While his brothers talked, Sean sat in silence and really thought about what Rafe had said. Maybe, and Sean hated to admit it, even privately, his brother was right. For years, the memory of his ex had bothered him. Angered him. Now, he realized, he felt…nothing. Was being with Melinda what had prompted the change?
His mind raced with possibilities.
Melinda had sneaked into his heart. He hadn’t seen it coming. But the question was, what did he do about it now?
Katie and Rose bought rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Their good-natured bickering over who got to buy what had Melinda laughing along with them. But their admiration for her work filled her heart and fed her soul. She had never had the opportunity to actually see people’s reactions to her stuff before. Well, her friend Kathy loved the jewelry, but she was probably prejudiced by her affection for Melinda. And yes, Melinda did sell a lot of pieces through James’s shop, but this was the first time she was able to really see that her work was good. Good enough that Rose and Katie bought up most of Melinda’s inventory.
“You’re very talented,” Katie said with a sigh as she admired the Tesoro Topaz glittering on her wrist.
“I agree.” Rose cooed at her son as he drank his bottle, but then she looked at Melinda and said, “I know women back home who would pay a fortune for your work.”
Back home. Sean’s home. Far away from Tesoro and Melinda. An ache settled in the center of her chest, and she absently rubbed it, hoping to ease the pain. It didn’t help. God, how had this all gone so wrong?
She’d allowed herself to get involved. To want. To need.
To love.
And now it was too late to back away. She couldn’t tear Sean out of her heart any more than she once could have Steven.
Steven. For just one moment, she thought about the man she had once promised to love forever and wondered how she could have gotten to this place so soon after his death. The guilt that always surrounded thoughts of her late fiancé gathered in close, but she held them at bay.
She couldn’t hide from her own emotions anymore. The truth was, she loved Sean so much more deeply than she had ever loved Steven. More passionately. More completely. Melinda hadn’t even known she was capable of a love this all-encompassing.
Sean had been right. She couldn’t stop living.
But what would he say if he knew that she had ruined their bargain by falling in love with him? Would he run back to California? Would he laugh and tell her she was being silly? Would he panic?
“You love him, don’t you?”
“What?” Melinda jolted and looked up at Katie.
“Sean,” the woman said. “You’re in love with Sean.”
Brushing that away, she forced a laugh and busied herself with putting the rest of her finished pieces back in the glass case. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Nope, she’s right,” Rose said. “It’s all over your face, sweetie. Trust me when I say I know that look.”
Melinda’s gaze moved from one to the other of the women and she sighed miserably at their matching expressions of sympathy. “I can’t be in love with him. You know about our marriage. The…deal we made.”
“Yeah, Rafe and Lucas told us,” Katie said.
“But the deal changed, didn’t it?” Rose lifted Danny to her shoulder and began patting his back.
Melinda could lie, but she wasn’t very good at it. And even as she considered it, she told herself there was no point in trying to deny the truth to these two. They were too smart to believe it, anyway.
“Yes, it changed. For me, at least.”
“Look,” Katie said quietly, “King men aren’t the easiest males in the universe, but they’re worth the trouble.”
“Absolutely,” Rose echoed.
“But you’re the only one who can decide if you’re willing to fight for him. Because you’re going to have to batter down all the walls he’s put up around his heart.”
“I always thought there was a loneliness about Sean,” Rose said thoughtfully, then smiled when the baby burped. “What a good boy.”
“I know what you mean,” Katie agreed, taking the empty baby bottle from Rose. She capped it and tucked it back into the diaper bag. “He’s sweet and funny, yet he always seems to sort of be on the outside, you know?”
Melinda listened and thought about the things Sean had told her about his early life. About the mother who hadn’t appreciated the son who tried to protect her. About how he must have felt—thrown aside, forgotten. And yes, she could understand his underlying loneliness. But that didn’t mean—
“He needs you, Melinda.” Katie nodded as if emphasizing her words. “You love him. Sean needs that.”
“Plus,” Rose said slyly, “we Wives-of-Kings have to stick together, right?”
“Amen.” Katie laughed a little. “I love Rafe like crazy, but King men are the most stubborn, bossy males on the face of the planet.”
“Tell me about it,” Rose murmured, rocking Danny as he fell asleep. “Did you know, Lucas got rid of my car? Said it wasn’t safe.”
“The skillet car?” Melinda asked, then explained, “Sean told me about it. I thought it sounded great.”
“Thank you, but I kept the skillet.” She grinned. “He bought me some monster SUV, said it was safer to drive the baby around in. But I insisted that my skillet go back on top.” She laughed in memory. “It almost killed him to put my skillet on top of a new car. But it’s there.”
“See, Melinda,” Katie urged, “they’re stubborn but they come around. And believe me, there is no better husband in the world than one of the Kings.”
“You don’t have to convince me,” Melinda assured them both. “I already know how great Sean is. But our marriage is different. We didn’t get married for love.”
“You said yourself,” Katie reminded her, “things change.”
Were they right? Could she risk finding out?
Could she live with herself if she didn’t?
Twelve
A few days later, the King family was gone, with the promise to return soon. The cargo ship had arrived, carrying all of the King company equipment they would need. The crews would be flying into the islands the following week. Time was passing so quickly, Melinda’s head spun. Soon, Sean would be leaving—unless she could convince him to stay.
She watched him as he walked the construction site, his gaze taking in everything. As soon as the King crew arrived, they’d begin work on the hotel. For now, Tomin and his sons had the foundation area taped off. Small wooden stakes had been hammered into the ground with white string drawn between them. She could see it now, the footprint of the King hotel and it was immense. It looked at the moment, as empty as she felt. To distract herself from the ache in her heart, she spoke up.