would make it up to her, he decided. For as long as she wanted to stay, he would give her a place in which to recover from her memory loss. She would spend Christmas with Anna Jane and himself so she wouldn’t have to be by herself. She would be a part of the family. A temporary member so she wouldn’t feel so alone.

* * *

Anna Jane glanced around the dining room. “I miss Uncle Jarrett,” she said.

“Me, too,” Ariel agreed, then realized she was telling the truth. She did miss Jarrett. While he didn’t always talk a lot at the table, his presence had power and even in silence he dominated the room. Tonight, despite the lights overhead, the room felt dark and empty. As if the heart of it was gone.

You are in more trouble than you know, Ariel told herself. Lord help her, she was falling for him. It was an intolerable situation. She refused to be attracted to a man who wouldn’t let himself trust her. But did she have a choice in the matter? Was it too late for her to turn back? Unfortunately, she didn’t have an answer to that one.

“Is he coming back tomorrow?” Anna Jane asked.

“That’s what he said. Did he come talk to you and explain about the trip?”

Anna Jane nodded. “He said he would just be gone overnight, but I wanted to check for sure. Sometimes grown-ups go away and never come back.”

Ariel stretched her hand across the table and squeezed the girl’s fingers. “Uncle Jarrett isn’t like most people,” she said. “He cares about you. Don’t worry, he’ll be back.” Too late she remembered that the people in Anna Jane’s life hadn’t left because they’d wanted to. Her nanny had been unable to return because of an ill family member and her mother had gone away by dying.

But the child seemed to accept the explanation. She finished the last couple of bites of her rice, then pushed her empty plate away. “I have to get Uncle Jarrett something for Christmas. Leona said to look through some catalogs and order it, but is it too late for that?”

“With overnight mail, anything is possible. Do you have anything special in mind?”

Anna Jane scrunched up her nose. “I want to get him a nice pen. The one he uses at his desk is all scratched. Plus, they can put writing on it and then he’d always know it’s his.”

“What a great idea.”

Anna Jane chatted on about another couple of ideas. As Ariel listened, she realized she’d grown accustomed to spending time with the little girl and would miss her terribly when she had to leave. Somehow, in a very few days, she’d made a life for herself on St. Alicia. But it wasn’t the real world. Her life—wherever and whatever that was—waited for her. It was just a matter of time until she began remembering more or something triggered her memory to return.

She wondered what she would find when she remembered. Had this experience changed her? Would she like that other person, the real woman who lived in this body? When she returned to herself would she still feel the same about Jarrett, or would her emotions be tempered by different life experiences?

What would happen if she didn’t remember? Where would she go? How did one go about finding a lost life, and if she had nowhere else to be, however would she find it in herself to leave Jarrett?

Chapter Eight

A
nna Jane leaned back against the tree base and stared up at the sky. If she squinted hard, she thought she could make out the tiny dot that was her uncle’s plane. But in a couple of seconds she realized it was just a bird. She giggled, wondering what Uncle Jarrett would think if she told him she thought he was a bird. He would probably smile. He might even laugh. Ever since Ariel had arrived, her uncle had been smiling and laughing more. That made her happy.

She looked around at all the brush and trees. The island was very beautiful. Sometimes she missed New York. All the people and the noises and the smells. But most of the time she liked the island better. She could think here. Sometimes she thought about Nana B. and how much she missed her. Her chest hurt then, and she wanted to cry. When she gave in to the tears, she felt sad, but relieved. Here on the island it was easier to cry. In the city she’d worried about doing the right thing a lot.

A hum caught her attention. She glanced up and saw a tiny, glinting object in the sky. It moved toward her, growing larger and larger. She stood and began to wave. She didn’t know if Uncle Jarrett could see her yet, but she knew he was looking for her. She knew when he saw her he would wave back.

She knew he loved her. Oh, he couldn’t say the words, but when she told him she loved him, his face got all tight and he swallowed. She’d seen him. When she’d first arrived, she hadn’t been sure he wanted her here. She knew he wasn’t used to children. Her mother had told her that many times when she’d explained why Uncle Jarrett had never come to visit. But he was getting used to having her around.

Just as he was getting used to having Ariel around. Anna Jane clasped her hands together to hold in her excitement. When she thought about the two of them, she was happy inside. They looked at each other differently than they looked at other people.

“Oh, please, Lord, let Ariel and my uncle fall in love,” she whispered, praying as she did several times each day. She hoped God was listening. She didn’t care about getting presents for Christmas…well, maybe she cared a little, but more than anything she wanted her uncle and Ariel to be together. She liked having Ariel around. She made Uncle Jarrett laugh. She made Anna Jane feel better about missing Nana B. Ariel was the best part of her mother and Nana B. all in one. She could be happy on this island with her uncle and Ariel. They could all be happy.

The plane swooped down out of the sky. She waved harder and at last could see her uncle in the window waving back. She grinned and ran toward the edge of the runway.

* * *

Ariel paced restlessly in the library. The quiet of the house was oppressive. Although she loved the place and thought it was stunningly beautiful, with Jarrett away it was just an empty house.

The worst of it was he’d been gone less than twenty-four hours. If she was moping this much now, what would it be like when she had to leave? How would she survive missing him?

As she scanned the titles of books in his library, hoping to find something to read, her mind wandered. She thought about the possibility of staying. She could be happy here—with Jarrett. At least, that’s what her body had told her last night when she couldn’t sleep. The restlessness had sent her pacing back and forth in her bedroom until nearly dawn. She’d thought about Jarrett’s invitation and had wondered what it had meant. She hadn’t regretted spending time with Anna Jane. She’d enjoyed both their afternoon riding and their quiet evening together. But a part of her had longed to be with Jarrett.

She strolled around the library, picking up a book only to flip through the pages, then put it back. Nothing caught her eye. Nothing could distract her from the physical need to see him again. Maybe she should have gone with Anna Jane to wait for the plane. She shook her head. It would be more special for the little girl to meet her uncle and have private time with him. The two of them needed to keep bonding. They needed to form a family unit.

Wouldn’t it be nice if she were a part of that? Could she really be happy here, on the island? Ariel knew there was no way to answer that question until she knew who she was. All her feelings for Jarrett were based on the fact that she didn’t have a past.

She pushed another book back onto the shelf and glanced at the clock, wishing time would move more quickly. She wanted Jarrett home. She wanted to see him and hear his voice. She wanted his gaze to settle on her so her breath would quicken and her chest get tight. She wanted to kiss him and—

Her foot bumped into something and she stumbled. As she caught her balance, she noticed a box sticking out from the bottom shelf, and she bent to look at it. The gray cardboard box was one of those containers designed to hold magazines. She pulled it out and flipped through the contents.

The eclectic collection made no sense. Most of them were business magazines, but not different issues of the same one. There were a few small newspapers tucked in, as well. Ariel sat on the floor and pulled out the first magazine. She leafed through it, wondering why Jarrett had kept it. Then she turned the page and she knew. There was an article about him.

She checked them all, and that was what the publications had in common. Each had featured Jarrett or his company in some way. She returned to the first one and started to read.

He’d given her a thumbnail sketch of his past, so she wasn’t surprised as the journalist outlined Jarrett’s brilliant rescue of the family’s failing hotel business. She’d known he’d completed college in just three years, but she hadn’t guessed it had been Harvard. In fact, she hadn’t actually grasped the fact that Jarrett owned a hotel chain. The man was wealthy, successful and powerful. Why hadn’t she noticed?