Secret Love - Brenda Jackson [49]
He had long ago accepted the fact that the two of them would not have a normal marriage. He had gotten used to her drop-in visits, their secret rendezvous and their clandestine hideaways filled with stolen passionate moments. What he hadn’t liked was keeping the news of his marriage from his family. Only one of his brothers knew the truth, and that had been by accident when Jonathan and his wife Marilyn had dropped by the ranch unexpectedly during one of Diamond’s visits.
He knew other family members were worried and concerned that he was acting strangely by not spending time with the family like he used to. He had missed a couple of the family gatherings, which in the past had been so unlike him. What they didn’t know was the reason he’d been absent was because he’d been somewhere having a secret illicit affair with his wife. In the beginning, he had enjoyed the thrill of outsmarting the media, who assumed Diamond and Sterling were an item. Now even that had changed.
As hard as it was to believe, Sterling, who had been a devout bachelor, had gotten married eight months ago, and he and his wife were expecting their first child. Therefore Sterling could no longer be used as Diamond’s pretend lover, which had only put the media in a frenzy to discover and disclose the identity of her new love interest. News coverage on Diamond was worse than it had ever been before. The media were completely stumped as to how Colby, Sterling’s wife, could become such close friends with Diamond, whom everyone assumed was Sterling’s former lover. Jake shook his head at the madness.
Jake lifted his face to the sky when he heard the hum of an aircraft. In those few scant seconds of sound, a shudder rippled down his spine and he drew in a deep breath.
His wife, the love of his life, was home.
Diamond’s heart squeezed inside her chest when she saw the first fragments of land. She put her face to the plane’s window to peer out into the predawn sky as a clearer picture came into view.
Whispering Pines.
No matter how many times she returned, she always felt a deep connection to this place. It was here that she had found true everlasting love with a man who meant everything to her.
Jacob.
She wanted to forget about everything except Jacob and Whispering Pines. She didn’t want to remember the insane young man who thought himself obsessively in love with her and had broken into her home only to get violent when she had tried getting away from him. She didn’t want to think of the police’s questions or the mob of reporters who had shown up after hearing about the incident.
She wanted to forget everything except for the man she loved and the land she considered as home. Easing back in her seat, a calming peace settled over her. She was home, and she knew without a doubt that when the plane landed, Jacob would be there at the airstrip, waiting for her.
Just like he had that very first time.
Jake could see the silhouette of Sterling’s plane in the predawn sky. Then he watched it land. He held his breath when the aircraft came to a stop. Moments later the door opened and Diamond came out onto the top step. She saw him and across the distance their gazes met and locked. He watched as she drew a deep breath before proceeding down the steps. Her hands were tucked into the pockets of her jacket to ward off the mid-February chill. She had cut her hair for the movie she’d just finished filming. The short, curly strands covered her head like a black cap, and made the beauty of her facial features even more blatant.
He walked toward her, feeling more love for this woman than she would ever know. He met up with her when she planted her feet firmly on solid ground, the earth of Whispering Pines. When he stood in front of her, he looked at her closely, trying to detect any physical