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She’d told herself she was tempted to take it for Liam, to make it easier to co-parent. She’d ignored the sound of her foolish heart beating away in the background of her mind. Of course she missed him; she woke up every day and wished he was by her side, but she needed to think practically.
On her way back to the house, she stopped to talk with some of the staff and once again gently avoided the subject of where she’d been and how long she’d be staying. It was a small community, and she wasn’t eager to become the local source of gossip.
She took her time, stepping off the track to pick some fresh acai berries. The noise of the animals around her was so loud that she almost missed the sound of car tyres, making their way along the road at a pace much faster than any local would dare to drive. She turned just in time to see a large black Jeep barrel past her, turning at the fork in the track in the direction of her mother’s home.
Her berries were scattered on the jungle floor, abandoned as she began to walk and then run in the direction of the house. She reached the fence at the end of the driveway just as a tall, dark man stepped out of the Jeep and turned to face her.
‘Duarte,’ she breathed, shock clouding her thoughts and rendering her unable to say anything more.
He looked terrible: his eyes were dark-rimmed, his shirt was wrinkled, and the trousers of his suit had mud splatters on them. But even though he looked utterly out of place, she’d never seen anyone look more imperious as he stood to his full height, looking down at her.
She came to a stop a few steps away from him, wrapping her arms around herself to avoid jumping into his arms.
‘What are you doing here?’
‘Do you want the polite answer or the truth?’
His voice was a low rasp, his eyes haunted as he raked his gaze over her with burning intensity.
‘I think we’ve moved past politeness, don’t you?’ Nora said quietly.
Duarte nodded, running a hand along the untrimmed growth on his jawline. ‘I’ve been a mess since you left. I told myself I wouldn’t try to push you, wouldn’t try to force you to come back to me, and I won’t.’ He closed his eyes and shook his head. ‘But I’ve missed you, Nora. I’ve missed you both so much it feels like I’ve lost a limb. I decided that even if I drove all this way and you told me to leave, it would be enough...and I was right. Because seeing you right now, I’m not sorry.’
Nora felt a blush creep up her cheeks at the heat in his gaze. She took a step towards him, like a magnet being pulled towards its true north.
He held out a hand to stop her. ‘You said you can’t think straight around me, and I know what you mean.’ He shook his head. ‘I promised myself I wouldn’t start throwing my feelings around and negating the very real concerns you had. But we’ve always had this intense chemistry between us, right from the start. That was never the issue.
You were right to leave me. I was... I was the world’s biggest fool.’
He took a step away, clearing his throat before he looked back at her and went on.
‘I can see now why you wanted to come back to this place.’
His voice was warm, caressing her skin.
‘It really is a paradise.’
‘I never appreciated it until I left.’ She took in a deep fortifying breath. ‘But I’ve figured out a lot of things since I came back. Reconnecting with my mother was easier than I expected.’
‘I’m glad you got what you needed.’ His voice was rough. ‘I took some time to re-evaluate things too. You leaving gave me the push I needed to make some hard choices. I told Dani the truth about our parents. It was a difficult conversation, but necessary. She asked me to pass on a message to you, to say that she misses you and Liam and she will come and find you if you keep her from him for too long.’
Nora felt tears build behind her eyes, thinking of Daniela and her wry sense of humour. ‘That must have been hard,’ she said softly, turning to face him.
‘I’m just sorry I’d avoided it.’ Sincerity blazed in his golden eyes. ‘I’m sorry for how I handled everything, really.’ He bit his lower lip, shaking his head. ‘I wanted to tell you in person before word spread that I’ve resigned as CEO of Velamar.’
Nora gasped. ‘Why would you do that?’
‘I want to be free to work remotely, with less travel and less of that life in the spotlight, so I can focus on being with Liam. So we can create a parenting plan that considers both our needs and not just mine. Valerio was very understanding; he suggested I become a silent partner so I can focus on my own design firm.’
‘That’s...that’s amazing, Duarte.’
‘I don’t know if you’ve thought about where you plan to live...?’
‘You’re asking me?’ she said dumbly, hardly believing that he was here, that he was offering her everything she’d never thought possible.
Everything except himself...
Suddenly, his earlier words struck her. ‘You said you’d told yourself you wouldn’t use your feelings to make me come back. What are your feelings, Duarte?’
