19. Greer

CHAPTER 19

GREER

"Weren't you happy with her? Why would you marry someone you didn't love?"

"I loved her. Just not the same way I love you. And in the end, that wasn't enough to keep us tied together. It was painful for both of us."

I tightened my hold on him. Watching him walk away, then break down, almost killed me. "We tried to make it work, but in the end, we'd both checked out. We both thought if we pretended I wasn't in love with someone else, things would eventually be okay. But that wasn't true."

"She could have been here with you."

I closed my eyes and nodded. "Maybe, but I don't think so. Carter tried to talk me out of it. He was so angry at me for the longest time."

Austin shifted and turned to look at me with a familiar frown on his face. "Why would he be angry at you?" His eyes went wide as if he'd figured it out. "Does he know about me?"

I shook my head. "Not unless you told him, because I never did. The only thing he knew was I'd fallen for someone I couldn't have but planned to marry someone else. You know how he is. He actually told me to ask you to come with me on this trip. Your brother doesn't care for my sister."

That made him smile.

"He offered to come with me for protection from the ‘herd' as he called them."

Austin laughed, and it made me tear up. "I can hear him saying that."

I hugged him tighter and buried my face in his neck, inhaling the scent of him. I had to gauge where we were in all of this. "Are we going to be okay?"

Austin lifted his right arm to palm the back of my head. He turned just enough to kiss my temple. "Eventually. I just need to stop thinking about how much time we've wasted. But that's not all on you. I sure as fuck didn't make it easy for you."

He loosened my hold, then turned effortlessly to face me. His long legs were over mine as he took my face between his hands. His eyes were red, and I knew mine were as well, but his expression had changed in that little moment in time. I felt like I was seeing my Austin from all those years ago.

"I'm sorry for everything I..."

I cut him off. "Baby, you did the best you could with the information you had. None of this is your fault. We weren't ready to be together, sweetheart. The world wasn't ready for us to be together. But we can be okay now. Looking back isn't going to change what happened. We just need to move forward and live our best lives."

I pressed my forehead to his. "I love you, Austin Wentworth. You are my world."

His lips found mine as we let go of the past and hopefully welcomed a new future together for as long as he'd have me.

When we returned to the house later that afternoon, Austin went for a swim while I showered and changed clothes. I would have given anything to have had another day alone with him without an audience. But that wasn't in the cards for us.

Just as I looked over the balcony to check on him, my phone buzzed with an incoming text.

Kat: Just landed! See you soon.

My chest tightened and my stomach clenched at just the thought of what my sister might have up her sleeve. Deep in my heart, I knew she meant well, but her delivery left much to be desired.

Me: Okay. I'll be waiting.

I pocketed my phone and reached for a thick towel for Austin. With my family on the way, my need to be close to him after our conversation was overpowering. So I headed downstairs and out to the pool deck to meet him.

When I reached the bottom step, I found him effortlessly cutting through the water. His long, lean body was a work of art, accentuated by his broad shoulders and a chiseled torso.

But my favorite thing about him was the way he looked at me. His green eyes could see straight through to my soul. He saw me, the man, not the billionaire who could do something for him. He didn't need me for that aspect of his life. Austin was everything I ever wanted in a partner, and I never wanted to look away from him.

As he rose out from the water, I stood breathless as the drops retreated from his skin. I took in his upper body as he ran his hands over his head to get the hair out of his eyes.

I couldn't help but stare at the tattoos on his arms and chest that dipped between the contours of his torso and underneath the smattering of hair I longed to run my fingers through. He was a work of art, and I wanted time to study every one of them. They told the story of his life, and I wanted to know it all.

"Greer? You alright?"

My eyes went back to his face. "They'll be here in an hour. Thought you might want to shower."

Austin looked tired as he nodded at me. "Yeah, I do. Too bad you've already finished."

My dick swelled as he climbed the steps like a Greek God ascending from the sea and walked into my waiting arms. His own dark blue Speedo hung low on his hips while hugging his delectable behind.

I blotted his skin dry as his hands found their way under my shirt and onto my hips. It didn't bother me he was wet. I was just happy he still wanted to touch me after I'd told him everything. Well, almost everything.

"I've never had my very own man servant. I could get used to this," he teased, leaning down to kiss my neck.

I smiled and shivered at the contact, but continued drying him off. "I'd happily do this every day if it made you happy."

Austin stilled, causing me to glance up at him. He brought his hand to my face, then kissed me again.

"You make me happy. And you're all I'll ever need."

He brought his mouth back down on mine for a different kind of kiss. Not heat, lust, or passion. But a kiss that you gave to someone you loved. Someone you didn't want to live without.

Before we could get carried away, the Imperial March, Darth Vadar's theme song, started playing from my pocket.

Shit. I was going to have to change that before she got there.

Austin pulled back, listened, and started laughing. "Let me guess. Katherine?"

I nodded as he took the towel from me to wrap around his waist while I scrambled for my phone.

"When she's on my last nerve, I set it as her tone. It was so apropos for her when she was on the hunt for a woman for me." She obviously hadn't learned her lesson when she'd introduced me to Sabrina.

Austin grinned at me. "This is going to be fun."

I scoffed as I scrolled through the ringtone settings on my phone. "I hope you still feel that way after you meet the family."

"Stop worrying about them. It's going to be fine." He kissed my forehead before turning to leave. "I'm going to go shower and change. I'll be right back."

Nodding, I watched him walk away, wanting to follow him. We could stay locked in my bedroom and explore each other. But unfortunately, I needed to pull out the appetizers I'd ordered for everyone's arrival.

Before I pocketed my phone, I looked down at the message that warned me I might have thirty minutes until their arrival. Resigned, I climbed the stairs and made my way back to the kitchen.

True to form, the doorbell rang less than thirty minutes later. Austin hadn't returned yet, but I didn't have time to check on him. I had to answer the door.

Padding across the tiled floor, I reached for the handle and swung the door open. I was immediately met with the familiar fragrance of White Diamonds. My sister had been obsessed with the grandeur that surrounded Elizabeth Taylor. Hence, she wore the perfume made from sixty-seven different flowers, and named my niece after her as well.

"Greer! It's so good to see you!" she said as she swept into my arms in the dramatic fashion that had surrounded her since she was a teenager.

"Hello, Kat," I said, hugging her. I was sure to smell like those sixty-seven flowers the rest of the evening. "How was the flight?"

She sighed. "Long, but the jet was comfortable."

Looking over my shoulder, I knew who she was looking for. The smirk on her face was the one she wore when she thought she was right. Boy, was she in for a surprise.

"So, no boyfriend, after all. That's what I thought. Don't worry, big brother, I've got several choices for you all lined up." I didn't bother to correct her mistake.

She patted my chest twice and stepped back as my beautiful niece walked through the door, rolling her Louis Vuitton suitcase behind her. Elizabeth was twenty-five and the spitting image of her mother. With dark, almost black hair and blue eyes, Elizabeth was stunning. "Hey, Uncle Greer!"

Smiling, I hugged her to me. "Hello, sweetheart. It's so good to see you."

"You too," she said. "Thank you for allowing us to get married here." She hugged me close, then whispered in my ear. "And I'm sorry for everyone Mom has invited. She's on a mission."

Before I could reply and tell her it was fine, a tall young man with shaggy blond hair and a surfer's build entered the house. Elizabeth beamed and held out her arm to him.

"Uncle Greer, this is Daniel. Daniel, this is my favorite uncle, Greer Rowan."

I extended my hand to shake his. "Nice to meet you, Daniel. Welcome to Costa Rica."

"Thank you, sir. It's nice to meet you." He smiled and wrapped my niece in his arms. Elizabeth looked up at him with a very familiar gaze that made me wonder if I looked at Austin like that.

"Well, come in. Make yourself at home. There are appetizers in the kitchen. Elizabeth, show him around."

My sister eyed me suspiciously as her husband, Martin, and my nephew, Fisher, walked in carrying hanging bags. "Hey! It's good to see you!"

"Hey, Unc," Fisher said, grinning at me. "Okay if I hit the beach?"

I laughed. "Hey Fisher. Go ahead. You have about an hour before dinner," I said, clapping him on the shoulder. "You're staying downstairs."

"Yes!" he hissed, then grabbed his bag before heading down the stairs.

"You know how to make him happy," my brother-in-law said.

"Greer," my sister said, "where is your..." Her question trailed off as her eyes went wide. I knew what she was looking at. Or rather, who she was looking at. He had the same effect on me.

Kat's eyes went wide as I turned to take in Austin. I let out a sigh as he padded barefoot toward us, wearing dark jeans that hugged his thighs, and a vintage Pirate's T-shirt that he'd stolen from my dresser.

"Love the shirt," I said as he stopped in front of me.

He shrugged. "It's a little tight, but it'll do."

It wasn't tight. It was perfect, and it had shut my sister up.

Austin smiled and looked up. He wrapped a muscled arm over my shoulder to pull me closer as he extended a hand.

"You must be Katherine and Martin. It's nice to meet you."

My sister's eyes flicked to mine. "And you are..."

I turned to catch his grin. "I'm Austin. Austin Wentworth. I'm going to be your brother-in-law."

From your mouth to God's ears, beautiful man.