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Rafael tossed the pen down and spun in his chair until his foot caught on the trash can next to his desk "I get where you’re going with this, Ryan, and I appreciate your concern So happened on that island I don’t knohat, but there is a gaping hole in o back, if for no other reason than to disprove her story"

"And if she’s telling the truth?" Ryan asked

"Then I’ve got a hell of a lot of catching up to do," Rafaeland stared straight up The sleek ht autumn sun The sky provided a dramatic backdrop as the spire punched a hole in the vivid blue splash

An orange leaf drifted lazily onto her face, brushing her nose before fluttering to the ground It joined others on the sidewalk and skittered along the concrete until it was crunched beneath the feet of thepast her and she heard a htened and fascinated her in equal parts Everyone was so busy here No one stopped even for a hts and noise Constant noise

How did anyone stand it?

And yet she’d been ready to embrace it She’d known that if she were to have a life with Rafael, she’d have to grow used to city life It here he lived and worked Where he thrived

Now she stood in front of his office building feeling hesitant and insecure There was a seed of doubt and it greith each breath She couldn’t help but wonder if she wasn’t being an even bigger fool this time

"Fool me once, blah blah," she muttered "Ithe truth If his utterly bizarre and improbable story were true, then he hadn’t betrayed her He hadn’t dus she’d accused him of

Part of her was relieved and the other part had no idea what to think or believe

"Bryony, is it?"

She yanked her gaze doard, e in front of the building looking straight up like a moron, and sao of the men she’d seen with Rafael at the party

She took a wary step back "I’m Bryony, yes"

They were both tall One had medium brown hair, short and neat He s shades of brown It was longish and unruly He frowned at her, and his blue eyes narrowed as though she were a nasty bug

The s one stuck out his hand "I’sworth"

Canored hih she had no idea what to say

"Nice to meet you," she murmured

"Are you here to see Rafe?" Devon asked

She nodded

"We’ll be happy to take you up"

She shook her head "No, that’s okay I can make it I mean I don’t want to be a bother"

Ca look that made her feel vastly inferior Her chin autoers balled into a fist at her side She really wasn’t a violent person Truly But in the past few days, she’d had her share of violent fantasies Right now she visualized Ca himself up off the pavement

"It’s no bother," Devon said smoothly "The least I can do is see you to the elevator"

She frowned "You think I’ the elevator? Or are you just one of those really nosy friends?"

Devon’s smile was lazy and unbothered He looked at her as if he knew exactly hoound up she was and that her stomach was in knots Maybe she had that beautiful look of a woood day," Devon finally said

She sishing she hadn’t been quite so rude It was a fault of hers that she went on the offensive theto win any friends acting like a bitch

"Thank you It was nice to h sincerity into her tone that even she believed herself Devon nodded but Cameron didn’t look impressed She forced herself not to scowl at hi BMW

Taking a deep breath, she headed to the revolving door and entered the building The lobby was beautiful A study in marble and exposed beams The contrast between old and modern should have looked odd, but instead it looked opulent and rich

There was a large fountain in the middle of the lobby and she paused to allow the sound of the water to soothe her She missed the ocean She didn’t venture off the island often, and it made her anxious now, in the midst of so much hustle and bustle, to return to the peace and quiet of the shtened and pain squeezed at her chest Because of her, her family’s land was now in the hands of a olf course and God knehat else Not that those were bad things She had nothing against progress And she certainly wasn’t opposed to free enterprise and capitalism A buck was a buck Everyone wanted to make a few Not that Rafael seemed to have any problem in that area

But Moon Island was special It was still untouched by the heavy hand of developenerations Everyone knew everyone else Half the island fished or shrimped and the other half had retired to the island after working thirty years in cities like Houston or Dallas

There was an unspoken agree the residents that they wanted the island to remain as it was A quiet place of splendor A haven for people wanting to get away fros just e Bulldozers and construction creould e the way of life

She bit her lip and turned in the direction of the elevator It hurt to think how naive she’d been And now that she had distance from the ind relationship she’d jumped into with Rafael, she kne stupid she’d been But at the tiht She’d been powerless under his onslaught, his ht up as she was

She angrily jabbed the button for the thirty-first floor then stepped back as others crowded in It wasn’t as if the thought hadn’t occurred to her to add in a legal clause to the contract, but she’d ih she didn’t trust hireee Yeah, it was sht up questions she hadn’t wanted at the time

He’d absolutely sold her on the idea that he wanted to buy the land for personal use It hadn’t been a corporation na documents It had been his and only his Rafael de Luca And she’d believed him when he’d said he’d be back That he loved her That he wanted theether

She was so deeply humiliated over her stupidity that she couldn’t bear to think about it Nohen she’d come to New York to confront Rafael over his lies, she was confronted by his extraordinary claim that he’d lost his memory It was so da, "Please let hi the truth" Because if he was, then ht And that probably er ot off the elevator, there was a reception desk directly in front of her As Bryony walked up, the receptionist smiled "Do you have an appointment?"

An appointment? It took her a moment to collect herself and then she nodded "Rafael is expecting me"

Her voice sounded too husky and too unsure, but the receptionist didn’t seeht this way Mr de Luca asked that you be shown right in Would you like solance down at Bryony’s belly, she added, "We have decaf if you prefer"