down. One hundred to go...
A waiter approached with a tray of mojitos, each cocktail glass stuffed with mint leaves and garnished with a sugarcane stick. Leila gladly exchanged her traditional wine for the more exotic drink. Spanning the elegant loggia, she caught her reflection in a massive gold-framed mirror. She looked good, her brown skin shimmering in the light of the chandeliers, her eyes brilliant with excitement. What a confident party crasher! She looked like she was actually having fun. Using the mirror to spy on the crowd, she sipped her cocktail and searched for her next target.
That’s when she thought she saw him.
No big deal. He’d appear in crowds, only to vanish at closer inspection. Leila was used to it. He still lived in the ruin he’d made of her heart.
She glanced over her shoulder and the usually fleeting impression held. That chiseled face softened by a wave of brown hair... Who else could it be?
Standing only feet away and flanked by two admiring women, he towered over a small group. Leila’s reaction was physical. A cramp in her gut. When she spun around, the confident woman in the mirror was gone, replaced with someone new but sadly familiar. Her instincts told her to run.
She took off, slicing through the crowd on her way out to the terrace. The band started up, playing a languid bolero. Couples came together under the full January moon—a moon that now appeared to be mocking her.
What’s he doing in Miami?
The answer was irrelevant; she’d always known this day would come. But when she’d dreamed up scenarios in which they ran into each other—an airport terminal waiting to board international flights, a fabulous party very much like this one—she’d always managed to keep her cool. And now she looked around, disoriented, damn near hyperventilating. She’d reached the edge of the terrace. A vast, formal garden stretched out before her, drenched in darkness.
Taking a minute to weigh her options, Leila noticed something stuck to the sole of her stiletto. She checked. It was her business card stained red with wine.
Really?
It had been a mistake to come here. She had to get out. Fast. Maybe he hadn’t seen her? Maybe she could sneak out?
“I remember that dress.”
The long rope of “maybes” swung uselessly in the air around her.
“Please, I don’t want a scene.”
“Then you shouldn’t have worn that dress.”
Arrogant as always! She swiveled to confront him, waving her empty cocktail glass. “What are you even doing here?”
Nicolas Adrian. Once one of Miami’s top brokers, he’d forfeited the title when he’d moved to Manhattan. That should’ve been the end of him.
He took the glass from her and set it on a nearby stack of books. “I’m here. No reason.”
Leila felt betrayed. All those expensive, guided meditation classes she’d taken had been for nothing. The universe should have sent her a warning.
He extended a hand. “Come with me.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“We can have it out right here, if you like?” His tone was unyielding. She had a glimpse of the man she knew well, the tough negotiator. “I don’t care who hears us, but I bet you do.”
She gave up the fight. It was that easy. “You get five minutes.” Taking his hand felt as natural as slipping on the dress.
Nick guided her down the stone stairs leading to the garden, which turned out to be a world unto itself. They walked quickly along the hedge-lined path, as though being chased.
Along the way, they were serenaded by the sound of water spouting from the mouths of marble cherubs, gushing down waterfalls and swirling into lazy lagoons. It wasn’t enough to calm her. This wasn’t an aimless stroll. His pace was deliberate. Nick was searching for a place for them to hide together rather than from each other. They stumbled across a coral rock grotto with a narrow opening that let in a splash of moonlight. He pulled her inside.
She wiggled her hand free. “We could’ve talked outside.”
He took a step, wandering deeper into the cave, marveling at it. “No, we couldn’t.”
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, Nick. I’ve changed.”
“Are you sure? It’s only been a year or so,” he said, facing her now. “You look the same.”
“I’m sure.”
She stepped back and found there was no ground to gain; the cave was wide but shallow.
Nick closed the gap between them.
The past echoed in the enclosed space. Light of my life.
“Nick.”
His tone softened. “Come on, Leila. It’s me.”
Oh God, yes. She closed her eyes, all her late-night fears confirmed. He had only to say her name and her resolve turned into confectioner’s sugar.
Nick moved closer and threaded a hand through the high slit of her dress, brushed her thigh.
He had no right to touch her that way. Why wasn’t she fighting it?
The truth rose around Leila like floodwater. Her posturing was a ruse. All along she’d been actively plotting her capture. A fish seeking the fisherman’s net. He was the man who’d once called her his prize. And tonight, despite everything, she wanted him to win.
Leila drew him to her and kissed him full on the mouth. He tasted like mint and sweet cane.
Nick came alive. He pressed her into the cave wall and ran his palms over her body, rediscovering familiar terrain.
She’d expected him to take her by storm, to invade her. But his touch was unhurried, deliberately slow. He knew he had her.
The scent of wild orchids and damp earth enveloped them. She was water, the bay at high tide. He was rock, the one obstacle she could not overcome. He gathered the soft lace of her skirt. She eagerly unfastened his belt. He grabbed her hands and whispered in her ear, “Tell me what’s changed.”
Leila had no answer. She let him take her, the rough surface of the wall biting into her back. Over the distant party music she heard him groan, heard him murmur her name over and over until her moaning took over, filling the cave.
Leila had not—not at all—set out to be the girl who sat at her desk pining for the guy in the office with a view. She had big plans and her own reasons for taking
