Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Sylvia
Shit.
Mateo wasn’t supposed to arrive for hours. I would have been long gone by then.
Now there’s going to be hell to pay.
I wonder briefly if I could beg him to keep this a secret and still sneak out before his family gets back from the mainland.
But I know that’s not going to work.
This is the last man on the planet who would do me any favors.
“Are you okay?” I ask as he collapses on the couch. I approach hesitantly. There’s nothing I want more than to touch him, but I know I can’t.
“I’m fine. Thank you,” he responds in his calm, even baritone. Always good under pressure, that’s Mateo. Never flustered. Never rattled. That’s how I know he’ll make an amazing doctor. I wish I could see him in his white coat, working in the clinic.
“Can I get you a towel or some ice or…” I trail off as he lowers his hand from his bloody nose enough to pin me with those piercing green eyes.
The breath leaves my lungs in a rush as I struggle to stay upright on my weak knees. All my terrified thoughts from moments before about the consequences of us being in the same room melt from my mind like ice cream at the beach.
I’m actually here with Mateo. He looks good. A bit older, but mostly the same. His hair is shorter than it was when I last saw him. His dark stubble has been replaced by a clean shave. After all this time, I want so badly to run my hand over the smooth skin of his cheek.
“I’ll take a towel and ice. Thank you.” His voice is cold, as if he’s speaking to a stranger.
The words hit my chest like stones, snapping me out of my fantasy. I bite my lip and nod, hurrying to the kitchen to make up the ice pack.
As I head back down the hall to the sitting room, I repeat the plan to myself in my mind. Give Mateo the ice, go get my bag, and take one of the maintenance golf carts down to the dock to catch a boat to one of the larger islands.
I already have the keys in my pocket.
Even taking this moment to bring him the ice is a risk, but it’s one I have to take. I owe this man so much more than an ice pack. I’ll never be able to give him closure for what I did, but I can give him this small comfort. I mean…I am the one who hit him with a door.
“Here you go.”
Mateo takes the makeshift ice pack from me with a nod. I can see as soon as he removes his hand to bring the ice to his face that the bleeding hasn’t stopped.
“Mateo, we may need to get you to the clinic. The bleeding looks bad.”
“Thank you for your concern. I’m perfectly qualified to tend to my own bloody nose. I’ll be fine, I’m just tired from a long day of traveling.”
“I could—”
“You’ve done enough, Cat. More than enough.”
The use of my old nickname nearly buckles my knees. As if he notices and wants to finish the job, he speaks again.
“What are you even doing here? I know you don’t still live here with your mother. You can’t possibly work here.” His voice sounds both curious and dismissive. He wants to know, but would prefer anyone besides me tell him.
I let out a sigh. “No, I don’t work here. I dropped off some gifts and helped my mother with her holiday cards. I’m staying in town, not here at the estate. I’ll…I’ll be out of your hair soon.”
He glances around the room as if just remembering where we are. “Where is everyone?”
“Your father went to the mainland for some last-minute shopping, and the staff is in town running errands. There’s a storm coming.
Everyone’s planning to stay here for at least the holiday weekend, maybe longer.
” As I glance up through one of the massive windows, I can see the sky darkening, raindrops already starting to fall.
But when I glance back down, Matteo has slumped over, eyes closed.
“Mateo,” I cry out, kneeling next to him on the couch and leaning over his slack body.
My shiny new college degree might only be in hospitality management, but I know enough to be able to check his pulse and breathing. He’s okay, just passed out. At least he’s still sitting upright, the last thing he needs to do is lie down with a bloody nose.
I twist up some tissues to place inside his nose, but the bleeding seems to have stopped for the most part.
He really must have been exhausted from his trip.
I figure it’s about thirteen hours from Chicago to the airport on the mainland.
Goodness knows how many connections and layovers he suffered through before even starting his boat journey to the island.
With a frustrated sigh, I flop back on the couch next to him, my perfectly laid plan officially gone up in smoke. I wonder briefly if his father would be more angry to find me here…or to find out that I left him like this.
The answer doesn’t matter anyway. I could no sooner leave this man alone here, passed out, than I could stop the earth’s rotation.
I take the opportunity to examine his face, now that his hand has fallen to his side.
It doesn’t look as bad as I feared. I’d even venture to say it isn’t broken.
I fetch a warm, wet cloth and clean him up, situating him even more upright with a pile of pillows behind his head to keep it from flopping backward.
I remove his shoes and run my hand up his calf, the fabric of his dark jeans adding enough friction to my palm to make me gasp.
I can't believe I'm touching Mateo again, after all these years. Sure, he’s passed out. Sure, my little family will lose everything if I’m caught doing it. But still.
He’s here, and for a moment, I let myself pretend.
But then I remember.
I’m on my feet in an instant and heading back down the hallway. He may have thought he was fine, but he did just pass out from blood loss and a possible concussion—I’m calling the island medics. I don’t care if he’s pissed when he finally comes to.
I’ve gotten very used to knowing that the love of my life thinks I make terrible choices.
When I reach my mother’s room, the small suite that we shared for so many years, I fumble through my duffel until I locate my phone.
No service.
It’s not unusual to lose reception out here, hell we only just started getting cell service at all the year I left for college. I lift the receiver on the landline and find that dead as well.
With a shake of my head, I walk to the window. Rain is falling steadily, but it seems unlikely that it’s caused so many problems yet. Maybe a tree took out a power line. Whatever the reason, there’s one thing I know for sure. Mateo is alone out there and I’m the only one who can help him.
I head back to the sofa and curl up at the far end of the couch where he still sleeps. I want to lay my head on his lap like I always used to, but I know my touch wouldn’t be welcome. I can’t bring myself to violate his wishes, even though my heart longs to be near him.
The house is silent, with nothing to watch but the rain falling from the sky. His family will be back anytime now, and I’ll have to offer an explanation as to why I’m here. I hope my reason for staying will be good enough to keep my mother’s job—and her home here at the estate—safe.