PREVIEWAfter a car accident that almost killed him, Jack McCabe has finally figured out what he wants in life. And as he's recuperating, he realizes that it's not his recently proposed-to fiancé; expanding his already successful car customization business; or hobnobbing with his rich and famous clients.
His first love has always been writing, and he transforms his life so he can start to do just that. Only Lexa, his live-in girlfriend of almost seven years, isn't convinced. He had proposed to her the week before his accident and she can't accept that he no longer wants the life they planned.
"Jack listen," Lexa persisted, determined to make him see what a mistake he was making. "Do you think you should be making major life decisions like this after what you've been through? I know you're going to regret this, which is why I'm holding on so hard. I love you and I know you love me too. I believe that with all my heart. If I didn't, I wouldn't have followed you here."
In that moment, Jack realized that he had to resort to saying the one thing he really didn't want to say. "There's someone else."
"You're just saying that," Lexa immediately dismissed. "I know you Jack McCabe. If there was someone else, you would have told me long ago."
"I met her here on the island; she's ..."
"Some little island whore?" Lexa lashed out. "You've barely been here a month. You really expect me to believe you're gonna marry some woman you just met, when it took you almost seven years to propose to me?"
Jack folded his arms across his chest and looked at Lexa with a 'that should tell you something' stare.
***
Bella knew she was a pawn in Jack's game, which is why she-on some level-felt sorry for Lexa. To love-and lose - a man like Jack McCabe wouldn't be easy for any woman, never mind one who'd loved him for seven years.
But Bella needed Jack. And even though she'd be his little "accidental island wife" as Lexa put it, she'd take it. The serene life she'd built on the tiny Caribbean island of Arbolina was about to come crashing down now that her abusive ex had found her.
Without Jack, she'd have to leave the home and business she'd built the last six years and go on the run, starting over someplace else. She knew she didn't have the finances to do it, but more importantly, she didn't know if she had the emotional fortitude to do it. She was so tired of feeling like she had to run ... and even more terrified of not doing it.
So when Jack made her an irresistible deal, Bella felt she had no choice but to accept. Help him kill two, maybe three birds, with one stone he said.
"I need to do something drastic to make Lexa get the message that it's over between us," Jack said.
"And marrying me is the drastic action you want to take?" Bella replied. "Maybe Lexa's right; maybe you did get a bump on your head. It's a ridiculous idea Jack. Ridiculous," Bella repeated.
"It's not ridiculous and I know you know how much sense it actually makes. ... Also, I'm almost 40. I'm ready to settle down, and I think we have the makings of something that could be very good. Then, there is the matter of your ex. Like I said, I can protect you."
But could he protect her heart from him?
