doesn’t tell me everything. I’ve spent three years with the man, and he couldn’t be bothered to tell me that he was leading a double life.”
“He was wrong for that. He should have told you from the beginning. I didn’t want you to start your marriage off that way, and I didn’t want you to find out by accident. But now that things are out in the open, you can discuss it with him and get past it.”
“Get past it? There is nothing to get past. There’s not going to be a marriage.”
“Oh no!” Ingrid looked truly dismayed. “That wasn’t my intention. You have to marry Max. He adores you. He’s waited so long to get married. You’re perfect for him.”
“Do you think I’m the type of woman who would lower myself that far for a man?” Maybe it wasn’t such a stretch, Ava had already given up a lot to be with him—what was the rest of her self-respect?
“Maxime isn’t just any man. He’s special and powerful, and millions of women would give up their souls to be where we are. He’s so kind to me, and I know he’s kind to you. There’s no one else in the world who’s going to give you what he can.”
“I don’t want what he can give me. And I’m sure as hell not willing to give up my soul to be with him.” She stood up and walked to the door. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a wedding to cancel.”
There was something big going on next door, Derek Patrick thought as he walked over to his window. He was a busy guy and usually nothing could tear him away from his work of making custom furniture and being the mayor of Hideaway Island, but the words “I’m going to kill the slimy bastard” had punctured his career-related fog.
Ava Bradley was staying next door to him. He hadn’t realized it at first, because for the last week all he had seen were delivery trucks going in and out of her tiny driveway, but it certainly was her. Sister to his island’s richest resident. Future wife of the man who’d tried to destroy Hideaway Island with a disgustingly large resort. As mayor Derek had done everything in his power to rally the citizens and prevent that. This place wasn’t a resort town. It was an island full of hardworking people who wanted to live in peace. A resort of that size would have brought thousands of tourists in the summer. And he might’ve been okay with that if the billionaire was going to hire local people to build the monstrosity and to be lifeguards or housekeepers or whatever positions they had available, but that had never been an option. Vermeulen had planned to bring in foreign workers from overseas and pay them a rate that no one could live on. It was damn near evil. Derek had gone toe to toe with the man. And almost came to blows with him.
He had won, which infuriated the Belgium businessman. That’s why Derek was surprised to find out that Ava had rented the house next door. She clearly hadn’t known that he would be living beside her. She probably would have strapped on her four-inch designer stilettos and hightailed it back to Miami. But she decided that she was going to throw the world’s largest wedding right here on the island. He wasn’t exactly sure why she chose this place.
She was one of those women who was too beautiful. Almost painfully so. She had perfectly smooth brown skin, and midnight-black hair that was always perfectly styled. Her clothes were ultraexpensive, and fit to her thin body like a glove. He never saw her without diamonds in her ears, he never saw her in flip-flops or flat shoes like most people in a beach community wore. He never saw her smile warmly or look happy, for that matter. He mostly saw her as eye candy, hanging on that rich man’s arm. Nothing more than another expensive accessory.
She didn’t fit in here, and yet he couldn’t be mad at her for wanting to get married on the island. Even she had to see that Hideaway Island was one of the most beautiful places on the planet.
Some of her many, many guests had arrived early, filling up all the little inns, bed-and-breakfasts and boutique hotels on the island. They ate in the restaurants and shopped in the stores. A few of them had even stopped into his showroom in town and purchased some pieces. It was a nice little boost for their economy. The island wasn’t antitourist. No, They welcomed all people. They just didn’t want some big corporate enterprise sucking the life out of this place.
Derek saw Ava’s twin, Dr. Elias Bradley, get out of his car. He knew when he saw Elias’s face that something bad had gone down.
“Where the hell is he?” he shouted. The doctor appeared more like a football player than a surgeon as he stalked toward the cottage.
Carlos, her older brother, came out of the house, the former baseball player looking even more furious, if that were possible. “I don’t know, but when I find him. I’m going to kill him. I’m going to smash his head in.”
Carlos’s wife, Virginia, came out after him, holding their daughter. “Would you two hush?” She scolded. “This isn’t what Ava needs right now, and you’re scaring Bria.”
“Give me my baby girl.” Carlos’s voice softened as he took his daughter in his arms and cuddled her. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. Your daddy and uncle aren’t going to kill that slimy bastard today. We don’t know where he is. You don’t have to worry, but he should.”
Derek knew he should step away from the window. Being in his neighbor’s business was not his style, but he couldn’t make himself move. The whole town was buzzing about this wedding. And it all seemed to be falling apart before his eyes.
Ava stepped out of the house then. She hadn’t said a word, but Derek’s eyes went to her as soon as she stepped over the threshold. She was wearing one of those tight pencil skirts and a white blouse that gently flowed over her figure. She was an absolute knockout by any man’s standards, but it was her face that caught Derek’s attention. There were no tears, no blurry eyes from what he could see. Her expression was blank, nearly emotionless, one might see her and think she was cold, but she took her niece from her brother and brought the little girl close to her, squeezing her as she closed her eyes. And just before she did, Derek saw misery there, pure, uncovered misery. It was one of those haunting looks, made even worse by the fact that it had come from one of the most beautiful women that he had ever seen.
He felt sorry for her then. He didn’t want to because he didn’t like her. He didn’t like the way she walked or spoke or dressed. He didn’t like how she let herself be used as some rich man’s accessory. She reminded him of his mother. An incredibly beautiful failed dancer turned social climber, whose self-worth came from being the woman of a rich man.
He learned from a lifetime of living with her that women like that didn’t change. Derek stepped away from the window and back to his work space. It wasn’t his business what caused that hurt look to take over Ava’s face. She would find another man. She would be all right. Women like her always managed to make it somehow.
* * *
Ava sat alone in her rented cottage that night. Carlos, Virginia and Elias had left a few minutes ago after staying with her all day. It was nice to have her family rally around her. Having two large, protective brothers threatening to tear Max limb from limb made her feel surprisingly better.
And her sister-in-law was a godsend. “You want this wedding canceled. We’ll get this wedding canceled.” As an interior designer, Virginia was used to managing large projects and calling dozens and dozens of vendors was no small feat. But she had done it all with a baby on her hip. If Ava hadn’t been so numb, she would have been amazed by her.
She
