Enticed by His Forgotten Lover (Pregnancy & Passion #1)(28)

He looked surprised by the gesture, but he didn’t make any effort to extricate his hand from hers. “Thank you.”

He cocked his head.

“For doing that. It means a lot not just to me, but also to the people on this island.”

He looked uncomfortable. “You need to understand that this is only a temporary solution. I can’t suspend operations indefinitely. There are a lot of people counting on me. They’ve trusted me with their money. My partners are heavily invested with me. This is… This is huge for us.”

“But you understand I would have never sold you the land if you hadn’t given me your promise,” she said. “The result would be the same. It’s not as though I sold you the land under false pretenses.”

Rafael sighed but then squeezed her hand. “For now let’s not talk about it. There’s no simple solution to all this whether I regain my memory or not.”

For the first time she weighed his position in the matter. If all he’d said were true, then it couldn’t have been easy for him to call off the operation.

Regardless of whether he’d lied to her before, he’d done the honorable thing now and it was costing him dearly.

She leaned over and brushed her lips across his cheek. “I realize this isn’t easy, but we all appreciate it. I’ve already gotten calls from the mayor and the sheriff. I’m sure there will be more before the day is out. You can expect to be courted by the locals while you’re here. They’ll want to present their case.”

“Are they angry with you?” he asked. “The mayor didn’t seem pleased with you last night. Do they all blame you?”

She blew out her breath. “They think I’m young and gullible. Some of them blame that and not me directly. They’re too busy feeling sorry for me for being taken by a suave, debonair man. Others put the blame solely on my shoulders, as they should.”

Rafael’s face grew stormy. “It’s your land. You can’t allow others to guilt you into keeping it just because they don’t want their way of life to change.”

She shrugged. “I grew up here. They consider me a part of their family. Family doesn’t turn their backs on each other. A lot of them think I did just that. Maybe I did. I knew that if you and I were going to be together that I wouldn’t stay here. I knew I’d have to make the move because your business is based in the city. At the time I didn’t care.”

He slowed to pull into her driveway and stopped the car. For a long moment he stared out the windshield before finally turning to face her.

“So you were willing to give up everything to be with me.”

“Yes,” she said simply. Throwing his words back at him, she continued. “I don’t say that to hurt you. It’s simply the truth and we’ve both been honest and blunt. I’m not trying to make you feel guilty.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

She smiled. “Let’s not say anything. Let’s go eat instead. I’m starving. After breakfast we’ll go buy you the things you need for your stay and then maybe we’ll sit on the deck. Enjoy the day.”

Strangely enough, it sounded blissful.

Suddenly, after a not-so-great start to the day, he found himself quite looking forward to the rest.

Thirteen

Bryony tugged Rafael from shop to shop in the town square where she made him try on more casual clothing. Jeans. Lord but the man looked divine in jeans. They cupped his behind in all the right places and molded to his muscular legs.

And a T-shirt. Such an unremarkable item of clothing but on him… A simple white T-shirt displayed his lean, taut body to perfection.

He looked uncomfortable when he came out of the dressing room. He had on the jeans and the shirt she’d picked out and he was barefooted. Barefooted.

She was standing there drooling over a barefooted man in jeans. And she wasn’t the only one.

“Oh, my,” Stella Jones breathed. “Honey, that is one fine specimen you’ve got there. He looks hot in the GQ stuff, don’t get me wrong, but he fills out a pair of jeans like nobody’s business.”

Bryony shot the saleswoman a glare but had to admit she was right.

“Will this make you happy?” Rafael asked wryly as he turned, hands up.

“Oh, yeah,” Bryony murmured. “Me and every other female on this island.”

Stella chuckled. “Shall I bag up a few more pair like that one?”

“And T-shirts. Lots of T-shirts. I’m thinking white and maybe a red one.”

“Green wouldn’t be bad with those dark eyes and hair,” Stella advised.

Rafael rolled his eyes. “I’m going back in to change while you ladies sort it out.”

“No! No!” Bryony said in a rush. “Just let me pull off the stickers. No reason to change out of them. Stella will ring them up. You’ll be more comfortable.”

“And so will the rest of us,” Stella said over her shoulder as she sashayed off to get the rest of the clothing.

Rafael grinned and sauntered toward Bryony. “So you like me in jeans?”

“I think like is perhaps too mild a word,” Bryony muttered.

Although Bryony had been openly affectionate with Rafael the entire day, taking his hand, hugging him or twining her arm through his, he hadn’t made any overt gestures of his own. But now he slid his arms around her and pulled her into his embrace.