“I'll be there in a bit. I'm done in two hours, though. Even if it means Robbie has to run the company, I'm back here in two hours.” Jack hung up the phone and watched as Emma tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear.
“Emma,” Jack said softly, joining her in the sand. “I have to leave for a little bit. There is something I have to take care of that can’t wait. Business.”
Her green eyes clouded and she looked away. “I understand.” Her voice wavered and it broke his heart. He could only imagine what she thought he was leaving for.
The stand of hair escaped in the wind again and Jack gently tucked it back behind her ear once more.
“I will meet you here in two hours. Don't be late,” he said and kissed her.
***
One hour and forty five minutes later, Jack was ready to murder the lawyers and Owen. His neck hurt from cradling the phone against his shoulder as he signed every sheet of paper Rachel put in front of him. It was a never ending task.
“I'm done,” Jack informed Rachel, setting his phone down. “I said two hours, and I have a ten minute walk back. Owen can handle the rest.”
Rachel picked up one last sheet of paper. “Just this one and you are free for the day, I promise.”
Jack hastily scribbled his name and looked up at Rachel. He wanted to do what was right by both Emma and his company.
“You're free. Go have fun,” Rachel told him, stacking up his signed documents. She checked her watch. “Oh, by the way. Brandy's plane just took off.”
He grinned, feeling free. Now he could have his vacation without interruption. Now he could enjoy the one person on this island who saw him as a man instead of a meal ticket. He felt lighter than air.
He was so happy he had to share it, so he did the only thing he could think of. Jack hugged Rachel. She pulled back in surprise and then squeezed him hard. “You haven't done that in years,” she whispered, holding him close.
“I'm happy for the first time in years,” he said softly.
“You are, aren't you?” Rachel looked up at him, her brown eyes soft as she searched his face. Whatever she saw there made her smile. “I'm glad you found someone that makes you happy. You deserve it.”
He unwrapped his arms around the woman he considered an older sister. “Thanks, Rachel.”
She smacked his shoulder. “Now get going. I don't want to see you for the rest of your vacation.”
He grinned and took off for the door. He was going to make it back to Emma with time to spare.
Jack heard the door close behind him, but he stood frozen to the front step. His smile faded and the joy abandoned his mood. Standing in the driveway, her things on the ground behind her, was Brandy. He watched as a cab pulled away, leaving her with him.
“Jack,” she said softly, her doe eyes big and sad. “Jack, what's going on?”
“You're supposed to be on a plane,” he informed her, not really sure what else to say.
“I couldn't leave without saying goodbye, Jack.” She took a step forward. “I love you, Jack.”
Jack snorted. Confusion and a hint of anger flashed across her face, but she quickly schooled it into a hurt expression.
“I do, Jack. I couldn't leave without telling you.” She quickly crossed the space between them, putting her hands on his chest and looking up at him through long, eyelashes. He looked down and realized the eyelashes were fake. Emma's were real. Everything about Emma was real, while Brandy was just an imitation of real. The differences between the two women, real and fake, amazed him. He gasped at how blind he had been to Brandy's true nature.
Brandy took his gasp to mean he felt something. She rose up on her toes to kiss him, but he turned his face from her. Her lips grazed his cheek, twisting his stomach with their touch.
“Jack, baby, what's wrong?” Brandy pouted. Panic flickered at the corners of her eyes and mouth. “I don't want to lose you.”
“You never had me in the first place,” he said coldly. Jack picked her hands off her chest and dropped them as if they were covered in mud. “You're supposed to be on a plane.”
“I told you, I couldn't leave without telling you I loved you.” Her voice took on a hard edge. This wasn't how she had envisioned this reunion . “I love you, Jack.”
Jack laughed. “No, you don't. You love my money.”
She took just a second too long before responding with a, “I do not!”
Jack looked her up and down, clearly seeing the woman in front of him for the first time. She was gorgeous in the traditional sense of the word, but everything about her was fake. From her dye job, to her eyelashes, to her breasts, to her emotions, not a single thing about her was real. He was disgusted that he had ever let himself believe he could have a future with something so patently false.