"Told you it was worth it." Her mouth tilted up at the corners, flooding him with warmth. "This, Cade is paradise. Paradise Beach."
He'd let his eyes drift closed and leaned back on the warm sand. He even remembered his response. "It certainly is."
Cade blinked and forced his mind back to the present. "Stay there." He took a few strides away, then focused the camera on Melo's face. The sun bounced chestnut glints off her hair, and her blue eyes echoed her smile. The little mole above her mouth twitched as her mouth curved. He clicked the shutter.
With Melo's face captured for posterity, Cade glanced down to fit on the lens cap. A flash of silvery blue caught his eye, and he bent to pick a perfect circle of shell from the detritus. It was slightly smudged with sand, and a thin seaweed remnant, but the inside was pure silvery pink, with iridescent lights. A beautiful memento. Cade slipped it into his pocket.
"I've got to go." Melo reached up quickly and kissed Cade on the mouth. "I have to talk to Papa." She avoided his gaze. "About arrangements, and stuff."
"Okay." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "I guess I better go and make sure the bridegroom is up. I'll see you later." Her mouth opened under his as they kissed, and her arms wrapped around his neck. And for the first time in his life, Cade wished he didn't have to think about work.
****
Back at the house, Melo fortified herself with a strong black cup of coffee, then went in to see her father.
"Papa. We need to talk about options." She steeled her heart against her father's frail appearance, and sat down on the bed next to him. "We don't have the money for the new tanks. We have to cancel them." It was a tough decision, one she'd struggled with. "Adam ordered the new equipment; he should be the one to cancel. We need to bring Adam and Rosa in and explain the situation."
Marco's head shook in vehement denial. "No. Melo. You must do it. The wedding is tomorrow. After it, I will talk to him. I cannot spoil their wedding. I will not." Marco's eyes flashed, he clenched his teeth and stared Melo down. "It isn't fair to your sister."
It isn't fair to me. Melo bit back the words. "Papa … "
"No. Melo. You must act as my proxy and deal with this. If it must be done now then you must do it. I shall talk to Adam after the wedding."
Marco glanced away, effectively ending the conversation. Melo turned on her heel, and strode out of the room. She went into the office, and locked the door, leaning against it and breathing hard. Her father hadn't sought her advice, and now expected her to sort out the mess. The suppliers would be upset and angry, and while Rosa was enjoying the sunshine, she would have to deal with all the unpleasantness.
She gritted her teeth and moved around the desk. Pulled out the pile of orders, sat down, and picked up the phone.
****
Cade found Adam at a table outside the hotel, having a leisurely breakfast.
"There you are!" Adam waved toward a chair. He caught the waitress's eye, and through a complex series of hand gestures indicated he'd like a second breakfast brought out.
Adam slathered butter and strawberry jam on a croissant, and slipped a morsel into his mouth. The flaky pastry disintegrated into a flurry of little flakes, and he swiped them off his top lip, then dampened a finger, and chased them around the plate. His gaze flickered to Cade, then away.
"So, what happened to you last night?" His tone was light and casual, as if he couldn't care less about the answer.
"Melo and I decided to leave." Cade's mouth tightened.
"And?" Adam pulled off another fragment of croissant which started the whole procedure up again.
Cade's fingers itched with irritation. "And we came back here."
Adam's eyebrows rose. His hands stilled, and his earnest gaze held Cade's. "Oh." He waited, obviously expecting more details.
Cade pulled in a deep breath.
"Coffee?" The waitress slid a cup before Cade, and put down a fresh cafetiere.
"Grazie." Cade beamed at her. Coffee, and a respite from all this questioning. She was a definite lifesaver.
"Your breakfast will be here in a minute." She blushed prettily, and disappeared.
"Well?" Adam asked.
"Your imagination can fill in the blanks." Talking about the night before held no attraction for Cade. What was between him and Melo was private. Not something to share with anyone, not even his best friend. The silence stretched between them. Cade swallowed a mouthful of coffee, and changed the subject. "So what's on the agenda for you today?"
Adam mercifully took the hint. "Well, after I read your speech, I'm going up the villa to see Rosa. I reckon we'll just hang out at the pool. It's an easy day today; everyone is doing their own thing. You have everything ready for tomorrow?"
Cade was in charge of the suits, the rings, and the tickets for the honeymoon. He had everything ready. "Yes. I'll come to the villa with you."
The hotel owner came out into the sunshine. "Mr. Adam, I have a telephone call for you."
Adam frowned. He glanced at Cade, who shrugged.
"Back in a minute." Adam strode inside.
Cade ate his croissant slowly. Stared out at the sea. Things hadn't gone as planned, last night. His lofty ideals of keeping things cool between himself and Melo had faltered the moment he saw her curves showcased in her amazing dress, and gone up in flames when he'd seen the Italian playboy flirting with her. By the time they made it onto the dance floor, the die was cast.
His fingers tightened on the cup. Her body had been so soft, her whispered groans so incendiary his body reacted at the mere memory. He'd somehow thought making love might have lessened his desire, but in fact the complete opposite was true. He burned to have her in his arms again, trail his lips over her long expanse of creamy throat.
When she told him she'd been fantasizing about him when she was a teenager, he hadn't known how to respond. She'd been his friend, back then. The friend he told everything to. He'd even told her about the date he'd gone on with a girl from the village.
Cade groaned. It must have been difficult to hear. But she'd smiled and listened, never once revealing she'd like to be the girl he was kissing. And he'd had no idea she was such a romantic back then. Probably still was. His head started to ache, and he rubbed at his temples.
She was exactly the sort of girl he should stay away from. Last night showed that more clearly than ever, but he'd been totally unable to resist her, despite his misgivings. His sisters looked to him for guidance for everything. As did his mother. In his private life, he always sought out independent women who knew the score, understood he wasn't interested in love and happy ever after. One shattered engagement had taught him the folly of that path when his fiancée proved herself to be just like all the other women in his life. Looking for a man to lean on. And Melo's family was in trouble. When she'd started to confide in him the night before, a warning bell sounded loud in his head. She was probably hoping some white knight would ride in with a suitcase full of money, and sort out her father's problems.
Cade swallowed his coffee in one gulp, and shifted on the chair. There was still the matter of Marco to be addressed. And the hotel.
"Cade." Adam's voice slammed him back to the present. He turned to where Adam stood in the doorway, alarm rising at the thunderous expression on Adam's face.
"What is it?"
His heart jumped into his throat. Had Rosa called off the wedding?
"There's a problem." Adam's tone was terse. "Get your stuff. We need to get to the villa. Now."
Chapter Eight
"You need to talk to me, Adam. What the hell's going on?" Cade had to suffer in silence in the car on the way to the villa, as Adam muttered that he didn't want to talk about it in front of the driver, but that excuse was old now they were out of the car striding into the villa.
Adam's jaw was set. "I need to talk to Melo."
Melo? Cade reached out and grasped Adam's arm.
Adam shrugged it off angrily.
"Leave it, Cade." A clenched muscle flickered in Adam's jaw, his shoulders were pushed back and his hands were curled into fists. He looked like he wanted to hit someone.
"What's going on?" Cade stepped forward, mirroring Adam's stance. There was no way Adam was talking to Melo in this state, whatever he thought she'd done.
Rosa strolled out of the front door, and stopped in surprise. "Darling, you're here." She hurried over, her gaze flickering to both of them in turn. Her smile faded, and her mouth gaped.