Jared hoped he was doing the right thing and not making everything worse by showing Lizzie the Chesterfield Estate. During another long, sleepless night, he’d allowed his mind to wander, to picture the ideal life for himself. Lizzie had been right smack in the middle of it as his fantasy wife and the mother of his fantasy children.

Their fantasy life had transpired here on Gansett Island, where he’d found true friends and a sense of community he’d never experienced in the city. He’d found people who seemed to like him for who he was rather than what he had, and the desire to make a life here for himself—and maybe Lizzie, too—had filled him with a new sense of purpose. He’d had a brainstorm at three o’clock in the morning that he was now eager to share with her.

After a quick call to the broker he’d met the day before, they took showers, had cereal for breakfast and set out in the Porsche.

“Where’re we going?” she asked as they left his driveway.

“You’ll see. Soon enough. In the meantime, enjoy the scenery.” Gansett was at her most beautiful this morning with bright sunshine, brilliant blue skies and a cool ocean breeze. Thank goodness Lizzie had missed the heat wave a few weeks back, which had made life miserable for everyone, even those like him who were fortunate to have air-conditioned homes.

“The scenery is quite something,” she said as they drove along a coastal road where they could see the day’s first ferry steaming toward the island. “What do you suppose it’s like in the winter?”

“From what I hear, it’s quiet and cozy and remote.”

“And that appeals to you?”

“Greatly.”

She had no reply to that statement, and he didn’t attempt to defend it. She either wanted what he did, or she didn’t. He couldn’t force it on her, and he had no plans to try. His plan, such as it was, included showing her the Chesterfield Estate, sharing his idea with her and seeing what she thought of it. The rest would be up to her.

He’d come to the conclusion that he couldn’t change everything about himself to suit someone else, even someone he loved as much as he loved Lizzie. He could only hope that she’d see what he did when she saw the Chesterfield place and that his idea would appeal to her. If it didn’t, they’d have to talk about whether their individual visions for their lives had any hope of matching up into a life together.

That was the only way this could work. He very much wanted it to work with her, but he was no longer willing to sell his soul to the devil to make it happen. That last bit had also been part of the middle-of-the-night revelation.

They drove into the long driveway that led to the estate where Doro Chase waited in her sporty red car. She emerged wearing a bright smile when Jared pulled up behind her and cut the engine. Was it his imagination or did her smile fade when she saw the woman riding shotgun in his car?

“What is this place?” Lizzie asked.

“It’s the Chesterfield Estate.”

“Oh, the one you might be buying? It’s amazing.”

Encouraged by her first impression, he said, “Come see the rest.”

Doro greeted him with a handshake and another for Lizzie when he introduced her to the broker. “I’ve spoken to Mrs. Chesterfield’s executor, and your offer is under consideration by her heirs.”

“That’s good to know,” Jared said. “I’d like to show Lizzie the house. Would that be all right?”

“Of course. I’ll unlock it for you.” When she had the door open, she turned to them. “Would you like a guided tour?”

“No, thank you,” Jared said. “That won’t be necessary.”

“Take your time.”

“Thanks.” He ushered Lizzie into the black-and-white-tiled foyer with the crystal chandelier hanging over a table bearing bright yellow roses, sunflowers and other blooms he couldn’t easily identify.

“This foyer is bigger than my whole apartment!” Lizzie said, taking it all in with an awestruck expression he found enchanting.

“I knew you’d say that.” She’d said the same thing once about the living room in his New York penthouse.

“It’s true! Show me the rest, Jared. I want to see it all.”

Her enthusiasm filled him with hope, an emotion he hadn’t experienced since the night it all went so wrong between them. He focused the tour on the downstairs rooms, which would be ideal for what he’d dreamt up at three a.m.

“It’s incredible,” she declared as they stepped onto the wide veranda that overlooked the ocean. “Are you going to move here if the sale goes through?”

“No,” he said emphatically. “Hell no. I don’t need all this.”

Her brows knitted adorably. “Then why are you buying it?”

“Truthfully? It’s kind of embarrassing, and it’s one of those things you’ll see as proof of my excessiveness.”

“This I’ve got to hear.”

“Initially, I made the offer because Jenny and Alex love this place, and they wanted to get married here. Because it’s on the market, their request was denied. I figured if it was no longer on the market but rather owned by a friend, they could have the wedding they both deserve.” He told her about Jenny’s fiancé being killed during the 9/11 attacks and Alex’s mother battling dementia. “They’re so happy together, and after all they’ve both been through, I thought they should have the wedding they really wanted.”

“So you spent millions of dollars to do that for them?” she asked softly.

“It was nothing to me and everything to them.”

He waited for her to express disgust over the way he spent millions without a thought when she knew plenty of people who didn’t know where their next meal was coming from. He’d also given as generously to her shelter as she would allow, but financial support only went so far with her constituency.

Jared was completely unprepared for Lizzie to launch herself into his arms. He was doubly unprepared for the passionate kiss she drew him into. And he was certainly unprepared for the way his heart beat triple time at the thrill of having her back where she belonged.

“That’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever heard,” she said, her lips less than an inch from his. “You are the most amazingly generous person I’ve ever met, and I’ve been a total and complete fool. Can you ever forgive me?”

“Lizzie,” he said with a sigh, undone by her genuine regret. “I forgave you a long time ago. I know it’s a lot to ask anyone to take on me and my lifestyle.”

“It’s not a lot to ask, and it was so wrong of me to let you think for one second that I don’t want you.”

“I know you want me. That was never the problem, was it?”

She rolled her bottom lip between her teeth as she pondered his question. “What do you plan to do with this place after you get Jenny and Alex married off?”

“That’s where you come in.”

“Me? What do you mean?”

“I was thinking you might want to put your college degree to work turning The Chesterfield into a world-class wedding venue.”

She’d gone to college for event planning and had fallen into the position at the shelter when she’d been unable to land a job in her field. As her eyes lit up with what might’ve been excitement, he held his breath, waiting to hear what she had to say.

“You want me to take this on?”

“Only if it interests you.”

Scowling, she poked him in the belly and made him laugh. “That’s playing dirty. Who wouldn’t be interested in a place like this?”

“I wanted you to see that there’s something here for you if you should choose to join me in my new life.”

“You want me to join you in your new life.”

“Only if it’s what you want, too.”

Again, her lip disappeared between her teeth. “What’s upstairs?”

“About fifteen bedrooms that could be leased out to wedding parties and a suite on the top floor that could be made into a honeymoon suite for the happy couples.”

“Show me.”

He took her upstairs and showed her every room, watching as she took it all in without saying another word.

“Could I see the gardens?”

“Of course.”

They emerged into the bright sunshine to find that Alex had arrived while they were inside. He was happy to give them a tour of the gardens he tended to personally. “You’ve got to see this,” he said as they followed him up a gravel walkway that led to the circular driveway. They took a detour under a willow tree that opened into a secret garden behind a wall of hedges.

Lizzie gasped and covered her mouth as she took in the incredible sight of thousands of blooms in every shape and color. “Oh, Alex… This is unbelievable!”

“I can’t take the credit, unfortunately. This was Mrs. Chesterfield’s pride and joy. She cared for it herself. I just maintain it.”

Lizzie moved farther into the garden, touching and smelling and taking it all in while Jared stood with Alex and watched her from the opening in the hedges.

“How’s it going?” Alex asked softly.

“I don’t know yet. We’re trying to figure it out.”

“For what it’s worth, I hope it works out for you guys. She seems really great.”

“She is.”

“Jenny’s on cloud nine at the thought of getting married here. Thank you for that. I can’t tell you what it means to both of us.”

“I hope it works out.”

“I’d better get back to business. Nice to see you again, Lizzie.”

“You, too, Alex. Thanks for the special tour.”

“Always a pleasure. This is my favorite place on the island.”

“I can see why.”

Alex left them to go back to work, and Jared wandered deeper into the secret garden to where Lizzie was bent over a pink rose bush, breathing in the scent of the flowers. She looked so fresh and pretty and young with her hair in a ponytail that left her neck exposed.

He wanted to kiss every inch of that graceful expanse of skin, but he held back the urge. There’d be time enough for that if and when they were able to work out the rest. “What’re you thinking?”

“That this must’ve been how Eve felt in the Garden of Eden. Tempted.”

“You aren’t comparing me to a serpent, are you?”

Her ringing laughter brought a smile to his face. “Never.”

Seeing her laugh made his heart feel lighter than it had in weeks. Not wanting to pressure her for answers she might not be ready to give, he reached out to her. “Let’s go to lunch, and I’ll show you some more of the island.”

She slayed him with the tender look she gave him as she took his outstretched hand.

He took her to the Oar Bar, where she marveled over the thousands of brightly painted oars. Jared insisted she have a lobster roll and clam chowder to get the full New England experience. She loved them both, as well as the view of the bustling Salt Pond.

“That’s the McCarthys’ Marina over there,” Jared said, pointing to the right side of the pond. “They’re one of the more well-known families on the island. David was once engaged to their daughter.” Jared went on to tell her the story of how David had recently saved the lives of his ex-fiancée and her newborn son.

“Wow. He must’ve been freaking out the whole time.”

“He said he’s never been so scared in his entire life—or more determined to do what he’d been trained to do.”

“She must be very thankful. I can’t imagine owing my life or my child’s life to my ex.”

Jared raised a brow. “Do you have an ex who’s a doctor?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“Yes, I think I would.”

She tossed her napkin at him, and while she’d dodged the question, watching the playfulness return between them only added to the hopeful feeling he’d been carrying around all day.

After lunch, he took her into town, where they checked out every one of the shops that lined the waterfront. The only thing she bought was a black bikini off one of the sale racks so she could swim in his pool. When she admired a bracelet made of silver scallop shells, he’d doubled back to get it for her while she continued on to a store full of crazy hats.

Back in the car, he reached for her hand and slid the bracelet onto her arm. When it was in place, he brought her hand to his lips and lingered there, breathing in the flowery scent of her lotion.

“Thank you,” she whispered, looking at him with liquid brown eyes full of all the same love and longing he felt for her.

He could no longer resist the need to lean into her, to kiss her with weeks’ worth of pent-up desire.

She returned the kiss with an equal amount of ardor, oblivious to their location parked along a well-traveled street.

“God, Lizzie…” He rested his forehead against hers and focused on drawing air to his oxygen-starved lungs. “I want you so badly. You can’t possibly know how badly.”

“I want you just as much, but we haven’t resolved anything. And what you said last night—”

“I don’t care. I just want you.”

She studied him for a long moment, seeming to memorize every detail. “Let’s go home.”

---

In the year they’d spent together, Elisabeth had made love with Jared hundreds of times. Maybe even a thousand or more. She’d done things with him that she’d never done with anyone else. However, as she stood before the mirror in her bathroom, wearing the silk gown she’d brought with this possibility in mind, it felt like the very first time all over again.

At this point, she was stalling, letting the nerves take over when she knew she had nothing to be nervous about. This was Jared, and he loved her. No matter what differences they might’ve had or might continue to have, she’d never once doubted his love for her.

She emerged from the bathroom to find him sitting on her bed, wearing only the olive-green cargo shorts he’d had on earlier.

As she took in the view of his muscular chest, she licked her lips, aching for a taste of him.

He stood and held out his hand to her, a twitching muscle in his cheek the only indication she could see that he might be nervous or undone by what they were about to do. “Come with me,” he said gruffly.

Elisabeth took his hand and followed him through the living room to a huge master suite surrounded by full-length glass walls that overlooked the water. Sheer white curtains billowed in the late afternoon breeze. A king-size bed covered by a beige duvet took up one side of the room and a comfortable-looking sitting area occupied the other half. The lamps were made of shells, and Elisabeth leaned in for a closer look at one of them. “This is lovely,” she said sincerely. “Your friend Sydney has wonderful taste.”

“I’m glad you like it. I told her to keep it simple because I know that’s what you prefer.”

“I thought you’d had it for three years.”

“I have, but I didn’t worry about decorating it until I had someone I wanted to bring here. Sydney spent all last winter on this project. I was planning to bring you here this summer.”

“You thought of me when you were decorating it,” she said softly.

“I think of you all the time.”

She slid her hands up and over his chest until they landed on his shoulders.

His arms encircled her waist, drawing her into his embrace. “You look beautiful.”

“So do you.”

“I’ve got nothing on you.”

“How many times have we had this fight?” she asked with a smile.

“Not nearly often enough for my liking. I think we need to have it at least a million more times before we declare a winner.”

“At least.” Before him, Elisabeth had never made love during the day. Her limited encounters had occurred in the dark, most of them with men who were out to please themselves first and foremost. Since she’d been with Jared, her horizons had been broadened in every possible way, but again, as he walked her backward toward the bed, everything between them was new again.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, perceptive as always.

“For the first time in weeks, not a thing is wrong.”

“Then why are you doing that thing you do with your lips when something is on your mind?”

“I’m nervous.”

“No, Lizzie,” he whispered, running his hands up and down her arms. “Don’t be.”

“I feel like my whole life is on the line, and I’m going to do something to mess it up again.”

“The only thing you could do to mess it up is shake your head.”

The comment was so unexpected that Elisabeth couldn’t contain the bubbling laughter that escaped from her lips. “So we’re laughing about that now?”

“I didn’t mean that to be funny,” he said, his lips quivering with amusement. “But I guess it is. As long as you don’t do it.”

“I’ll never do that again. Ever.”

“Don’t be nervous. It’s just me, and I love you. I’ll always love you.”

She didn’t want to cry. She’d cried enough over the last few weeks that it was a wonder she had any tears left. But hearing him say he’d always love her broke what remained of her composure.

Jared kissed the tears off her cheeks. “Don’t cry, honey. You know I can’t handle it.” He continued to kiss her face, her jaw and then down her neck, making her shiver. “There’re so many better things we can do besides cry.” His lips came down on hers and stayed there as he lowered them to the bed.

Elisabeth loved the heavy weight of him on top of her. He used to worry about crushing her because he was so much bigger than she was, but she’d always loved the feel of his muscular body pressing tight against hers. Now she ran her hands up and down his back as her tongue tangled with his and his hand cupped her breast, rubbing his thumb over her nipple.

The sensations crashed through her, one after the other, each happening before she could process the one before. Filled with need for him, she worked her fingers into the back of his shorts, drawing a gasp from him.

“I don’t want to wait, Jared.”

With his forehead propped against hers, he seemed to be gathering himself and fighting his own emotions. And then he was gone, but only to help her remove the nightgown that covered her. He’d taught her to be comfortable with him, to be free with her body and to never be self-conscious in front of him.

But that was then, and this was now. She felt exposed and on display as his gaze took a slow, perusing journey from the top of her head to the soles of her feet while he unbuttoned and unzipped his shorts. As it always had, the sight of his naked body made her feel greedy with desire. If his rigid erection was any indication, he felt the same way. He came onto the bed, one knee bent, his hands on her knees as he eased her legs apart.

Elisabeth recognized the heat in his eyes as he zeroed in on the heart of her, bending to press soft kisses to her inner thigh.

She squirmed under him, wanting to move him along, but she knew from experience that he wouldn’t be rushed. As usual, he took his time until she was halfway out of her mind waiting for him to focus on the place that burned for him. Right when she thought she’d have to beg him, he finally gave her his tongue. God, he is good at this.

She’d spent an inordinate amount of time while they were apart reliving moments just like this one, when he used everything in his arsenal to shatter her defenses.

“God, baby,” he whispered. “I’ve missed this. I’ve missed you.”

Elisabeth fisted his hair, which she’d never been able to do before when his hair was so short, and arched into the strokes of his tongue. “Jared… Please. I need you.”

“I’m here, honey. I’m right here.” He pushed two fingers into her as he focused on her clit, sucking until she came with a scream, the pleasure electrifying her entire body.

He stayed with her through the orgasm that seemed to go on forever, withdrawing only when she flopped onto the mattress, boneless and depleted from the powerful release.

She’d barely begun to recover when he was above her, arranging her legs around his hips.

“Are we still good to go ungloved?” he asked hesitantly.

They’d waited a long time before deciding to be tested so they could abandon the condoms. “Yes.” She was on long-term birth control and had been for a while.

“There’s been no one else.”

“I know,” she said but was nonetheless happy to hear him confirm it.

Moving slowly, he entered her, his gaze pinned to hers, which kept her from looking away even when the emotions approached overload level. “Lizzie… Feels so good.”

“Mmm.” She raised her hips, looking for more.

“All the time we were apart, the only thing I could think about was how I’d bear to live the whole rest of my life without ever touching you again.” His hand curled around her breast as his lips surrounded her nipple.

The combination of his words, the tight press of his cock pushing into her and the heat of his mouth on her nipple brought her right back to the precipice of release.

“Not yet, baby,” he whispered gruffly. He’d taught her how to delay her release to ramp up the pleasure for both of them. Curling an arm around her left leg, he picked up the pace, making delayed pleasure an even greater challenge.

Elisabeth clenched her teeth against the need to give in to the release he was building with every thrust of his hips. She could tell he was close by the way his eyes drifted closed, his lips parted and his breathing deepened, all signs she’d come to recognize during their time together.

“Lizzie,” he said, gasping, “I love you so much. I need you.”

She wrapped her arms around him, holding on tight as he took them both to the edge and then pushed her over as he came with a growl against her ear that gave her goose bumps. “I love you, too.”