Stormy Passion (13 page)

Adrian turned heavy feet and moved in the
direction of the boat, no longer seeing any of the beauty in the
things around him. The sky had turned gray and the sea gulls were
noisy. Even the air seemed to hold a stench.

As he stepped onto the ferry the Captain
said, “I hated to see the pretty lady go. How about giving this to
her the next time you see her.”

Adrian glanced down at a wooden seagull that
someone had whittled in the captain’s hand, then back to his
face.

“
She seemed fascinated by
the bird. Tell her it's a gift from the Captain.”

Adrian nodded unable to speak because his
throat had closed up with emotion. He clutched the little bird in
his hand and found the same seat where he and Dani had sat before.
Dani's scent still lingered in her now empty spot.

Adrian clenched his jaw. His heart ached. Why
had he let her leave? Would he ever see Danielle Kapur again?

Dani watched Adrian through the rear window
of the cab until he was no bigger than a mere speck of dust. He was
gone with the wind just like he had never existed. A blur of memory
and nothing more.

The driver cleared his throat. “I could
always take you back, lady.”

Dani turned around in the seat, realizing how
foolish she must appear to the driver. She met his eyes in the
rearview mirror. “Thanks. But it's better this way.”

“
If you say so.” The man
shrugged. “What terminal do you need?”

She answered his question.

When Dani arrived at the airport, she found
Adrian had taken care of everything for her. She was met at the
counter by an agent who didn't ask for any ID, which of course she
didn't have.

She moved away from the counter, walking
through the small airport until she came to her gate. She had to go
through a security check since she’d lost her ID. Too restless to
sit, she found a water fountain and took her airsickness pill, then
stood by a wall and waited.

Several people stared at her, obviously
curious, but quickly averted their gaze when she looked their
way.

Dani wished she could quit crying. She felt
like an idiot carrying on over something that should never have
happened. How could she have been so stupid as to fall in love with
Adrian? Would she never find someone who would truly be hers
forever?

Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime,
the agent announced boarding and Dani left her adventure behind
her. She snapped her seatbelt, smiled to the man beside her, and
practiced becoming numb inside. The trip home became a blur.

When she arrived in San Antonio, she claimed
her baggage and started the trip home, thankful for now that she
didn't have a car because her keys would have been lost with
everything else.

The short trip home took twenty minutes. Once
there, it took several minutes for Dani to locate the hidden door
key buried in the plant beside her door. She slipped her key into
the deadbolt and listened for the click. She was home.

Flipping on the lights, she dropped her bag
by the door and gave the door a shove with her foot. She glanced
around. All her familiar things were there. Instead of feeling like
she was at home, though, she felt more like a visitor.

How ironic that she had felt more at home at
the beach house than here.

But these feelings would pass, she tried to
convince herself. She just needed to be patient.

A blinking red light caught her eye, so she
crossed to the answering machine and pushed the button. “Where the
hell are you?” Susan's voice demanded. “I can't believe you haven’t
called me. Is something wrong, Dani?”

Dani half-smiled. She really wasn't sure
anymore what was wrong or right, then the next message played. “Why
haven't you returned my call?” Steven's irritated voice rang clear.
“We really need to talk.”

“
Yes, we do,” Dani mumbled
as she moved to the bedroom. “But first, I need a hot
shower.”

She must have set a Guinness Book of World
Records for hot showers, but the water felt wonderful as it helped
wash her aches and pains away. It wouldn’t solve her problems, but
it helped. It also took away the last scent of Adrian.

When the water turned cold, Dani realized she
couldn't remain in the shower forever. Thanks to the hot water and
a good cry she did feel a little better when she stepped out.

She buffed her skin dry then wrapped her hair
in a towel. She'd dry her hair later when she felt like it. Right
now she wanted something to eat. Then she'd call Susan.

Steven could wait.

Dani had eaten half her soup, when the phone
rang. She eyed the receiver: Steven or Susan, which one?

“
Where have you been?”
Susan all but shouted. Dani held the phone away from her
ear.

“
At the beach,” Dani
answered with a smile, deciding to tease her friend a bit. “I told
you where I was going.”

“
But the hurricane. And
then Steven showed up two days ago and said he hadn't seen
you.”

“
I don't guess he did. He
stood me up--again.”

“
So, I repeat–” Susan took
a deep breath. “--what were you doing? I've been worried
sick!”

“
I know. You'd better come
over so I can tell you everything.”

“
The kids are at school.
Let me finish what I'm doing and I'll be there in ten
minutes.”

“
Don't break your neck.”
Dani smiled. Susan only lived next door. “I'll be here.”

Dani reached for her soup again. She really
should call work, considering she hadn't bothered to show up, but
she didn't want to talk to them now.

Besides, Steven might be at the office, and
she wasn't up to seeing him yet.

In less than ten minutes the doorbell rang.
Dani slipped the dishes in the sink and dried her hands before
answering the door.

Susan hugged her. “Thank goodness you're
safe!” She took Dani's hand and pulled her over to the couch.
“Come, sit down. I want to hear everything from the beginning. I
knew Steven would stand you up, that jerk! I don't see what you see
in him. Okay, I'm ready. Where have you been?”

Dani gave Susan a faint smile. “I'm not
really sure I believe what I'm going to tell you.” Dani took a deep
breath. “But here goes. My plane was delayed, so by the time I got
to the cottage it was very late.”

“
Had you heard anything at
all about the hurricane?”

“
No. That came the next
day.”

“
So what did you do when
Steven wasn't there?”

“
I'm getting to that,” Dani
said, placing her hand over Susan’s to calm her. “I just want you
to remember that I had taken several air sickness pills, and I had
one too many rum and cokes.”

“
My God, you were
drunk!”

“
And lost, to say the
least.” Dani proceeded to tell her friend about the whole weekend,
leaving nothing out. Every now and then she was stopped with
Susan's “Ooooo” and “Ahhhhs” and “you're kidding,” but finally
Danielle, feeling very exhausted, finished her story.

“
That's the most romantic
and bizarre thing I've ever heard!” Susan exclaimed, falling back
on the couch exhausted. “No wonder you look like hell. When are you
going to see him again?”

“
I'm not.”

Susan snapped back up. “But how can you let
someone that scrumptious walk out of your life?”

“
He's not the marrying
kind. He told me that up front,” Dani said with a half shrug. “He
said he'd tried it and didn't like marriage. Besides, I have no
address or any way to get in touch with him. It's almost as though
he never existed.”

“
That's such a shame. I'd
like to have met tall, dark, and handsome. He sounds like a good
Prince Charming to me.”

“
Well, it's over now. I
need to talk to Steven.”

“
What are you going to say
to Peter Pan?”

“
I wish you'd quit calling
him that.” Dani shook her head at Susan. “He does have some good
qualities.”

“
None that I've seen,”
Susan said with a snort. “Do be careful, Dani. Make sure that he
has changed and he has your best interest at heart. After all, you
deserve the best.” Susan got to her feet and started for the door.
“What are you going to say to him?”

“
I'm not sure. I'll just
wait and see what happens.”

Adrian knew it was time to go home. He'd done
everything he could do here. He had spoken with the insurance
adjusters and lined up several contractors to give him estimates,
but he wanted to look at the house one more time. And he knew the
reason why.

Moving through the house, he checked to see
if there was anything he needed to take back to New York. As his
gaze roamed around the living room, he pictured Dani sitting across
from him playing Monopoly, her golden hair falling over her
shoulders as she shook the dice in her hand.

This last day had seemed so empty without her
and he really couldn't remember another time he'd missed another
woman so much. And those were women he'd known for a long time, not
several days.

He sighed then walked across the living room
and through one of the workable doors and onto the back deck that
had luckily survived the storm. He wanted to see the ocean one more
time.

Mother Nature had shown them all her fury,
but he loved her just the same. As Adrian stared at the surf one
last time, something gold caught his eye on the beach just below
the house.

He jogged down the stairs to a huge clump of
pampas grass by the steps. Carefully reaching into the massive
plant so he wouldn't cut himself on the razor-sharp blades, he
grasped the gold object and jerked it out.

“
A purse.” He shook off the
sand, unzipped the bag and plucked out a wallet. He went back to
the stairs and sat down and opened the billfold. A Texas driver's
license was the first thing that met his eyes, then a picture of a
smiling blonde. His heart twisted.

“
Damn. Even her driver's
license is a good picture.” He looked at the address: 123 River
Road, San Antonio. Well, he could at least mail her purse to her
and save her a lot of trouble canceling credit cards. Surprisingly
enough, the contents of her purse were damp, though still in good
shape.

Flipping through her pictures, he saw a
picture of two little girls with a woman and a picture of her
parents. The last picture was of Dani standing with a man, his arm
casually draped across her shoulder.

“
Steven,” Adrian said. He
examined the photo for a long time. He didn't like the way the man
looked. The jerk wasn't Dani's type. If Steven loved her, he would
have pulled her close to him instead of standing looking as if he
couldn't wait for the picture to be over with.

The longer Adrian stared at the picture the
madder he grew. He needed to have a few words with that son of a
bitch and there was only one way to do it.

Chapter Eight

Dani tossed back her pink comforter and
slipped out of bed. Wasting little time, she moved to the kitchen
to get her first cup of caffeine. It would take several cups to get
her moving this morning.

As she sighed, her thoughts wandered back to
the time Adrian had fixed breakfast for her. She could get used to
the sight of him cooking for her every morning. Had that only been
a few days ago?

Last night had been one long tumbling session
as sleep had eluded her. This morning, her bed looked like she'd
fought World War III, and her body most certainly felt like it.
After everything she'd been through, Dani had expected to sleep
like the dead. Since that hadn't been the case, she hoped tonight
would be a different story.

It was time to face the real world and forget
about the fantasy of the last four days.

Normally, she'd be chomping at the bit to get
back to her job after having been away. However, working for
Steven's father meant she'd have to face her problems that much
sooner.

And to say she was confused would be putting
it mildly. Up until a few days ago, marrying Steven had been the
only thing she'd ever wanted. Now she wasn't so sure. What possible
excuse could he have had for standing her up? Would she ever be
able to count on him?

She didn’t think so.

Dani opened the closet and scanned her
wardrobe. The radio had forecast the high to be seventy-five
degrees today, so she'd stay away from her fall clothes and stick
to a cooler dress. She picked out a sunrise-orange, sundress hoping
that the brighter color would make her feel cheerful. She finished
brushing her hair and added a touch of spray. Finally, when she
could find no more excuses to delay, she left for work.

This morning she decided to walk to work, so
she took The River Walk, one level below the busy streets of San
Antonio, twisting and turning though the colorful tourist area. It
always reminded her of another world, with its cobblestone walkways
and lush green foliage.

She looked ahead and smiled as she spotted
one of the sightseeing barges meandering up the river under the
graceful cottonwood trees. The tour boats were just getting
started, and her favorite guide, Lopez, raised his hand in a wave
when he saw her.

“
How's the fair and
beautiful Danielle this morning?” Lopez called as he glided his
boat along the river.

“
Not bad.”

“
Then why the sad face?
Come take a ride with me, Señorita.” He grinned. “And we'll forget
about today. We'll forget about tomorrow, too.”