Page 12 of Forbidden Fiancé

“Excellent. I can’t wait to show you around. We will be staying at my house for part of the time, but if we want, we can take the boat and go to some of the other islands. We could go parasailing, or jet skiing, snorkeling, whatever you want. We could stay overnight somewhere or head over to Rose Island and hang with the pigs.”

“They all sound wonderful. I just want to get some alone time with you, too.”

“You took the words right out of my mouth. I promise I will make as much time for you as I can, but we will need to make some consideration for my family too,” Luke said.

I stood up. “Family?” I asked.

“Don’t worry. I’m not married or anything. My ex-wife and her husband are on the boat.”

“What?” I asked.

“We’re friends, or at least we’re trying to be. See, my son is getting married and she suggested we take a trip so we could get to know each other. Or at least that was the plan.”

I had been worried about Luke not telling me about taking me on a trip with his family but as he spoke; it was much worse than I had thought or ever imagined. I slowly walked to him and put my hands on top of his.

“Let me guess. Your son’s fiancé didn’t show up?”

Luke gave me a questioning look and asked, “How did you figure that out?”

“Is your son’s name Ethan by chance?” I asked instead of answering his question.

“Yes,” Luke said slowly and then stepped away from me. “How did you know that?”

There had been something familiar about Luke from the moment I met him. I thought it was kismet, that my soul was reaching out to his. I wanted to believe it was, but it was more. I could see now how Luke reminded me of Ethan. They had the same nose and cheekbones. Luke’s eyes were a dark, deep brown while Ethan’s were blue.

“Um,” I said, trying to find a way to tell him what I figured out.

I didn’t get a chance to say anything as I heard my name being called. I turned around to see Ethan, my ex-fiancé, standing in the doorway.

“Oh my God, Natalie! You made it,” he said and practically ran to me and pulled me into his arms.

I didn’t know what to do but wrapped my arms around him. I could feel Luke’s eyes on me but I couldn’t look over at him. Had I slept with my ex-fiancé’s father and was now stuck on a boat with them?

Chapter 8

Luke

My vision blurred a little, my ears started ringing. Nothing I was hearing or seeing was making any sense. Why was Ethan hugging my woman? Why was she letting him? Why did I have the sudden urge to rip my son’s arms out of his socket?

I stood back and watched the affection play out between my son and lover. I wanted to believe that I knew every curve, every part of Natalie’s body. I wanted to believe that I knew all of her. As I looked at how she hugged my son, I could tell she didn’t really want to be doing it. Her shoulders were too tense, her eyes weren’t bright with happiness and laughter. It was like she was giving off the vibe that she didn’t like being held by him but she had no idea what else to do.

Or at least that was what I wanted to think I was seeing.

Ethan stepped away from Natalie but he kept his hands on her arms as he looked at her.

“I knew you wouldn’t leave me high and dry. How did you find us? Were you hoping to make it a surprise? You certainly surprised me,” Ethan said.

“Does it matter? We’re here now,” Natalie said.

“This is your fiancé?” I asked.

It might have been evident but I still needed to hear the words. I needed it to be confirmed. Until then, I was going to hold out some insane hope that this was all a misunderstanding.

“Yes. Who else would it be?” Ethan asked.

“Natalie, I would like you to meet my father, Luke. Dad, this is my beautiful and incredible fiancé, Natalie,” Ethan said.

I had no choice but to put my hand out to shake Natalie’s. She didn’t extend the same courtesy and instead said, “We’ve met.”