Maid for a Magnate(17)

Oh, yeah. That broken heart four years ago.

They ate the rest of their lunch in silence, except when she groaned  like a starved woman as she inhaled her piece of cheesecake. As  promised, Will cleaned up the mess and took everything back down to the  galley. Once he returned, he extended his hand to her.

"Ready to go for a walk?" he asked.

Catalina placed her hand in his, allowing him to pull her up. "I'm not  sure I can walk after that, but I can waddle. I'm pretty stuffed."                       
       
           



       

Will laughed as he led her from the boat. Once they stepped off the  wooden dock, Catalina slipped out of her sandals to walk on the warm,  sandy beach. The sand wasn't too hot to burn her feet and as the soft  grains shifted beneath her, she found herself smiling. She couldn't  remember the last time she'd done absolutely nothing by way of working  in one form or another.

"I hope that smile has something to do with me," Will stated, again  slipping his hand into hers as they walked along the shoreline.

"I'm just happy today. I needed a break and I guess I didn't realize it."

"From one workaholic to another, I recognized the signs."

His confession had her focusing on the words and not how powerful and wonderful his fingers felt laced with hers.

"I never thought you took a break," she replied.

Catalina looked at all the tiny seashells lining the shore and made a  mental note to find some beautiful ones to take back with her.

"I've had breaks," he replied. "Not many, mind you, but I know when I need to step back so I don't get burnt out."

Catalina turned her face toward the ocean. She'd been burnt out on  cleaning since she started. But sewing and designing, she could never  imagine falling out of love with her passion.

They walked along in silence and Catalina let her thoughts run wild.  What would've happened between them had Will not succumbed to his  father's demands that he drop her? Would they have these romantic  moments often? Would he make her take breaks from life and put work on  hold for her?

She really couldn't see any of that, to be honest. Will was still under  his father's thumb, whether he admitted it or not. He'd been at the  house most mornings going over Rowling Energy stuff, which Catalina  assumed was really just Will checking in.

"Why did you give up on us before?" she asked before she could think better of it.

Will stopped, causing Catalina to stop as well. She dropped his hand and turned to fully face him.

"Never mind," she said, shaking her head. "It doesn't matter now."

The muscle in Will's jaw ticked as he stared back at her. "It does matter. Our breakup damaged both of us."

Catalina pushed her hair behind her ears, which was useless as the wind  kept whipping it out. "I'm pretty sure you weren't damaged, seeing as  how ending our relationship was your decision."

When she started to walk on, Will gripped her elbow. "You think seeing  you move on and dating another man wasn't crushing to me? You think  knowing you were in another man's arms, maybe even in his bed, didn't  tear me up?"

She'd tried not to think about Will when she threw herself into another  relationship to mask the hurt. From the angst in his tone and the fire  in his eyes, though...had Will been hurt over the breakup? How could  that be when he was the one who had ultimately ended things? Did he not  want the split? Was he doing it to appease his father? If that was the  case then she was doubly angry that he hadn't fought for them.

"You thought I'd sit around and cry myself to sleep over you?" she  retorted, refusing to feel guilt over a decision he'd made for both of  them.

And so what if she'd shed tears over him? Many tears, in fact, but  there was no way she'd admit such a thing. As far as he knew she was  made of steel and stronger than her emotions.

"Besides, you had moved on quite nicely. You ended up in a relationship with a Montoro princess."

Dammit. She hadn't meant for that little green monster to slip out.  Catalina knew just how much Bella and James loved each other, yet there  was that sliver of jealousy at the fact that Will had been all ready to  put a ring on Bella's finger first.

Will laughed. "That fake engagement was a mistake from all angles.  James and Bella have found something she never would've had with me."

"But you would've married her."

And that fact still bothered Catalina. She hated the jealousy she'd  experienced when she'd discovered Will was engaged. Not that she ever  thought she stood a chance, but how could anyone compete with someone as  beautiful and sexy as Bella Montoro? She was not only royalty, she was a  humanitarian with a good heart.

On a sigh, Catalina started walking again, concentrating on the shells  lining the shore. "It doesn't matter, honestly. I shouldn't have brought  it up."

She reached down to pick up an iridescent shell, smoothing her finger  over the surface to swipe away the wet sand. Catalina slid the shell  into the small hidden pocket on the side of her dress and kept walking,  very much aware of Will at her side. He was a smart man not to deny her  last statement. They both knew he would've married Bella because that's  what his father had wanted. Joining the fortunes of the two dynamic  families was Patrick's dream...the wrong son had fallen for the beauty,  though.                       
       
           



       

They walked a good bit down the deserted beach. Catalina had no idea  how Will had managed to find such a perfect place with total privacy,  but he had no doubt planned this for a while. On occasion he would stop  and find a shell for her, wordlessly handing it to her as they walked  on. The tension was heavier now that she'd opened up the can of worms.  She wished she'd kept her feelings to herself.

What did it matter if he was going to marry Bella? What man wouldn't  want to spend his life with her? Not only that, had Catalina truly  thought Will would remain single? Had she believed he was so exclusively  focused on work that he wouldn't want to settle down and start the next  generation of Rowling heirs?

The warm sun disappeared behind a dark cloud as the wind kicked into  high gear. Catalina looked up and suppressed a groan. Of course a dark  cloud would hover over her. The ominous sky was starting to match her  mood.

"Should we head back to the yacht?" she asked, trying to tuck her  wayward strands of hair behind her ears as she fought against the wind.

"I don't think it's going to do anything major. The forecast didn't show rain."

That nasty cloud seemed to indicate otherwise, but she wasn't going to argue. They already had enough on their plate.

Catalina glanced through the foliage, squinting as something caught her eye. "What's that?"

Will stopped and looked in the direction she'd indicated. "Looks like a  cabin of sorts. I've not come this far inland before. Let's check it  out."

Without waiting for her, Will took off toward the small building.  Catalina followed, stepping over a piece of driftwood and trailing  through the lush plants that had nearly overtaken the property.

"I wonder who had this cabin built," he muttered as he examined the old  wood shack. "The island belongs to Alma from what I could tell when I  first started coming here."

The covered porch leaned to one side, the old tin roof had certainly  seen better days and some of the wood around the door and single window  had warped. But the place had charm and someone had once cared enough to  put it here. A private getaway for a couple in love? A hideout for  someone seeking refuge from life? There was a story behind this place.

Will pushed on the door and eased inside. Catalina couldn't resist  following him. The musty smell wasn't as bad as she'd expected, but the  place was rather dusty. Only a bit of light from outside crept in  through the single window, but even that wasn't bright because of the  dark cloud covering.

"Careful," he cautioned when she stepped in. "Some of those boards feel loose."

There was enough dim light coming in the front window for them to see a  few tarps, buckets and one old chair sitting against the wall.

"Looks like someone was working on this and it was forgotten," Catalina  said as she walked around the room. "It's actually quite cozy."

Will laughed. "If you like the rustic, no-indoor-plumbing feel."

Crossing her arms over her chest, she turned around. "Some of us don't  need to be pampered with amenities. I personally enjoy the basics."

"This is basic," he muttered, glancing around.

The sudden sound of rain splattering on the tin roof had Catalina freezing in place. "So much for that forecast."

Will offered her a wide smile. "Looks like you get to enjoy the basics a  bit longer unless you want to run back to the yacht in the rain."