“Lea,” he said, stretching out his hands. “I know we might have flirted in the past, but this trip is different.”
“Because of Ms. Clarke.”
“Yes.”
She scoffed. “You can’t truly prefer her to me. That woman wouldn’t know excitement if it hit her.” She rose from the bed, leaving her shirt behind, and twined her arms around his neck. “Are you really turning me down?”
Hayden stood in her embrace, well aware that a few months ago he would have tumbled her back on the bed. He’d never been one to pass up an opportunity like Lea presented, and he understood why she thought he’d take her up on this offer.
But standing so close to her, seeing her nipples peak against her barely-there lace bra, he felt nothing.
Shock swept through him. Lea was gorgeous, and his cock couldn’t care less. He thought back to his previous lovers, recalled their lovely faces and still, nothing. And then he thought of Avery.
Heat surged through his veins. Desire making him go hard.
Lea looked down at his erection and smiled, as if it were for her.
“See?” she said, pressing closer. “Your body wants me.”
Except it didn’t. All he wanted was Avery. No one else would do.
Hell, he wanted to be faithful. To be monogamous. Committed. Words he’d long associated with doom and pain.
But she changed everything. She swept away the past until all he saw was their bright future.
How would it feel to be the man Avery Clarke treasured? Pride swelled in his chest. He wanted to be worthy of that trust. Worthy of her.
She’d put him back together, and he’d never stop loving her for that.
Love.
Had he really just thought that word? He’d vowed never to love again. Not after what had happened last time. But picturing Avery’s smiling face made something expand inside him. He needed her in his life, his bed. No one else would do.
I’m in love with Avery Clarke, he thought for the first time. A touch of panic rose in his chest, but it was overpowered by the sheer joy the words brought.
A smile lit his face and an answering one rose on Lea’s.
“I’m sorry,” he said, stepping from her arms. “But this is never going to happen.”
Confusion filled her expression. Her gaze dropped between his legs before rising again to his face. “But—”
“I’m in love with another woman,” he said. “And I’d never hurt her by cheating.”
There’d be no forgiving such a transgression. He knew it would hurt her more deeply than anything else he could do.
So for the rest of his life, he’d be a one-woman man. Avery was all he wanted. All he needed.
Forever.
“I don’t understand,” Lea said.
“Neither do I,” he replied with a grin. “But there you have it. I’m sorry, Lea.”
She crossed her arms. “Just like that? I wait for you to come back to the island, and all I get is a casual brush off?”
Ah. This was territory he understood. “You’re right,” he agreed. “You should have a proper good-bye gift. Will a diamond bracelet do?”
Her eyes leaped with an expression he was far too familiar with. Money and jewels. It was the way all his previous relationships had worked. Even with Sophia.
Avery was the only woman he’d ever met who was immune to his wealth.
“I’d rather have you,” she said. “Are you sure you don’t want what I’m offering?”
“Afraid not,” he replied. “Wait here while I grab my check book.”
He headed back into the bathroom where his bag waited, feeling light and hopeful. It was such an easy fix. He’d send Lea on her way, and there would be nothing to mar his last few days with Avery.
When they returned to the mainland, he’d move her into his penthouse, and then even when they worked apart, he’d get to come home to her at night.
It was a wonderful plan.
Until he returned to the main room to see the disheveled Lea at the door, facing a wide-eyed Avery.
The desolation on her face stole his breath.
“Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t realize you had company.”
Twirling, she raced from the room.
“Avery,” he breathed, looking down at his bathrobe, realizing exactly how this appeared.
He sprinted toward the door but Lea stepped into his path. “She’s gone,” she said. “Think about it. With her out of the picture, there’s nothing stopping us being together. We could go get those diamonds in person.” She round her arms around his neck. “And then I could thank you for them all night long.”
“Get out of my way,” he ordered, bodily moving her from his path. But when he ran into the hall, Avery was already gone.