“What was the family business again?” Dani’s brow wrinkled. “I remember they had stores all over the country. I think they were friends with Howard.”
“Soft furnishings.” Quinn swallowed, but it didn’t erase the familiar burn of anger that flared up at the mention of Howard’s name. He may not have caused Laura’s death, but he sure influenced how she felt in those last days.
“How old was she when she died?”
“Twenty-six. It was sudden, only a few months from the first symptoms till the end.”
“I’m so sorry,” she said again, her golden eyes pools of sympathy.
“Don’t be. I wouldn’t swap those few years for anything, not a bit of it.” He leaned forward and poured a little wine into a glass, mindful that he was skippering the boat. “She loved our life, my parents. She loved that we took in the unwanted and the street kids.” Some of the good times flooded in, making him smile. “Every time I turned around, she was sitting in a corner, talking to some snot-nosed kid. They confided in her, told her everything.
More than Mum and Dad, even.” He looked down at the wine in his glass, swirled it around before tossing it down in one gulp. “That was the hell of it. She would have gone places, helped so many. Why she had to die is beyond me.”
It was his one taste of true failure. He couldn’t understand how it could happen, how she could be taken.
How could he not have saved her?
He rubbed his chin. Part of him would always love Laura, or more accurately, love that time of his life, when he was young and silly enough to believe in forever, believe he and Laura were invincible.
But Howard Blackstone had tainted the memories. He’d never forgive him for that.
And as he tried and failed to swallow the hard knot of bitterness, he found himself wanting to justify it to Dani. He called himself a swine for doing it, for doing what Howard had done to him. Tainting the memories.
But he wanted her to know. “You want to know why I hate Howard so much?”
Dani blinked at his harsh tone.
“The bastard ruined the last weeks of Laura’s life.”
She visibly paled. “I didn’t know he knew her.”
“He didn’t. But you’re right about him being friends with the Hartleys. After the World Association of Diamonds vote went against him, he did all he could to blacken my name. That was fine, I could take care of myself. Laura always had faith her folks would come around and accept our marriage. But with Blackstone whispering in their ears, filling them full of hate, they turned their backs, even knowing she was terminal.”
Dani’s mouth dropped open in dismay, and she looked away as if she couldn’t bear to look at his face. Yes, it hurts, doesn’t it, he thought bitterly. She’d thought Howard was some kind of saint. Well, now she knew differently.
“When everything went to hell and the tumour came back, I went to them, begged them to come. Not that we ever gave up hope …” Laura would not permit anyone to think for a minute she wouldn’t beat the cancer. “But they tossed me out. They said Howard had told them all about me. How I couldn’t be trusted, how I was after her money, how she was my meal ticket out of the slums.” His head rolled back and he breathed deeply of the warm air. “They couldn’t even give her peace at the end,” he said with disgust.
“I—I didn’t know.”
How could she?
Now that the anger was out, as always, it quickly faded. Time did that. Blackstone had a black heart and that wasn’t Dani’s fault. It seemed even being six feet under was no barrier to hurting people.
“They didn’t deserve her, Quinn,” she said quietly. “You did.”
He sighed, thinking that Dani had her own problems. At least he had great family support. He suspected she’d never felt part of a real family. He’d glimpsed a vulnerability in her, an insecurity. He remembered it from long ago, when he used to notice such things. Loneliness, a need to belong.
Somewhere along the way, he’d just plain stopped looking.
The hell with it. Today was a rare day, one that didn’t come along very often. She was sexy, fun, talented. Available. Why was he wallowing in the bitter past? And in some ways, telling Dani was kind of cathartic. She knew the man, knew his faults. She gave him a slightly different perspective.
Quinn would never forgive or forget, but he could let go a little more. That’s what time did. And the fact that she wasn’t Howard’s daughter had to be a good thing, right?
He set his glass down, sorry that he’d made her sad. He wanted the warmth of her brilliant smile back, and perhaps he wanted to warm her a little also. When he held out his hand to her, she smiled up at him and he saw understanding and empathy. When he bent to kiss the soft, fragrant flesh just under her earlobe, her skin steamed up quickly and her pulse quickened under his mouth.
This was about sex, he reminded himself. Unbelievable and uncomplicated sex. If it made them feel good and if no one expected anything more, where was the harm?
He lifted his head to see her mouth turned up in sultry understanding. Quinn resolved to give her as good as she gave.
He pulled her to her feet and downstairs to the cabin, peeling her clothing off on the way. The salt from her skin tingled on his tongue as he revealed and then tasted every delicious inch of her. He made her stand still, legs braced, and made love to her with his mouth. She rocked on her heels with the sway of the vessel under them, clutching his head. His bitterness and her insecurities melted away as he tipped her onto the bed, slid deep into her body and looked into her eyes, and they became one with the motion of the sea.
“How’s it going?”
Dani looked up from her workbench, where, days later, she was once again engrossed. “Today I start on the chain.”
She was working with platinum, always a challenge but one she enjoyed. Many jewellers found the metal too soft and dense to work with, but with practice, it got easier and the rewards were worth it.
“You chose diamond cut and not snake,” he noted approvingly.
Dani nodded. “It’s classic and doesn’t kink so much.” She picked up her torch again and resumed her work. Quinn pulled up a stool. It was becoming a habit of his to come in here and watch her work. He seemed fascinated by the whole process.
“It must be exciting to create something from start to finish and know it will outlive you.” He was flicking through her portfolio again, he did that a lot. On every page, he found something that interested him and would ask her how she decided on that particular combination of texture or colour. She broke all the rules, he told her, and yet her jewellery worked beautifully.
Dani was buoyed by his interest. He really seemed to get her, to share her vision of the relationship between gemstones and precious metals. Being a designer was a solitary occupation. Most people were only interested in the end product, not the journey of creation. It was nice to have someone to share ideas with for once.
Several days had passed since the boat trip, each one slightly cooler and calmer as the fitful cyclone season waned and autumn woke up. Dani barely noticed the weather since she only left the workroom to finalise a few last-minute wedding arrangements for Ryan and Jessica or to make love with Quinn.
She glanced over to where he sat at the desk, flicking through her portfolio. So far she’d shied away from badgering him on the intended recipient of the yellow diamond. He was an honourable man, despite the coercion he’d used at the start. She had to believe that. A loyal man who wouldn’t make promises and trifle with her feelings.
It wasn’t her normal way of doing things, but she had to be grown-up about it.