The Bad Boys of Eden (63 page)

Chapter 11

~ Burke ~

Burke couldn’t move or think or breathe. At some point, he’d crouched in the sand behind a large flowering bush, but he hadn’t remembered how’d he gotten there. All he knew was that he was watching the woman he loved make out with his dead brother.

He pinched himself hard enough to bruise, trying to wake himself up. But the scene didn’t change. It was Gretchen. And Harris. His brother who he’d seen lowered into the ground—alive and kissing his girl.

Burke couldn’t decide if he wanted to cry or scream. Seeing his brother in the flesh was impossible to process. Part of him wanted to run and embrace him, to tell him how much he missed him, how pissed he was that he’d left, to ask all the questions he wanted to ask. But seeing Harris and Gretchen together stirred other not so brotherly feelings deep inside him. Anger. Possessiveness. Heartbreak.

He looked on in anguish as the kissing turned more ardent. Harris slid his hand down Gretchen’s belly and then lower, into her shorts, touching her. Burke’s ribs squeezed, robbing him of air. Gretchen’s head lolled back, exposing that gorgeous throat, and in no time at all, she came hard against his brother’s hand. Even though Burke was far away, he knew what she had to be saying.
Harris. Harris. Harris.

It was like a rusty knife jabbing into Burke’s side and twisting. A few hours ago, it had been his name on her lips. His body giving her pleasure. Those bright eyes shining his way. He’d let himself believe it for a moment. Really believe it. That maybe they were finally getting their chance. But he should’ve known.

Hell, maybe he’d always known.

No matter what happened, no matter how much time passed, he’d forever be the consolation prize. The second place ribbon.

This island had given Gretchen what she most wanted.

And it wasn’t him.

It never would be.

He forced himself to his feet and, as quietly as possible, headed back to the cabana. The sun was just coming up when he opened the door and slipped inside.

One day.

That was all they’d had.

He knew nothing in life was forever, but he’d thought for once, he might have a shot at something close to it.

He grabbed his suitcase and walked out.

Chapter 12

~ Gretchen ~

I stared out at the water, holding a conch shell to my ear. The animal who’d called it home was long gone, so only the cavernous sound remained. I closed my eyes and listened to the whooshing noise. People said it was supposed to sound like the ocean. But with the waves already in the background, it only sounded like a void. I suspected the same dead space was trapped inside of me—just white noise filling all the corners. I had no more tears left to cry. No more energy to give.

I’d found what I thought I’d most wanted. The impossible. A miracle.
Magic
. I should be falling to my knees in thanks, ecstatic. But I couldn’t access that emotion. All I could think about was the decision that hovered over me, a decision that would have to be made tonight. Harris had told me to come back. He wouldn’t have to leave again. We could be together.

All we had to do was make love. And live here.

I set the shell down and hugged my knees.

Could I do that? Stay here with Harris for good? Live here and grow old while he…well, I didn’t know what he would do. Probably never change. If someone had asked me a month ago if I’d give it all up—home, job, the possibility of children—to have Harris again, I wouldn’t have blinked. I would’ve made a deal with the devil himself to get him back.

But now, everything was shaded with different hues.

Harris had admitted he hadn’t always been honest with me. He’d made up lies about Burke. He’d moved me away from home and my family to keep me far from his brother. And to get the house we’d wanted, he’d made what sounded like under the table deals. In a lot of ways, those things showed his devotion, how far he was willing to go to have me. I didn’t doubt that he loved me. But I couldn’t help but wonder what else he’d manipulated and how well I really knew him.

I also couldn’t stop thinking about what might’ve happened if he hadn’t interfered.

If he hadn’t told me that Burke fooled around with that dance team girl, would I have continued to harbor my crush on Burke? Would I have pursued him instead of growing closer to Harris? I didn’t know. That was one of those forks in the road of life where once you chose one path, you couldn’t see what lay at the end of the other.

Only this time, I was staring down that same forked road again—two paths splitting from the spot I stood on, and the same two men waiting at each end. If I said no to one, I’d break his heart and lose my best friend. If I said no to the other, I’d end his second chance at life. I pressed my forehead to my knees, wishing I could crawl into that shell and disappear for a while.

“Hey there,” a low, soft voice said behind me.

I lifted my head, knowing the voice without having to look. My chest squeezed tight. “Hey.”

“This seat taken?”

When I shook my head, Burke lowered himself to the spot next to me in the sand, leaving at least a foot of space between us.

He gazed at the water. “How long have you been out here?”

I traced my fingers through the sand. I hadn’t gone back to the cabana after Harris had disappeared. The thought of facing Burke had been too much. “Since a little after sunrise.”

“You followed Dr. Magdalene’s advice.” A statement, not a question.

I kept my focus on the horizon. Seagulls were dive-bombing the waves as they crested. “Yeah.”

I didn’t know what else to say. How could I even begin to tell him what had happened? He would want to lock me up in the psych ward.

He rocked forward, a barely there nod. “You remember.”

I swallowed past the dryness in my throat. “I do.”

He exhaled loudly. “Now you know why it wouldn’t have been right to touch you last night.”

I wanted him to touch me right now. The cold, dead space between us was almost too much to bear. He’d always been the one I could go to when I felt off balance or confused. The friend I could count on. I wanted his arm around me, telling me it would be okay. But I had no idea if it would be. It might not ever be again. He’d told me he loved me, and I’d left and let another man kiss me…touch me.

Yes, it’d been Harris, but that didn’t make it feel any less like a betrayal.

“Burke—”

“I’m leaving on the next plane out tomorrow morning. They aren’t running any today.”

My attention jerked his way. “What?”

He peered down at the tracks I’d left in the sand, those dark brows sinking low. “I saw you with him last night, Gretch. I thought I was going fucking crazy, but I know I wasn’t dreaming. I know that somehow, he’s here.”

I closed my eyes, misery flooding me. “God.”

“And I don’t know what that means exactly or how it works. All I know is that I can’t stay.”

He was leaving. Burke was leaving. I reached for his arm.

He turned to me, resignation on his face. “I’m sorry, Gretch, but I can’t do it. It probably makes me a selfish asshole. But I don’t want a life where I know someone settled for me, that I’m what you got instead of what you wanted. I saw you kissing him last night, and it all came rushing back. You were his. If you decided to be with me now, it’d be because he’s not around anymore. If he were, you’d be with him.”

“Burke.” Something was breaking inside me. Splintering.

“I love you,
cher
, but I can’t be the guy in your life who sorta fits the spot my brother left behind well enough to call it good. I’ll never be able to be him for you.”

The words were like shards of glass, slicing at my skin. “I never asked you to be him. You could never—”

He scoffed at that, an ugly sneer touching his lips. “Exactly. That’s always been the problem, hasn’t it? I could never be him.”

He stood and brushed the sand off his shorts, leaving me gaping up at him in shock. “Burke—”

“So what’s the deal with this hocus pocus, huh?” He spread his arms wide. “Was it a one time visit or is he here now? Can you call him when you want? Or does he just show up at night to fuck you?”

I surged to my feet, anger bubbling up. “What’s your problem? So this is all about you, right? You think I know how the hell to handle this? You think I’m used to having my dead fiancé show up and turn everything I thought I knew upside down? He wants me to
stay
, Burke. If I sleep with him tonight, he can stay here for good.”

“
What
?” The pissed off expression sagged into one of disbelief.

“I can have him back.” My voice was losing steam, despair taking over. “But I’d have to stay.”

Burke stared at me for a few long seconds. “Jesus,
cher
.”

I laughed without humor. “I’m not sure Jesus has anything to do with this one.”

“That sounds crazy, Gretch. How can that even be? And you can’t just—I mean, is that what you want? You want to leave your whole life behind for some…”

He didn’t say ghost. Or dead guy. But I could tell he was thinking it.

“He didn’t mean to kill himself. It was an accident.” I wet my lips. “He never meant to leave.”

Burke stumbled back a step, like he’d been punched. “An accident?”

My body suddenly felt too heavy to hold upright. I rubbed my hand over my forehead.

“I can bring him back, Burke. He can have another chance.” I lifted my gaze to him. “How am I supposed to walk away and tell him I’m not willing to do that?”

Heartbreak moved over his face like a ripple on the water. One second, it was there—bare and wretched—and the next, it was smoothed over like it had never happened. He gave a little nod. “Right. Of course.”

“But—”

He reached out and took my hand. I went to him without any further encouragement and fell into his embrace.

His arms wrapped around me, his body tense against mine, and he pressed his chin to the top of my head. Silent tears tracked down my face. “I can’t believe this,
cher
. I still feel like I’m going to wake up and this will have been a dream.”

Or a nightmare. “I know what you mean.”

He held me close for a while, letting me absorb his special brand of comfort, then leaned back and gave me a sad smile. “I guess I must’ve really pissed him off when I kissed you that day.”

“Apparently so.” I swiped at my eyes.

“Unbelievable.” He shook his head. “I guess we can’t fight fate, huh?”

“What do you mean?”

He stepped back and tucked his hands in his pockets.

“You’ve known who your soul mate was all along, and now the universe is bringing him back to you.” He gave a little shrug and a strained smile. “I’m happy for you,
cher
.”

I tried to return his smile, but I couldn’t make my muscles cooperate.

“So he’ll be here in the flesh tomorrow?”

I looked down at my feet, my stomach knotting. “Seems so.”

He let out a breath. “Well, the plane leaves at nine tomorrow. Bring him with you to tell me good-bye. I never got the chance last time. And if he wants to punch me for touching his girl, I’ll gladly take it.”

I lifted my head. “You don’t have to leave so soon.”

“Yeah,
cher
. I do.” The pain in his eyes was impossible to miss. “Good luck tonight.”

I opened my mouth to say something else, but he was already turning his back on me and heading away from the beach.

When he was almost too far away for me to make out, he put his hand over his face. I didn’t see him break down. I didn’t have to.

He’d said I’d always known who my soul mate was.

And maybe he was right.

I’d always known.

Chapter 13

~ Burke ~

Burke sulked in the back corner of the castle’s busy nightclub, trying not to obsess about what was probably happening on the other side of the island while he sat there. Midnight had passed a while ago. Gretchen would be at the crossroads again, seeking out his brother. Making love to him. Performing some ritual that would undo the things that had been done.

Burke hated himself for wishing that there were no mystical loopholes to hit a reset button. For wishing that the rules of the universe he’d grown up knowing were the true ones. It was like wishing his brother dead. He should be all for anything that would bring Harris back.

His brother had been his best friend growing up. They’d argued and fought. They’d never agreed on which sports teams to pull for. But they’d kept each other secrets and they’d had each other’s back. He’d loved him. Losing Harris had been the hardest thing he’d ever gone through. To see his brother again, to have him back in this world would be a gift.

And to see Gretchen happy…well, there wasn’t much he wouldn’t give for that. In fact, that had been his greatest wish when they’d gotten to the island. So maybe the island had given them both what they needed after all.

He slouched in the booth and took a long draw from his glass of scotch, letting his gaze rove over the room. There were people on the crowded dance floor and couples paired off at candlelit tables. The steady hum of conversation was almost as loud as the music. On first glance, he’d never suspect that this place was anything but a luxury resort. And to many, that was all it probably was. He doubted these people were here to find ghosts.

Based on some of the rooms he’d passed and how some guests were dressed (or not dressed), he’d venture that most people simply came here to get well laid. Every fantasy was there for the taking—dungeons, group rooms, opulent suites. Debauchery on tap. Pick your flavor.

He’d had to force himself to stop looking through doorways, because he couldn’t help picturing what it would’ve been like to bring Gretchen here—the Gretchen who’d come to the island for fun and fantasy, who’d come to be someone else. What couple would they have chosen to be? The kinky ones. The voyeurs. The ultra romantic.

He didn’t know. Because though he’d regaled her with his outrageous tales, she always had a good poker face. He knew she got turned on by his stories, but she never gave him a hint as to what specifically flipped her switches. They’d gone the romantic route on the beach because it had naturally evolved that way. And that had worked for them both, but he’d never get the chance to find out if she had other fantasies or desires.

No, instead she’d be here. And they wouldn’t be lovers. Maybe they wouldn’t even be friends.

That last part cut the deepest. He’d lived with wanting Gretchen for a long time, had gotten used to that dull, steady ache. But he couldn’t imagine not having her in his life. It’d killed him when she’d moved up north. Now she’d be even further away and almost impossible to get to.

He polished off his scotch.

“Hi there,” said a feminine voice, brimming with confidence.

He glanced up to find a curvy brunette smiling at him. He gave a quick chin lift of acknowledgement. “Hello.”

She could’ve been Miss Georgia’s sister. She had the same pageant smile—sugar pie sweetness underpinned with practiced seduction. “You look like you could use some company.”

He could use three more scotches, actually. But before he could say so, she sat without invitation.

“I’m Tori.” She put out her hand.

He took it briefly then grabbed his glass again. “Burke.”

“You here alone?” She motioned for the waiter and ordered a glass of wine. Burke ordered another scotch.

“Sort of.” He wasn’t interested in having small talk with anyone. But he didn’t have the energy to shoo her off. And hell, he would have to get used to this game again. The dance. He’d been faithful to Gretchen for a long time. Without realizing what he was doing, some part of him had been saving that for her even when she hadn’t asked for it. But now…what was the point? He was on an island where everyone was getting drunk and laid. Maybe he should, too. Maybe that would help him forget.

She laughed like he’d said something funny and pressed her hand to her cleavage. “Me, too. I came with two of my girlfriends. One got an invite with all of our expenses paid. I couldn’t pass up that chance, right?”

“Nope.”

“Of course, I didn’t realize this place would be so couple-y.” She waved her hand in the general direction of the other tables. “Not much of a single’s scene this week.”

The waiter brought their drinks, and Burke took a burning swallow of his. “I wouldn’t know. I haven’t spent much time outside of the beach and my cabana.”

She leaned forward, grinning, maybe a little tipsy already. “Wow, I
love
your accent. What is that?”

“Drunk Cajun.”

She laughed again and flipped her dark her over her shoulder. She was a pretty thing and knew it, flirting like a second calling. She was giving him all the go signs. If he dialed up the charm, he’d have her in one of those fantasy rooms before the sun came up.

He should go for it.

He should flirt back.

He couldn’t be less interested.

“You know, they say this island grants wishes,” he said out of nowhere. Maybe the alcohol was taking over and talking for him.

She tilted her head in interest. “I heard someone say that actually. Kind of hokey, huh?”

He sniffed. “What’d you wish for on this trip, Tori?”

A coy smile touched her lips. “To meet Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome. How ‘bout you?”

He shotgunned his drink. “Right now, my wish is to forget the wish I had when I came here. Want to dance?”

She put out her hand, her pageant smile beaming. “I thought you’d never ask.”