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The main house was a huge white two-story structure at the highest point of the island. She’d yet to make her way up there, she was polite enough to be waiting for an invitation. Not only did it have a wraparound porch on the first floor, but a balcony spanned the entire second floor as well, only interrupted by stairs leading down to the first floor. It was an amazing house. Her grandmother would have loved it. The doors and windows were always closed, since it was currently empty, but it begged to be opened to the natural elements.
Ana couldn’t spend all her time doing nothing, so after the first week she began volunteering at a local school on one of the larger islands nearby. She’d been tutoring English, which kept her busy. But not busy enough to forget about Jake.
Every day she woke up craving him with a hunger that scared her. And not just for sex. She found herself wanting to share her day with him, laugh with him.
“Miss Ana! Miss Ana!” Roddy, a young local boy in her English class, ran down the beach in her direction, his little feet kicking up sand. His parents both worked in the main house several days a week so he was a regular sight around her new home.
“Whoa,” she said, reaching out to slow him down. His small body was warm. “What’s your hurry?”
“There’s a new man in the island. He has white skin, too.”
She laughed.
It was a privately owned island so when she purchased the bungalow, she’d been assured she wouldn’t have to worry about tourists. Unfortunately, last week, she’d found out it had been sold to a buyer who wished to remain anonymous.
“Maybe he’s a guest,” she said.
The young boy struggled to catch his breath and shook his head.
“No. I heard him tell the boat driver that he was moving here. Like you.”
She’d have a new neighbor. It was a small island, but surely she wouldn’t have to worry about running into him if she didn’t want to. What a contradiction. She was lonely, yet didn’t want the company of a stranger.
Roddy never
stayed still for long and soon, after his mother called, he dashed down the beach again, leaving in a sandstorm. She smiled behind him. He was one of her favorite students, eager to learn.
She sat back in her lounger and brought her feet up close to her, wrapping her arms around her knees. The sun had felt amazing the first couple of days, but she spent more time under the umbrella than she did sunbathing. Swimming in the crystal clear water was her daily exercise. Some of the turtles that made their home near the offshore reef didn’t even bother swimming away from her anymore.
It was looking like a long and lonely life here by herself.
Why hadn’t she thought of that before?
If she’d had the diamond, would that have made a difference?
She sighed deeply.
She’d still be miserable and alone. The island was perfect, everything she imagined and more. She’d give it another two months before she couldn’t take anymore. On the plus side, she hadn’t actually committed a felony so she would be able to travel wherever she wanted.
She wanted to go back to New York and make sure Jake was safe.
“Princess.”
Ana closed her eyes. Great. Now she was hearing things. Her dreams were full of Jake at night, but she thought she’d gotten over thinking of him during the day. Apparently she was wrong.
She’d never imagined that masculine laugh before though.
She spun around on the lounge chair so quickly she almost fell off. “Jake? What? Why? How?”
She stared at him as he sauntered over to her extra-large lounge chair. He plopped down next to her, completely relaxed, like he hadn’t been conjured out of her imagination. He brushed against her when he sat. Little pinpricks of heat skittered over her skin everywhere they touched.
“Which question would you like me to answer first?” he said. “This is nice, by the way. The only thing missing is a fruity drink with a little umbrella.”
“A girly drink, you mean?”
She had so many questions for him. She wasn’t sure which one of them was more surprised by her glib comment. But she didn’t mind when he looked at her through narrowed eyes, making her body temperature rise like a cartoon thermometer, bursting through the top.
“I’m quite secure in my masculinity, thank you.”
