[Invitation to Eden 04.0] Hydrotherapy Read Free Page B

on the tall, rugged looking man behind the mahogany desk.
    Jenna's smile faltered as he twirled his pen in his hand and sized her up with a knowing smile.
    “You.” Jenna’s mind seized with anger.
    With a flick of his wrist, the man removed his dark-rimmed glasses, revealing large, hazel eyes that matched his golden locks. “Hello, Jenna. It has been a long time, hasn't it?” He smiled wider, revealing two long rows of perfectly white teeth, and tossed both his glasses and pen carelessly onto the stack of papers on his desk.
    “Caine,” Jenna said on an exhale. “ You’re Mr. Malstrom?”
    “A temporary name, I assure you.” He straightened his pale blue tie and rounded the desk toward her with open arms. “It's so good to see you again.”
    It was him, it was really him . Despite every fiber of her being screaming to go to him, Jenna sidestepped his warm embrace and put some distance between them. “I wish I could say the same.” She moved behind an office chair and grasped the back so tight her knuckles turned white. “What is this, some sort of joke?”

Chapter Two
    “I thought you'd be happy to see me,” Caine said as he lowered his arms. This was a far cry from the reunion he was expecting.
    “See you? You left me, Caine.”
    “My contract was up.” Among other things. “I had no choice.”
    “God, I should have known it was you when I saw your sidekick in the waiting area. The dreadlocks and sunglasses threw me for a loop.”
    “Yeah, when we first got to the island, Rex met a woman who was into hair. The relationship didn’t last, but the dreadlocks did.”
    “The dreadlocks—” Jenna shook her head, as if dispelling her thoughts. “I don’t care.”
    Caine closed the distance between them. “Jenna—”
    “Oh no, you don’t,” she said, sidestepping his advance once more. “You left without saying goodbye.”
    “I wrote you a note.” A hand written note, because email seemed too harsh and hearing her voice on the phone would make him lose his nerve. In the note he told her he wanted to be with her, but if they were to have a future together he needed to find more stable work. He was leaving her, but the separation was only temporary. Once he acquired enough money and stability to give her the life she deserved, he’d send for her.
    Jenna furrowed her brow. “I never received a note.”
    “That’s crazy. I left it on your desk in the office.” Caine waved his hand in dismissal. The tour company she and her mother ran consisted of one small office and a boat. He had great memories of making Jenna scream with pleasure in both. Caine had placed the note on the small turtle planter she had kept on her desk. Jenna used to have a thing for both fresh flowers and turtles. He wondered if she still did.
    “I never saw it. You just got up and left without a word—and with all of our savings.”
    Icy fingers stretched through Caine, causing his muscles to freeze on the spot. “What are you talking about?”
    She crossed her arms and jutted her hip to the side in that way he had always found so endearing. “Oh come on now, Caine. We’re past lying, aren’t we? You and your cousin just got up and left. The next day Dad tried to use his credit card and it was denied.”
    “I don’t see—”
    “Our bank account was stripped,” she huffed, clearly losing her patience. “Everything we had made that summer was gone.” She averted her gaze, but not before Caine saw the tears in her eyes. “Mom was feeling too sick and run down to go into town, so she sent you to the bank to deposit the weekend’s earnings. You were the last one to touch the account.”
    “I didn’t do it, I swear.” He had gone to the bank and deposited the check, just like he was told. Sure, he was tempted to take the money and run, who wouldn’t be? But his respect for the old woman and his affection for Jenna kept him on the straight and narrow. It was the only time in his life that he had done the right