I’d stayed in the city overnight and taken the first ferry out in the morning. I kept a private boat on Bainbridge, and from there it was another half hour to Lumen Island. The inky waters of Puget Sound reflected the first light of morning and a scattering of clouds. I tied the boat at the dock and climbed into the truck I’d left there the day before. No need to search for keys, they dangled from the ignition. All the construction workers had finally gone.

The house was finished… structurally, at least. And I was alone. On my island. Over a thousand acres of privacy, yet within an hour or so of the city of Seattle. Ten years developing one of the finest financial groups in the state and learning how to make wealthy people even wealthier had finally earned me the one thing I had really wanted. It wasn’t the money, or the privilege, although I could hardly deny enjoying them both. I spent my days telling people what to do with their capital, and in return had become wealthy myself. But it had allowed me to purchase my privacy, a piece of the world that belonged only to me. And I’d built the house of my dreams, throwing my own back into service along with the other laborers. I’d strained and swore, sweating and suffering along with them… though none of it had been enough to make me forget about my angel. When she’d disappeared, I’d thought my whole life was over. But the work had been exhausting enough to make me collapse into bed every night, and sleep without dreaming. Even so, her face was always the last thing in my mind before I dropped off. And the first thing that brought me back to life upon waking. She was all I’d ever wanted. My almost brother’s almost wife…

I strode up the curving sweep of stairs that led to a solid wooden door, thickly studded with iron. Heavy as it was, it swung easily, silently on its hinges, and opened to the lofty height of the foyer. I’d used stone and glass, marble and iron. Together these elements of nature overcame their individual limitations and became art. My footsteps echoed in the empty rooms. The height of the ceilings and the sweep of the second story landings made the space feel enormous. It was ready… I was ready. My house would soon become the home I’d dreamed of… now that I’d found the woman of my dreams again.

I climbed the stairs and looked out the expansive walls of glass that separated me from the water and the ocean breeze. The view was incredible at night. The lights of the city spread out on the horizon as if the stars themselves were settling down for the night. I could see the caretaker’s cottage from where I stood. It was nearer the beach, and had been the only building already present on the island. I’d renovated it myself, careful to make it as light and as lovely as I could. I’d enlarged the living space enough to make room for the piano, a baby grand in a deep bay window so that the views extended in three directions. I closed my eyes and remembered the sound of her playing. My stepfather had allowed Angelina to play in our music room, back when she had started to date Jimmy.

Even the sweetest of memories can have a bitterness, I thought, letting my eyes find the soft, grey edge of the horizon. I’d always been too old for her. Ten years too late…

But I’d gone home to see her graduate from high school anyway, knowing I’d been tempting fate. Even at eighteen, she’d seemed so young… so fragile… hers had been a lifetime of domination by her mother…

And I’d seen her face when she’d found Jimmy… He had some little brunette bent over a sofa in the library. Angelina had watched long enough for the scene to register. And I’d watched her walk slowly down the long marble hall. She hadn’t cried out, hadn’t made a scene. She’d walked away calmly, with a strength and a poise that had broken my heart. It was her prom night, for God’s sake.

I hadn’t stepped in to take advantage, I’d only wanted to try to salvage the evening for her, to give her a sweeter memory of the night than Jimmy had. I’d followed her out to the dance floor and swept her into my arms with barely a word. We’d danced the rest of the evening, I’d never let her go. I’d learned her every movement, every curve in her body… I’d plotted my course in the sparkle of her eyes. And when I’d moved her into the shadows with me, I hadn’t known what would happen next. I’d only known I couldn’t live another moment without kissing her…

And I had… Every delicious inch of her until finally we had…

And it had taken the better part of the last six years to find her again. Tens of thousands of dollars… one private investigator after another… Until the day I first saw her, in a park with her daughter… I knew her the instant I’d laid eyes on her. Even pregnancy hadn’t changed her… except to make her riper and even more luscious…

She could pretend a while longer… I had all the time in the world. But she already knew me in her heart. And one day, she would trust me with hers. One day she’d be ready…

I had all the time in the world.