Charmed By You ((Destiny Bay Romances-The Islanders 5)) by Helen Conrad Page A

had she made it clear enough that she wanted him to stay, too?
    She looked at her dark-haired ex-husband, sitting so near, yet so distant. “All I remember is that you wanted to get out of Flagstaff. You said you were suffocating.”
    He nodded and turned to meet her glance. “I was. I knew I had to get away. When Dede told me about these islands, about how she was training to go back to help her people, I was fascinated. I wanted to go with her. I knew I could find a niche for myself, somewhere I could make a difference.”
    Heather pulled her gaze from his, hiding the pain that surely must be mirrored in her eyes. Mitch had attracted women wherever he went, but it had never really both ered her until Dede Sablan had entered the picture. Heather had known immediately that the raven-haired beauty was different. Mitch respected her, treated her as a valued friend. Heather had been jealous of their professional relationship from the start.
    When Dede and Mitch started working together in the free clinics in their spare time, Heather had swallowed her objections and tried to pretend his relationship with Dede didn’t matter. But it did matter. It wasn’t the major factor in their separation, but it certainly helped create the tension that led to it.
    “So it was Dede who influenced you,” she said softly, wincing even as she said the name. Dede had persuaded him to come to her island, while Heather herself had failed to get him to come to dinner with her parents.
    “Yes, I owe her a lot.”
    So do I , Heather thought, but she kept the sarcasm to herself.
    “She’s been a good friend,” Mitch continued. “Though her timing may not be the best.” He turned suddenly and caught Heather’s gaze with his own. “Why did you run away from me last night, Heather?” he asked evenly.
    She avoided his eyes, staring at the hands twisted together in her lap. “Your place was getting a little too crowded for me,” she answered with artificial lightness.
    “Were you embarrassed in front of Dede?” His voice betrayed his incredulity. “But we’ve been married, Heather. Why should our being together embarrass you?”
    She raised her eyes to stare into his, wondering if he was really as blind on this issue as he seemed. Did he think she had no right to resent Dede’s place in his life? Or did he take sexual affairs so casually that he couldn’t understand why she might care?
    “We’re not married anymore, Mitch.” She stiffened, moving back across her seat toward her side of the Jeep as she sensed a gathering aggression in him. “That part of our life is over.”
    He was reaching for her, just as she’d known he would. Her hand flashed out to stop his, and she tried to inject coldness into her tone as she complained, “You prom ised, Mitch. No seduction on this trip.”
    His eyes were as flat as tinted glass, but she could feel the anger beneath his calm exterior. “All right, have it your way.” To her surprise, he started the engine and began the descent into the village.
    She sat back in her seat and tried to feel relief, a bit puzzled by his easy capitulation. She’d expected more of a fight. More important, and to her complete chagrin, she realized suddenly that she’d been looking forward to it.
    Instead, he was acting as though he hardly cared. But such behavior was typical, wasn’t it? He only took what came to him easily. At least that was what they’d all said at home when he packed his bags and flew off to the Pacific. She’d never really believed it. But if it wasn’t true, why had he gone?
    The houses of Titano village were square boxes made of wood and corrugated iron and set on stilts, high above the ground. Tall palm trees swayed lazily over wide broad-leaved breadfruit trees. While hot island breezes ruffled the palm fronds and banana leaves around the open windows, children played in the cool shade under the houses, along with the hairy pigs, straggly chickens, and mangy dogs.
    Mitch pulled up