They had spoken the night before about Ruiz. Allan hadn’t met him yet but he’d invited Ruiz to be one of his groomsmen to even the number out. Reno had been roped into being a groomsman too, though he preferred to act as the father of the bride for the night and nothing else. He’d helped raise Riana and he wanted to watch her live her special day and not risk ruining it.
The pit of his stomach still churned knowing she was about to be married. He was scared that her marriage wouldn’t work out and he didn’t want to watch her heart break for another two and a half years over the same man. His stomach churned for another reason too—he didn’t want to share his sister. He hadn’t realized how much he missed having her around until she left Bahamas for the States.
His little sister was getting married, and it made him as nervous as hell!
“Reno, how are you?” Allan greeted them with a smile.
Reno smiled back. “Great, but this guy is so nervous he’s beginning to annoy me,” Reno stood to the side and made introductions. “Allan, Matthew, my little brother Ruiz.”
“Hey! You aren’t the one who’s about to meet his sister at the altar on her wedding day!” Ruiz pulled at the collar of his shirt completely ignoring Reno’s introductions.
Geez! The kid really is nervous. He’s practically sweating! Reno thought, biting the insides of his cheeks to keep from laughing.
Ruiz looked around nervously. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.”
Matthew laughed, punching Ruiz lightly in the shoulder. “You’ll be fine. And if I know Riana well, she’ll be sad you weren’t involved in her wedding in some way once she finds out who you are. Let her think you are one of Allan’s close friends until he introduces you.”
Allan chuckled shaking his head. “Why am I in the line of fire? Why can’t Reno do it?”
“Because soon-to-be-brother, you are currently walking on water and the news won’t hit as hard coming from you. From me, she’ll think…” Reno stopped giving Ruiz an apologetic glance.
Ruiz shrugged, “She’ll think you are betraying her. It’s cool. I resented you guys for a long time before I decided having a brother and a sister was much better than being alone and keeping company with resentment.”
Allan slapped his hands and rubbed them together. “Okay then. Ruiz, why don’t you take your position, and Reno, go bring the love of my life to me.”
Reno smiled at that, the weight on his heart getting lighter. “Take care of my sister Allan Sinclair.”
Allan gave him a nod. “With my life.”
With an encouraging pat on his brother’s shoulder, Reno turned around before the treacherous tears fell. He walked briskly back down the aisle, his head lowered until his eyes were clear. He never thought it would be this hard to give his sister away to another man. He was losing her all over again.
He’d just walked into L’Archeologia when he was almost knocked off his feet.
“Weno!” Aurora shrieked, hugging his legs tightly.
Reno chuckled, bending to grab Aurora up into his arms. “How’s my little angel? You look like a little princess in your beautiful princess dress.”
She giggled. “Tank you.” She pointed up at her hair. “Look, my tiawa. Mommy has one too!”
Reno kissed her chubby cheek, turning to look at Riana. He stood there, shocked for a moment as he stared at his sister. She looked so beautiful and radiant, it took his breath away. When had his little sister grown up?
He careful placed Aurora on the ground before he moved to take Riana’s hands in his. “You look gorgeous baby sis.”
She smiled with beaming happiness. “Thank you. You don’t look too bad yourself. Did you ever think this day would come for me, after everything we’ve gone through?”
Reno gave her a watery smile. “If anyone deserves happiness, it’s you. I wish mom was here to see this,” he croaked.
Riana nodded with a shaky smile, a blur of tears in her eyes. “I prefer to think that she is. She’s in my heart, in yours and in Aurora’s.”
Reno kissed her forehead. “Come on let’s get this show on the road.”
Riana hugged his arm. “You’ll get this too, Reno. With the right girl who’ll love and cherish you like you deserve, you’ll never know anything but happiness. I just know it.”
Reno just smiled down at his sister, not willing to ruin her day by disputing her wish for him. He believed only the lucky few and the most deserving found their soul mates and he wasn’t one of them. And after the disaster with his first marriage, he wasn’t very keen on going down that road again.
He turned to face the door he’d just come from, placing Riana’s hand on his arm when he was bumped from behind. He stumbled forward. “What the…”
“Oops. You really should be careful. We don’t want you to fall and break your leg so soon now do we, Uncle Weno?” Loraine spoke with a smile on her face before she turned and moved a few steps forward.
Something about that smile and the look in her eyes frightened Reno. Not even the fact that she was a knockout in that dress distracted him from the silent threat.
He turned to a snickering Riana. “What was that about? And what did she mean by so soon?”
“Cwazi Wowi?” Riana responded, mimicking Aurora voice with a raised brow.
Reno nodded with understanding and chuckled softly. It was after one of their video conversations when he’d said those words. Loraine had come up with a crazy idea to go to the resort and stay for a few days in disguise just to see how Riana was doing for herself because Riana had forbade her from leaving school to babysit her. Aurora had been eavesdropping and the next thing he knew, she was singing Cwazi Wowi up and down the resort.
“Hey, if the shoe fits…”
Riana chuckled, shaking her head. “Just kill each other after I’ve left for my honeymoon? I don’t want to be stuck here as a potential witness against whichever one of you survives. Why do you call her that anyway?”
He moved forward as the bride’s maids began their walk. “Really? You’ve been friends with her for almost six years and you’re asking me that?”
Riana shook her head. “Not to her face. The cwazi part is a huge deterrent.”
“Coward.” When the bridal march began, he leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Come on baby sis, let’s get you married.
Loraine watched the couples’ first dance with mixed emotions. She was truly happy for them, but yet again she was envious. Riana stared up at her husband like a gold digger would stare at a fifteen carat diamond; like he was complete perfection and the best thing in the world. And Allan—this is where the envy came in—looked down at her like there was no one else in the world but her. Like she was his center and his life line and nothing else existed but her. God, why can’t I find a guy who looks at me like that, with so much love? This was one of the things that she always knew, wished she could teach her parents and grandparents: that true love and happiness didn’t come from money. Considering how fake and sad her grandparents’ marriages were, one would think it was self-explanatory. She wrapped her arms around her mid, hugging herself tightly. Between the nightmares about the psycho and lacking that special someone since, she felt so alone. The feeling drowned her. She chuckled t
Are you kidding me! She thought feeling the corded muscle under her hand. A resort owner should not be this buff! What reason does he have to keep his body so perfect!“True, but the only reason for that was because we were both worried about Riana.”His shoulder flexed under her hand and the grip on her hand tightened, swallowing her hand completely.She held back a groan, from pure sexual agony. He keeps this up, and I’m going to be like a bitch in heat!When he went silent, she gave in and looked up at him. He was staring to the side, a shy smile playing on his lips, and when she followed his gaze it was settled on Riana. She was cuddled in Allan’s arms, her head on his chest, her eyes closed and a sweet smile on her lips. She looked content and at peace, happy to be in his arms.“She doesn’t resemble the lost girl she was two months ago.”Reno grunted his response.
Reno was ready to kill Loraine for laughing but the confused stare Riana gave him had him frozen. What exactly could he say? ‘I didn’t want you to know him so I didn’t tell you his race?’Reno knew Riana was only following his lead when he’d asked their mother never to speak of that man. That day, he’d walked in on their mother trying to explain things to Riana and he heard the loving way she’d said his name and that was all it took for Reno to lose his temper and forbid their mother from ever mentioning him in their home again. She’d tried to reason with him, but Reno had just come from an all night shift at a textile factory and had only four hours before he had to be at his other weekend job. He was bone tired and his patience was shot worrying about everything, including wondering how he was going to finish high school, if the bills kept piling up. The last thing he needed to hear was the reason as to why he had to work to h
Loraine dropped her bags at the door, feeling every minute of the long and uncomfortable seven hour flight in her body. And of course the guilt of taking off and leaving Reno sound asleep in her bed. She pressed the heel of her palms against her closed eyes. Damn, she really thought she could do it this time. She’d felt it—the lust, the desire. She’d even felt safe in his arms… it was Reno, Riana’s big brother. He would never hurt her. And I know that! Her thoughts screamed. But the moment all their clothes were gone and his large body crawled over hers… her muscles stiffened and her joints locked in place. Suddenly she couldn’t breathe. She felt suffocated and held down, completely trapped by his huge body. The panic rose, tears flooded her eyes and she began to cry. Reno launched off her so fast he tripped but stayed on his feet after clumsily backing away from her. She sat up, pulled her knees to her chest and hid her shame filled face in them as she cried. It had taken seeing t
Loraine watched her father as he paced in front of her in the living room cursing up a storm. Her mother on the other hand, sat next to her, moving between nervously wringing her hands and smothering Loraine with hugs—which she particularly didn’t mind at the time, considering the situation.She liked this kind of mothering—her mother had her wrapped in a blanket, filling her with cup after cup of tea that was meant to calm Loraine but didn’t seem to have the desired effect on herself. The kind of mothering Loraine didn’t like was the nagging her mother called training to be a proper lady worthy to be married to American royalty.Loraine had called her debutante ball her auctioning ceremony where all the other fathers could examine her like a horse and see if she was befitting for their sons before one of them put her on reserve until said son was ready to marry.Such bullshit! It was so ridiculous that sometimes she wished she didn
Reno stood at the beach shore, his feet sinking in the white sand as the tide washed in, lapping at his ankles. This was his favorite time of day, when the sky was orange-red as the sun set in the horizon, the blue ocean sparkling with the final rays of sun light. Even the cool evening air smelled sweeter and he loved the feel of it against his skin. Like the gentle caress of a lover, blowing into his clothes and touching every inch of his skin with its cool soft touch as a loving mistress would.He closed his eyes, leaned his head back and spread his arms wide. He always felt free in the arms of his mistress. The one female in his life he loved without reserve. She was always there for him, never leaving, always ready and willing to help ease his heavy mind and strangled heart.And right at that moment, the one thing weighing on him was Loraine Larson.Everything had gone so well until that moment…They had danced till the wee hours of the morning
He tried to deny the thought that persisted in his mind but the tortured, defeated look in her eyes made it scream louder in his head. He wanted to shout, throw something and punch, no, pummel the man responsible for her pain until he was nothing but a bloody pulp. He wanted to tear him apart and cause him more pain than he’d caused Loraine. Hell, he too was in pain just watching her suffer.“What do you need from me?” he’d asked, hoping there was some way he could take her pain away, even if it was for the night.She’d crawled toward him and he’d tensed, watching her, keeping his body still. She climbed into his lap and wrapped her arms around his torso. All she wanted was to be held and so he did, holding her tight against him. When she barreled into him, he held her tighter rocking from side to side until he felt her go limp and her breathing became shallow. He put her in bed, intending to sleep on the chaise beside the window but she moved into him when he laid her down, holding t
Loraine wasn’t sure exactly what kind of reception she would receive from Reno. More than disgust, she dreaded being pitied and it truly surprised her when he spoke to her like that night never happened. She was speechless, watching that come hither smile play on his lips like they were back to their seductive banter. The man should have been an actor, not even his eyes gave him away. “Ah, Melody has some business with you and I thought I’d tag along for a free vacation.” Reno nodded, looking behind her for a moment before his eyes settled on her again. “Did she tell you why she’s here?” Loraine wasn’t sure how Melody wanted to handle brokering the subject with Reno so she thought best to keep that information to herself and be as vague as possible. She shrugged. “Something about a business proposition for you.” He nodded. “You want to take a walk with me?” Loraine blink a few times, a little confused at what was going on. “Ahh, sure?” He pointed to her feet with his chin. “Tak