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There was no way out but to obey.
She looked at her father as a sentenced convict might look at his executioner.
“I’ll do whatever you say,” she said.
* * * *
A
A
And she never saw Heath again.
Chapter 6
A
She had been sitting in the armchair, lost in the past, for more than two hours.
She shook out her left leg as she walked to the door; it was stinging with pins and needles, numb from remaining in the same position for so long. She pulled the door open and saw a room service attendant standing in the corridor next to a rolling cart set lavishly with an elaborate di
“For Miss Talbot,” the waiter said, glancing at the number on the door when her expression revealed her surprise.
“I didn’t order this,” A
He picked up the slip stuck under an ivory china bud vase containing a single rose. “It’s complimentary, from a Miss Amy Horton. The order was placed at one-thirty this afternoon.”
A
“All right, you can bring it in,” A
A
But after this gesture, A
She dutifully sat down in front of the cart and picked up a roll, begi
* * * *
Heath Bodine put down the computer printout he was trying to read and sat back in his chair. He looked around the office of Bimini’s Big Palm marina, aware that he would not get any work done today. This pit stop had been a waste of time.
The phone at his elbow rang and the secretary in the outer office picked it up. He watched the red light blink and then switch off without interest.
Since he’d left Harold Caldwell’s office he’d been unable to think of anything but his meeting with A
She was going to do what he wanted.
It was curious how little satisfaction that piece of knowledge gave him.
After waiting eleven years to take revenge for A
Perhaps the lack of savor resulted from A
But of course, that image wasn’t the real A
Then he’d sped back to Lime Island on his bike, the tears streaming down his face, to find A
Amy Horton was no help; whatever had caused A
End of story.
He had joined the navy the next day.
Heath rubbed the bridge of his nose, thinking about that break with A
Then, when Daddy Talbot crooked his imperious finger, she had tossed that heart away as if it were garbage.
What had happened? Had she thought about what it would be like to live without the cushion of the Talbot money and developed cold feet? Probably. Romantic daydreams were one thing but reality was quite another.
And then, of course, there was the payoff. He couldn’t let himself forget about that.
Knuckles rapped on the door of the office. Joe Jensen pulled the door open and stuck his head inside the gap he’d created.
“Heath, we have to talk about the Sea Ray inventory. I’ve got several used twenty-footers that need a markdown, will you come and take a look?” Jensen said.
“Be right there,” Heath replied. He stood abruptly, thinking ahead to his di
He would marry her, and make her pay for everything.
* * * *
A
Heath was already seated in the i
“Have you been waiting for me a long time?” she asked.
“For eleven years,” he said.
She looked at him.
“Just a few minutes,” he amended. “Would you like something to drink?”
A