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No, it wasn’t appropriate to laugh at that moment, but I did anyway since I honestly had no idea how to respond. “When I was a little girl, I was like every other child who fantasized about her wedding. I even had the Bridal Barbie, and I used to imagine I was the princess getting married to the handsome prince. When I grew older, I had whimsical ideas about what dress I would wear and the music for my first dance. I know, a girlie thing to do. Right?”

“Isabel,” he started and I threw out my hand.

“Let me finish. Here’s the funny thing. My parents really didn’t have a good marriage. It was okay and they tolerated each other. They really didn’t argue, at least until after Callista became ill for the last time, but there was no life in my mother’s eyes. One time she told me how much she hated him. I even believe their marriage was arranged and why? Money. I was aware my maternal grandparents had money, which my father used to start his business. I think my mother resented her parents as much as she did my father. So at that point, I realized that being married wasn’t anything I wanted to deal with. Especially one arranged for any reason.”

With two glasses in his hand, he walked closer. He was listening to me, hearing every word, but I also knew him well enough to know what I said wouldn’t matter in the end.

He’d made up his mind.

“The difference would be that I’m not marrying you for your money.” His tease fell flat on me.

“Is there really any difference?” I challenged, keeping my eyes locked onto his until he finally chuckled under his breath.

“Why did your mother hate him so much?”

“My dad was a brutal asshole,” I answered. “I learned much later that he’d had at least a couple affairs. By that point, my mother was dead and I swore never to see him again and I didn’t. I shoved him out of my life. When I heard he’d died, I’d refused to attend the funeral.”

“Is that the reason for the rift with your sister?”

Every step closer pushed heat into my system until I was tingling all over. “Yes. Along with her blaming me for several things. Hell, I was lucky she came to the diner. What I’m trying to tell you is that I won’t be forced into doing anything.”

When he was only a few inches away, there was nothing subtle about the way he was looking at me. As if he could devour me in one sitting. He held out the drink and of course our fingers collided.

Another series of electric vibrations shot all the way to my toes. Since his kiss, I’d felt the insane desire from before, perhaps the absence indeed making the longing stronger. But overhearing him had boosted my thoughts that I just couldn’t handle being a part of his world.

He didn’t try to touch me again, but he also didn’t move away. The closeness was as raw and brutal as if he was caressing me, I craved having him hold me so much.

Touch me.

Kiss me.

Fuck me.

My mind was a crazy blur, but I shoved it aside. He took a deep breath even before lifting his glass for a sip. “I was going to ask you to marry me in Fiji.”

That was a surprise. “You were?”

“Yes, I had the ring with me.”

Now I wasn’t certain how to react. “Why didn’t you?”

“Because you made it perfectly clear you needed space. Remember?’ He was extremely calculated in his choice of words.

“Yes, I did. The way you reacted when you thought you saw a man on the beach troubled me.”

“He was there, Isabel, the man I’m searching for. He was watching and it was all part of the game. Whatever that game is won’t stop until everything I have and care about has been destroyed. And no, Isabel. I couldn’t care less about the money, but I do care very much about you and my daughter.”

“And revenge.”

He nodded. “Yes, and revenge.”

I took a sip of the drink, savoring the warmth from the liquor.

“Who wants you destroyed so badly they are willing to torment a child, for God’s sake? Who? Who would kill innocent people or steal cadavers to fulfill some freaking horrible fantasy of torturing you? You must have some idea. The man I mentioned wasn’t wearing a mask and obviously couldn’t have cared less that I’d seen his face so I could easily identify him. Now, either he had every intention of killing us or he wanted me to escape. It was as if he wanted me to remember something horrible from my past.”

“Isabel.”

“No. I am not finished yet and you are going to listen to me for a change. I am not going to be micromanaged and no, I am not a fool. I am one hundred percent completely aware the danger isn’t going to end and will follow all of us. Whoever that horrible man was, he offered one clue. He said you’d done terrible, cruel things including killing women and children with no remorse. Is that true?”