Saltwater Kisses: A Billionaire Love Story (The Kisses Series Book 1) (25 page)

“I'm sorry, Jack. This is important. I wouldn't call if it wasn't,” Rachel said after a moment.

“I'll be there in a bit. I'm done in two hours, though. Even if it means Robbie has to run the company, I'm back here in two hours.” Jack hung up the phone and watched as Emma tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear.

“Emma,” Jack said softly, joining her in the sand. “I have to leave for a little bit. There is something I have to take care of that can’t wait. Business.”

Her green eyes clouded and she looked away. “I understand.” Her voice wavered and it broke his heart. He could only imagine what she thought he was leaving for.

The stand of hair escaped in the wind again and Jack gently tucked it back behind her ear once more.

“I will meet you here in two hours. Don't be late,” he said and kissed her.

***

O
ne hour and forty five minutes later, Jack was ready to murder the lawyers and Owen. His neck hurt from cradling the phone against his shoulder as he signed every sheet of paper Rachel put in front of him. It was a never ending task.

“I'm done,” Jack informed Rachel, setting his phone down. “I said two hours, and I have a ten minute walk back. Owen can handle the rest.”

Rachel picked up one last sheet of paper. “Just this one and you are free for the day, I promise.”

Jack hastily scribbled his name and looked up at Rachel. He wanted to do what was right by both Emma and his company.

“You're free. Go have fun,” Rachel told him, stacking up his signed documents. She checked her watch. “Oh, by the way. Brandy's plane just took off.”

He grinned, feeling free. Now he could have his vacation without interruption. Now he could enjoy the one person on this island who saw him as a man instead of a meal ticket. He felt lighter than air.

He was so happy he had to share it, so he did the only thing he could think of. Jack hugged Rachel. She pulled back in surprise and then squeezed him hard. “You haven't done that in years,” she whispered, holding him close.

“I'm happy for the first time in years,” he said softly.

“You are, aren't you?” Rachel looked up at him, her brown eyes soft as she searched his face. Whatever she saw there made her smile. “I'm glad you found someone that makes you happy. You deserve it.”

He unwrapped his arms around the woman he considered an older sister. “Thanks, Rachel.”

She smacked his shoulder. “Now get going. I don't want to see you for the rest of your vacation.”

He grinned and took off for the door. He was going to make it back to Emma with time to spare.

Jack heard the door close behind him, but he stood frozen to the front step. His smile faded and the joy abandoned his mood. Standing in the driveway, her things on the ground behind her, was Brandy. He watched as a cab pulled away, leaving her with him.

“Jack,” she said softly, her doe eyes big and sad. “Jack, what's going on?”

“You're supposed to be on a plane,” he informed her, not really sure what else to say.

“I couldn't leave without saying goodbye, Jack.” She took a step forward. “I love you, Jack.”

Jack snorted. Confusion and a hint of anger flashed across her face, but she quickly schooled it into a hurt expression.

“I do, Jack. I couldn't leave without telling you.” She quickly crossed the space between them, putting her hands on his chest and looking up at him through long, eyelashes. He looked down and realized the eyelashes were fake. Emma's were real. Everything about Emma was real, while Brandy was just an imitation of real. The differences between the two women, real and fake, amazed him. He gasped at how blind he had been to Brandy's true nature.

Brandy took his gasp to mean he felt something. She rose up on her toes to kiss him, but he turned his face from her. Her lips grazed his cheek, twisting his stomach with their touch.

“Jack, baby, what's wrong?” Brandy pouted. Panic flickered at the corners of her eyes and mouth. “I don't want to lose you.”

“You never had me in the first place,” he said coldly. Jack picked her hands off her chest and dropped them as if they were covered in mud. “You're supposed to be on a plane.”

“I told you, I couldn't leave without telling you I loved you.” Her voice took on a hard edge. This wasn't how she had envisioned this reunion. “I love you, Jack.”

Jack laughed. “No, you don't. You love my money.”

She took just a second too long before responding with a, “I do not!”

Jack looked her up and down, clearly seeing the woman in front of him for the first time. She was gorgeous in the traditional sense of the word, but everything about her was fake. From her dye job, to her eyelashes, to her breasts, to her emotions, not a single thing about her was real. He was disgusted that he had ever let himself believe he could have a future with something so patently false.

“Go away, Brandy. I'm done with you,” Jack said coldly. He stepped to the side and walked around her. He needed to get back to Emma.

Brandy panicked. She was losing her ticket to financial freedom. Everything she had worked so hard to achieve the past few months, the hours spent flirting and setting him up to love her were about to be lost. She had a billionaire in her grasp and she was about to lose him.

She grabbed his arm, and spun him to face her. “They said there was someone else. I love you, Jack. How could you do this to me?”

She wore the mask of a confused lover, but her voice held too much anger and greed for it to be real. Her eyes flashed with anxiety instead of hurt, and her stance was poised for attack instead of reconciliation. Every line of her body language screamed she was defending her territory, not her relationship with him. He was an object to her, not a person.

“I love you, Jack,” she whispered, forcing tears into her eyes. She was trying for an Oscar performance, but her words didn't have even the simple warmth that Emma's did at just saying his name.

Jack stared her down, his hazel eyes hard and cold. He was going to make him late getting back to Emma. His sweet Emma who blushed when he complimented her, who smiled when she said his name, and who looked at him like he was a human being instead of an ATM.

“We're done, Brandy.” He used his business voice, the one that made people tremble. “You will leave the island or I will have you deported.”

Brandy's eyes went huge and her jaw dropped open, as if she couldn't believe that anyone, not even a billionaire, would talk to her like that. Then, her eyes narrowed and her mouth twisted into something ugly. “You can't do this to me. I worked too hard for you to do this to me!”

Jack didn't even bother to respond. With a nod to a security guard, he pulled his arm from her grasp and started walking.

“Jack... this isn't funny,” she called after him. When he didn't turn, she screamed his name. “Jack!”

“Come with me, ma'am,” Jack heard the security guard say.

“Get your hands off of me,” she shrieked. “Do you know who I am? Jack!”

Jack kept walking. He didn't look back. Looking back would only give her hope.

“Jack! You're going to be sorry you did this to me!” Brandy screamed after him. He knew he wouldn't be. She was a parasite that he had willingly accepted for too long. His life was better without her in it.

He glanced at his watch. He was late. He picked up his pace, needing to get to Emma. He wanted to spend every moment he could with her before he had to say goodbye. Once this vacation was over, he had to go back to being a billionaire businessman again, and Emma deserved better than that. He wouldn't have time to take care of a cactus, let alone give Emma the time and adoration she deserved.

He didn't want to think about that, though. He just wanted to enjoy every moment that he could with her while they were here. This island brought them together. It was just the ray of hope he needed to get him through the next few months. Maybe once the transition period was over, he could find her and bring her out to New York.

The idea made him smile. Yes, once he had his business under control, he would find Emma again and make things work.

E
mma stood out in the water, the waves lapping at the hem of her sundress. Jack's heart jumped to his throat. Her dark hair spilled down her back as she looked out toward the horizon. She was so beautiful and real it hurt.

“Sorry I'm late,” Jack said, stepping out into the water. She spun, her eyes bright and relief flooding her face.

“I was beginning to think you weren’t coming,” she said quietly. The hurt in her voice betrayed the smile on her face. His heart constricted. She thought he had left her.

“Sometimes I hate my job. Even on vacation, I don’t really get a day off. I apologize for making you wait,” he replied somberly. His eyes shone with honesty as he reached her spot in the water. The last thing he had wanted to do was hurt her. “What are you doing out here?”

“Chasing waves,” she explained. She smiled up at him, forgiveness in her eyes. “What would you like to do?”

He kissed her, not wanting to wait another second to touch her. Her kiss made his knees go weak and he knew he had made the right choice leaving Brandy. This was what a kiss should feel like.

“Walk with me?” he asked. His mind was still reeling from the encounter with Brandy. He wished he could tell Emma everything, to hear her tell him in that sweet voice that he did well, but he didn't want to burden her with that. Brandy was his past.

He took her hand and together they walked down the beach. It felt good just to be near her, the sand under their feet and the sunshine warm on their backs. Jack soaked in the way her hand felt in his, the way her soft step matched his, and even the way the breeze caught her long hair and made it dance.

After a short walk, they came to a series of tents strung along the beach where locals sold their wares. It was a simple marketplace, nothing compared to the tent stalls Jack had seen in Iraq or Dubai, but the concept was the same.

“A pretty necklace for a pretty lady?” An accented voice called out as they passed. Emma giggled and tucked her hair behind her ear. He loved that she took every compliment so seriously, as if she didn't believe in her own beauty.

He watched her, ready to buy anything she wanted, but she just browsed through the stalls. Finally, at the last stall she found a simple dolphin pendant. He knew it was for her the moment she picked it up, her face brightening as she held it.

“The lady has excellent taste,” the shopkeeper said, winking at Jack. “Put it on. See how it feels.”

Jack took the delicate necklace from her fingers and carefully placed it around her throat. He managed not to struggle with the clasp. It fit her perfectly.

“How much for the necklace?” he asked the shopkeeper, smiling at Emma.

“One hundred American dollars. But for you, I sell it at eighty-five dollars,” the salesman replied, his teeth bright.

“Eighty-five dollars? That is too much. Thank you though. It is beautiful,” Emma said quickly. She reached up to undo the clasp to return it to the jewelry tray.

Jack placed his hand on the back of her neck to stop her. She wanted this necklace but couldn't afford it. Eighty-five dollars was nothing, especially if it made her happy. He would have paid double that just to make her smile.

“No. The lady will have it,” Jack interjected, feeling pleased that he could do something nice for her.

“What are you doing? It isn’t worth that,” she hissed at him. He ignored her and fished money out of his wallet and handed it to the man. He was going to give her something beautiful.

“Thank you, sir. Enjoy the necklace, miss.” The shopkeeper smiled at Jack and hurried to put his money somewhere safe.

Jack beamed with pride. It wasn't often he got to make someone happy, and making Emma happy was all he wanted. He couldn't understand why she was frowning as they exited the tent to continue their walk.

It was as if the sale had triggered a feeding frenzy in the other shops. Every single one of them called out in sweet voices, trying to coax us like sirens to their wares. One store owner even had the audacity to grab at Emma's arm to forcibly pull her into his tent. Jack was not pleased.

Jack grabbed her hand, ready to punch the shopkeeper out if he didn't let go. He pulled her out into the water and away from the greedy fingers of the tents.

“I buy one thing and they all go crazy,” he said, looking back at the tents like they might follow him out into the ocean.

“That’s because you paid full price,” she said with a giggle. He frowned, his dark brows knitting together. She shook her head at him. “I willingly admit that I am not the best haggler, but I could have gotten him down to at least thirty dollars. You flashed your money and now they know you don’t haggle.”

“Oh, come on, eighty-five dollars isn’t that much! It isn’t something to justify the feeding frenzy of salesmen.” He looked back at the shops in disbelief. “Now I know how chum feels when the sharks gather.”

It hadn't been like that in Iraq. Granted, his interpreter had done the negotiation and it had taken longer. Jack considered himself an excellent negotiator. He had certainly made enough million dollar contracts that others said couldn't be done at that price.

“Eighty-five dollars is a lot of money to spend on a necklace, no matter how pretty it is,” Emma chastised him gently.

“It isn't that much,” he said, feeling put out. The necklace was supposed to have been a gift, something to make her smile and now it was turning into something else. He didn't like being told he had done something wrong.

“It is to them. It certainly is to me. Eighty-five dollars is almost a full day's pay.” She shrugged as though it was nothing, but it hit him like a punch in the gut and he dropped her hand.
A full day's pay?
No wonder the shopkeepers had swarmed. Eighty-five dollars didn't even buy him lunch, but it was a lot of money to her. He hadn't thought about just how different their economic situations were until just that moment.

“Thank you for the necklace, though. I really do like it, even if it is a little extravagant,” she told him, smiling up at him. He didn't want to appear like a billionaire to her. He wanted to be someone she could relate to. He smiled, trying to relax. He would have to be more careful about money or he would give himself away.