Chapter Thirty

Olivia stared at her luggage as she waited with a million other people for a cab outside LAX. The same ochre-colored dust clinging to every latch and crevice of the once pristine Samsonite stained the clothes inside. Her suitcase sat beside her on the damp sidewalk like a faithful old mongrel while a world that suddenly seemed so alien bustled obliviously around her. Sighing, she grabbed hold of the scuffed handle and shifted up one spot in the mile-long queue while feeling as lonely and battered as her suitcase.

She’d escaped Brisbane at ten o’clock that morning, flown seven thousand miles across the world’s largest ocean, and arrived back in L.A. the previous day. That fact alone should’ve confirmed she’d made the right decision. Yet, no matter how hard or how often she tried convincing herself she’d been the luckiest woman on Earth to have spent four weeks walking about with Jarrah, she couldn’t stop herself from imagining all the what ifs.

What if she’d accepted Naya’s offer and stayed in Wingarra? She’d have thrown away the career she’d worked her ass off to hopefully hang out her doctor’s shingle in exchange for cakes and pastries? And he’d be stuck five hundred miles away working eighty-hour weeks in Brisbane. But she’d at least have her sister and the nutbag family she already missed like crazy.

What if she’d followed him back to Brisbane and camped out in his penthouse? She’d have sacrificed a high-paying prestigious job in a state-of-the-art medical facility and the chance of changing the future of brain cancer treatment for what? Even more studying and exams to gain an Australian medical license to get a job in a hospital and build her reputation all over again? While he’d continue working seven days a week with the only difference being she may be able to entice him to sleep in their bed instead of his office. And they’d still both be a desert away from the people they loved.

And what if she’d used her powers for evil instead of logic and lured Jarrah to L.A.? She’d be rocking both the man and career of her dreams. He’d have given up everything he’d worked his entire life to build. And they’d both be not only a desert away from their family, but a freaking ocean as well.

And the biggest what if of all. What if the last four weeks had been as good as they got? What if skipping off into happily ever after destroyed the magic? What if desperately clinging to the temporary insanity of a vacation romance transformed something so precious into a prison sentence they’d regret for the rest of their lives?

She tipped the brim of her Akubra and inhaled the cool air blanketing the town she’d lived in for all but four weeks of her life. Crowds rushed around her, traffic choked the streets, car horns blared, people shouted to be heard over the chaos, and smartphones illuminated the dawn instead of stars. There wasn’t a single cowboy hat in sight, no warning of the heat to come, no dust, no flies, no wood smoke drifting from dormant campfires, no endless silence. Her hometown was exactly the same as it had been when she’d left. The only thing that had changed was her.

She gazed into the gray morning cloaking Los Angeles and surrendered to the nagging ache in her chest that’d only grown more intense with every hour since she’d kissed her cowboy good-bye. What was he doing right now? Was he cursing his inbox while lying on the sofa in his penthouse? Or had he already returned to his office to rebuild the business relationships their holiday fling had tested? Was he as exhausted as she was? Did he feel as lost or as empty? Was he thinking about her?

She cursed herself and focused on the crowd jostling around her and the traffic crawling by. She’d done the right thing. She wasn’t experiencing her first crush. She was a fully grown doctor, for Christ’s sake. A doctor who knew you never made long-term decisions with short-term emotions. And a doctor who stood alone in a city of four million people wishing she’d given in to her crush because being a mature adult fucking sucked.

Her cell vibrated and her heart rate spiked. She shoved a hand into her pocket and froze as her frantic fingers wrapped around her phone. Only two people would’ve called her. The big sister she’d promised to call as soon as she landed. And the man she’d cowardly begged not to call her because she’d known the mere sound of his breathing would shred what remained of her heart.

Anxiety gave way to panic before joy trumped them both as her cheeky cowboy’s face illuminated the home screen and her body tingled with excitement and fear. She crushed the phone to her ear to block out the mayhem only to discover the chaos originated inside her head. Blinking back tears, she ignored everything she’d begged him not to do and pulled her shit together.

“I thought we agreed we wouldn’t call each other.”

“Contract doesn’t officially start for another three hours and thirty-seven minutes.”

The voice that would be rumbling through her dreams rippled through her.

“Shouldn’t you be planning Carter Industries’ downfall?”

“Fuckers are as good as buried.”

“So you found a decent lawyer then?”

His growl warmed every part of her on its way down to her belly. Almost sixteen hours had passed since he’d kissed her, and she still felt his lips on hers. He hadn’t said a thing, no good-byes, no frantic declarations, and no tears. He’d simply crushed her to his chest and kissed her until she’d almost passed out in front of Qantas’s first-class check-in desk before tipping his hat and striding away.

“How was the flight?”

He knew damned well how her flight had been because he and his devious office manager had booked her a nonstop first-class ticket home on the upper deck of one of Qantas’s brand new A380’s. “Terrible. The blue swimmer crab entrée was dry, the filet mignon overcooked, and the hazelnut panna cotta way too firm. And don’t even get me started on the rest of the meals, the terrible service provided by my personal steward, and that poor excuse for a fully reclining private suite.”

His laughter vibrated through her phone and straight into her chest. How many times had she reveled in that booming sound? How long before she forgot the joy it brought her? She pressed her hand to her chest and swallowed the fist lodged in her throat. “Remind me to have a word with that conniving office manager of yours.”

“Please don’t upset Charlie. She’s already threatened to walk out on me twice and I haven’t even officially got back in the office yet.”

He’d probably started preparing for war the minute he’d gotten back from the airport and worked through the thirteen odd hours she’d been in the air.

“That bad, huh?”

“Business as usual.”

He’d done his best to pump some life into his response, yet fatigue dragged on every word. “Did you get any rest?”

His whispered sigh told her everything she needed to know.

“Eventually, but first I had to kick Sarah and Donna out of my apartment. God only knows how they got into my place. They must’ve bribed my doorman.”

She chuckled despite the sudden illogical and completely unnecessary urge to track down Sarah and Donna and beat the crap out of them. “I hope you took good care of them. They’re only human after all.”

“I was a perfect gentlemen. I banged each of them in private before calling a taxi. But then Annabelle showed up. Took Charlie kicking down my door to finally get rid of the desperate woman.”

“You poor thing. You must be exhausted.”

“It’s not easy being this sexy.” His fake laughter faltered before he cleared his throat. “How you doing?”

Cold, empty, missing you more than an independent mature woman should be. Even his Joey Tribbiani couldn’t relax her death grip on the phone. She tamped down her emotions and released the breath she’d held. “Really restless. I had no idea spending four weeks with a man who tried really hard but simply couldn’t satisfy me would be so frustrating.”

“What a loser. I hope you didn’t do something stupid like fall for him or anything?”

She slowly nodded to herself and dropped her chin to her chest. She’d not only condensed a lifetime’s worth of stupid into four weeks, she’d also plummeted head over heels, 100 percent, bat-crap crazy for the smart-ass. “Don’t worry, Armand the Spanish co-pilot and Richard the British navigator helped me to relax on the flight home. I should be good to go for a few days while I hunt down some local stress relief.”

“Good job. Best thing to do is forget about that yobbo and move on.”

Silence filled their electronic link, and she suddenly felt each and every one of the miles separating them. Wiping the tears dribbling down her cheeks, she straightened, and drew in a long steadying breath. “I-I meant what I said. No calls, no emails, no ravens, no commitments, no expectations. We get on with our real lives and see what happens the next time we meet.”

He responded with the same infinite silence he’d regarded her with on the island when she’d whispered the same pleas into the warm ocean breeze caressing their naked bodies. Instead of answering, he’d scooped her into his arms and scrambled up the beach to their villa, where he reminded her of every single thing she was leaving behind.

“You’re missing me already, aren’t you?”

More than you’ll ever know.

There was only one thing she knew for sure. If she didn’t quit Jarrah Mereki Harper cold turkey, there was no way in hell she was staying away from him long enough to figure out just how much she loved him.

Tightening her grip on her phone, she clenched the hand clutched to her chest into a fist and forced the words out. “Unleash hell, slacker.”