depended on my father for monetary support.” Though, to Sydney’s chagrin and, more so, to her heartache, things had apparently changed.
Ray nodded, as if digesting the information. “And you’re following in the family footsteps. Making a lot of money and doing it your way. Not depending on anyone but yourself.”
Sydney wasn’t sure whether to frown or smile, but finally went with the latter. “I’m going to take that as a compliment, even though I’m not sure if that’s how you meant it. Yes, I grew up with the advantages of wealth. I never had to worry about how I was going to pay for my education. And Nolan did seed gIRL-gEAR.
“But I wouldn’t have gotten the money from any venture capitalist if I hadn’t known what I was doing. Trust me. Nolan’s not that altruistic.” Or at least, she mused with more than a touch of resentment, he didn’t used to be.
Ray glanced over, hair falling over his forehead. His expression conveyed an unwavering understanding. “You don’t have to justify your family’s wealth to me, Sydney.”
She took a deep breath, blew it out slowly. Why did she let herself get so worked up over money? “Is that what I’m doing?”
He shrugged, then looked back out to sea. “Sure sounds like it to me.”
She stuck out her tongue, anyway. “Then it’s all your fault for reminding me of feeling like I had to justify it to everyone in high school.”
“Everyone except Isabel Leighton.”
Sydney took a deep breath. Ray couldn’t have known of her latest connection to the one friend from school who’d kept her sane, who’d put so many things into perspective, who’d given her support and a shoulder when she’d needed both more than she’d needed food and water. It was just a coincidence that he’d brought up the one name that, considering recent circumstances, gave her heart a jolt.
“Izzy was the best,” Sydney said, working to relax. “She’s still the best and has done amazing things with her life. But as far as high school went, you’re right. She couldn’t have cared less where I came from. She was that way with all her friends. I had other friends, too. Good friends. Just not as many as Izzy had.”
“And not as many as you might’ve had at private school,” he stated, standing up to face her.
“True,” Sydney admitted, knowing it wouldn’t help her cause to leave Ray with the wrong impression about her own schooling preferences. And so she gave in to the smile tugging at her mouth. “But the private schools Nolan was interested in weren’t coed. Even if I didn’t date, I still enjoyed going to school with boys.”
Obviously curious, Ray asked, “Why didn’t you date?”
“You’re asking me that question? You’d get a better answer from any of the boys I graduated with. I think you know what they thought of me.” She definitely knew what they’d thought.
But knowing hadn’t helped her understand why none of them had bothered to get to know her. She might’ve appeared aloof and she’d definitely been shy. But nothing about her was cold. Her Ice Queen reputation had been grossly exaggerated. As Ray had found out.
“Yeah, I know what they thought. But you gotta realize boys that age don’t have the ability to tell the difference between frigid and shy. They’ll look for any scapegoat if it’ll save their own hot-shit reputation. You made a good one.” He shook his head, returned his hands to his pockets. “It’s not very hard to figure out.”
Sydney mentally backtracked to the middle of his explanation and frowned. How had he known she was shy? She was sure she’d never told him. She wanted to ask him more, wanted to hear who he thought she was. Wanted to hear in his own words why he’d wanted her to share his vacation.
Wanted to begin to understand her own attraction to him so she could begin to work her way beyond the allure. He wasn’t even close to being the compatible and civilized man she’d envisioned sharing her life with one day. Yet lust, she was discovering, defied logic and unanswered questions.
So she simply stared, wide-eyed and mute, as he moved closer, near enough that she could feel the heat from his large and half-bare body.
She could smell his deliciously masculine scent, clean and sweetly spiced. The bath soap stocked in the villa, made by a woman on the mainland, was a blend of natural ingredients, including native grasses and herbs.
Ray wore the fragrance well, and Sydney could only imagine the thrill of nuzzling her nose into his skin. She’d always been enchanted with the contrast of a man’s soft skin over his hard muscles. And she knew without a doubt that Ray would feel the same as he had in the past, while still feeling like a man she’d never known.
He stepped directly in front of her then so that the shadow from the support beam fell across the center of his body. He lifted one hand and touched an index finger to her cheek, trailing his touch back toward her ear.
“Talk to me, Sydney Ford. Help me figure you out.”
Sydney’s heart pounded. “You know who I am.”
“No.” He shook his head. “I know the woman you want me to know. But there’s a whole lot more to you than what you’ve let me see.”
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