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Also, how were they supposed to ‘enjoy’ the week with Jagger and Hays hunting them down each day? She knew how competitive Jagger was. He’d kill himself to win. And it looked like he was winning for Mercedes as well. The famous lady claimed she was praying for Bee to win, but she didn’t know if she believed her. She’d stolen Belinda’s lifelong love, after all.
“The Jeep’s this way,” Jagger muttered, gesturing for Belinda to go first.
She strutted past him, swinging her hips, and muttered to herself, “Be patient in tribulation.”
“My tribulation or yours?” Jagger asked.
She shot him a dagger look, which made him smile. He’d always quipped back at her quoting the Bible. Did he still not believe and trust in Jesus?
What did she care? He loved Mercedes.
She cared because she loved him and wanted him to be happy. Was he happy with Mercedes? If Mercedes was sickly and dying, Jagger would be devastated.
Pain lanced through her chest. She was finally with Jagger again. After fourteen miserable years.
And he was farther away than he’d ever been.
Chapter
Five
Jagger thankfully drove the Jeep so he couldn’t stare nonstop at Bee, but he did get an angle on her face in the rearview as she oohed and ahhed and exclaimed over every lush green spot on the island, every flowering bush, every glimpse of the blue ocean or the soft sand, every glistening mountain peak. She talked about how fertile everything was and fantasized about all the crops they could grow here with little or no effort.
Her enthusiasm—all of her, truly—was irresistible to him. Everything except her cheating on him and ditching him. She wanted him to pretend they didn’t know each other? Why? So he couldn’t get answers, or because she didn’t want to let him into her heart again? He gripped the steering wheel tighter.
“Do you want to stop anywhere before we get to the house?” Hays glanced back at Belinda. It was obvious she was the only one who hadn’t been to the island.
“I want to hike to a waterfall!” Bee exclaimed. She didn’t seem bothered at all that she and Jagger couldn’t talk freely. Of course she wasn’t; she’d set that parameter.
Had Mercedes brought Belinda here to torment and tempt Jagger? Shawn must’ve revealed he called his long-lost love ‘Bee.’ Shawn had never made Jagger question his loyalty and his sweetheart of a friend Mercedes had never been anything but kind to him, and full of ‘lots of love’ for him, before today. Jagger’s circle wasn’t large—his SEAL unit and this group of fourteen-year long friends. He wanted to trust his close friends implicitly. It was hard to stay angry at Mercedes after she’d claimed she only did this because of how much she desperately loved him. Mercedes loved everybody, but Jagger knew he meant a lot to her.
“But …” Belinda held up a sandaled foot and gestured to her pretty blue dress. “Julie wouldn’t let me bring anything. Do they have hiking shoes and clothes for me?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Hays always made everyone comfortable. “Let’s get you settled and we can change into hiking clothes, show you a great waterfall, and then have dinner and relax on our patio and beach.”
“I love this plan.” She grinned, and Jagger caught the full force of that earth-shaking smile in the rearview. “I dreaded this week of misery, but …” She caught Jagger’s gaze, clamped her mouth shut, and turned away. She ‘dreaded’ the ‘misery’ because of him? The hits kept getting harder and lower.
Jagger pulled off the main road that circled the island and drove toward the beach house. He should pull into the garage, but he wanted Bee to see the house from the front doors. Why he cared made no sense to him.
Jumping out, he hurried to open her door. She thanked him and brushed past him. Her arm grazed his, and his heart threatened to beat out of his chest. The punch earlier didn’t really count as touching, but a simple graze of the arm threw him into a tailspin. Did she feel the draw between them, or had she shut him out of her heart too completely?
He had to get her alone, figure out the nightmare of their past, and hold her. He had to.
Bee rushed forward, staring at the greenery surrounding the house, the double glass doors and the windows, and the view all the way through to the rear patio landscaped with tropical flowers and trees and the soft brown sand and the ocean just down the vegetation-covered hill.
A rooster let out a cock-a-doodle-doo close by. There were far too many chickens and roosters on Kauai, and they crowed night and day. It could be bothersome.
“Ooh, ooh, ooh, this is gorgeous!” Belinda exclaimed. She all but ran into the house.
Jagger exchanged a look with Hays and Paul. They were both smiling. Paul was relaxing a little around them. At first, he’d acted like Jagger had shot his dog. What had Bee told Paul about Jagger on the plane?
They all followed her into the house and Hays gave them a tour. The house was bright, and everything that wasn’t a window or glass door showcasing the bright green fauna or the ocean view was white or stainless steel. There were some red and teal accents with pillows, throw blankets, and woven into the countertops or wall art.
It was a great house. Jagger couldn’t peel his gaze from Bee and found himself cracking his knuckles and wishing she’d stop him by holding his hand.
Bee was enchanting. He’d seen the house. Even if he hadn’t, she’d be more enthralling than any house or work of art or any other woman or even a Colt 1873 Single Action Army revolver.
Hays showed them the main level. It was completely open, with comfortable gathering spaces, dining, and the kitchen. Downstairs was the theater, the only spot in the house with dark gray walls and no windows, the fitness room which was thankfully large and boasted high quality free weights and a cable machine, and a spacious game room with a pool table, ping-pong, a table for playing cards, air hockey, and a wet bar. Upstairs were four spacious, mostly identical master suites with a laundry room between them. Each closet was filled with clothes of their exact size, so it was easy to figure out which bedroom Julia had assigned them to. Of course, Bee’s had the best view of the ocean and a jacuzzi on the deck.
