Chapter 22
22
T he scent of her was all over Dean the next morning. Even after his shower. Her taste lingered in his mouth, making him ache with need. The only way life could have been better was if he’d woken with her warm body pressed to his.
But Greer hadn’t spent the night in his arms.
And now life intruded when Bernice texted him at eight thirty. Get your butt down here to the café. I’ve got your girls corralled.
His sister was nothing if not demanding.
It should have been the worst night of his life, that’s how terrified he’d been for Cynthia and Lisa after Bernice received all those voicemails. He’d been out of his mind prowling all the bars with Greer and not finding the girls. But things had turned on a dime the moment Greer sat down and talked his daughters into letting him keep watch the rest of the night.
And then there was his time with Greer. Christ. He’d never felt like that in his life. His head still spun with how she’d climbed onto his lap on the balcony and begged him to touch her.
That woman had such depths of sensuality.
But he needed to deal with his Cynthia and Lisa. They deserved a stern lecture. From him. Not just his sister, not just his—he didn’t know what to call Greer. Lover? Yes, that was the best word he had to describe her. His lover. And he’d never wanted anyone more.
But his daughters awaited, and he dashed down to the restaurant.
Bernice stood and headed toward him when he stepped onto the open-air patio. The tables were full, tourists buzzing the buffet like flies.
Bernice squeezed his arm as she passed. “They’re suitably chastised. The rest is up to you.”
He took the chair his sister had vacated, and before he said a word, the waiter brought his favorite coffee. They knew him. He said nothing as he stirred cream into the cup. Only after a sip and a sigh of satisfaction did he open his mouth to speak.
But Cynthia jumped in to fill what she must have thought was an awkward silence. “Dad, you don’t need to rag on us again about leaving Jenny and the others by themselves.”
“Aunt Bernice already ripped us a new one,” Lisa added, and he was gratified that she wasn’t bitchy about it.
Cynthia bolstered the comment. “We were totally in the wrong about leaving the others. It won’t happen again.”
He nodded, looked from one of his beautiful daughters to the other. “Thank you for understanding. Jenny was truly scared, and that wasn’t a nice thing to do to her.”
Cynthia had the grace to drop her head, looking at the table a moment before she said, “I know, Dad. It was kinda mean.”
He smiled at her, appreciating her acknowledgement. “And you’re right. It won’t happen again. I’m renting a car. If anyone wants to go into town for an evening, that’s fine, but I’ll drive you and pick you up.”
Lisa opened her mouth, probably to protest, but Dean held up a hand. “It wasn’t just that you left Jenny and the others alone. It was that no one knew where you were or who you were with. You didn’t even answer your phones.”
“We couldn’t hear them ring with all the music,” Lisa said.
He went on as if she hadn’t tried to justify. “And terrible things can happen to beautiful young women out cruising bars by themselves.”
“But Brett and the others were great,” Lisa protested. “They were actually guarding our drinks so no one could slip anything into them.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “They said they were guarding your drinks,” he stressed. “How would you know if they put something into the glasses themselves while they were supposedly on guard?” When they both opened their mouths, he held up his hand. “If you want to know the truth, they were probably good guys. I don’t believe they had any bad intentions. They just liked being with you. But my point is that you don’t know until something bad happens. And being your dad, my old heart—” he patted his chest. “—can’t take another night like that. So if you want to go out, no problem.” He waved a hand. “But I don’t want you to go alone. I want you in a group. And I’ll be your taxi service. It’ll be safer for all of you.”
He would have liked to be a hard-ass and say they couldn’t leave the resort at all, but they were adults. And he had to trust they’d learned a lesson. “Do you both agree?”
“But can we use the car during the day?” Cynthia asked. “To go shopping or whatever?”
He had to treat them like adults, even if they hadn’t acted that way last night. “Yes. I’m more concerned about the nights. About barhopping. So what do you say?”
They nodded in unison, though Lisa was a bit sullen, and he thought about what she’d said in the car. He kept his voice soft, almost as if he were gentling a frightened animal. “You asked me last night why I suddenly cared now when I didn’t seem to when you were kids. I want you to know that I did care then. Deeply.” He paused a moment, searching for the right words. If Greer were here, she would have given them to him. But at least the girls were listening. “I made huge mistakes. I prioritized work over family. I thought my job was to give you a nice house to live in and to save for your college funds, to make sure there was enough money so you could go on school trips and do everything you wanted to do. I told myself I had all the evenings and weekends with you. But I didn’t realize how many times work chipped away at those hours with travel or meetings running late, calls for me to come into work on a Saturday or keeping me holed up in my home office on conference calls.” He wanted to touch them, take their hands, but he knew they weren’t there yet. “I screwed up. Practically for your whole lives. I can never make up for that. But I can try to be a different father now. If you’ll let me.”
He wondered if he’d ever apologized in quite this way. Sure, he’d said he was sorry that he’d hadn’t been there enough. But had he truly admitted his failure as a father? Had he admitted his failure as a husband?
He didn’t think so. And he did it now. “I was a crappy dad and a crappy husband. But I didn’t do it because I didn’t love you. I always loved you, from the moment you were born.” He gave a shaky laugh. “No, from the moment you started growing in your mother’s belly. I loved you both.”
Cynthia started to cry then, loud sniffles as she dabbed her eyes. Through her tears, she said, “We’ve been so angry for so long.”
Lisa, his Lisa with no tears, said, “I don’t know how we can do it differently. It’s been too long.”
He swallowed hard. His baby. She’d always been the tougher of the two, always less forgiving. And that was his fault, not Jessica’s. Jessica was soft, gentle. Cynthia was like her. But Lisa was harder, like him.
He took the biggest risk of all. He gathered their hands in his. Squeezed. “It’ll be hard. I know that. But I’ll put in the work. I’ll come down to see you at college once a month.”
Cynthia laughed through her tears. “Oh please, no. Maybe once a quarter at the most.”
He tried to laugh with her. “All right. But when you’re home, I’m taking the time off. Holidays, they’re yours. When a business trip comes up or some crisis at work, I’m the CEO, so I can delegate.” Though he’d been CEO a long time, that hadn’t stopped him from trying to do everything himself. “It’s time I let my people shine.” He cocked his head. “Maybe I’ve been overzealous with them. Maybe you’re teaching me about my management style as well. But I’ll make this promise to you. Work will not come between us again. I won’t promise that when we’re together I might not have to make a phone call or two in a crisis. But I won’t let it take over our time.”
Cynthia wiped her eyes. “Thank you saying that, Dad.”
But he didn’t hear total belief in her voice. He would still have to prove himself.
Lisa was more blunt. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
It hurt, but he said, “I deserved that.” He had his work cut out for him. But he’d made a promise he would never break.
Cynthia picked up her phone. “Jenny was pretty pissed at us too. And she was scared. What we did wasn’t right. We talked about it, and here’s what we came up with. We’ve put tracking on our phones. So we know where we all are.”
Then Lisa gave him an even greater shock. “We want to add you to the tracking loop. So you know where we are if anything goes wrong.”
His jaw threatened to drop to the table, but he held it firm despite being stunned to the core that his two daughters and Jenny, and whoever else was on this loop, would allow him to see their locations.
Of course Lisa jumped in to add, “We’re only doing it for the trip.”
But he smiled. “Maybe we can do it when you get home too. Who knows, what if you’re in trouble and need your dad?”
Lisa crossed her eyes at him.
He didn’t care. They were throwing him a bone, and he grabbed it. “Deal.” Taking his phone out of his pocket, he asked. “How do I set it up?”
Lisa gave a long-suffering sigh. “Give me your phone, Dad, and I’ll set it up for you. Even if you are a software engineer, you’re a mess at setting up your phone.”
His heart was beating so hard and fast, it could have flown right out of his chest. They had a journey ahead of them, but this was a fabulous and amazing start.
He couldn’t wait to share it with Greer.
After that amazing night, Greer picked her phone up the next morning to find a text from Dean. Thank God it wasn’t Conrad.
Join me for breakfast?
He’d left the message almost an hour ago, and now she texted back. Sorry, I got up late. It was after ten. And she hadn’t gone to bed until after three. Only just saw this. You’ve probably already gone to breakfast.
But he was back in a flash. Let’s make it brunch. Just text when you’re ready.
She rushed through her morning ritual in record time, only twenty minutes, her heart beating hard and fast with the desperation of wanting to see him again.
They met in the hallway outside her room, and he pulled her in for a deep kiss. Every bone in her body melted. But she tipped back to say, “You just ruined my lipstick.” She smoothed away the lipstick she’d left behind on his mouth.
He ran a finger under her lower lip. “There. All fixed.”
She almost wished they’d left the smudges, a reminder of a kiss so wonderful it made her toes curl. “Has everyone else gone down to breakfast already?” she asked.
After a nod, he pulled an envelope from his shirt pocket. “Remember they gave me that gift certificate at the show last night?”
They walked to the elevators arm in arm. “How could I forget Meow Man?”
“I looked up the restaurant and they serve brunch. Would you like to go with me?”
Like ? That was far too mild for the way she felt. “I’d love to.”
“I’ve rented a car online, so I need to go to the airport too. I want to be able to take the girls into town for an evening if they want to go again. And be there when they’re ready to come back.”
She tipped her head to look at him as he pushed the elevator button. “Are you really sure you should do that? They might think you don’t trust them.”
“I’ve already talked to them. We had breakfast together. They said it was cool. They even asked if they could use it during the day.” He smiled. “I said yes. See, I’m not spying on them.”
They stepped into the empty car, and Greer put a hand on his chest. “I wouldn’t call it spying. Just being overly fatherly.”
He slid a hand across his forehead. “I can’t let them go out every night without knowing where they are. I just can’t .” He shook his head and his shoulders at the same time in a gesture of futility. “I told them how I felt. That I couldn’t help being a dad, that I was worried. They seemed to understand. Cynthia even hugged me when I left.”
Greer drew back, feigning shock. Although she was shocked the girls hadn’t fought him more. “That’s kind of amazing.”
“And,” he went on, “they put an app on our phones so we can each see where we are.”
The elevator doors opened on Greer’s stunned expression. “Wow! Young college women actually letting their dad track them? That’s unheard of.”
“Yeah. They initiated it. I didn’t ask.” Then he laughed. “But they’ll make me take it off my phone when we get back from this trip.” Down in the lobby, he took her elbow, guiding her out to the walkway. “Honestly, I talked with Bernice a bit after I saw the girls. She said she’d gotten so angry with them for leaving the others behind that they’re doing their best to make it up to her.” He pulled Greer in with an arm around her shoulders. “She really shamed them. That’s probably why they offered to put the app on our phones, to appease their aunt.”
A trolley that could take them to the taxi stand already sat outside, and he helped her climb in. “I don’t care how it happened. They’re agreeing. And I felt things were a little better between us.”
She bumped his shoulder. “Way to go, Dad.”
“But what you did last night, letting them stay and have their fun, not letting me go ballistic on them, that paved the way for a good talk this morning.” He kissed the tip of her nose and gazed down at her with…
She couldn’t define that look. Maybe just appreciation, with a spark of something more.
God help her, she wanted that something more.
They picked up the rental car, then she used her phone’s GPS to find the restaurant named on his gift certificate.
On the upper floor of an old bank building, the elegant dining room overlooked Puerto Vallarta’s waterfront boardwalk. French doors stood open, a gentle breeze blowing through to cool the room. White tablecloths draped the tables, and Dean secured one by the window.
The decorations were opulent, centerpieces of fragrant flowers, crystal chandeliers, thick carpeting, paintings of elegant Mexican ladies and gentlemen from long ago centuries.
“This is classy, Meow Man.”
His smile crinkled the corners of his eyes. “Why do you think I played Meow Man? Just so I could get this for us.”
That wasn’t true. He and Green Man had ad-libbed the whole thing. “And you were such a good Meow Man too. Especially after we got back to the hotel.” She winked at him. “Now tell me what really happened backstage.”
He reached across the table for her hand. “A whole lot would have happened if you’d been the one dragging me away. But as it was, I just wanted to get back to you.”
“You are so smooth.” And she picked up her menu.
“Order anything you want. It’s all on me.”
She laughed. “You’re such a gentleman. I’ll have the huevos rancheros.”
“I’ll get the Mexican omelet.” Then he looked at her. “How about a mimosa? Let’s make it a champagne brunch.”
“So decadent. Let’s do it.”
When their mimosas arrived, Dean raised his in a toast. “To a mind-blowing night.” He smiled, lopsided but sexy. “And more to come.”
Greer didn’t add to the toast. The only thing she could have said was that she wished it would go on past their remaining days in Mexico. But they’d agreed. And she had so much to work out with Conrad. She didn’t have time for a relationship any more than Dean did.
“So tell me, you’re so great with my girls. Did you never want to be a mother?”
Everything inside her stilled, her breath in her lungs, the beat of her heart, the blood through her veins. She’d told him about the divorce, but she hadn’t told him about the babies.
All she could say was, “Well.” The one word gave her time to decide how to answer. Whether to expose her inadequacy as a woman. But really, it was all so long ago. “I told you about our plan, grow the careers, buy the house, get settled.” She shrugged as if to say whatever . “And then we were supposed to start the family. Except it didn’t happen. I had a couple of miscarriages. And after several unsuccessful fertility treatments, they told me I would never carry a baby full-term. We could have adopted, but my husband didn’t want to.” It actually hurt more to talk about the lost babies than when she’d told him her husband divorced her for a woman who could have the children he wanted.
Dean stared at her for a long moment, eyes wide as if he were stunned. “I thought you were a career woman by choice.”
She took out the pain of those miscarriages on him in a sharp tone. “Why shouldn’t a woman with a career have children as well? Men do it all the time.”
He held up both hands in surrender. “I didn’t mean it that way. Of course you can do both, have a career and a family.” Then he swallowed, as if he had trouble getting it down. “Although I’m proof that not all men can do it right. I thought my wife had the family duties, I had the financial duties, and it was an equitable split. But I was wrong. The girls needed me, and it’s obvious now how much they resent the fact that I was gone all the time.”
She regretted lashing out. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t casting any aspersions on you. But I feel that when a woman works full-time, people look at her as if she’s let her kids down. Whereas for a man, work is a given. But that’s not why I didn’t have kids. I just failed at it.” She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the pain even after so many years.
“You didn’t fail,” he said, voice hard with vehemence. “I’m sorry it didn’t happen for you. But that wasn’t a reason for him to leave you for his secretary. Is that why he left?”
“Yes. He wanted a family.” She had to breathe deeply, will away the ache. “But I felt like a failure. And my husband would’ve expected me to give up my job and stay home with the kids. I still don’t know if I would have done that. But I didn’t have to make that choice. He made the choice to leave me because I couldn’t have children.”
He folded his hand over her fist. “I’m so sorry. You didn’t deserve that. And you didn’t fail. I’m sorry my question made you remember something so hurtful.”
She shook her head, shaking off the emotions. Were you a failure if your body failed you? She wanted to believe Dean was right, that Hal had failed her , not the other way round.
Now she wanted only to change the subject, so she tried to smile. She liked the feel of his hand over hers, and she didn’t want her marriage to ruin their time together. “It was just conversation. You didn’t know. And there are many more interesting things to talk about.”
Their plates arrived, effectively ending the uncomfortable topic even better than her words had. The eggs on top of her huevos rancheros were perfect, the yolks runny and the whites solid. Along with beans and salsa on the tortilla, she had toast, and cutting bite-size pieces, she dipped the bread in the yolks. “Oh my God, this is so good.”
He was looking at her, his eyes even darker. “I enjoy watching you eat. You make everything seem like a delicacy you can’t get enough of.”
There were certainly things she couldn’t get enough of, Dean being the biggest of them.
“My omelet’s good too. Here, try it.” Without waiting for her answer, he sliced off a piece and put it on her plate.
“I don’t know how I can share my huevos rancheros with you. I could feed you with my fork.”
He laughed. “I’d rather you feed me delicacies in bed.” He raised his eyebrows salaciously. “And I’ve got enough beans and salsa right here.” Instead of potatoes like an American breakfast, Dean’s Mexican omelet came with rice and beans.
She tasted the piece he’d given her. “Oh. Yes. That’s good.” Chilis, corn, black beans, tomatoes, peppers, avocado, and cheese on the inside, topped with sour cream and spicy salsa.
They ate mostly in comfortable silence, each looking at the other, enjoying the food and the company. Then Greer raised her champagne glass. “Thank you, Meow Man. This is the most delicious breakfast.” She held his gaze. “After a most delectable night.” She gave him what she hoped was a sultry smile. And an invitation.
The embers glowing in his eyes said he’d take her up on.
Dean didn’t need to sit on the beach and soak up as the sun. He didn’t need to run into the ocean for a swim. He didn’t need margaritas or nachos on the beach.
He only needed Greer. Now.
They’d parked the car on the third floor of the garage, and hands clasped, they’d taken the foliage-covered wooden walkways into the hotel. Neither of them needed to speak. Greer had said everything with that invitation in her eyes and on her lips.
He hadn’t meant to bring up the bad memories. He hated that she saw herself as a failure, as if she’d caused the end of the marriage. When it was her feckless husband’s failure.
Just as Dean himself had failed his daughters. But he would fix that.
He could also help Greer see how beautiful, sexy, and smart she was. And he’d start right now. They entered the reception lobby, past all the people checking in and checking out, then down the long hall of activity desks and lounge area where sales people recruited tourists for the timeshare presentations.
Then, abruptly, Greer dropped his hand and stepped away from him.
What the hell…
A man rose from a chair, heading straight for her, and she snapped, “What are you doing here, Conrad?”
Her boyfriend could have stepped right off the pages of Gentlemen’s Quarterly. His blond hair, dusted with gray you could barely see, didn’t have a strand out of place. His white teeth sparkled, his chiseled jaw was clean-shaven, his aqua eyes obviously enhanced by contacts.
He was the epitome of the sexy silver fox right out of a romance novel.
Dean felt like the disheveled landscaper who was trying to make time with the beautiful countess while her count was away.
Conrad. He looked like a Conrad. Whatever a Conrad looked like.
“You wouldn’t take my calls or answer my texts. I was worried.” His gaze flicked to Dean, but he said nothing about the handholding he must have seen. Or the way Dean had been rushing her to the elevator hall to ride up to his room where he could pleasure her for hours.
“I sent you a text.” Her jaw clenched. “And you said we’d talk about everything when we got home. You didn’t have to fly all the way down here.”
His eyes flashed from Greer to Dean and back again. “Are you sure I didn’t need to come down here?”
Finally, Dean caught her gaze, her golden eyes dark with an emotion he couldn’t read.
And Conrad asked, “So who is this?”
She said quickly, “No one.”
Dean couldn’t say why it felt like a shaft had just pierced his heart. Because really, he was no one to her. He was just a holiday fling. Not like this man who lived with her. This man who’d accused her of cheating on him and canceled their vacation. At least he wasn’t violent. He didn’t look like he could be.
Dean stepped forward, stuck out his hand. “Dean Adamo.”
Conrad looked at the offered hand for a moment, as if considering whether he should touch it. Then finally they shook, a little too hard, like two knights on the jousting field battling for a lady’s honor.
The romance analogies just seemed to keep coming.
He opened his mouth to say that he and Greer would be on their way, even took a step closer to her, his hand rising to take her elbow. But he saw the look in her eyes. It wasn’t terror. It wasn’t anger. It was resolute. When she spoke this time, she didn’t deny him.
“Thank you so much for breakfast. I enjoyed it. And I’ll see you at your mother’s birthday party tomorrow?” Her voice rose in a question.
Dean wanted to swear. Tomorrow? It was too far away. He wanted this afternoon. He wanted tonight, all night, the next morning, and every moment until they both had to leave.
But he wasn’t a knight. He was the beta guy who gets sand kicked in his face by the alpha male who walks away with the girl. And she was a woman who had to fight her own battles. She needed to handle Conrad, and she didn’t need Dean making the situation worse.
Yet he couldn’t help giving her a quick peck on the lips, one swift stamp of ownership. He hoped it left her stunned as he walked away.
Even more, he hoped it rattled Conrad.