Chapter 19 Gamble To His Heart
GAMBLE TO HIS HEART
With the wedding behind them and their return to Amore Island closing in, Arik had to figure out his next move.
They got through the wedding as well as he could have hoped for.
There could have been more hiccups.
Natalie would have pushed through, just as he expected, but he was relieved it hadn’t come to that. He led her away, as much to steady his own nerves as to protect her feelings.
He could admit to himself that neither of his parents ever put anyone else’s feelings first.
It gave him some hope he wasn’t destined to be like them.
Nope. Never.
He couldn’t be that cold.
That cruel.
That calculating.
He couldn’t ruin another person’s day to bring satisfaction to his ego. Not like his father lived.
Nor his mother who made it her mission to point out his father’s flaws and deplorable behavior.
Would Natalie believe those things though?
He was going to use his time to convince her he wasn’t like them even if he worried for years there was some button in him just waiting to be pushed.
Those years where the only women he’d spent time with were for a physical release and not a mental engagement.
When he’d been living in Seattle, he’d dated. He had a relationship that didn’t last because he hadn’t had the time nor put in the effort.
Some held on because of his wealth or what he could offer.
Others told him to piss off.
He respected the ones that walked away more.
But after years of floundering, he was ready to plant roots with the one girl he couldn’t get out of his mind before his life took a change.
The one who got away and he didn’t feel they’d ever had a chance.
He was giving it to them now. He could and it’d cost him nothing more than a gamble to his heart.
“Here comes the helicopter,” Natalie said.
“Are you ready to get home?” he asked.
All the soft touches and sexy glances were gone.
Some awkwardness returned that he didn’t care for.
It felt as if their bodies being drawn to each other in sleep set him back twenty steps when he’d taken ten forward in the past twenty-four hours.
“I am,” she said. “It’s been a long weekend, but I had a good time with you.”
He reached for her hand to see if she’d pull away. She didn’t. He threaded their fingers together. “I’m glad that nothing you witnessed turned you off. Or experienced.”
A pink flush filled her cheeks at lightning speed, the warmth of it almost felt by him.
“It’s not possible.”
He wiped his hand across his forehead in an exaggerated motion. Once they climbed into the helicopter they wouldn’t have the privacy to talk more. She’d get her belongings, hop in her car and return home.
He needed to capitalize on this moment before it was too late.
“So you’ll go on another date with me? A real one. No more fake relationship, but work towards something that could be real?”
She held his stare, her lips moving, but no words coming forth.
He wasn’t shifting his eyes away as he waited.
“Do you want that?”
“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t. But I won’t push either. I thought we had a good time together prior to you witnessing a calamity of social faux pas.”
“That’s an extremely polite description. I might’ve rubbed off on you.”
“It’s called the Natalie Effect.”
She laughed. “I like that.”
“And I like you,” he said, his arm dropping on her shoulder. Might as well go back to what he’d been doing and see her reaction.
She smiled, one full of warmth again. “I like you too. I’d enjoy another date.”
The helicopter shut off, Lincoln climbed out, then walked toward them in the private hangar.
“Then I will set one up.”
The flight back to the island wasn’t as laid back as their trip to Baltimore, but it wasn’t tense either.
Lincoln did more talking than anything. Some about the Bond family, or about things that happened on the island.
Arik listened and tried to plan a date to knock her socks off.
A helicopter ride was out of the question. He’d just given her two.
The weather was still iffy for a beach picnic, though it was a nice romantic thought.
He’d bet Natalie would enjoy something like that.
Where she didn’t have to plan anything, or get dressed up, or worry about schedules and timelines.
He wanted to give her something that would help her loosen up some more.
They landed back on the island before he knew it. He and Natalie exited, then walked to his Range Rover that he’d left parked there.
“You’ve been quiet. Everything okay?”
“Just thinking of a date for us.”
“Oh. Really?”
“Yep. Ever have anyone court you before?”
She laughed. A funny sound as if she thought he was joking. He wasn’t.
“No. And I don’t need that.”
“I didn’t say you did, but maybe I want to give you something no one else has.”
She sighed. “I want you to be you, Arik. Not what you think I need or want to give me to one up someone else in my past.”
Which made him sound more like his parents than he felt comfortable with.
“I am being me. Remember, I’ve got a lot of time on my hands. I bet you’re thinking about work tomorrow. Or chores you’ve got to do around your place. Grocery shopping and laundry.”
“Guilty.”
“I don’t have those things.”
“You’re just trying to fill your time before you move on to another location.”
“I don’t plan on going anywhere,” he said. “Do I want to find something to do with my time? Sure. There have to be needs on this island. That’s something we can talk about on our date. Maybe I can fill a niche.”
She rolled her eyes. “Sometimes I’m not sure when you’re serious or not.”
“Me neither.”
She laughed again, but he chose not to say more.
He was right, the minute he turned his SUV off, she got out, retrieved her bag from the back and walked to her car.
He was right next to her and pulled her into his arms. She didn’t tense or move away. That was something.
“Is our contract over now?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “Is it?”
“It was supposed to be for the wedding and now we can go back to the real thing. In my mind it’s over.”
“Then I guess so,” she said.
“Good. You won’t say I broke the rules now.” His mouth landed on hers, his tongue nudging her lips open and swooping in.
He’d been craving a taste of her for days.
Having her in his arms, her warm body pressed against his in the bed—however accidental it might have been—had been a test of willpower.
She sighed into his kiss. Her tongue coming out to play along with his, her arms around his neck.
She didn’t appear to be too concerned if anyone saw them in the parking garage and he sure the hell wasn’t.
What he wanted to do was stay like this for hours. To have it be the last thought she had of him and not the depressing family drama he’d just subjected her to.
But it’d done what he’d hoped to accomplish. Let her know where he came from and she wasn’t backing away.
She was actually trying to get closer.
“Get a room,” someone shouted, then laughed.
Natalie jumped out of his arms, her face flushed deeper than a cherry on top of a sundae.
“Guess they told us,” he said.
“You’ve got a room and I need to return to mine. We’ll talk soon.”
“We will,” he said. He grabbed her suitcase and put it in her trunk while she laid her dress bag over it.
He didn’t move from his spot until she pulled out of the parking garage and around the corner, out of sight.
He was in trouble and knew it. That simple ruse caused him to lose his heart exactly as he’d done over a decade ago.
She didn’t know it then, but he’d make sure she did this time.
Just not yet.