TheTemptationNotJustifiedAReFinal (14 page)

Silence.

Finally,
Derrick said, “No one ever told me.”

“It
doesn’t matter whose idea it was. You’ve been so busy hating me you can’t see
how much we care about you. We don’t care about the private plane and the
models you always bring around, obviously trying to impress us. We want you in
our lives because you’re family. You always held back—except with Cassidy.”

“It
was the pigtails,” Derrick said softly. “The first time I met her she was eight
years old. She wore pigtails and was so freaking bubbly. She’s been under my skin
ever since.”

“Yeah,
that’s Cassidy.”

Roarke
watched emotions flit across Derrick’s face. He didn’t have time to decipher
them or reminisce. He needed to find Celeste, and since he didn’t know if
Derrick had thawed enough to share her whereabouts with him, he took off.

Outside
on the lawn, he paused. Chances are, she would be at the airport. But which
one? Did Derrick take her to the airfield where they’d flown in on the private plane,
or was she at the Brunswick Golden Isles Airport, to take a commercial flight?

“Roarke.”
Derrick stood on the porch with one hand shoved into his pocket. “I took her to
the Golden Isles Airport.” He glanced down at his Rolex. “If you hurry, you can
catch her before she boards the eleven-forty-nine flight to Atlanta.” Roarke
nodded his thanks and whipped around toward the car. “And Roarke, tell her I’m
sorry. I said some things to her I shouldn’t have.”

Roarke
stood next to the car with the door open. “Tell her yourself when I bring her
back.”

Twenty
minutes later, he pulled up with a screech of tires in front of the airport. He
jumped out of the car and ran toward the door.

“Sir!
Sir! You can’t leave your car there.”

“Tow
it!” Roarke tossed over his shoulder.

Inside,
his eyes searched the small terminal for Celeste. She must have already gone
through security.

He
got in line at the ticket counter. “I need to get on your next flight to
Atlanta,” he said, handing over his identification and credit card.

“Any
luggage?” the woman asked, eying him warily.

“No.”
He knew that could be seen as a red flag, but he had to take his chances.

Once
he received his boarding pass, he went through security with ease. He walked
toward the gate, and then he saw her, leaving the restroom, dragging her
wheeled carry-on behind her.

He
went toward her. A bookmark, hanging precariously from the magazine she had
tucked under her arm, fluttered to the floor without her noticing.

He
bent to pick it up.

“You
dropped something.”

Celeste
stopped dead in her tracks. She would recognize the whiskey warmth of his voice
anywhere.

Turning
slowly, she saw Roarke, wearing the most irresistible, bone-melting smile she’d
ever seen. Without a second thought, she released the handle of her suitcase
and let it clatter to the floor. The magazine tucked under her arm followed
suit, and she dashed across the few feet into his arms.

“Trying
to sneak off again?” he teased.

She
shook her head, too choked up to speak.

They
stayed pressed against each other for a while. At last, Roarke drew back to
look into her eyes. “I almost lost my mind when I realized you’d left. I’ve had
enough of you leaving me without a word.”

“I
didn’t want to leave like that, but things got messy with Derrick. I swear I
would have called you when I got back to Atlanta.”

“I
couldn’t take the chance that you wouldn’t.” The teasing smile left his face. “Derrick
told me the truth about your so-called relationship. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I
didn’t want to embarrass him, and we had a deal. I thought if I talked to him
alone first, I could get him to come around, and then I could explain
everything to you. I just thought it would be better than both of us
approaching him at the same time, and maybe he wouldn’t be mad at you. But I
was wrong. He became livid and took out his anger on me. He called me names and
said the only reason you wanted me was because of the competition between the
two of you—because you thought I was his girlfriend. He hates you so much.” She
sighed. “After he told me I was no longer needed, he made me leave with him and
brought me here.”

“I
figured he’d forced you out. I was so furious, I was two seconds away from
hitting him.” He took her hands in his. “I don’t expect we’ll be best friends
anytime soon, but I suspect our relationship will go through some changes in
the near future.” At her questioning look, he continued. “We yelled, we talked—and
we have a lot more talking to do—but I think I finally got through to him. We
might finally be able to live as brothers instead of enemies.”

“I’m
so happy to hear that!”

“We’ll
have to take it one day at a time.” The smile reappeared. “And I’m ready to
tell the world how crazy I am about you.”

Taken
aback, Celeste titled her head sideways. “Crazy, huh?”

“Mhmm.”
He drew her closer so she could feel the hard length of his body. “It’s the
only adjective I can think of to describe my actions the past couple of days.
I’ve gone against my conscience, slept in your bed against the house rules, and
broken speed limits twice today just so I could get to you.”

“You
are crazy,” Celeste said with a mischievous smile. She reached up and stroked
his bearded chin with her fingertips.

“The
craziest thing of all is . . . I think I’ve fallen in love with you. I know
it’s a lot to digest, but—”

“No,
no, I completely understand.” Celeste felt as if her heart would burst from
joy. She never imagined he would have the same feelings. “I’ve never, ever felt
this way, either . . . so . . . crazy . . . so in love . . . as if I’ve known
you forever.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”
Celeste bit her lower lip. “But Roarke, my life is a mess right now. Now that
I’m finished with school, I’m trying to find a job in my field and make more
money so I won’t have to work at . . . Sig’s Cigar Bar anymore.”

Roarke
frowned. “Sig’s Cigar Bar? Is that why you never told me where you work? Those
outfits are questionable, and I’ve heard the food and drinks aren’t the only
thing for sale there.”

“It’s
honest work,” Celeste said defensively, “but I know how people feel about
Sig’s, and that’s why I never mentioned it. I didn’t want you to judge me. I
don’t envision myself working there much longer.”

“I
hope not,” Roarke muttered, still frowning.

“The
tip money is good, but I have to admit, not enough. I need to create a better
life for me and my daughter. My ex isn’t dependable, so I’m basically a single
mom, and I’m struggling. On top of all of that, my mother lives with me.” She
looked down at the floor.

Using
his finger, Roarke raised her gaze back to his. “Are you trying to talk me out
of loving you, because if you are, it isn’t going to work. I’m not going anywhere.”

She
shook her head in disbelief. “I swear to God you’re too good to be true, you
know that?”

“Have
you missed the mess that my life is? My half brother hates me—although that may
be changing—my aunt and grandmother are always in my business, trying to marry
me off so I can hurry up and have kids, my sister’s a drama queen—”

“It
was her wedding. She’s allowed to be dramatic.”

“No.
That’s Cassidy all the time. I won’t even tell you about my rowdy friends. Can you
handle all that?”

“Is
that the worst of it?”

“Yeah,
that’s pretty much it.”

She pressed
closer. “Then I think we’re going to be fine.”

She
wrapped her arms around his neck, and they kissed for long moments before
withdrawing.

“We
better get out of here before we do something else crazy,” Roarke said huskily,
reluctantly pulling away from her.

“Like
have sex in the middle of an airport?” Celeste asked.

“Yes.
I’m not responsible for my actions when I’m around you.” He picked up her
luggage and handed her the magazine. She hooked her arm around his. “I just
remembered another crazy thing I did,” he said, picking up the pace. “I parked
in a no-parking zone in front of an airport. We better hurry before our ride
back gets towed, or before Homeland Security adds me to the no-fly watch list!”

Epilogue

“Mommy,
hurry! You’re gonna miss it!” Arianna yelled impatiently.

“I’m
coming, I’m coming!” Celeste stacked the last of the glasses on the tray. On
her way out of the kitchen, she stopped for a moment and looked at the picture
Roarke had pinned to the refrigerator with a magnet—one of Arianna’s drawings
of herself, him, and Celeste watching the fireworks on the beach. A
foreshadowing of tonight.

Smiling,
she walked through the back door. Arianna had already raced back out onto the beach
and staked her claim to Roarke’s lap, even though an empty seat next to him was
available for her use. At first she’d been shy around Roarke, but he’d charmed
her the same way he’d charmed Celeste, and now the two were practically
inseparable. Their love of science helped the bond between them develop
quickly.

Her
mother, Matthew, Cassidy and Antonio, Uncle Reese, and Aunt Iris were also on
the beach, sitting with their chairs facing Pier Village so they could see the
Fourth of July fireworks. Celeste handed out the drinks and took her seat next
to Roarke.

“Love
you,” he mouthed before taking her hand and lifting it to his lips.

“Love
you, too,” Celeste mouthed back.

Melding
their lives together within such a short time frame wasn’t easy. She and her
mother were in the process of packing up their two-bedroom apartment so they
could move to Athens. In a couple of weeks they would be married, and in less
than thirty days, she and Roarke would close on the new house, which would
accommodate the four of them better than his condo.

Since
they wanted to expand their family right away, they agreed Celeste could put
off finding a job for a few years. In the meantime, Roarke handled the role of future
stepfather well. Her ex had given her a hard time about it initially, but after
he and Roarke had a man-to-man talk—which she had not been privy to—they no
longer had any arguments about Roarke.

People
couldn’t understand why she and Roarke chose to get married so soon after
they’d met. Celeste settled back into the chair. She had no reservations.
Sometimes you just knew.

And
this time, she knew she’d found a good man.

THE
END

More Stories by Delaney
Diamond

Hot
Latin Men series

The
Arrangement

Fight
for Love

Short
Story

Subordinate
Position

Bailar
series (sweet/clean romance)

Worth Waiting
For (available fall 2011)

Free
Stories

www.delaneydiamond.com

About the Author

Delaney Diamond (
delaneydiamond.com
) was born and raised in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She has been an avid
reader for as long as she can remember and wrote her first novel at the age of
14, which she only shared with her friends. Her writing won her several
trophies in high school and a scholarship to help pay for college. In 2008 she
started freelance writing, and in 2009 she gave fiction writing a try again,
which resulted in her debut novel,
The Arrangement.

A diehard foodie, when her head’s not buried in a book, she’s in
the kitchen trying out new recipes or dining at her favorite restaurants with
friends. She speaks fluent conversational French and can get by in Spanish.

Excerpt from
The Arrangement
,
Book 1 of the Hot Latin Men series

Buy it now from
All
Romance Ebooks
.

Brazilian
millionaire, Leonardo da Silva, is still seething from when his
African-American wife, Alexa, walked out on him four months ago. Now she’s in
his office asking for a business loan to help her brother. Instead of a loan,
he’s willing to give her the money, but only if she resumes her role as his
wife for the next two months.
 
She
reluctantly agrees, and she soon finds herself wishing their arrangement was permanent.
But when she finds out about Leonardo’s betrayal, there may be no way for them
to mend their broken marriage.