TheTemptationNotJustifiedAReFinal (6 page)

She
would never forget him or last night.

She
let her gaze rest on Derrick. She wasn’t completely at ease with the idea of
pretending to be his girlfriend, but it would be nice to get away for a few
days. She couldn’t remember the last time she took a vacation, and it wasn’t as
if she could afford one on her own. Derrick’s offer appealed to her, although
she had concerns about navigating the minefield of problems she suspected
existed between him and his siblings.

Someone
sat down in her section. Taking a deep breath, she brushed aside her
reservations and went to greet him.

Enough
with the negative thoughts. What could possibly go wrong?

Chapter
Five

Roarke
pulled up outside his family’s two-story house on St. Simons Island, the
largest of the four Golden Isles that stretched along the state of Georgia’s
southern coast. Not too far away he could hear the roar of the ocean.

A
manicured lawn and moss-covered trees surrounded the yellow house with green
shutters, in his family for generations. As the story went, his paternal great-grandfather,
Joseph Hawthorne, had been the loyal manservant of a plantation owner who’d
fallen on hard times. He’d lost everything, including his health.

Roarke’s
great-grandfather remained at his side and took care of him until his death. In
return, the owner left this house on the beach to him. Though dilapidated and
in a state of disrepair at the time, Joseph worked constantly on it for years
to bring the house back to its former splendor. Since then, it had been placed
in a trust and was available as a vacation home for Hawthorne family members.
Individual photos of Joseph, his wife, and photos of their descendants, hung on
the interior walls.

Roarke
stepped out of the vehicle and took a deep breath, inhaling the distinctive
smell of sand and the saltiness of the Atlantic Ocean. Beyond the lawn, the
property dipped to a sandy beach and sparkling water. Though he’d been born and
raised in Atlanta, whenever he came down to the island, he felt more at home.
Perhaps because his favorite memories from childhood stemmed from this place,
where summer vacations with cousins and siblings were spent enjoying cookouts,
riding bikes, swimming, fishing, and getting into mischief.

“Roarke!”

He raised
his head from bending over the opened trunk of the car to see his little
sister, Cassidy, bolt down the steps of the house toward him. Not so little
anymore. He had to stop thinking of her like that. Cassidy was getting married
tomorrow. The sun glinted off the blonde highlights in her sleek, short bob.

She
hopped into his arms. “Thank God you’re here!” she said in a dramatic voice.

Uh-oh
.

His
younger brother, Matthew, followed more slowly. He was an inch taller than
Roarke and filled with bulky muscle from his days as a linebacker playing
college football. “Get ready for the drama,” he warned with a roll of his eyes.

Cassidy
dropped onto her heels and ignored Matthew’s comment. A breathless flurry of
words rushed from her mouth. “You’re not going to believe this. I can’t get in
touch with the wedding planner. She should have been here at eight o’clock this
morning. Eight, Roarke. It’s now”—she glanced at her watch—“eight thirty. Eight
thirty. Where is she? What if something happened to her? What am I going to do?
I don’t—”

“Cassidy.”
If he didn’t stop her now, she would have a complete meltdown. Her behavior was
partially his fault. He became her legal guardian at the age of eighteen. As
the only girl and the youngest, he’d always given in to her theatrics and tried
to fix all her problems, and she expected him to do the same right now. He
steeled himself for the pre-wedding melodrama and tried to defuse the
situation. He placed a hand on either side of her face. “Calm. Down.”

Cassidy
took several deep, quivering breaths. “I’m sorry. I’m just so nervous. Everything
has to be perfect.” She gnawed the corner of her upper lip.

“No,
it doesn’t,” Roarke said, keeping his voice calm and steady. “Even if it’s not,
it’ll be fine. Got it?” She continued to gnaw on her lip and nodded her head.
At least he was getting through to her. “The wedding’s not until tomorrow
night. Give it another thirty minutes, and if Sheila doesn’t call or isn’t here
by then, we’ll call her, okay?”

Cassidy
nodded vigorously. Crisis averted.

“Thank
you for everything, Roarke.”

Cassidy
wrapped her arms around his torso and pressed her cheek to his chest. He
enveloped her in his arms. Her words of gratitude were about more than today. Everyone
said he’d sacrificed so much, but he never saw it that way.

After
his father passed away in a plane crash and it was discovered his lover was on
the same flight, their mother withdrew into herself and within months died of a
heart attack. Older family members insisted she died of a broken heart.

Roarke
hadn’t taken the time to analyze the whys and wherefores. With his younger
siblings now orphans, and as the oldest, he’d felt a responsibility to do what
he could to make sure they remained emotionally healthy. The original plan had
been to have them move in with family since his first year at MIT would soon
start. Instead, Cassidy and Matthew begged to be with their older brother. He
rented an apartment, and the two moved up to Massachusetts to live with him. At
the age of eighteen, he became a full-time student and the legal guardian of
his younger siblings.

“You’re
welcome, princess. I’m just happy we found someone who would put up with you.”

She
smiled up at him. “Me, too.”

*
* * *

Breakfast
consisted of Roarke’s pecan pancakes and Matthew’s “famous” loaded omelets
filled with cheese, sausage, ham, and sautéed onions, green peppers, and
mushrooms. Matthew and Cassidy sat at the breakfast bar, while Roarke stood on
the opposite side.

Matthew
mussed his sister’s hair. “I can’t believe you tricked poor Antonio into
marrying you.”

Cassidy
smoothed her hair back into place and cut her eyes at her older brother. “I
didn’t trick him. He
loves
me.”

“Yeah,
until he realizes you have no intention of learning how to cook.”

“Did
you miss the part where I said he loves me?”

“You
know how those island men are.” Matthew shoveled food into his mouth.

“I
know all you care about is feeding your face, but Antonio’s not the same.
Besides,” Cassidy smirked, “he’s not concerned about my cooking in the kitchen.
It’s my cooking in the—”

“Whoa,
whoa!” Matthew dropped his fork. “Slow your roll. I’m not trying to hear that.”

“Please
keep any cooking outside of the kitchen to yourself,” Roarke added.

Cassidy
shook her head. “The two of you are ridiculous. How many times have I listened
to you brag about your conquests? I’m
twenty-three
. I’m getting married.
It’s not like I’m still a virgin. I—”

“Cass!”

“I
feel nauseous. Seriously, stop.
Keep it to yourself
.” Roarke spoke past
a mouthful of eggs. “You’re our little sister. I don’t want to think about you
doing those things.”

Cassidy
sighed. “Freaking double standard,” she muttered. “You two”—she stabbed the air
with her fork for emphasis—“are living in a dream world. You have sex with everything
that moves.” She looked pointedly at Matthew, who shrugged. “Yet you want to
think there are still virgins out there waiting for you to deflower them.”

“I
hold no such illusions,” Roarke said. “And I don’t sleep with everything that
moves.”

“Me,
either—to the first part.”

“Good,
because you’ll be really disappointed. The only virgin I know is Lorena, and that’s
because her father’s kept her under lock and key for the past twenty-five
years. I feel sorry for her. I’m surprised he let her out of his sight to be my
maid of honor.”

“Lorena’s
a virgin?”

Both
Roarke and Cassidy turned to Matthew. Roarke noted the heightened interest in
his voice. “Why are you so interested?” Cassidy asked.

“I’m
not. I’m . . . surprised, that’s all.” Matthew picked up his glass of milk and
took a large swallow. He became captivated by the food on his plate.

Roarke
suspected there was more behind his brother’s outburst, but Cassidy seemed satisfied
and directed her attention to him. “It’s about time
you
get married and
start having a family. You know Aunt Iris is going to mention it when she sees
you this weekend.”

Roarke
hated having to field questions about his love life, but he resigned himself to
its inevitability. He’d been too busy to date seriously, but if he had his way,
his love life would be different. The image of Celeste’s face floated across
his mind’s eye.

The
shock of waking up to an empty hotel room still stuck in his craw. One night hadn’t
been enough. He couldn’t forget her, but apparently, she’d forgotten him. After
a full week since their night at the Ritz-Carlton, he still couldn’t conceive
of a reasonable explanation for why she’d left the way she did. He thought they
had hit it off.

“I’m
a grown man,” he said to his sister. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll deal with Aunt
Iris and anybody else who asks questions. One wedding at a time. Let’s get you
married first.”

He
forced the last forkful of pancake into his mouth, although he didn’t feel much
like eating anymore. He’d finally swallowed his pride and contacted Lucas and
Xander a couple of days ago to find out if either had obtained contact
information for the other women. He thought he could reach out to her through
one of her friends, but no such luck.

He
couldn’t understand why she left without a word. It didn’t make sense, as if
he’d imagined the passion they shared. He racked his brain in an effort to
figure out what had gone wrong. Even worse, he thought about their night
together over and over, the torture of it making his body clench in sexual
frustration.

“Uh-oh,
here comes trouble. It’s your brother,” Matthew said in a low voice.

Immersed
in his thoughts, Roarke completely missed the red sports car parking outside
the house.

“Be
nice,” Cassidy said, smacking the back of Matthew’s hand. “He’s your brother,
too.”

“He’s
our half brother, and you know as well as I do whenever he’s around, trouble’s
close behind. Why’d you invite him?”

“Because
he’s our brother,” Roarke said in a firm voice before Cassidy could respond.
“He’s not at fault for what our father and his mother did. Try to be nice for a
change.”

“That’s
not why I dislike him, and you know it. He’s a bastard,” Matthew grumbled. “And
I don’t mean it in the biological sense. I don’t know why you bother. He hates
you. He thinks it’s your fault he didn’t have our father in his life.”

“We’re
here for a wedding, okay? It’s all about Cassidy and Antonio this weekend and
making sure the guests have a good time. I’m sure we can get through the
weekend without going at each other’s throats for once.”

Roarke
took his empty glass to the refrigerator for more juice.

Matthew
continued with his play-by-play. “She’s out of the car. She’s tall, like the last
one, but at least she doesn’t look as slutty. Maybe she won’t hit on you and
cause a big mess like his last girlfriend did New Year’s Eve weekend.”

Roarke
and Derrick had almost come to blows when Derrick’s most recent female
companion ended up in Roarke’s room after too many drinks.

“Cut
it out, Matt,” Roarke said over his shoulder. “Let’s keep the peace this
weekend. Do not bring that up.” He poured himself some juice.

Despite
being brothers, a complicated history of enmity existed between Roarke,
Matthew, and Derrick. Derrick didn’t like Roarke, and Matthew, ever loyal to
the brother who’d taken care of him, didn’t like Derrick.

When
Roarke’s mother found out about the child born from the affair between her
husband and Derrick’s mother, she gave him an ultimatum. He’d chosen to remain
in his marriage.

Derrick’s
mother married a wealthy older man, but at some point the affair resumed.
According to the passenger manifest, they sat next to each other in the plane
crash that took their lives.

Hidden
behind the freezer door as he added ice to his juice, Roarke heard the door
open and his sister say, “Hi, Derrick.” She’d always reached out to him, and
Derrick got along with her.

Roarke
closed the door and was about to lift the glass to his lips when he halted.

Celeste?
What in the world . . . ?

It
couldn’t be her.

He
listened in disbelief as Derrick introduced her as his girlfriend. She smiled
politely at his siblings, and when she finally looked at him, the light of
recognition ignited in her eyes. The smile froze on her face, and her eyes
widened. Even with her scared-rabbit appearance, she took his breath away. Her
naturally curly hair was pinned into a ball at her nape. The style highlighted
her prominent cheekbones and the strength of her jawline. She wore a pair of
khaki shorts and a loose-fitting white blouse with tiny buttons down the front.
The sandals on her feet showed off her red-painted toenails.