Bargain Bride, Billionaire Groom Page 17

  “How can I believe anything you say? You and your brother have brought nothing but pain to my sister. No, I take that back. Enzo and Golden? Now that was tragic, what happened to him. This time with you is just stupidity, man! I’d be a fool to let you near her in the state she’s been in. She’s liable to take one look at you and lose the—ah! Shit.”

  Jio’s stared hard at his brother-in-law. “Lose the what?”

  “She’s pregnant,” Gado muttered.

  Jio went dizzy and speechless all at once. He couldn’t think. There was no elation, only fear. So much fear. While he was a man who feared nothing and no one, the thought of losing Golden scared the hell out of him.

  He still had things to say! A love to profess, along with the low sperm count he’d intended to confess, because it was all about honesty and openness now. No more secrets! Most of all, he had forgiveness to ask. Finding her safe was their only option.

  ~~*~~

  Gado screeched up the road to the Lani Kai homestead.

  People—family and friends in Gado and Naomi’s wedding party—spilled out onto the covered lanai, all dressed in festive, floral island attire. They were supposed to have been at a rehearsal dinner, after all.

  “Are you hungry?” Gado asked, pausing as he freed himself from his seat belt.

  Jio shook his head. “Food is the last thing on my mind.”

  “Well, there’s plenty. The restaurant that was supposed to host our dinner bagged everything up and sent it here.”

  Jio got out and was swarmed with people holding umbrellas. One of them was Marcus Greyson. A dainty blonde woman clung to his arm, looking as worried as he.

  “Falcone,” Marcus greeted him curtly. “Glad to see you, finally. This is my fiancée, Maren.”

  Jio shook Marcus’s hand and Maren’s, offered his congratulations, and felt far out of the loop.

  “My helicopter is at your disposal. Hopefully we won’t need it.”

  Jio thanked him and accepted his congratulations on making his and Golden’s marriage official, along with everybody else’s. No one mentioned a baby. He suspected they all knew she was pregnant. Perhaps they weren’t sure he knew since his face hadn’t exactly been a regular fixture around the place.

  God, what a mess he’d made of things.

  “We’re loading up the trucks with a couple of quads and dirt bikes,” Gado said. “We’ve got some expert riders who are going to make their way up the mountain and try to find her that way, first.”

  “I’ll take one of the quads.”

  “You need to stay here,” Gado said.

  “I’m not going to sit back while my wife is out there!”

  “I was thinking about Lily,” Gado said, and Jio understood the look in his eyes. She needs you…just in case.

  “Lily will get her mother back. Make no mistake!” Jio vowed.

  Naomi appeared and distracted Jio with a hug. She offered him something to drink. He declined. “I need to see the little girl.”

  She nodded. “Lily’s been asleep for a while. Maybe now is a good time to wake her up.”

  Jio went to Lily’s nursery and stepped inside. Wide awake, she was sucking her thumb and studying the ceiling that had been painted with clouds and teddy bear angels.

  “Poppa!” she cried, scrambling up off her tiny bed. “Momma home?”

  Jio swept her small body in his arms and sat down on the bed, inhaling her baby powder scent and kissing each of her rosy cheeks. He shook his head. “Not yet, Lily. I’m going to get her.”

  “Where momma?”

  He teared up. “Poppa and uncle Gado are going to bring your mommy home. She’ll be home soon. I promise.”

  “I miss you.”

  She tucked her head against his chest and didn’t notice his tears plop down and drench the twist in her topknot. Jio hugged her, then he set her down on the bed. “Me and your mamma—both of us will be back soon.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Gado navigated the truck around fallen trees and debris that blocked the road leading up to the mud-laden slopes, verdant with lush plantings of Lani Kai coffee. He stopped at a pine tree lying in the middle of the road, uprooted by heavy rains.

  Keo’s smaller truck—loaded with two dirt-bikes—had stalled a half-mile back, but Gado’s truck, holding two heavy-duty 4-wheelers, had outmaneuvered the swirling waters gathered at the lower elevations.

  He backed the truck up against an incline in the mountain. He and Jio worked quickly, removing the tarp that covered the quads before unbolting them from the tie-downs that anchored them to the bed of the truck.

  Jio kick-started the first quad without a hitch. He flicked the headlights on and waited for Gado, whose efforts to kick start his quad resulted in disgruntled sputtering—mostly from him.

  “I’m going!” Jio slipped on a helmet and tightened the chin straps. Gado tossed him a pair of goggles. Jio stretched the straps over the helmet and fastened the goggles over his eyes.

  “There’s half a dozen tear-offs on the lenses,” Gado yelled. “It’s gonna get ugly. She’s in about another quarter mile. There’ll be a fork in the road—stay to the right. You’ll see her truck. Go past it another twenty yards or so and start looking. There are a couple of caves in the mountain that she’d find shelter in. Go!”

  Jio nodded, pulled in the clutch and shifted into gear. With a flick of his wrist he turned the throttle and launched the four-wheeler off the back of the truck, veered along a berm-like slope in the side of the mountain before securing balance—and leverage—down in the red-brown mud.

  ~~*~~

  Golden found Lily’s blanket lying on the ground, almost underneath the truck. She’d been looking to see if she might have left her keys stuck in one of the doors, with no luck, when she saw it. However way the blanket had fallen out, she wasn’t about to leave it behind. It helped put Lily to sleep at night. That, and her little plush turtle.

  She winced as she crouched to snatch the blanket up, then she stuffed it inside her shirt. As she made her way back up the slopes over to an opening in the mountain, she nearly toppled over again.

  No easy feat hobbling around a slippery incline on two legs, Golden limped along as best as she could. Fighting gusty winds, she grit her teeth, helpless against the agonizing stabs of pain caused by the pressure she’d had to place on her injured ankle.

  She shouldn’t have been walking on it, but she’d needed to get herself and her bags safely up the makeshift steps leading to the mouth of the cave—an ancient lava tube. The rock formation surrounding the cave’s entrance made it seem deeper than it really was, but there was enough depth in the cave to shelter her from the rain.

  She tussled her two bags of coffee cherries inside. They were already damp to begin with, and given the island’s heat and humidity, mildew could set in before the cherries arrived at the local mill that they used to pulp, ferment and dry them.

  Wet and cold, she found a dry spot on the ground and made every effort to get comfortable. Arranging one bag of coffee cherries behind her, she sat the other one next to her. Then she pulled Lily’s blanket out of her shirt, shook it out and wrapped it around her shoulders. It smelled of baby-lotion, and while the blanket gave her emotional comfort, it fell seriously short in warming her up.

  Shuddering, she shifted her injured leg and propped her calf up on the one bag of coffee she’d placed next to her, to keep her ankle elevated.

  She sniffled and rubbed a hand on the swell of her baby-belly. Please be safe in there.

  “Uncle Gado will find us. Don’t worry—” she broke off, and sobbed. More than anything, she longed for the comfort of Jio’s arms. “As for your daddy, he’ll be here soon. I was going to tell him all about our good news face to face, but…maybe I shouldn’t have waited.”

  Golden wiped her tears away with a corner of Lily’s blanket and reached for the other bag of coffee cherries, wincing with pain as her injured leg moved slightly. She dragged the bag beneath her head for use as
a makeshift pillow, and lay her head down.

  I hope I get the chance to.

  Swamped in shivers, she closed her eyes and hummed the melody of the song that she and Jio danced to at their reception. When You Love a Woman…

  The music and lyrics called up cherished memories of how he’d held her in his arms as they danced that night, and drowned out the sound of the rain crashing against the mountain.

  Golden.

  Jio’s voice, whispering her name in that sexy throb that was his and his alone, coaxed a smile from her lips.

  How are you, my darling?

  “I’m fine,” she murmured. “Just waiting here. Waiting for you.”

  Okay, so she was dream-feeling. What other word could there be for so much love coursing through her veins at the memory of his voice? A voice she could hear so crisp and clear over the storm battering the mountainside?

  “Lily’s missed you, and can’t wait to see you.”

  I’ve missed you both with all my heart.

  Her nostrils twitched. The citrusy tang of his day scent was as fresh and sharp as if he were right there next to her, in a drafty cave. How could that be?

  How is my baby?

  She frowned. Hadn’t she just told him about Lily?

  Her nipples tightened, then swelled in response to the soft tenor of his voice. Her eyelids flipped open and that’s when she registered the adored, beloved features of her husband—her ex-husband—crouching down next to her!

  A yellow raincoat was shrugged off to the side in the space next to him. He held a flashlight in his hand.

  She blinked up at him in a state of shock, afraid to reach up. Afraid to touch him. What if her efforts made him disappear? “Please, please tell me I’m not dreaming!”

  He groaned and lifted her up into his arms before planting rain-moistened lips on hers in the sweetest kiss she’d ever known. This was no imaginary kiss! His lips were too warm, the smell of his aftershave too real—and his mouth tasted of rich, complex Arabica!

  Knowing this, she was all over that kiss, not caring about anything except milking his wonderful, coffee-flavored mouth for all he was worth! Her fingers gnarled through his hair, anxious to hold on to him.

  “Hmm.” He finally pulled away to gaze down at her with an amused glint in his eyes. “I guess you’re happy to see me?” His forefinger peeled a wet lock of hair away from her cheek.

  “Oh, yes!” Jio’s handsome features swam into view as her tears subsided. She curled her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. “A little.”

  Laughing, he returned her embrace. “Hey—what’s going on here?” He frowned down at her elevated foot.

  “I fell into a hole in the ground and—well, to make a long story short, I managed to make it up the mountain and into the cave.”

  “Dragging around two bags of coffee, I see?”

  She stared at his face in earnest. Her fingers clutched at his shoulders. “Not just any coffee. Something important was riding on these beans.”

  “Like what?” he rasped with doting exasperation. “Your life?”

  She shook her head. “You don’t understand, Jio. I’ve sold out of Lani Kai’s coffee harvest for the year! This means growth, and more jobs for the area—”

  He placed a finger over her lips. “Sweetheart, I’m happy about Lani Kai’s success, and I’m in awe of the woman behind it. But right now? The only thing I care about is you, and Lily, and…” With the help of his flashlight, he searched for—and found—her baby-bump. “Our baby. Great Zeus, did I do that?”

  Her hand hurried over to her bump. “You did, yeah.” Her face pinkened. “I’m sorry about that. I mean, I’m not sorry about this,” she patted her stomach, “but I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you sooner.”

  He stared down at her, his eyes bright, yet warm. Something shimmered in them. Something wet.

  “I’m so sorry, Jio. I-I feel bad for all the trouble I’ve put you through.” She reached out and touched his cheek to where a tear had fallen. She brushed it away. “Sorry.”

  His gazed roamed her face in disbelief. “Why are you apologizing to me?”

  “For giving you an ultimatum about marrying me. Jio, that day I went up to the Bellewood place to tell you that I might be pregnant? I-I suspected as far back as then, but then I saw you with Sylvana and I got scared. I couldn’t tell you about the baby in that moment.”

  “Why not, Golden? Why didn’t you?” he appealed to her. “Things would have turned out differently.”

  “For that reason exactly, Jio. I didn’t want you to feel trapped!”

  “Ah! Now who’s the one taking choices away from whom?” he chided.

  She nodded, contrite. “You’re right, I realize that now. I realize a lot of things.”

  “Sweetheart, you’ve got nothing to apologize for. You’ve been perfect.” Jio watched her struggling with her emotions. He knew the feeling. His tear ducts and his own throat were working overtime to manage the emotions he needed to convey.

  His hands shook as he tugged her hands from his shoulders. “Here,” he said, laying her back down gently on the bag of coffee. “Let’s get you warm.”

  He busied himself arranging the blanket he’d brought into the cave with him around her reclining body. Then he said, “I’m the one who needs your forgiveness, Golden.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He seated himself on the ground and, facing her, he took one of her hands in his. “I’ve been in love with you for a long time, you see. And, envious of my brother’s good fortune since the day I met his beautiful girlfriend.”

  “Were you, really?”

  He nodded, and brought her hand up to his lips for a kiss. “You were this lovely cocktail that I ached to sip, but I knew that would never happen. Then the unthinkable happened, and you were in my life. Whether I wanted it or not. After a while—I wanted it. I wanted you. Desperately.”

  She squeezed his hand. “After a time, I wanted you, too. Neither of us should feel guilty about that. We were both faithful to your brother.”

  “Except I took what I wanted from you without giving anything back. I thought I was getting a convenient wife—what I didn’t count on was falling in love with her. And now I want to take serious ownership in this marriage of ours.”

  “That you didn’t want to begin with.”

  “Make no mistake, Mrs. Falcone, I wanted this marriage. What I don’t understand is why hadn’t you already gone to bed with Marcus. You hoped to marry him, not me.”

  “True, but I wanted you,” she confessed. “And…I wanted to explore that. When I went to tell Marcus that I was going to Starfire Ridge because I was attracted to you, then found him in the arms of another woman? I was actually happy for him.”

  “The woman he was with tonight?”

  She nodded. “Maren. She’s his best friend’s ex-wife, but their being together means that he loses the friendship of someone he’s loved like a brother.”

  “I’d choose the one who warms me up at night.”

  “Jio!”

  “First of all, his best friend had his chance,” Jio enforced his answer with calm practicality. “And secondly, you didn’t come running to me because you saw Marcus kissing someone else?”

  She laughed. The man was persistent about wanting answers. “I’d already planned to come to you before I saw that kiss. But Jio, that kiss of theirs was wicked hot. I couldn’t have married Marcus after seeing him kiss some other woman like that!”

  “So you turned around and demanded my hand in marriage, instead?”

  The indignant way he asked the question made her smile. “I could have let an honest to God prince come to Maui and court me,” she teased him.

  “True, but he’d have been your third pick,” Jio consoled himself, and Golden found him ultra-adorable at that moment, despite being in a heap of pain.

  “No. The prince wouldn’t have been any pick.” She swiped at the tear that trickled down her cheek. “Jio, about you and
Sylvana? Is she the woman in your past that Enzo spoke of?”

  Jio nodded.

  “The day I saw you two at the Bellewood place, it sounded like there’d once been a powerful connection there.”

  A pained look crept into his face. “We share a past, but nothing more. She came stateside thinking she might catch the prince at one of his stops, but when she found out he was long gone, she came looking for me. I swear to you we weren’t alone! There were contractors all over the place. Of course when you show up, they’d all left.”

  “I saw painters there,” she assured him.

  He breathed a sigh of relief. “I promise you, my heart was closed to her a long time ago. She brought me photos of my niece, Lia—her peace offering for what she and Dani’s mother tried to do.”

  She bit her lip. “What else does she want from you?”

  “I don’t know, and I don’t care. I’d hoped to stay connected with my nieces. They are my brother’s blood after all, but I don’t need their mothers’ drama. I’m there for his kids. Their mothers can take a hike.”

  “What was between you, Sylvana and your brother?”

  His mouth tightened. “Both of us might have been with her, but there were several years of separation. She and I were together first. I wanted to marry her, but when I told her that I could be sterile from a childhood illness I wasn’t properly vaccinated against, she ran for the hills.”

  “Sterile?” Golden repeated, shocked. “Look at me, Jiovanni.” She pointed to her rounded tummy. “You’re going to be a father!”

  A happy grin spread across his face. “I am, yes?”

  She frowned, then. “You were trying for kids?” she asked, curious. “Even though you weren’t married?”

  “No, but Enzo and I—we were not angels. We were reckless and irresponsible in our twenties. Yet there he was, able to have children, whereas I…anyway,” he caressed her stomach at the irony. “Test results showed that my swimmers’ count was low. There was also something else to do with motility. When I told her it wasn’t likely that I could have children without the help of reproductive technology, she wanted nothing to do with it. Or me.”