Her ringing cell phone broke into her thoughts. “Excuse me.” She hopped up and dashed into the sunroom where she’d left the phone. It was unusual for her cell phone to ring. Since leaving college she hadn’t maintained contact with any of her former college mates. She was wondering who it could be when she picked it up and peered at the screen. Robyn O’Riley. Erin’s heart sank. If Robyn was calling it could not be good.
She clicked on the answer button and put the phone to her ear. “Hello.”
“Erin, you naughty girl, how could you do this to me?” Robyn’s words were teasing but her tone gave her away. She was annoyed.
“Do what?” Erin rolled her eyes. Robyn was famous for putting on an act. She was always the wounded woman.
“Don’t play with me,” Robyn said, the pretense falling and her voice harsh. “You went and got married and didn’t even tell me.”
Erin stiffened. How in the world had Robyn found out? She had told absolutely no-one.
“You made me have to read about it in the tabloids. How could you?”
The tabloids? Erin’s heart sank. So much for keeping all of this a secret. And why hadn’t she thought about the possibility of something like that happening?
Dare was a rich man and an eligible bachelor. The paparazzi must have jumped at the chance to break the news of his change in status. Somehow, though, because his business was all the way in Santa Marta she hadn’t expected the publicity.
“I almost missed it,” Robyn was saying, her tone growing increasingly irritated. “It was a small feature tucked in the corner of the second page. If I hadn’t caught sight of it I would never have known. You weren’t going to tell me, were you?”
“I…” Erin bit her lip. She hated to lie. It was the truth. She’d had absolutely no intention of telling Robyn anything.
“Still keeping secrets, Erin?" Robyn’s voice was low and threatening. Her true nature was showing through. “You know I’m the last person you should keep a secret from.”
Erin remained silent. The last thing she wanted was get on Robyn’s wrong side. She knew too much and was more than ready to use her knowledge to her own advantage.
“Why didn’t you tell me the guy you’d been seeing over spring break was the owner of the resort?” she demanded.
“I had no idea-”
“Do you expect me to believe that? You knew who he was and that was why you spent the night.” Robyn’s voice was hard with accusation.
Erin knew exactly what her problem was. Robyn should have been the one to snap up the most eligible bachelor on the island, not some poor church mouse of a girl like her. Robyn’s parents had money. Not within Dare’s range by any means, but she was used to enjoying the trappings of wealth and would have loved the chance to secure an even more prosperous future through marriage with a man like Dare.
It was no use arguing with her, not when her mind was all made up. The best thing would be for this conversation to end without Robyn’s feathers being ruffled even more than they already were. Erin decided to change the subject. “How are your parents?”
“Dad's fine.” Robyn's response was curt. For some reason, Robyn didn't mention her mother. She was probably on one of her long trips to South America.
“I'm glad to hear your dad's well.” Erin didn’t have a whole lot more to say to Robyn after that. After all, what would she have to say to the girl who had tormented her for the five months she’d spent in her home under foster care? “I’m glad to hear it.”
Mr. and Mrs. O’Riley had been distant but kind, providing more than adequately for her needs while she was under their roof. The first time she met them, when she’d been the insecure age of seventeen, she’d immediately recognized them as people of high social standing. For the life of her she could not figure out why they’d chosen to get involved with foster care. It was not until she’d been there a month that Erin found out that the year before they’d done a tour with a missionary group and had felt obligated to do their part in the community. And so they’d taken her in.
Little did they know that they had a devil among them. Of their three children Robyn was the oldest and bossiest. What made it worse, she was deceitful. Things had started out manageable even though Robyn seemed to think that with the new arrival she’d suddenly acquired a personal servant. Not wanting to put her position in jeopardy, Erin acquiesced most of the time and with each ‘favor’ she did for Robyn the girl mellowed to her.
Then came the night when, overcome with loneliness and depression, Erin crept into the bathroom to weep in private. That was where Robyn found her, curled up on the bathroom floor, her face buried in a thick bathrobe in an attempt to stifle her sobs.
In that moment of weakness she had shared a secret with Robyn. That was a big mistake. Thereafter the girl used that knowledge to her advantage.
And now she was doing it again. Erin had no idea what Robyn was up to but it could not be good. It never was.
“I’m coming back to Santa Marta. To visit you.”
“Excuse me?”
“I want to come for a visit,” Robyn said, even more emphatically this time. “We haven’t spoken in a while. We need to do some catching up.”
The only catching up Robyn wanted to do was to get to know the billionaire ex-bachelor Erin had ‘stolen’ from under her nose. That was exactly what she was thinking. Erin had no doubt about that.
But Robyn knew too much. And if she felt it would serve her purpose she’d be all too ready to spill those precious beans.
Erin had to think fast. How could she keep Robyn from coming to the island?
“I’m not sure this is a good time.”
“Baloney. Now is a great time. I’ve got to come see you before you get bogged down with marriage. Now let's see…” There was the sound of paper flipping and then Robyn spoke again. “I’m free all of next week. I’ll come in on Sunday. I’ll e-mail you my flight information so you can pick me up at the airport.”