The Billionaire's Island Romance (The Romero Brothers, Book 3.5) (2 page)

“And Zack, wow, he’s really done well for himself
and what he’s done by creating a program through his winery to boost the
careers of thousands of entrepreneurs. I heard he’s created more jobs than any
other single family-owned business. Is that cool or what? Girl, you should be
really proud of your man.”

“I am. I just…”

“What?”

“I’m just nervous, Ari. Every time things
seem to be going great, something happens.”

“Stop that, Blue. What could possibly
happen? You’re getting married in seven days.”

“I know. I just hope nothing steps in to
mess it up. I hope Zack doesn’t change his mind.”

“Blue? Talk about a bad case of pre-wedding
jitters. Oh…” Arianna finally realized the source of Blue’s jitters. “Those
damn articles. I hope you’re not reading any of that garbage online about Zack
and publicity stunts and sex tapes?”

“No. I’m not…well, I happened to be
checking my email once and it popped up on the trending stories but other than
that, no.”

“Listen, Blue. Whenever miserable people
see a good thing going they always take some perverse pleasure in picking it
apart and tearing it down. Why can’t naysayers leave well alone? Don’t read any
more of that junk online. It’s all tabloid stuff and probably bitter
ex-girlfriends who are jealous that you’re the one he’s walking down the aisle
with. And trust me, if I have to drag you two together down the lobby to the
gazebo, I’m doing it.” Arianna pressed her hands on her hips and gave a mock
scowl.

Blue laughed. “Oh, Ari! What would I do
without you, girl? You really are a true friend.”

“Come on. I’ll let you get ready since you
just arrived. Then we’ll head over to the pool bar. We’ll cool off there and
take in the sun and water.”

A knock sounded on the door.

“Don’t worry, Blue,” Arianna said after she
hugged her friend. “I’ll get it on my way out.” Then she walked towards the
door. When she opened it, kaboom went her heart.

A sinfully gorgeous, tall, dark and
deliciously handsome man stood before her. Her eyes caught his dark, sexy
gaze,
a heated look stole her breath away. There, standing
in the doorway, was none other than Christian Romero.
  

“Christian,” Arianna gasped, almost
breathless, too breathless for her liking. The tension increased inside her
body as inner torment whirled inside her mind.

Christian
. Her heart rate immediately escalated inside her chest, beating
hard and pounding fierce. The man always had that effect on her whenever she
was near him. It never failed. Adrenaline coursed through her veins. What was
Christian doing here?

She had anticipated meeting him sometime
during his stay on the island, but not right this minute, so soon. She simply wasn’t
prepared to see him…now. Emotionally, she didn’t know how she would react to
him again after their last face-to-face
meeting which
didn’t go all too well.

Things were going fabulously during the
time they were dating, so Ari thought. She’d been flying back and forth from
Jamaica to New York every other week since she’d taken over more responsibility
at the hotel as her father went through a bout of depression. Christian teased
her that it was almost like dating a flight attendant. Always on the go! Of
course, being from a prominent and wealthy family like the Romeros who were spread
out all over North America, travelling on a private plane or commercial
jet-first class was not a problem. They’d spent plenty of passionate times
together and spoke every day without fail. Her parents had taken over the
Duponte Hotel after her grandfather, the founder, died when Arianna was only
twelve. The hotel was everything to her parents. Everything. Over the years, they’d
fixed it up and turned it around into a world-class hot spot for tourists
heading to the Jamaican west coast for an unforgettable vacation.

Being in real estate, Christian and she had
so much in common. He’d given her so many tips and valuable advice and even put
her in touch with some crucial contacts to help her and her parents renovate
the hotel.

Then he’d introduced her to his family when
she flew back to Buffalo, New York. Oh, they loved her but she could tell they
had standards. Standards that she knew too well, she couldn’t meet. They were
family-oriented, hardworking, successful people who seemed so together. She
wasn’t able to reciprocate by introducing Christian to her family. She felt
deep down inside that she just wouldn’t be…good enough. If they’d learned about
her family background, it would cause great embarrassment. He would have left
her anyway. She just couldn’t risk it. Arianna was hoping that he would have
just pretended they’d never met. Lord knew, she tried, but her efforts failed
miserably. How could she ever forget the magical touch of his firm, soft skin
on hers? The way he made her body climb to escalating levels of mad
love-making
hormones? The way he treasured her like a
goddess? Yet, she knew he could never stay with someone of
her
background.

“Arianna,” Christian said, his voice low,
deep and captivating. “You’re looking well.” His dark, sexy brown eyes held her
for a moment and she shivered with delight.
The Romero
effect.
Christian was a Romero. Those men had a reputation for being
uber sexy and having that sort of captivating effect on their women—heck,
on all women. You just couldn’t meet one and not fall under the influence of
their charm, their aura! Yes, that aura. That’s what it was that held her every
single time.

Still, Arianna hadn’t seen him in over a
month, yet there he stood in all his gorgeousness with his buffed body and
broad shoulders. The man was fit and had a radiant glow. He towered over her at
six foot four inches. His voice was silky deep, rich and his handsome facial
features looked robust with a healthy tan. He was wearing a polo shirt, white
and crisp that only further accentuated his sensual and beautiful skin. His
Ray-Ban sunglasses were propped up on the top of his head of dark, silky,
short-cropped hair. He looked toned from head to toe. No doubt, Christian
worked out five times a week at the gym for as long as she’d known him. His
hands were shoved inside the pockets of his brown khaki shorts that gave him a
trendy, relaxed look.

And his lips, perfectly shaped.
So kissable.
Oh, the hours of pleasure he’d given her with
those lips of his.
Oh, God! Christian. I’ve
missed you so much.
Her eyes drank in his handsome face and content gaze
that held hers. She could see hurt in those beauteous dark eyes of his.

“Good to see you again,” his smooth voice
was even.
His face unsmiling.
“I was told I could find
you here.”

“Um,” she murmured, swallowing hard. She’d
just lost her train of thought. Damn it! She was the GM of the hotel. She
couldn’t afford a train of thought derailment. Ever! “Oh, I thought maybe, you
were here to see Blue.”

On cue, Blue made her way over to the door.
“Hi, Christian!” Blue chimed in. “You guys just arrived?”

“Yeah, we just got in about an hour ago.
The rest of the gang’s coming in tonight. You’re looking well, Blue.
Congratulations, again. Being a bride-to-be suits you.” His voice beamed a bit
brighter when addressing Blue. His smile seemed
to
warm up to Blue. But of course, he didn’t have anything against Blue now, did
he?

Blue smiled. “Thank you.” Blue then looked
from Christian to Arianna. Tension appeared on her face.

“Um, listen. I was just leaving Blue’s
room, maybe we can talk out here,” Arianna murmured.

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll be fine,” Blue
interjected. “Listen, Arianna, my sister Courtney will be here soon. I’ll head
over to the pool bar with her. I can catch up with you another time.”

Another
time?

Arianna paused briefly. Blue was giving her
a way out of their planned get-together. Did Blue think Arianna needed to be
excused so she could speak with Christian? She’d rather sit and chat with her
bride-to-be girlfriend, than have to deal with Christian right now. Lord knew
,
Arianna’s emotions were all over the place where Christian
was concerned.

“Sure, that will be fine. We’ll catch up
later,” Arianna said quietly and gave Blue a quick hug.

“So, how have you been, Arianna?” Christian
queried in a deep, emotionless voice, as he walked down the corridor with her.
His hands were still placed in the pockets of his khaki shorts. Her steps were
quiet beside his. She wore soft sandals on the job, knowing that she would
often find herself running from one end of the hotel to the next every five
minutes. Though she practically owned the Duponte Resort, along with her
father, the family members took an active role in the day-to-day management
making sure operations ran smoothly.

“I’ve been…”
Missing you, like crazy, Christian
. “Fine, thank you. And you? You
look well,” she commented, her heartbeat still pounding in her throat. Her
chest felt light. When were they going to cut the casual chitchat and get to
the heart of why he really wanted to see her?
At this moment?

“More screwed up than you can imagine,
Arianna.” Christian’s tone was flat.

Arianna froze. Now that wasn’t what she was
expecting to hear from Mr. Christian-Got-It-Together-Romero. “Wh-what?”

Christian paused in front of the glass
elevators on the floor. “We need to talk, Arianna. Now.”

*
    
*
    
*

Christian didn’t think this moment would
come. But it did, and in this moment he didn’t know if he was coming or going.
His blood pumped hard in his veins. And like hell, his emotions were zigzagging
all over the place, fired up. His gut was telling him that Arianna was in deep
trouble and she really needed his help. Romero men always protected their
people—lovers, wives, girlfriends, and associates. Period.

Moments later, Christian sat opposite
Arianna on the private
roof-top
patio of her hotel
suite and office overlooking the crystal blue sea. He would finally get a
chance to confront her about her bizarre behavior. She’d told him that she
loved him and wanted to spend her life with him. Heck, her body was screaming
it every night they’d made love. Then…it all ended, and she told him it had
nothing to do with him.

WTF?

“So, are you going to tell me what’s been
going on?” Christian interrogated. His tone was a bit more clipped than he had
intended, but hell, this girl was the closest thing to him and she just ripped
out his heart without so much as an explanation. Things were going so well for
them. What the hell had happened?
Almost a year of being a
couple.
They were so good together, the chemistry, the love, the hot
sex, the connection. Then, after he’d introduced her to his family and all was
going well, she cooled off. No explanation. He’d asked to meet her mother,
since he’d already met her father, but she just turned cold and told him it was
better that they didn’t see each other anymore. He wouldn’t even have bothered
to try talking to her now if it hadn’t been for her sending him mixed signals,
like sending him “likes” on his social media posts and dropping subtle hints
that she was still interested in him.

Something was metaphorically eating her up
inside, bothering her, and he wanted to know what the hell it was—or who
the hell it was that terrified this poor girl so that she backed away from a
chance at genuine happiness. There wasn’t anything in this ever-loving world he
wouldn’t do for Arianna. He’d told her that many times. He thought he showed
her that by his actions. Even now, being here after what she did to him—
to them
—a month ago. He could tell
she still wanted him but something was holding her back and he wanted to know
what the hell it was. He thought that was reasonable.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,
Christian,” she said in a low voice that hinted at nervousness. He could always
tell when she was nervous. Her eyes were fixed on her tall glass of pina colada
that was just delivered by the waiter. His own glass was barely touched.
Whenever she cast her eyes down, didn’t make eye contact with him, he knew then
that she was hiding something, lying to cover up something. Whatever it was.

“I think you do.” His eyes narrowed.

Watching her pouty, soft lips was hard as
hell and made him hard. She was one heck of a kisser.
So
sweet, so tender.
She didn’t even have any experience before they’d met.
She’d been too busy being a straight-A student and helping out her family to
find time to date.

God, she was beautiful. She captivated his
eyes and his heart the moment he first laid eyes on her at the Romero’s Annual
Diamond Ball in Mayberry Hill a few years before. His uncle Toni Romero, the famous
real estate mogul and philanthropist, hosted the special black tie affair every
year, which also donated millions of dollars worth of scholarships to deserving
students to start up their own businesses and further college educations.