Page 34 of The Caress

"Will we really be safe there? All of us?"

"I don’t want to keep running forever. The authorities have assured me that the guy must have left the island and that they’ll arrest him the moment he tries to show his face again. I really don’t think we’ll have to deal with him anymore while we’re there. So I think we’ll be just as safe at the villa as we are anywhere else, plus we'll have more room to move around. I can also work better from there, since I have my office at the house set up with secure lines."

There are other reasons I’m not mentioning, like the fact that my mother is pressuring me to go back so she can have a social life again. It's not normally something I care about, but I’ll do just about anything to avoid having her on my back all day, every day.

Then there’s Isla. As much as she enjoys playing in the snow, she also likes being out in the sun and the water. I know she misses having her own bedroom with her own toys to play with.

"It sounds like you’ve already made your decision," Ella says, changing again to put on the clothes she arrived in. "If that’s really what you think is best, I won’t try to talk you out of it."

While I’m glad this conversation hasn’t turned into an argument, she hasn’t exactly given her approval of my plan to go back to Malta.

I stand up and walk over to the fitting room door, then pick up the handful of dresses she picked out to try on. "I don’t want you to be upset," I say. "Or to feel unsafe or worried while we’re there. I swear, I wouldn’t even think of going back, let alone taking you and Isla with me, if I didn’t think we’d be safe at the villa."

She nods and reaches for the dresses. "I need to decide which one I want to buy."

She still isn’t giving me much input on the Malta situation, but her silence says plenty. Still, I think it’s the right thing to do for now.

Speaking of proper things, I take the dress she's holding from her grasp.

"I’m not going to let you pay for these," I say, dodging her attempts to take the dresses from me while I beckon a saleswoman over to help us. "This is the very least I can do for you after you’ve upended your whole life for me."

"I don't need you to pay for those things, Keir," she says sarcastically. "I didn’t come here to spend your money."

I hand off the small pile of clothing to the clerk and turn to face Ella. "Are you angry with me?"

She looks up at me and cocks her head to the side. "No, I’m just worried. It’s hard to know what the right decision is—about Malta, I mean. And you’re getting on my nerves with this insistence about paying."

"I could say the same," I say, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead when her mouth drops open in predictable shock and outrage. "Let me do this for you, Ella. I hardly ever get to spoil you. You definitely deserve to be spoiled."

"I just don’t want you to think that’s why I’m with you. Your money is the last thing on my mind. Honestly."

I grab one more kiss, just because I can’t help myself. "I know. That’s why it’s fun for me to spoil you when I get a chance."

We finish at the clothing store and walk out into the chilly midday air again. "This way," I say, pointing to the shop next door. "Let’s look around in here for a second. There’s something else I’m thinking of getting."

Once we’re inside, she stops and gives me a suspicious look. "A jewelry store? The only jewelry you wear is already around your neck."

I reach up, absently feeling the gold chain beneath my shirt. There are two wedding rings dangling from that chain, two reminders of why I shouldn’t ever open my heart to anyone again.

Shouldn’t.

Since when has that word ever stopped me?

"Maybe I’m going to start wearing more jewelry," I say, shrugging as we walk over to a display cabinet filled with sparkling bracelets. "Or maybe I’m looking to buy for someone else."

It only takes a moment to pick out a diamond and ruby bracelet that I know will look great on her. "Give me your hand," I say, ignoring her stern look as the salesman holds the bracelet open, ready to fasten the clasp around her wrist. "Come on, just try it on. Please?"

She’s moving so slowly that I wonder if she’s going to jerk her hand away at the last second, but she finally allows him to put the bracelet on her, then takes a moment to rotate her wrist, letting the sunlight catch all the faceted stones.

"It’s beautiful," she whispers. "But I can’t. Seriously, Keir, it’s too much."

"We’ll take it," I say over her objections. "I’ll pay for it now, and she can wear it out of here, if that’s okay?"

I know it’s perfectly okay even before the man nods enthusiastically. "Yes, sir. I’ll get the payment taken care of right away, sir."

I turn back to Ella while the clerk takes my card. "Please don’t be upset with me. Like I said before, you deserve it. You deserve nice things. Beautiful things for a beautiful woman."

"I’m not upset, Keir." She forces a smile and I know she’s lying. She might not be angry, but she’s definitely upset. "Thank you for this. For all of this. I don’t know what else to say."

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