The Reunion Read Free Page B

in the lap of luxury since the day of her birth.
    “Nothing good, usually.” Zoey let out a shuddering breath. “I feel like I’m making a difference with him, you know? He’s reading at grade level, and he’s a whiz in math, and his art is amazing. But…” She shrugged, helpless. “What can I do? How can I be a lasting influence? How can I give him enough love to sustain him? The truth is, I can’t. And it breaks my heart.”
    “But he’ll remember you. We all remember our best teachers, right? You’ll always influence him, Zoey, even when you’re not teaching him every day.”
    He looked at Ella with a raised brow. She always surprised him by being wiser than anyone would predict after taking a look at her.
    Zoey had been skirting the edge of the water, and now she took a slight turn and walked in until the ocean lapped at her ankles. Still wearing shoes, Nate hung back. But she spoke loudly enough for him to hear. “I’ve always wanted kids,” she said. “But these days I’m thinking I don’t want biological children. I want a couple of kids like Michael. Older kids who’ve never had the stability of a home or a family. I want to give someone a home and a family.” She sighed deeply. “Well, someday,” she amended. “When I’ve saved some money, and I’m more settled and in a position to have a kid.”
    Something tightened in Nate’s chest. He’d always accused her of being a bleeding heart, and she was. But it wasn’t an act for her like it was with most do-gooders he’d met. She threw her heart and soul into making a difference in the world.
    They’d talked about kids…a long time ago, when they’d both believed they had forever. They’d both wanted children. But her change of heart—her plan to adopt older children instead of having her own—didn’t surprise him. It was so Zoey .
    “You’re such a good person,” Ella told her. There was a grave seriousness in her voice as she said it.
    Zoey laughed out loud. “Seriously? I’m sarcastic and snappish and rude. Just ask Nathan.” She threw her hand back, gesturing at him.
    He gazed at her. Smooth olive-toned skin, a button of a nose, a heart-shaped face, and those gray-blue eyes that challenged him at every turn.
    Sarcastic, snappish, rude, and sexy as hell.
    And a good person.
    He’d realized a few months ago that, as much as he tried to pretend otherwise, he was in love with her. Truth was, he’d never fallen out of love with her.
    He wanted her. And as he stood there gazing at her, his decision was cemented. He’d thought about it a lot over the past several months. Now that they were finally here, together on Sugar Cay, he was going to fight for her.
    It would be a battle, he knew, and he could end up bloody and maimed.
    But if he won… Having her back would be the sweetest victory of his life.
    As he stood there staring at Zoey, the rain came. It didn’t start with a sprinkle or slow, fat drops like most rainstorms did. It was a deluge, a sudden pounding that stung the exposed areas of his skin, obscured visibility, and drenched him in the space of a few seconds.
    Zoey shrieked. Ella grabbed Zoey’s hand and tugged her out of the water. As they emerged through the curtain of rain onto the dry sand, Ella took hold of Nate’s hand, and the three of them took off running.
    The women laughed and squealed all the way back to the house, but Nate didn’t—he was too deep in thought. In schemes and plans.
    The battle to win Zoey back would start tonight. He hoped she was ready.
     
     

Chapter Two
     
    Dinner was always quite the affair in Sugar Cay. The friends sat around a huge walnut table in the dining room while being served delicious gourmet food and sharing bottles of wine and great conversation. The formality of it was always a surprise to Zoey. The crystal chandeliers, the silver place settings, the exquisite china, the bouquets of birds of paradise, orchids, and lilies… It was overwhelmingly beautiful. And so