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  Michael took a step toward her then stopped, curling his hands into fists. “I’m sorry.” He rubbed his forehead. “I know Arlene’s been hurt, lied to and used in the past, and I wasn’t a good example of how she should be treated. But if you know how I feel about her, you would know what happened is all in the past. I will cherish her, care for her and love her until my dying day.”

  Noreen glanced away, feeling her arms begin to ache. “I’m sure you will.”

  “You don’t believe me.”

  She looked at him. “What does it matter what I believe? Darren’s happy for you. You’ve impressed my father and my sister is madly in love with you. What more do you want? Tell her your beautiful sentiments. Make all your promises to her and leave me alone.” Noreen altered her grip, nearly dropping the pot.

  Michael rushed over to her and grabbed the handle. “Let me help you.”

  Noreen tightened her hold. “I’m fine.”

  “It weighs nearly as much as you do.”

  “Let go.”

  “No.”

  “I told you to leave me alone.”

  “Fine,” Michael said, releasing his hold.

  He let go just as Noreen was pulling the pot toward her and the water splashed, soaking her face and shirt. He swore and looked at her with a guilty expression. “I’m really sorry about that.”

  Noreen looked at him, all her frustration reaching the boiling point. She threw the remaining water on him. “I’m really sorry too.”

  Michael looked down at the puddle of water at his feet then met her eyes. They looked at each other for a long moment then burst into laughter.

  Arlene, Darren and Vince appeared in the doorway. “What’s going on in here?” Vince asked.

  Michael bit his lip while Noreen covered her mouth, trying to stifle her laughter, but then they shared a look and started laughing again.

  “Have you two gone crazy?” Vince asked as Darren and Arlene looked at them, baffled.

  Michael pointed at Noreen. “It’s all her fault.”

  Noreen took off her glasses and wiped them. “My fault? You splashed me first.”

  “That was an accident.” Michael quickly unbuttoned and removed his shirt and wrung it out over the sink. “Yours was deliberate.”

  “Guilty,” Noreen admitted, unable to stop her gaze from scanning his bare chest. She noticed a violent scar left by the accident on his back. “Have you been applying the vitamin E on that? I’m surprised it’s still so prominent,” she said, touching it lightly with her fingers. “I thought after two months it would be gone by now.”

  Michael froze and a sudden tense silence filled the room. At that moment Noreen knew the weight of her mistake.

  He turned to her, his hazel eyes intense and probing. “What did you just say?”

  Noreen looked over at her sister, whose sweet brown gaze pleaded for her to lie; then she looked up at Michael, whose unrelenting gaze demanded the truth. Noreen stared up at him, unable to speak.

  A sob escaped Arlene and she ran out of the room. Darren followed her.

  Noreen broke out of her paralysis and called out to her sister. “Wait!”

  Michael blocked her. “What’s going on?”

  Noreen looked at her father, feeling helpless.

  “Tell him,” he said.

  Michael searched her face. “Tell me what?”

  Noreen sighed, knowing her moment of reckoning had come.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “I have something I need to explain.”

  Michael dropped his soggy shirt into the sink and rested his hand on the counter. “Is this explanation going to help me understand why I’ve felt like a fraud all evening? Why I’ve felt like a complete bastard because even though I’ve thought about Arlene for months, and she looks at me with adoring eyes like I’m some rescuing knight here to take care of her, it’s not enough?”

  He took a step closer. “Are you going to explain why the entire time I’ve been with Arlene this evening I haven’t been able to stop thinking of you? What you were doing? What you thought of me? What you would taste like if I kissed you?” His eyes dropped to her lips. “I still wonder.” He lifted his gaze and met her eyes. “Can you explain all that?”

  Noreen swallowed, staring into his sharp, intelligent eyes. “I think you already know.”

  “I want to hear you say it.”

  “I’m Arlene. I mean, I was.”

  Michael folded his arms, his eyes dark. “I’m listening.”

  “My sister and I switched places. I agreed to go on the cruise and deliver the antique so that she could go see a doctor and find out if she was pregnant. I thought it was a good idea at first and then it got…um…complicated. When I saw you again, at first I wanted to tell you, but you had fallen for Arlene and cared about her, not me and I—”

  Michael stopped her words with a kiss and Noreen stiffened, expecting it to be punishing and angry, but it wasn’t. It was a savage vow, a declaration of possession she couldn’t deny. Her heart, her soul, her body would belong to no other man but him, and she surrendered to that revelation. She wrapped her arms around him, letting her hands explore the sleek, bare flesh beneath her fingers.

  He moaned with pleasure. “Oh yes, that feels right. I’ve wanted to hold you for so long.” His mouth slid to her neck. “You little witch,” he said in a low, husky voice.

  Noreen grinned. “I thought I was an angel.”

  “I think you’re both.” He tenderly kissed her. “I missed you so much. I wish I could have come to you sooner but aside from my cousin getting sick, Alvarez escaped.”

  Noreen stiffened with fear. “He did?”

  Michael stroked her cheek as his tender gaze roamed over her face. “Don’t worry, Angel. He’ll never hurt you again. I made sure.”

  “How?”

  His eyes briefly turned cold. “Do you really want to know?”

  She shook her head. Whatever had happened to Alvarez had been deserved.

  “Good,” Michael said then kissed her again and slipped his hand under her wet shirt, cupping her breast.

  Noreen leaned into him, pressing her lips on his chest then abruptly stopped as a thought came to her. “Wait, we can’t do this.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because Arlene and my father are in the other room, not to mention Darren.”

  “You’re right. Where’s your bedroom?”

  “No, that’s not what I mean.” Noreen removed his exploring hands and pulled away from him, feeling miserable. “My sister is going to hate me.” Noreen blinked back tears. “She needs you. You saw her. You care about her. I can take care of myself, but she’s going to have a baby and I’ve messed up everything.”

  Michael rested his hands on her shoulders. “No, you haven’t. I like Arlene a lot, but I want you.”

  Noreen shook her head. “Michael, what you want is an illusion. I’m nothing like the woman you met on the cruise. I work too hard and worry too much. I live in this house, which wouldn’t have been decorated if it hadn’t been for Arlene.” Noreen looked down at her jeans and shirt. “This is how I dress. I’m a writer and I have an ex-husband who thinks I’m as exciting as porridge. I pay my taxes early and I go to bed late. And…what’s so funny?” she asked, catching his smile.

  “You’re rambling.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.”

  His smile grew. “No, that’s what I missed.”

  She frowned. “Missed?”

  “Yes. When I was with Arlene she never once rambled on and that’s because she wasn’t you.”

  “Exactly. Arlene doesn’t ramble and she doesn’t worry. Even Darren’s fallen for her. I don’t blame him. She’s easygoing, and fun and impulsive and—”

  “She won’t be single for long.”

  “I know,” Noreen said with a groan. “She’ll fall for the next man who pays any attention to her.”

  “I hope so. She’ll make Darren very happy.”

  Noreen paused. “What
about you?”

  “What about me?”

  “Don’t you want her too?”

  “I want the woman who was there when I was hit by a car. The one who took the stage on karaoke night.” A wicked smiled touched his lips. “And sang with me in the shower. That’s the only woman I want to be with. Is that you?”

  Noreen blushed and nodded.

  Michael’s gaze grew serious as his finger trailed a sensuous path down her jaw. “You better get your necklace back. I don’t ever want to see your sister wearing it again. Agreed?”

  “Agreed,” Noreen said, sensing the pain her betrayal had caused him. His mother’s necklace was something he treasured. “I’m sorry.”

  “I’ll only believe you if you’ll marry me.”

  “That’s blackmail.”

  “No, it’s a question.”

  She opened her mouth wanting to say yes, but then fear entered. She wanted him to promise that he’d never leave her, that he’d never become tired of her. She remembered her ex making the same promises and then walking out of her life just as her mother had.

  Noreen bit her lip. “You’re wonderful.”

  “That’s not an answer.”

  She was afraid to trust when everything between them had been a lie. She continued to look at him but her throat closed.

  Michael let his arms fall and lowered his eyes in defeat. “All right. I understand.” He turned and walked out the door.

  Noreen let him go and turned to clean up the mess of water before leaving the kitchen. She went into the family room where Vince, Arlene and Darren sat.

  She looked at her sister, feeling guilty. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine,” she said, all signs of distress gone. “It wouldn’t have worked anyway.”

  Noreen felt relieved that her sister was okay and, seeing how close she sat next to Darren, Noreen knew he was part of the reason why. She tugged on her soggy shirt. “I’m just going to go change.” She looked around, confused. “Where’s Michael?”

  “He left,” Arlene said.

  “What?”

  Darren shook his head. “He—”

  Arlene interrupted him. “Grabbed his coat and left without saying goodbye. He’s getting in his car now.”

  Noreen looked out the window and watched him, knowing that in seconds he would drive out of her life forever. She was terrified of being abandoned, of being betrayed, but everything about their time together hadn’t been a lie. Their feelings for each other were real. She looked around the room at the glowing lights, the candy canes and stars. It was a season of miracles. She may not believe in Santa Claus or reindeers that fly or ghosts but she did believe in love.

  Noreen ran outside, not caring how the cold threatened to turn her wet shirt into ice or how the wind stung her cheeks. “Te quiero mucho, Miguel,” she blurted.

  Michael spun around.

  She wrung her hands, feeling bare and vulnerable but not caring. “Please don’t leave. I’ll marry you.”

  Michael’s extraordinary eyes blazed and glowed with a love that was almost blinding, and at that moment Noreen knew he’d been just as afraid and unsure. All her fears melted away.

  “I wasn’t leaving,” he said. “I was getting a shirt from inside my car.” He disappeared inside and pulled one out and showed her. “I keep an extra in a carrying case.”

  Noreen started to shiver from both embarrassment and cold. “Oh.”

  He unzipped his coat and drew her inside his arms,

  transferring his heat to her. “Did you mean what you first said?”

  “Every word,” she said, feeling the ice on her shirt melt away. “Te quiero mucho.”

  He said a series of passionate words, which she couldn’t understand before he kissed her in a way that was raw and real and needed no translation. He cupped her face. “My darling Angel,” he whispered against her lips. “I’m never letting you go.”

  Noreen grinned. “My darling Pirate. I’m forever yours.”

  Claudia Madison nearly choked on her breakfast when she read Noreen’s email. She read it twice to make sure she’d read it correctly then called her friend Suzanne Gordon.

  “Is it April Fools’ Day or something?” she asked.

  “No,” Suzanne replied with a laugh.

  “But this has to be a trick. This doesn’t sound like sensible Noreen at all.”

  “No, but she’s happy and that’s all that matters,” Suzanne said then reread the email with a smile.

  Dear Claudia and Suzanne,

  You’re not going to believe this, but I’ve gone and married myself a pirate. He bought me a lovely house on a Caribbean island (I’ve attached pictures), where we plan to live six months out of the year. I never thought I’d be able to love again, but you were right, my dear friends, heartbreak isn’t fatal and true love is the best cure. You’ll get to meet Michael soon. For now, don’t worry about me, I’m having the time of my life.

  All the best,

  Noreen Vargas

  ISBN: 978-1-4089-2180-7

  PAGES OF PASSION

  Copyright © 2010 by Sade Odubiyi

  First Published in Great Britain in 2008

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