Bring It On - Kira Sinclair Page 0,56

the trees or waiting for her to return to their bungalow. He was gone.

Today was her last day on the island. Originally, they’d planned to take the later ferry, but Lena couldn’t stand to sit here upset and alone.

She’d done the right thing. So why did it feel so bad?

Walking back to the bungalow, she threw the last few items into her suitcase and set it by the door so she’d be ready. She glanced quickly into the mirror above the sink, thinking how appropriate it was that she’d be leaving the island in much the same condition she’d come onto it—sleep deprived and miserable, with dark circles under her eyes.

The resort was beginning to bustle as sleepy guests stirred. It was late by most standards, but not for Escape. Here people indulged. How quickly she’d become used to the hedonistic pace.

She walked across the compound to the main building. Stopping at the front desk, she asked to speak with Marcy, hoping the other woman was already up and at work. The smiling clerk told her she’d be right out.

Unable to sit still, Lena walked across the empty lobby to the windows and the vista of sun, sand and waves outside. It looked beautiful. Too bad she was leaving the idyllic setting under less than happy circumstances.

“I thought I’d see you this morning,” Marcy said as she walked up beside her.

“Oh?” Lena turned briefly to look at the other woman, working restlessly on the rings that still sat heavily on her finger. She spun them around and around.

“Colt came to see me yesterday.”

Lena returned her gaze to the beautiful view out the window. Better than the pity she saw in Marcy’s bright blue eyes.

“He’s gone,” Marcy said gently.

“I know. He got a call to take a job in Peru.”

Marcy pulled a large manila envelope from behind her back. “These are for you. He demanded all of the copies, but I thought the least he owed you were the photographs.”

Lena stared down at the nondescript brown paper and then back up at Marcy without actually touching it.

“What are you talking about?”

“He didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“Jeez, woman. Do the men in your life tell you anything? Colt bought the rights to all of the photographs.”

Disbelief blasted through her and Lena turned to face Marcy fully.

“Why would he do that?”

Marcy shrugged. “You’ll have to ask him, but I think it probably had something to do with keeping them private.”

“That idiot,” she breathed out.

“Oh, it gets better. He threatened to get his lawyers involved and tie us up in the courts until the photographs were useless to me.”

“It was a bluff.”

“I don’t think so.”

Lena threw her hands up in the air. “What are you going to do? Don’t you need the photos for your ad campaign?”

Marcy’s frown was genuine, along with the lingering pique no doubt directed toward Colt. “Yep. Colt made some suggestions for an alternative.” Her frown pulled into a reluctant smile. “And damn the man for being right.”

“He’s a great photographer,” Lena admitted. While she might be upset, she couldn’t deny his talent.

“He’s paying for Mikhail to stay and shoot the new photographs.”

“How much is this costing him?”

“You really don’t want to know. Between the photos and the cost of your stay…”

“That’s got to be thousands.”

“Try about forty.”

Anger bubbled up inside Lena. “I’m sorry. We both agreed to this and he shouldn’t have reneged.” A growl of frustration and unreleased sadness rolled through her. “I’d like to strangle him.”

Marcy laughed. With a pointed look, she said, “You’ll have to catch him first.”

They both knew that wasn’t going to happen. Lena turned back toward the window. The perfect setting was easier to deal with than anything Marcy was saying.

“Colt paid for an extra day, but I’m guessing it’s a waste of breath to tell you to stay.”

Lena nodded.

Marcy laid the envelope on the edge of a nearby table before saying, “The ferry should be here in about twenty minutes. I’ll have someone fetch your luggage and meet you at the dock.”

And like that, it was all over.

Again.

In the space of a week she’d lost two men. One she’d never loved but thought she had. And one she’d never considered loving until it was too late.

Marcy’s words echoed through her head, you’ll have to catch him. Part of her wanted to do just that. To chase after him like a love-starved puppy, eager for any crumbs he might throw. A restless need suffused her body, but she refused to give in to