“Sorry, didn’t think it was important.”
Was anything important enough for him to tell her?I’m dining with my ex-wife? My uncle knew your mother when shewas a model? I’m breaking up with you?
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Come on, Harlow. You know why I’m here. You.” He tipped his head toward the yacht moored offshore. “I had to see you. So I gathered the crew and sailed down. Arrived last night. I went to your place, but you weren’t there. The kid mowing the lawn said you might be at the diner.”
“I was about to grab a late breakfast,” she said, thinking again of the platter she’d dreamed about on her run.
“I was just about to have breakfast on the yacht. My new chef, Baptiste, makes wicked scrambled egg whites with spinach and mushrooms.”
Egg whites. A diet plate. On the SSSpirit of Fortune.
“I have to work in a couple of hours.”
“I’ll have you back in time, I promise. Please.”
Being on time wasn’t her concern. It was more that she’d be an emotional mess. But she was hungry, and he did sail all this way to see her.
At the end of the dock, a crew member waited with a tender to drive them out to theFortune. A steward led them to the Portuguese deck, where a table was set with a linen cloth, bone china, and crystal glasses. The morning sun glinted off the pitcher of mimosas.
It was lovely. And classic Xander. Harlow sat with some trepidation as he filled her glass.
“I remembered these are your favorite.”
“Yes, but they have a lot of calories.”
“Cheers.” Xander tapped her glass with his. “And who cares about calories?”
“Me.” She’d come to the conclusion food must not rule her one way or the other.
“So,” he said after a moment, “are you at least thinking about coming home? What about us?”
“There is no us, Xander. And I am home. I like it here. I’m not sure I want to leave.”
“Okay, okay, I think I can accommodate that, Harlow. Work something out.” He sipped from his glass and gazed toward the water. “But if we both want children—”
She unrolled the linen napkin ring and lined up the cutlery by her plate. “Is that what this is about? Children? You know I want a family, so you’re using it against me? Or you’re feeling your own biological clock ticking? You want an heir? It will take too long if you go after some other long-legged model or actress.”
He glared at her. “Is that what you think? That I’m executing some master manipulation?”
“You are goal oriented, aren’t you? Andchildrenwas the first thing out of your mouth, Xander.”
“No, the first thing out of my mouth was ‘I love you.’ I mention children because it’s what we both want, Harlow. Give me a break here. I know, I was a jerk to you. I hurt you, and I’m sorry. I just want to get back to who we were before.”
“Who were we before? I was moony-eyed for you and completelyunaware Davina had returned to your life.” Harlow had been thinking about this a lot lately. “I’m not some business deal to renegotiate. I’m flesh and blood.” She raised her arm and pinched the skin. “How could you block me like a common criminal from our home? How could you in good conscious ignore my calls?” She swigged her mimosa, fired up. “In fact, how dare you treat me that way? I was your fiancée.”
“Yes, and again, I’m sorry.”
“It’s not about being sorry, Xander. It’s about the man inside.” She stretched to poke his chest. “A good man, an honorable man, would’ve talked to me, given me a chance to fight for us. He would’ve made provision for me, especially after his financial recommendation emptied my accounts.”
“I told you, Davina—”
“No, Xander, stop blaming her. You allowed yourself to be duped. You. All you.”
“Fine, it was all me. I was stupid and blind—”
“Excuses.”
