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Jessie laughed, but by the time she rose from the bed and put her arms around him, her laughter had turned to tears.
“I know,” she sobbed. “I’ll never forget you, or this time we spent together. I’ll always adore you, Liam, always.”
He kissed her as if the world were going to end at any moment. And, in a way, it did, because when he returned to the villa less than an hour later, Jessie was gone.
CHAPTER SEVEN
RAIN BEAT DOWN on the island, and a driving wind rattled the fronds of the palm trees that towered over the villa.
Inside, a grim-faced Liam faced three hapless hotel employees.
“It’s a simple question,” he said coldly. “Surely one of you can answer it.”
The desk clerk who’d arranged for Jessie’s flight to Miami, the driver who’d taken her to the airstrip, even the chambermaid who’d gone to the villa hours ago to make the bed and had ended up, instead, directing Jessie to the office, looked at him, then at each other. No one spoke. Finally the desk clerk shifted his feet.
“I’ve explained, sir. The young lady phoned the desk. She said she wanted to leave the island. She asked—”
“I know what she asked,” Liam snapped. “What I’m having difficulty with is that you didn’t think to inform me.”
“I’m sorry, sir. There didn’t seem to be any…” The clerk licked his lips. “We—we didn’t know that you’d object.” He looked to his companions for support. Both of them were nodding their heads vigorously. “We were only doing what your guest asked us to do, sir.”
“I see.” Liam folded his arms and glared at the man. “Do you always do what guests ask you to do?”
The clerk swallowed dryly. “We—we try to accommodate all requests, Mr. Malone.”
“Suppose a guest wanted to jump off the roof? Would you let her do that?”
“No, sir. Certainly not. But—”
You’re acting like an idiot, Liam said to himself, while the clerk stumbled for words. Just what was it he expected these people to have done? Tell Jessie she couldn’t fly out without permission? Wait for him to give his okay? Guests of the hotel were supposed to be treated with courtesy, and they’d done that. As for Jessie—she’d done what had to be done, what he hadn’t had the courage to do despite his promise to Bill, and now he was venting his anger on these poor people rather than dealing with the truth.
He and Jessie could never have a life together. One of them, at least, understood the meaning of the word honor.
“—did the best we could, sir, by accommodating the lady’s wishes, and—”
“That’s okay,” Liam said, interrupting the clerk’s stumbling explanation. “You’re right. I’m wrong.” He dredged up a smile. “In fact, I was way out of line.”
Color began seeping back into the man’s face. “If we’d known you wanted us to speak with you first, Mr. Malone—”
“Forget it. It’s a free country. The lady wanted to leave and that’s that.” Liam clasped the man’s shoulder, then shook hands with all three employees. “There’ll be something extra in your paychecks this week,” he said briskly, and herded them to the door. “How’s that sound?”
“Thank you,” they said, “thank you very much, Mr.—”
Liam shut the door, let the smile slip from his mouth and sank down on the edge of the bed. After a moment, he buried his face in his hands. Jessie was gone and he couldn’t go after her even if he wanted to. The smudge on the horizon had turned into a charcoal bank of clouds, spewing rain and wind. Until the weather cleared, there was no way off the island.
Besides, what was the sense in going after her? Their affair had been doomed from the beginning. Jessie had said it all in the last few minutes they’d been together.
“You’re his hero, Liam.”
Liam groaned and fell back against the pillows. Oh, yeah. He was Bill’s hero, all right.
If only he’d met Jessie a year ago. Six months ago. Hell, a day before Bill put that ring on her finger would have been enough. What a difference that little bit of time would have made. He and Jessie would have met, there’d have been that same wild, lightning-hot attraction….
No. He wasn’t going to do that, play a game of “if only” that would do nothing but make the pain worse. Liam sat up and scrubbed his hands over his face. He’d lost Jessie, lost her forever….
To hell with that. Bill was his oldest friend, yes, but Jessie—Jessie was everything.
He sprang from the bed, grabbed his leather jacket, reached for the phone. No way was he going to lose her. He loved her. He adored her. He…
