she called back, and moved to step out of Liz’s embrace. He ran his hands up her arms, squeezed her shoulders, and let her go.
“Don’t come down with me,” she said.
“Why?”
“Gossip.”
He grinned and sang the chorus of “Let’s Give ’Em Something to Talk About.” When she frowned, he said, “I’ll go out the shower window.”
He sat on the bed while she checked her makeup in the bathroom. When she passed the bedroom door, the light from the torches illuminated the tips of his unruly hair, but his expression was lost in shadow.
She walked over and kissed his forehead. “See you at the bar.”
She loved sitting on the patio in the early morning, the light diffuse and gentle with the sun still behind the peak and the sea calm. She cursed out loud when the gate rattled. Jason had parked his truck outside and was walking up the drive.
She squared her shoulders and stood, determined not to appear as needy as she felt. “Aren’t you the early bird.”
“I’m busy later.”
“And your answer is?”
He gestured to the chairs behind her. “Can we sit down?”
She nodded. “Tea or coffee?”
“No time for that.” He settled into a patio chair and removed his sunglasses. “I’ll do the deal.”
She looked toward the sea. A tiny sail—surely Finney in the Maid—was already far beyond the protection of Oualie. “I detect a ‘but’ in your tone.”
“There are conditions.”
“I’d be a fool not to expect that.”
He teased a hatpin with a lion’s head from the ribbing of his hat and reinserted it. “I want a piece of the action.”
A lamb or kid bleated; she sat up straight, fearing one might have gotten into the garden, but caught sight of it scampering down the road.
“I need a loan, not a partner,” she said.
“We’ll all be better off if we treat this as an investment.”
She stood up and paced. “Next thing I know, you’ll be telling me how to run things.”
“I already have several businesses to run.”
“Does Liz know about this?”
“It’s not his capital,” he said. “But I’ll tell him if you accept the deal.”
She hugged herself and looked out to sea, wondering how or if Liz figured into his thinking. “Why are you doing this?”
“It’s convenient for one of my investors to stash some money,” he said. “If there’s a tax loss for a year or two, that would be welcome.”
She bristled at the implication that Jack’s would be in the red that long. “Would it have anything to do with making sure I don’t hightail it back to the UK?”
A hint of a smile. “Nevis needs this kind of business.”
“Give me a minute,” she said.
She walked through the garden and citrus grove to the back fence, the highest point on the property, and looked down at her home—the sturdy house, the gardenias gleaming in the sun, Toad Hall, the cascade of bougainvillea at the secret garden, the lilies of the Nile bursting from the copper, the wide swath of sea and St. Kitts. She threw a rotting lime as hard as she could into the bush and heard it strike leaves and thud to the ground. Then she gathered the ripe limes and returned to the patio, where she set the yellow-green fruits on the table. Jason had helped himself to a glass of water. She felt a wash of anger and wondered just how proprietary he might become.
“I’ll cut you into the business but not the real estate,” she said.
A little smile. “I expected you to say that.” He picked up two of the limes and rolled them in his huge hand. “The business isn’t worth much by itself. Yet.” He spilled the limes onto the table, caught them before they rolled off, and lined the harvest up in a row. He sat back and looked at his handiwork. “Can’t separate Jack’s from Jack’s.”
She turned her back and watched the mountain doves chase each other around the court while she took deep breaths and tried to quell her mental noise. “I guess I have a new partner, then,” she said.
“An excellent one,” he said.
She bit back a remark about his arrogance.
He stood up and extended his hand. His long fingers closed around hers more gently than she expected. When he released her, she leaned against a pergola support, suddenly woozy. While he spoke of having his Puerto Rico staff draft up the agreement, she stared into the garden, puzzling at her simultaneous rush of relief, hope, and apprehension. Her home and livelihood were secure for now, but with