Marrying Cade (14 page)

“He
could
have.” Aldo said in a tone that indicated he had no idea where she was going with this. “But he didn’t.”

“No he didn’t.” Melo agreed. “But surely they shouldn’t have ratified the document while he was in intensive care, unable to even speak?”

Chapter Fifteen

They traveled to the island together.

Aldo’s eyes widened as they drove up to the villa. “It’s very beautiful. Your father will be very proud, when he learns what you have achieved in the last few days, Melo.” The older man’s eyes gleamed. He patted her hands.

“Thank you,” Melo said.

Her father was waiting for them in the sitting room. His color was better, but worry pulled his mouth tight, lived in his brown eyes.

“Would you like some tea?” Mary asked, her hands fluttering nervously as she eyed her daughter and the lawyer she’d brought along.

“No, Mum. Let’s just get down to business,” Melo softened her words with a smile. “We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

She introduced Aldo, opened her briefcase and pulled out a sheaf of papers. “The first thing is that Aldo has determined Papa owns Paradise Beach,” she explained.

Her mother’s face crumpled. “I feel so terrible!” she wailed. “I’m relieved we have something to sell, but the fact it was Nonna’s land…” Her voice trailed off, and she swallowed hard. “
Your
land. It cuts me up inside.”

“That’s not all of it,” Melo explained. “I’ve been to see the board.”

Marco’s eyes widened. His mouth gaped. “You…”

“Yes, Papa. I called a meeting of the board yesterday. You weren’t invited to attend, and Adam wasn’t there because they’re not back from honeymoon yet. Although I spoke to him on the telephone and told him what was happening.”

Her father looked stunned.

“We determined the agreement you signed wasn’t legal because you signed for the company, not in your own right. Something you shouldn’t have done without consulting the other board members.”

Her father’s face lightened, a weak smile trembled at the edges of his lips. He stared at Aldo. “So, it is not binding?”

“No, Signore Bellucci. But signing the document was essentially illegal, and…”

“You are a miracle worker, Signore Renda.” Marco directed all his attention at the lawyer, effectively excluding Melo. “I don’t know how to thank you.”

Aldo shook his head. “I had very little to do with it. Your daughter brought me the paperwork and told me of her suspicions. All I did was confirm them.”

Marco’s gaze flickered to Melo. And held. “Is this true?”

“Yes, Papa.”

“If it hadn’t been for your daughter, you might still be facing prison.” Aldo added. “Felix Mezzuti threatened to bring a suit against you. Melo found the solution.” He ran a hand through his hair, and smiled ruefully. “I’m afraid I was little help, even when she pointed out the discrepancy, I had to have it spelled out for me.” He pulled a raft of papers from his briefcase. “May I?”

At Marco’s nod, he sat closer, and relayed the whole story.

Mary scooted toward Melo. “Is he safe?” she asked, worry in her eyes.

“Yes, Mum. He is.”

Satisfaction settled in Melo’s gut. She’d let Aldo negotiate with Mezzuti, offering a contra deal which involved not pursuing Mezzuti for closing on the contract while Marco lay unconscious in a hospital bed in exchange for the tearing up of the contract. Then she’d called a meeting of the board and explained the situation to them.

Angry voices had been soothed by her assurances Marco would retire immediately, passing the baton to his young son-in-law. She’d had to promise he would have no further position of power within the company, and would not stay on as chairman or advisor.

It would be a bitter pill to swallow. One much easier explained by a legal professional, and she and Aldo had agreed he would be the one to break the news to her stubborn father. But it would leave the company safe. Keep her father from prison. And leave the beach untouched.

At the end of the meeting, Adam, attending by telephone link, had suggested Melo take a position within the company as financial advisor, which had been quickly seconded. She had promised to think about it.

Her father and Aldo were deep in conversation. They didn’t need her any more, and she had somewhere much more important to be.

“Has Cade arrived?” Melo asked her mother.

Mary nodded. “This morning. He’s staying in the hotel and was here earlier. He said he was going for a drive.”

There was only one place he could be. The same place she
had
to be.

****

Soft, white sand under his feet. Azure blue sky above. The warm breeze lifted Cade’s hair, blowing it into his eyes. He let it. Despite his words four days ago, he hadn’t worked. Hadn’t done anything since Melo left except retreat back to the cabin. To lick his wounds in private, and work out the stuff in his head.

Today, she’d be arriving on Isola dei Fiori. To sort out this mess once and for all.

Cade sank onto the sand. He fingered the smooth shell in his pocket, then pulled it out, his thumb rubbing against it, feeling some sort of comfort in its mirror-like perfection. It was the exact twin of the one Melo wore around her neck, the glittering silver warmed by her skin.

Moving back into the hotel hadn’t been an option since she’d left. The thought of lying alone in the huge bed twisted his gut. At least in the bedroom of the cabin he didn’t have memories to fight against. Although he hadn’t been strong enough to strip the sheets from the bed. Instead, he breathed in the lingering scent of her body on them, imagined her lying there next to her. Like a sap.

Little waves whispered to shore, cresting with a flurry of clear foam that instantly dissipated and sank into the sand. That first day after she left he’d distracted himself. Had taken the jeep deep into the woods, found a family of bears, and thrown all of his energy into taking photographs. Looking through the pictures he’d snapped in the past, he’d come across a long forgotten series. Taken here.

Melo’s eyes stared back into his from the camera’s screen. A skein of her long caramel hair teased against her lips, and her mouth curved in smile. For him. Her expression was so open and honest his heart clenched tight at the sight. She had the look of a woman in love. And she’d been staring at the man behind the camera. She’d been in love with him. At that moment in any case.

For so long, he’d fooled himself inhabiting hotels was enough. That living alone and not truly engaging with life was enough. The days without Melo had been pure torture. No matter what she wanted, what she needed, he had to tell her how he felt. Try, once again, no matter what the outcome, to make her see they belonged together. He still had no idea on what continent he’d make his home. But home was where Melo was. Home was where his heart was.

When he arrived at the villa that morning, he’d felt powerless to do anything to lighten the tension that swirled around her parents. A panic born of uncertainty. The tension flowing from her mother was tinged with despair. In the same tortured way it had flowed from his father before he took the decision to stop worrying about consequences anymore and checked out.

This time, Cade had the answer. Could offer what they needed to make the problem go away. Melo had told him she’d let him buy the beach. Which was all her father wanted, after all. If she wouldn’t countenance having Cade in her life, at least he could do this small thing for her.

He’d never build here. Never destroy the tranquil beauty with a hotel. He glanced toward the little spit of land that rose from the dunes. One house would be perfect here. Facing the clear green water. But he wouldn’t build it.

He’d called his lawyer. Had the necessary documents drawn up and couriered to the Fiori Hotel prior to his arrival. An agreement to purchase the beach, with the name left blank. And a second agreement transferring the title to Melo. Giving her all the options. All the power. With no conditions.

He couldn’t buy her. Hoped to hell she wouldn’t think he was trying to. All he wanted was to right the wrong her father had committed when he’d offered the land that was
morally
hers as a solution to a problem of his own making.

He’d been angry with her for allowing herself to be manipulated. But after long, lonely nights considering, he’d finally recognized her sacrifice for what it was. A selfless caring for those she loved.

Cade’s mouth tightened and he flipped his wrist up to consult his watch. They’d be at the villa soon; it was time to head back.

****

The borrowed Mercedes pulled up next to the hired car abandoned on the track leading down to Paradise Beach. Melo climbed out.

She glanced inside, recognizing instantly the worn leather jacket flung across the passenger seat. Lightness filled her heart, and she felt her mouth tug at the corners in a smile.

He was here.

Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. She’d escaped from the cabin on the lake without a backward glance. Had made no attempt to contact him, much as she longed to. There was no one she’d longed to share the news of her finds with more than Cade. And yet she’d hesitated.

Let’s not let a difficult situation force us into something neither of us really want.

Hurt had flared in his eyes when she rejected his proposal. She’d told herself it didn’t mean anything. But now, as she started down the path toward the water, she prayed she’d been fooling herself. And the pain blazing in his eyes meant something.

She’d found a solution. Blown the threat to her family and their future out of the water. And earned the respect of Adam and the board in the process. She’d even been offered a real role in The Bellucci Winery. One she was perfect for. She should be walking on air.

Without Cade, none of it mattered.

From the top of the dune, she saw him sitting on the beach.

He stood and brushed the sand from his jeans.

He didn’t turn as she walked across the sand toward him. The story she’d recited to her grandmother repeated in her head.
You thought your romance was over. You thought your dream was over.

Her grandmother’s slow smile as her features relaxed into joy at the memory.

He was standing at the same magical spot they’d always halted at. The one where her grandfather had fallen on his knees and proposed.

Melo’s legs trembled as he turned.

Cade’s eyes widened.

“Hi,” Melo whispered.

“Hi, yourself.”

He made no move, but his eyes…his eyes hid nothing. “I’ve missed you,” he said, his voice deeply husky.

Melo stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jeans to stop from reaching for him. Her whole body tingled from the heat in his gaze, the raw honesty of his words.

“I had to go,” the words tumbled over each other in a rush. “I…”

“I don’t care about any of that.” Cade took a step. He ran his hands over her shoulders. Down her arms. “All I care about is that you’re here.” Slowly, deliciously, his mouth came down to hers.

When they finally came up for air, Melo’s chest was rising and falling rapidly, just as Cade’s was. At some stage while they kissed, her arms had snaked around his waist. Locked around his back. She should pull away so they could talk. But her body wasn’t listening. It had what it wanted. There was no way it was letting him go.

She rested her cheek against his warm chest. “I missed you too,” she confessed. “I have things to tell you, about the beach…”

“I’ve drawn up the papers. I won’t argue with you any more, Melo. Except about one thing. I’m buying the beach, and I’m giving it to you.”

Melo pulled out of his arms. “What?”

“I don’t want it,” Cade said. “But I want you to have it. It was always yours.”

“So—What? You’re going to save me, and then give me my beach back?” She frowned. “Haven’t you learned anything?”

To Cade’s shock, her mouth stretched into a wide smile and a warm laugh tumbled from her lips. Confusion and anger battled for supremacy.
She was the most infuriating woman he’d ever met.

Eventually, she got hold of herself, hiccupped, and laid a small hand palm flat against his chest. “I’m sorry,” she forced out. “It’s just…” she smiled. “You always think you have to save me. Why is that?”

“Because I love you.”

It wasn’t how he’d meant to tell her. He’d worked through this moment again and again in his mind over the past few days. And in none of those imaginings had he thought he’d just bloody blurt it out.

Melo’s eyes widened. “You love me?”

“Yes, I love you, you damned infuriating woman.”

Her hands snaked up his chest, slipped to his nape to pull his head down to hers. And she kissed him till he saw stars.

The wind was picking up. The sky darkened, heralding the imminent arrival of rain. Melo pulled out of Cade’s embrace. “We better get out of here.”

“In a moment,” Cade replied. “First you’re going to explain why you were laughing at me.”

Melo traced a finger over his lips. Her eyes softened. “I was laughing because you won’t be buying the beach, Cade. Because we no longer need to sell it.”

Cade stood silent as she recounted the story. It was finished then. The whole damn mess was sorted out, and she didn’t need any grand gestures from him. She didn’t need him.

She looked so happy—lit by an inner glow. And she’d kissed him. He’d always looked after those he cared about by banishing their demons with the sword of money. Now, they stood, facing each other in this silently beautiful place, souls naked.

He’d told her he loved her. But she hadn’t responded.

A rumble of thunder heralded the arrival of rain. One fat drop fell on Cade’s arm.

He held her hand, got down on one knee.

“I’m proposing again,” he said. “And if you don’t want to get completely soaked, you’ll put me out of my misery and say yes before—”

“Yes.”

Melo’s fingers touched her lips. Her eyes darkened. “Kiss me.”

A word about the author...

Sally Clements writes in two different genres, mystery and romance. The mystery feeds from her love of the unusual facets of life. Her romance from her fascination with characters, and how they respond to each other.

Sally lives in Ireland, and when she’s not reading or writing, is usually to be found in traffic, driving “Mum’s taxi.”

Sally can be reached at: www.sallyclements.blogspot.com.