A Little Slice of Heaven (23 page)

“
Why not?” Her face blanched, the roses disappearing beneath her skin, leaving chalk circles. “Oh, God, there’s someone else.”

“
No.”

“
Then why?”

How to put this delicately and yet leave no room for argument? Yeah, right. Might as well ask how does one kick a puppy and make him appreciate the punishment?
He’d have to settle for the truth or a reasonable facsimile thereof. Not a lie, per se, just not the entire truth. “I can’t promise you a future.”

To his amazement, she laughed. “Is that all? Oh, Kyle, I don’t care about your finances. My parents had nothing when they fell in love. They married, and then struggled together to open
Villa Mare
. They lived in the same apartment you’re living in now. They didn’t see a profit for two years.”

She plucked another stone from her fist to send dancing across the water, this one snow white—like her soul.

“
But if you asked them, they’d say their hard work and sacrifice was worth the hardship. There’s no reason we can’t do the same. Mom’s always trying to talk Dad into retiring. They obviously trust you, and I know running a pizzeria might not be what you planned for your life, but it’s an honest living and—”

Stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets, he stared at the high cliffs where a few sprawling homes with walls of windows facing the Sound lay scattered in the scrub pines. Among them, he found the pretty Spanish-style hacienda Hayley’s agency had on the market. Nice views, solid-looking house. Might make a good investment. Vacation home or rental.

“
Kyle?”

His mind turned from real estate business to the business at hand. He frowned. “I think you’re oversimplifying things.”

“
No, I’m not.” Another stone plopped into the water. “Sometimes, the future is what you make. Last night you accused me of not accepting help because of stubborn pride. Don’t let your stubborn pride override the future for us.”

Dammit, how could he make her stop? “There is no future for us,” he insisted at last. “I’m sorry if you believed differently, Gianna, but I won’t make promises I can’t keep.”

The remaining stones fell to the beach with a scatter of clacks. “Oh.” The acknowledgement, so simple and yet so profound, had the effect of dynamite bringing down a ten-story high rise. Gianna’s shoulders sank, and the hopeful expression she’d worn moments before transformed to one of shame. Her gaze dropped to the multi-colored stones as if weighted down by them.

Despite the sharp edges of the rocks cutting into his pants, he knelt to look up at her.“Gianna, please, try to understand. In another place and time, I’d be thrilled you find me even remotely worthy of your affection. But I’m not—”

Her hand rose in front of his face like a policeman stopping traffic. “Don’t.” The word came out strangled. “Don’t you dare say you’re not good enough for me. I’ve heard the line before. I’m sorry if I put you in an uncomfortable position, but I think I’d better go now. I’ll see you around, okay?”

Without waiting for an answer, she took off, practically running across the beach. Although his first instinct was to race after her, he hesitated. What would be the point? He’d always known their relationship would end this way. If he caught up to her, what would he say?

No matter how much he cared, he couldn’t change their differences. Better to hurt her feelings now, when their relationship was still platonic, than to become romantically involved and have her wind up hating him. For both their sakes.

He should have backed out of the whole wedding charade. At the very least, he should have made her understand his pretense last night was simply that. He scooped a handful of the pretty stones and, rising again, flung them into the Long Island Sound.

****

Bathed in humiliation’s mist, Gianna stumbled to
Villa Mare
. She couldn’t go into the restaurant, couldn’t face small talk with her parents. And spilling her guts to Hayley was completely out of the question. Given a choice, she’d climb into her car, drive home, crawl into bed, and forget she ever woke up this morning.

Darn it, her car! With everything that had gone wrong in the last half-hour, she’d forgotten to ask Kyle for her keys. Which meant she’d have to face him and his pity again. The mist transformed into a deluge, drenching her in cold sweat.

Good God, what else could go wrong?

“
Excuse me,” a deep, cultured voice said from behind her.

She whirled and came face to face with a distinguished, black-haired gentleman in a camel-colored cashmere topcoat. “Yes?”

“
I’m looking for Kyle Hayden. Do you know where he might be?” He jerked his head toward
Villa Mare
’s window. “The couple inside said he’d gone for a walk. Have you seen him?”

Unfortunately, yes.
“He should be back any moment,” she managed to croak. And somehow, she thought as she strode past the man, I’ll have to find a way to regain my dignity before I get my car keys from him.

She’d only taken two steps when he gripped her arm, stopping her. “Are you all right, my dear? You seem upset.”

The unfortunate part of living in a small town, everyone knew everyone else’s business. “I’m fine.” She might have attempted a smile, but her muscles refused to cooperate. “I’ve just had a bit of bad news today.”
I fell in love with the wrong man. Again.
 

“
Ah, I’m dreadfully sorry about that.”

Not as sorry as I am.
She stared, trying to discern something familiar in his patrician features. Nothing came to mind. “Forgive me, but have we met before?”

“
No, but if I had to guess, I’d say you were Gianna Randazzo.”

“
H-how do you know that?”

His expression turned smug, and he rocked on his heels. “Well, now, from the moment I first saw your name, I had a picture in my head of what you’d look like. You’re a little taller than I anticipated, but in every other way, you’re a dead ringer for my mental image. I’m Rory Abernathy.”

He held out a hand and she shook it, automatically replying, “Gianna Randazzo.”

“
Yes, I know,” he said with a smile. “I believe we already established that.”

Okay, so maybe the recriminations buzzing in her head affected her ability to carry on an intelligent conversation. But her curiosity remained firm. “May I ask where you saw my name?”

“
On the copy of the paycheck Kyle sent me.”

Kyle? Her gaze automatically strayed toward the road leading to the beach.

Before she could form another question, Kyle stepped around the corner. His eyes opened wide, and his mouth dropped. “Rory? What the hell are you doing here?”

Mr. Abernathy turned. “I see you still have those gracious manners, Kyle. I would have expected you to learn a little humility from this experience.”

“
Yeah, well, come back in two weeks.” A dark glower lent his features a grizzly bear look. “Perhaps, by then I won’t be such a disappointment to you.”

“
You don’t have two weeks. That’s why I’m here.”

A frigid breeze fluttered across Gianna’s shoulder blades. She should leave. Whatever was about to occur, the prickly hairs on her neck warned her she should walk away. But her feet refused to cooperate, and her ears burned to learn the identity of this Rory character and his reason for being here.

“
What do you mean I don’t have two weeks?” Kyle demanded. “Today is Day Forty-seven. I know. I’ve been counting since this whole damned thing started. I have thirteen days left.”

Cold, calculating and humorless, his smile did nothing to warm Gianna.

“
Or are you and David ready to admit defeat?”

“
David and I aren’t admitting anything. But your sister’s little stunt left us with no alternative. So we told her about the wager and—”

“
Wager?” The conversation whirled in dizzying speeds, and Gianna could no longer keep up without an explanation—or Cliff’s Notes. “What wager?”

Rory’s interested expression flew from her to Kyle and back again. “You really don’t know, do you?”

To ward off the chills, she folded her arms over her chest. “Know what?”

With a look of pity, Rory stroked his chin. “I’ll be damned.”

The tiger’s eye ring on one finger glinted in the sunlight, nearly blinding her, and she framed her face with the back of her hand. “What don’t I know?”

“
I have to give you credit, Kyle. I told David we shouldn’t have paid the penalty because I thought you were pulling the wool over our eyes. Turns out, you were pulling the wool over hers.”

She cast a glance at Kyle, but he dropped his gaze to the sidewalk. As if she rode a high-speed roller coaster, her belly flipped and twisted. “Kyle? What’s he talking about?”

“
She really doesn’t know, does she?”

“
I believe we already established that,” she snapped.

Rory shook his head. “Forgive me, but I simply can’t believe this. The whole scenario is too extraordinary.”

“
Shut the hell up, Rory,” Kyle growled. “This isn’t the time or place for this conversation.”

Her throat tightened, choking her airway. “Kyle?” she rasped. When he refused to look at her, the roller coaster’s restraint wrapped around her ribs, squeezing, accelerating her heartbeat until her entire body pulsed and throbbed. “Kyle, please? Tell me what’s going on.”

“
Not here. Why don’t we go inside and—”

Despite her growing dread, a flicker of courage sparked. “No. I’m not moving until you tell me what’s happening. Who is this, and what’s he talking about?”

“
Not here. Please,” he murmured, his gaze fixed on the curb.

In all the time she’d known him, she’d never seen him so uncomfortable, not even on that first night by the Dumpster. Whatever he hid would wreck her trust. She sensed that much. Still, she needed to know. “All right, Mr. Abernathy. Since Kyle suddenly seems incapable of speech, why don’t you tell me what he’s hiding?”

Mr. Abernathy looked no more secure than Kyle, but she continued to glare until he sighed. “What Kyle is trying not to tell you is, this was all a set-up.”

A silent scream rose inside her, but she tamped it enough to ask
,
“What was a set-up?”

One swift glance at Kyle—an apology, maybe—and Rory Abernathy clasped his hands behind his back. “A few months ago, three of us were sitting in the lodge of the Legacy Club. Kyle had sipped a little too much brandy that night and actually bragged to David and me if he were to lose every dime he owned, the people in his life would stick by him because that’s the kind of loyalty he inspired. David and I called him on the boast. Told him to prove it. We made a wager right then and there.”

The roller coaster took a steep dip, flipping her heart into freefall. “A wager?”

Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed, Rory nodded. “Over the next few days, we went through his books and creatively hid all his assets from his friends and family. Then Kyle had to approach everyone he knew, explain his financial situation and ask for assistance. Just as David and I expected, every door slammed in his face. So our friend here was forced to pay a penalty.”

Ice filled Gianna’s veins, numbing the pain. “What kind of penalty?”

“
If Kyle couldn’t find anyone to help him, we would take him to a small town where no one knew him. Wearing nothing but the oldest clothes in his closet and carrying only his driver’s license and Social Security card, he had to get back on his feet within sixty days. He could not use his money, name, or family connections to help him in any way.”

Understanding dawned, and the ice in her veins speared her heart. “You were the friend with the tuxedo. And you arranged for the Bergdorf’s shopping spree, too.”

“
Payment for Kyle’s success in finding a job and a place to live,” he replied with a solemn nod.

A thousand emotions tumbled inside her. Horror, humiliation, indignation, and anger all clamored to reach her surface. “You were playing a game? A sick game between spoiled rich boys?” The urge to slap Kyle’s face overwhelmed her. “How could you do this? I thought you were in trouble. I thought you needed someone. You used me!”

To keep from assaulting Kyle, she slapped her forehead with the flat of her hand. “My God, Bethany’s right. I
am
a doormat. A big, stupid doormat with ‘Welcome’ painted across my forehead in bold red letters. I can’t believe how stupid I was. I thought you were noble, and decent, and honest. I actually thought I was in love with you.”

Rory chuckled. “Still a heartbreaker, eh, Kyle?”

Gianna’s gaze flew to this new enemy, wishing for power to hurl lightning bolts. Like a chastised child, Rory shuffled his feet, and she turned her anger back on the true source. “I hope you gained something important by making a fool of me.”

Kyle didn’t look her in the eye, much less attempt any sort of explanation.

“
Important?” Rory replied. “Yeah, I guess you could say he gained something important. He gets to keep Aurora.”

The ice twisted, corkscrewing her heart to shreds. “I see. Well, I hope you and Aurora will be very happy together.” She held out her hand, palm up. “Now if you’ll just give me the keys to my car and to the apartment upstairs, you can be on your way back to your precious Aurora.”

At last, he spoke. “Gianna, I—”

“
You’re too late. Don’t say anything. Just give me the keys. And get out of here. Go home. Go home to your wealth and your empty values and your club and your childish games.”

He finally slapped the keys into her open palm. “Would you give me a chance to say something first?”

Her fingers curled around the keys, tightening the hold on her emotions. “There is absolutely nothing you can say except goodbye.”