her concerns and turned her attention back out the
window.
What would it be like to come from a wealthy
family? Sure, money didn’t solve every problem, but it had to make
dealing with life’s challenges easier, right?
She glanced at Mark out of the corner of her
eye. His gaze was fixed on the dark-blue ocean.
She knew Mark’s past. Knew better than anyone
the pain he’d endured. And yet money hadn’t been enough to keep
Mark from falling into a horrible tailspin after finding Carol in
bed with her dance partner when she should have been promising to
love, honor, and cherish him till death do they part. For all his
family’s wealth, he had still suffered. Maybe even more deeply than
someone who didn’t come from privilege. Because people who grew up
without unlimited means were used to hearing the word no .
Used to not always getting their way. Which better prepared them
for heartbreak.
Karma imagined that for all the crap Mark had
told her he’d endured as a kid, he’d never really known true
heartbreak until Carol jilted him so viciously. No wonder he’d
developed such a powerful aversion to commitment. He was like a
victim of a bad car crash who had suffered brain trauma. On the
outside, he looked fine, but on the inside, vital components had
been knocked out of place, and he had to figure out a whole new
normal.
So maybe she was giving money more credit
than it deserved, because Mark clearly had money and it hadn’t been
enough to make him overcome Carol’s actions and the depression that
followed.
“I haven’t been here since I was eighteen,”
Mark said quietly. He wore a wistful, content expression. Clearly,
Saint Lucia held a special place in his heart.
Her own heart swelled for the courageous man
sitting across from her. He’d faced so much emotional adversity and
pain, but despite his fears, he’d come back. For her. He’d
found a way through the wall he’d erected around his heart so he
could be with her. He loved her that much.
And that made her love him even more.
“Why have you waited so long to return?”
The smile he turned on her could only be
described as love incarnate. “I haven’t had a reason to until
now.”
The air in the cabin bloomed with warmth,
tenderness, and something else. Something heady and intoxicating
expanded and wrapped itself around Karma like a cashmere sweater,
soft and luxurious.
“And I’m your reason?” Her voice sounded so
small.
With a gentle nod, he leaned forward and
reached for her hand. She teetered toward him and slid her fingers
around his.
“Saint Lucia isn’t a place you visit alone.”
His thumb caressed the back of her hand. “It’s a place for
lovers.”
She fought back a smile. “You had a lover at
eighteen?”
He narrowed his eyes then smirked. “No.
Family vacation. We came here almost every year over Christmas
break when I was a kid. But it never felt like the kind of place
for family vacations. As I got older, I saw it as a place where
lovers escaped so they could forget everything else but each other
for a while."
She let the warmth of his words seep in as
she stared at his thumb still skimming back and forth on her
hand.
“Did you ever bring Carol here?” she asked
quietly, hopefully. She didn’t want to feel like she was following
in Carol’s footsteps, treading where the other woman’s feet
had already been.
When she lifted her gaze to his, he slowly
shook his head. “No.”
A thrill shot through her. She shouldn’t have
been so happy about Mark’s response, but she was. She hated feeling
like she was competing with Carol. As if his ex still wriggled
around in his heart, which was insane, because she knew Mark would
never go back to her. Still, to know Mark had never brought Carol
here felt like a small victory.
The jet touched down, jolting her back into
the moment, and she let go of Mark’s hand.
The airport was the smallest Karma had ever
seen. One long stretch of runway, and not much else. The
window.
What would it be like to come from a wealthy
family? Sure, money didn’t solve every problem, but it had to make
dealing with life’s challenges easier, right?
She glanced at Mark out of the corner of her
eye. His gaze was fixed on the dark-blue ocean.
She knew Mark’s past. Knew better than anyone
the pain he’d endured. And yet money hadn’t been enough to keep
Mark from falling into a horrible tailspin after finding Carol in
bed with her dance partner when she should have been promising to
love, honor, and cherish him till death do they part. For all his
family’s wealth, he had still suffered. Maybe even more deeply than
someone who didn’t come from privilege. Because people who grew up
without unlimited means were used to hearing the word no .
Used to not always getting their way. Which better prepared them
for heartbreak.
Karma imagined that for all the crap Mark had
told her he’d endured as a kid, he’d never really known true
heartbreak until Carol jilted him so viciously. No wonder he’d
developed such a powerful aversion to commitment. He was like a
victim of a bad car crash who had suffered brain trauma. On the
outside, he looked fine, but on the inside, vital components had
been knocked out of place, and he had to figure out a whole new
normal.
So maybe she was giving money more credit
than it deserved, because Mark clearly had money and it hadn’t been
enough to make him overcome Carol’s actions and the depression that
followed.
“I haven’t been here since I was eighteen,”
Mark said quietly. He wore a wistful, content expression. Clearly,
Saint Lucia held a special place in his heart.
Her own heart swelled for the courageous man
sitting across from her. He’d faced so much emotional adversity and
pain, but despite his fears, he’d come back. For her. He’d
found a way through the wall he’d erected around his heart so he
could be with her. He loved her that much.
And that made her love him even more.
“Why have you waited so long to return?”
The smile he turned on her could only be
described as love incarnate. “I haven’t had a reason to until
now.”
The air in the cabin bloomed with warmth,
tenderness, and something else. Something heady and intoxicating
expanded and wrapped itself around Karma like a cashmere sweater,
soft and luxurious.
“And I’m your reason?” Her voice sounded so
small.
With a gentle nod, he leaned forward and
reached for her hand. She teetered toward him and slid her fingers
around his.
“Saint Lucia isn’t a place you visit alone.”
His thumb caressed the back of her hand. “It’s a place for
lovers.”
She fought back a smile. “You had a lover at
eighteen?”
He narrowed his eyes then smirked. “No.
Family vacation. We came here almost every year over Christmas
break when I was a kid. But it never felt like the kind of place
for family vacations. As I got older, I saw it as a place where
lovers escaped so they could forget everything else but each other
for a while."
She let the warmth of his words seep in as
she stared at his thumb still skimming back and forth on her
hand.
“Did you ever bring Carol here?” she asked
quietly, hopefully. She didn’t want to feel like she was following
in Carol’s footsteps, treading where the other woman’s feet
had already been.
When she lifted her gaze to his, he slowly
shook his head. “No.”
A thrill shot through her. She shouldn’t have
been so happy about Mark’s response, but she was. She hated feeling
like she was competing with Carol. As if his ex still wriggled
around in his heart, which was insane, because she knew Mark would
never go back to her. Still, to know Mark had never brought Carol
here felt like a small victory.
The jet touched down, jolting her back into
the moment, and she let go of Mark’s hand.
The airport was the smallest Karma had ever
seen. One long stretch of runway, and not much else. The
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