Oakland, CA
The soft knock on the open bedroom door pulled Cassandra Mosley’s gaze away from the clothes she had been piling on the bed, beside her open suitcase.
“Need any help?” Sarah Mosley-Rogers asked, bouncing her six-month-old son, Kurt, Jr., on her hip.
Cassy’s apartment was situated in the rear of the old, sprawling rooming house that the two sisters had skillfully converted into a country inn in the heart of the Bay area. Their grandmother had retired to North Carolina and left the property to them.
In the two years that the Parkside Garden Inn had been open, it had been very successful. The inn was bordered on one side by Oakland, California’s Lakeside Park. The sisters maintained their grandmother’s extensive gardens and prize-winning roses. Both girls had inherited their love of flowers from the wonderful woman who had raised them after their mother’s death. Their brokenhearted father remained in Washington, D.C., where he later remarried and fathered twin boys.
“Cassy?”
“No, I’m fine. Just trying to decide how much to take. Three weeks’ worth of clothes is a challenge, even for me. The weather in Martinique is always perfect,” she chattered absently, her smile not quite reaching her dark-brown eyes.
The two women looked remarkably alike, from their slim, curvy frames and smooth caramel-brown skin tone to their thick, black hair. Sarah wore hers cut close in a natural style, while Cassy’s was cut into chin-length wavy curls that framed her features.
“Cassy, you don’t have to go. It won’t hurt our feelings if you decide against it.”
“But, I want to go. This trip was a wonderful birthday gift,” Cassy said, unable to meet her sister’s troubled eyes as she automatically took her nephew and kissed his sweet, dimpled, brown cheeks. “He’s getting bigger every day,” she said, before handing the baby back.
Sarah and her husband, Kurt, had thought of everything—round-trip tickets and a reservation at the exclusive Kramer House and Resort Complex on the Caribbean island of Martinique. They wanted to show her how grateful they were for her taking over the running of the inn during Sarah’s difficult pregnancy and slow recovery after the baby was born. The couple was also raising their granddaughter, Mandy.
Sarah wasn’t fooled by her sister’s false cheer. Cassy was terribly hurt. Her recent break up with her long-time boyfriend had taken its toll.
“When we arranged this vacation, things were different. We thought you would enjoy going back to the place where you and Gordan met and fell in love. Cassy, as badly as you need a vacation, I don’t want you tormented by painful reminders. The more I think about it, the more it sounds like a really bad idea.”
The Kramer House was only one of the hotels owned by Gordan Kramer, Cassy’s ex-boyfriend.
Adding shorts to the pile of tops and swimsuits already inside of the suitcase, Cassy insisted, “It was a fabulous idea. How could you and Kurt know I was going to break up with the man before my trip? It just happened. But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t go back to Martinique.”
She folded her arms protectively around her midsection, then added, “I have to do this. It’s the only way, Sis, I’m going to be able to get on with my life.” She paused before she said, “I’m sick of moping around here, trying to forget. It’s not working. Going back and staying at his hotel may be the only way I can finally get him out of my system. At this point, I’m willing to try anything.”
Placing the squirming baby onto the thick carpet of the lavender and ivory room, Sarah caught her sister’s arm and tugged her down to sit beside her on the bed.
“Aren’t you afraid you might run into Gordan while you’re in Martinique?”
Her sister’s laugh held little humor. “Not likely! The man is in Atlanta working on one of his projects. Why would he bother chasing after me? We broke up almost two weeks ago, and I haven’t heard one word from him. Does that sound like he cares? I don’t think so. This trip isn’t about Gordan; it’s about me. I’m doing what I feel I have to do. Besides, all he cares about is the next project,” Cassy sneered. “I need this trip.”
“But, Martinique? It’s going to hurt being there,” Sarah persisted.
“That’s the point—to let it hurt and then I can go on, Sis. This whole stupid relationship started there, and I must say my final goodbye there. Then I can do what really matters. I want a home and a family of my own, someday. I’m no different from you. I want a man who can give me those things. Gordan can’t give me what I need most.”
Her sister squeezed her hand reassuringly.
Cassy had met the African American multimillionaire while she was working on the island as a chef in one of the hotel’s numerous restaurants, nearly five years ago. Cassy had been working in Toronto when the hotel manager for the Kramer House—Martinique sampled one of her delectable desserts and hired her on the spot.
She’d been asked to prepare an elaborate meal for Gordan’s dinner guests in the kitchen of his plush penthouse suite. That night had changed the course of her life.
“Are you sure about this?” Sarah asked, yet again.
“Yes! Will you stop worrying? Are you sure you can handle the inn without me?”
Sarah, a trained certified accountant, managed the business side of the inn, while Cassandra, an acclaimed chef, managed the culinary side of things. Although they had cleaning and kitchen staff, together they shared whatever housekeeping and gardening duties arose, plus managed whatever else needed to be done as well. The inn had been a dream come true for both of them.
And they had done very well, until Sarah remarried and became pregnant. She had been forced to spend the bulk of her pregnancy in bed. Sarah had almost died during the delivery, and it took months for her to regain her health. Although it was behind them, Cassandra could not help being a little overprotective toward her sister.
“You have managed the inn for more than a year alone; I think I can handle things for a few weeks without you. Besides, I have Kurt and the staff. Since you’ve decided to go, I want you to take this time and really try to enjoy yourself. Because of you there was no reason for me to worry about this place while I was carrying the baby.”
‘‘Speaking of the baby...” Cassy giggled as she watched little Kurt wiggling his way toward the open French doors. Sarah scooped him up before he got into the garden beyond.
That wonderful little boy had changed all their lives. He had certainly caused Cassy to reevaluate what was important and take a hard look at what she had yet to accomplish.
Over the years, Cassy had grown in one direction while Gordan had grown in another. And she was honest enough with herself to admit that he was not the only one to blame for the dissolution of their relationship. Things had gone downhill for them, partly due to their individual business demands and partly due to lengthy separations. They didn’t see enough of each other. Until two years ago, she was doing all the traveling necessary for them to see each other. Gordan had only been to the Bay area once in all that time.
Cassy bit her lips to hold back a sob. She did not want to think about him and all that had gone wrong with them. It was hard enough to deal with the fact that she had broken up with him on her birthday—her thirty-ninth.
She did not want to remember. Yet, she knew she could not heal until she had gotten him out of her head...out of her heart. She told herself that her family’s gift of a three week vacation could not have come at a better time.
“Cassy, have you thought about the fact that Gordan might fly in on business? What then? You will be staying at his hotel.”
She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. We’ve said our goodbyes. We both know it is over, so his coming won’t make a difference. To tell you the truth, Gordan is the least of my worries. He has obviously moved on emotionally, and so must I,” she joked. “The best thing that could happen is if I meet a new man able to make a commitment. Wouldn’t that be something?”
Martinique
The plush Kramer House and Resort Complex was situated on a cliff overlooking the sea outside the capital city of Fort de France. The white sandy beach and pier beyond were accessed from a set of sweeping staircases cut into the mountain. The hotel featured beautifully appointed rooms, a world-class gymnasium, five-star restaurants, tennis courts, swimming pools, hot tubs, a lush tropical garden, a casino, and a private golf course, all designed to cradle their guests in first-class luxury.
Cassy walked along the beach, gazing out at the endless blue. She had come full circle. She was back where it had all begun. And she was certain she had made the right decision in coming. It was time to stop feeling sorry over what she could not change. It was time to go on with her life. But how?
She had her share of regrets. She had wasted so many years and given too much of herself. And for what? A broken heart, plus a collection of broken dreams. She had come halfway around the world in order to let go. Was she merely running from her problems? What she felt was still lodged deep in her heart.
She dropped her head wearily as she walked on. The breeze from the balmy trade winds swept in from the sea. She spotted a cruise ship in the distance and smiled. All of it was so magical, so familiar.
A mistake? A new beginning? She hoped for relief from the inner pain that left her heart aching and nights spent tossing as she fought the memories. Perhaps that was the trouble. Maybe she should welcome them to get past them. She had done what had to be done in order to move on.
She was so busy trying not to remember that she had walked this very beach hand and hand with Gordan, that she didn’t notice the passage of time. She had been in love with him for more years than she cared to acknowledge. She’d even grown accustomed to his luxurious lifestyle, which included private planes, limousines, and expensive vacations.
It had been so romantic at first, traveling around the world to meet him at some exotic locale and spend as much time as she could with him. He was always so busy, too busy to come to her—too busy to settle down.
It had taken her years to realize that his business would always come first with him, for there would always be a new challenge for him. The only exception was his fifteen-year-old son, Gordan, Jr.
Well, she had finally had enough of being last on his list. She wanted more...she needed more. She had no choice but to face the truth. She was not twenty anymore. She had done the things that were important for her career. She had traveled and learned from the best chefs in Paris, New York, Toronto, New Orleans, and Martinique in order to establish a successful career in the culinary arts. She had come a long way from that little girl having to climb on a chair to help in her grandmother’s kitchen.
It was time for her to marry and have a baby of her own. She had wasted enough years on a man who was not willing to share her dreams.
Yet, because of what she felt for him, it had been the hardest decision of her life to move on. And their final goodbyes had gone badly. Thank goodness it was over. Now all she had to do was figure out how to stop loving the man.
Atlanta, GA
Gordan Kramer was furious. His masculine features were hard and his jaw tight beneath the cover of a well-trimmed mustache and beard. He stood at the floor-to-ceiling windows behind his massive oak desk, staring down at the snarled traffic far below.
“Damn it!” he muttered aloud. How could she have done this to him—to them? He’d been asking himself that very same question for the past two weeks and, as of yet, had not found a satisfactory answer.
He was not a man who could be pushed into doing something that he did not want to do. He had always been intense and deeply motivated. He was a self-made man. There had been no parent there to watch his high school graduation or notice that he’d gone on to college. He had worked his way through and hadn’t stopped until he had his MBA. He had done the same for his younger brother, Wilham. Determined to learn the hotel business, he had done so from the ground up.
Gordan knew he’d been fortunate. He had loved their father and adored their mother. Their father had been a hard-working, dedicated family man who had died too soon, while Gordan was still a boy. And their mother had worked herself to death to keep food in the house and him in school and out of trouble. She had fought poverty the only way she knew how, by encouraging her sons to work hard toward a brighter future.
She had also taught Gordan, and he in turn had taught Wil, how to dream. It didn’t matter that Ruthie Kramer had to scrub floors and clean other people’s toilets to keep a roof over their heads. Both of her sons were very proud of her. But, like her husband, she had died too young. Wil had only been eight and Gordan eighteen.
He had worked hard to fulfill his parents’ faith in him. Yes, Gordan had made mistakes along the way. His brother had become a man he was proud of and respected. Despite Gordan’s disastrous marriage, he’d been blessed with a wonderful son. He had few regrets.
It had taken years, but by this time in his life, he was surrounded by the proof of his business successes. His office was situated at the top of an office complex that he owned. His hotels and resort complexes were peppered not only throughout the Caribbean, but around the world.
The two brothers were partners, working hand and hand. Currently, Wil was involved with developing and building a new complex on one of the islands off the coast of Georgia, while Gordan was close to completing negotiations on a prime piece of real estate in South Africa.
He was determined to be in a position to make a difference in the level of poverty and lack of education the indigenous people in the area faced each day. He’d worked for close to three years on this project, and he’d nearly gotten what he wanted. But Gordan didn’t feel like celebrating.
His woman, his love, and his best friend for the past four and a half years had just walked out of his life and hadn’t looked back. And it was tearing him apart.
His jaw ached from clenching his teeth. He rolled taut shoulders, trying to ease some of the tension in his back and neck. Nothing could ease the pain in his chest, his heart.
“Why, Cassy?” he whispered aloud, trying yet again to swallow the anguish deep inside. “Baby, why wasn’t what we had enough?”
It was not as if she did not love him. They had been in love with each other for too long for there to be any doubts about their feelings. But, he would be the first to admit that things had been strained between them for quite a while. They had both suffered due to prolonged separations.
Nonetheless, he had not seen this breakup coming. He felt as if she had cut him off at the knees. She had hurled her birthday gift back at him as if it had been a guided missile meant to destroy. She didn’t want it—she didn’t want him. She had packed and left while he had been numb with shock over what had happened.
When he lifted a hand to smooth over his close cut hair, he realized he was shaking. He’d just gotten back from Oakland. Cassy was gone.
It had taken him some time to cool off enough to even make the effort to go to her. He was not one to lose his head or even show his temper. He had discovered early on that he made his best decisions with a cool, unemotional head. He had taken that lesson into his personal life.
When Cassy had left him, inside he had been anything but cool. He was not much better now. He saw red whenever he recalled what she demanded of him. She knew the hell he had lived through with his ex-wife, Evie—how she had used their son to get back at him for divorcing her. Evie had nearly managed to destroy his relationship with his boy, knowing full well that she had been the one who had ruined their marriage.
Sure it had colored his relationships with women. It had taken him years to trust again. He had let down his defenses with only one woman—Cassy.
He wanted her back. It did not matter what she had said or what he had said in response. He needed her. After a process of elimination and a few calls, he discovered her destination. It might take a few days to clear his calendar. If he had to go to Martinique to obtain that goal, then so be it. He was not planning on taking no for an answer.
Martinique
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
Cassy, stretched out on a beach lounger, looked up from the novel she’d been reading. A large straw hat and dark glasses shaded her eyes from the late morning sun. The tall, bronze, muscular man standing above her helped himself to the vacant chair alongside of her. They had met at the airport and then shared a taxicab to the resort.
“Mr. Foster,” she said, trying to remember what he’d told her about himself. She’d been so absorbed in what was going on inside of her that all she could recall was that he was a lawyer from San Diego.
“Adam,” he insisted.
“Adam,” she smiled. “Yes, it’s beautiful.”
“You mentioned earlier that this wasn’t your first trip to the island. Have you noticed many changes?”
“A few. Martinique is a place one can never forget.”
“The sunsets might be one reason.” He had striking good looks and close cut hair. His tawny, golden eyes moved leisurely over her soft, curvy length. She wore a lavender swimsuit with a brightly patterned sarong, concealing most of her long, shapely legs.
Cassy looked away. There was no doubt in her mind that he had taken an interest in her. He had clearly stated that he was single and available for romance if she so desired. He’d even gone so far as to hint that he was willing to make a commitment when the right woman came along.
Cassy knew she was not beautiful, but moderately attractive, with her smooth caramel-colored skin and thick, wind-tousled, wavy ebony hair. She was average height and weight, and her features hinted at her African roots, from her small nose to her generous mouth.
In the taxicab, she had seen him eyeing her ringless left hand before he asked her out for dinner. She had turned him down. All her energy had been used up trying to cope with her feelings.
She glanced over at him somewhat uncomfortably. The last thing she needed in her life was a new man—at least not yet. She was having enough difficulty dealing with her hurt after her breakup with Gordan. About all she could handle was friendship. She wanted her heart whole again. And she didn’t want to hurt anyone else in the process.
They sat for a time, taking in the activity along the beach, neither of them talking. Adam was busy enjoying the view, which included the woman beside him. There was plenty of time, yet. He was nothing if he was not optimistic. He had climbed to the top of his profession by keeping his eyes firmly rooted on the prize.
“The people at the Kramer Corporation sure know what they’re doing with these tropical surroundings, lush grounds, excellent food, and plush hotels.”
Cassy made no response. She needed no reminder of the financial wizard who had crushed her heart.
“This is my first trip to the island but I’ve vacationed at Kramer Resorts in Paradise Island, St. Thomas, and Jamaica. I’m impressed that it was a brother who put all of this together.”
Cassy’s eyes burned from suppressed tears. “I think I’ve had enough sun.” She swung her legs down.
Adam said nothing, hiding his disappointment. It was not until they were climbing the stairs from the beach toward the hotel’s elaborate garden that he asked, “Cassy, could I interest you in lunch before you go to your room?”
Cassy was feeling very alone, vulnerable, and knew she was not at her best. She was tempted for no other reason than to have some company, but she was still exhausted from the time change and the flight. Plus she had not slept very well the night before.”Thank you, but no. Maybe another time. ‘Bye, Adam.”
Cassy did not look back but hurried along toward the side entrance. She did not breathe easy until she was inside her room on the sixth floor. She leaned against the door, wondering what she was running from. It was certainly not Adam. He seemed nice enough. He appeared to have the qualities most single women wanted in a man. He was single, attractive, friendly, and professionally very much on the ball.
The trouble was he was not Gordan. Cassy did not want to think about the man. Was her sister right? Had she made a mistake in coming back to Martinique? There were so many memories to contend with. She was still so far from being emotionally free of him.