CHAPTER 1
FROM HERcabana doorway, Kyra looked out over the private beach, watching as the tropical sun reflected off the near-white sand, and the froth from the breaking waves launched tiny rainbows into the sky. The place fairly sparkled with magic, dripping with possibility and promise.
The perfect place for a fantasy.
A shiver of anticipation tingled up her spine, and she hugged herself. “This is it, kid,” she whispered. “Now or never.”
With a determined tug, she pulled the jacket of her favorite Anne Klein suit over her shoulders and tossed it into the corner. One quick tug on the zipper and the rest of the outfit followed, the skirt falling to the ground in a pile of fine linen.
She kicked the skirt in the direction of the jacket, knowing full well that before the hour was up, she’d have both items on hangers and in the closet. In the meantime, though, she was going to let the island work its magic, and she stood in the doorway of her isolated cabin, breathing deep, wearing nothing but a soft silk shell and panties.
Free. For one week, she had nothing but an unsure future in front of her. No Day-Timer, no appointments, no obligations.
It felt wonderful. Weird and unfamiliar, but wonderful.
A fresh wave of guilt crested in her gut, but she firmly quashed it. She deserved this. For the last sixteen years, she’d lived her life for her father and brother, holding the family together, being the rock, just as she’d promised her mother when the cancer had made it only too clear that Kyra was soon to be the sole female in the Cartwright household.
A heck of a lot for a ten-year-old to shoulder, but she’d never once complained. Not when she’d taken over the chores instead of playing with the neighborhood kids. Not when her father’s failing health had forced her to sacrifice her college social life so that she could help him with the day-to-day operations of Cartwright Radio. Not even when she’d given up her own chance at an M.B.A. so that her brother, Evan, could go to medical school.
She adored her father and brother, and she loved everything about working in radio. And for those simple reasons, her choices had never seemed like sacrifices.
Now, though…
Her father’s health had worsened, and Kyra’s world was on shaky ground. For over thirty years, Milton Cartwright had been the backbone of their family-owned chain of radio stations, his own syndicatedshow the company’s cash cow. Almost everyone in the country tuned in for Milton’s peculiar brand of Texas humor mixed with a dash of Dallas sophistication.
What most folks didn’t realize was just how poorly the radio guru had been getting on these past few years. Now everything her father had struggled for was threatened. The moment Milton retired and his show went off the air, the advertising dollars would dry up. And that meant the family business would be dead and gone.
Of course, Milton Cartwright knew that as well as all the vultures circling the station’s offices in downtown Dallas. To Kyra’s infinite frustration, her dad was determined not to give them the satisfaction. He was going to stay on the radio until the last possible second.
As much as she wanted the business to survive, Kyra was more determined to make sure her dad stayed as healthy as possible for as long as possible. According to his cadre of doctors, that meant early retirement. But the man was as stubborn as they came, and unless Kyra found some way to ensure the station would continue to bring in key advertisers, he wasn’t about to turn over the reins of the company to anyone.
After months of pounding her head against the wall, Kyra’d been on the verge of conceding defeat when she found her answer—a good luck charm in a pinstripe suit. Harold Stovall, President and Chairman of United Media Corporation. A longtime friend, he’d recentlypromised to let Cartwright Radio acquire not one but two of his key on-air personalities.
And, really, he hadn’t asked that much in return. After all, the business meant everything to Kyra’s father, and Milton Cartwright meant everything to Kyra.
She held on to the doorjamb, feeling her body go rigid as the knowledge of what lay ahead settled into her bones. Truly, Harold was a dear, and fifteen years wasn’t that big an age difference. They’d even dated for a while, back when Kyra had lived in New York while she learned the ropes of working at a major radio station.
So what if he’d never made her toes tingle or her knees go weak? He’d always been kind and gentle. And he truly adored her.
Most important, she knew with absolute certainty that he’d protect her father’s business as if it were his own, something Kyra couldn’t do alone. Without Harold, Kyra would lose everything.
In a way, Harold was giving her the world. It was only fair that she give him herself in return.
So she’d decided to agree. After this trip, she’d tell him, and in just a few months, she would become Mrs. Harold Stovall. She’d give herself over to a marriage based on respect, if not love.
She’d always thrown herself into her work. Now, her work would be her life.
Except there was still that one, traitorous little part of her. An unsatisfied, rebellious, needy part of her. Shehated to even let it in, hated to admit she didn’t have the strength to ignore the piece of her that longed for…she wasn’t sure what.
Her best friend, Mona, had said that Kyra was coming to Intimate Fantasy to sow her wild oats, but that wasn’t it. Not exactly. She’d lived her entire life in a cocoon. A warm and loving cocoon, true, but that didn’t make the binds any less tight.
Her whole life, she’d done the right thing, been the good girl. And her future promised to be exactly the same. But for one week, Kyra wanted to see what else the world offered.
For twenty-six years, she’d been living a perfectly ordered existence doing what everyone expected. But here, now…she wanted the whole enchilada. Wanted to take a running leap off a cliff and fly out into life.
She would marry Harold, yes. And, once spoken, she would honor her wedding vows.
But here…now…
