“Not for me. I don’t want this, Jonas.” She reached up to push back her hair. “I don’t want to feel like this.”

He took her hand before she could back away. His head was swimming. There had been no other time, no other place, no other woman that had come together to make him ache. “Why?”

“I don’t make the same mistake twice.”

“This is now, Liz.”

“And it’s my life.” She took a long, cleansing breath and found she could face him squarely. “I’ll go with you to Acapulco because the sooner you have what you want, the sooner you’ll go.” She gripped her hands together tightly, the only outward sign that she was fighting herself. “You know Moralas will have us followed.”

He had his own battles to fight. “I’ll deal with that.”

Liz nodded because she was sure he would. “Do what you have to do. I’ll make arrangements for Luis to take over the shop for a day or two.”

When she left him alone, Jonas closed his hands over the key again. It would open a lock, he thought. But there was another lock that mystified and frustrated him. Idly, he picked up the bear Liz had left on the bed. He looked from it to the key in his hand. Somehow he’d have to find a way to bring them together.

CHAPTER 6

Acapulco wasn’t the Mexico Liz understood and loved. It wasn’t the Mexico she’d fled to a decade before, nor where she’d made her home. It was sophisticated and ultra modern with spiraling high-rise hotels crowded together and gleaming in tropical sunlight. It was swimming pools and trendy shops. Perhaps it was the oldest resort in Mexico, and boasted countless restaurants and nightclubs, but Liz preferred the quietly rural atmosphere of her own island.

Still she had to admit there was something awesome about the city, cupped in the mountains and kissed by a magnificent bay. She’d lived all her life in flat land, from Houston to Cozumel. The mountains made everything else seem smaller, and somehow protected. Over the water, colorful parachutes floated, allowing the adventurous a bird’s-eye view and a stunning ride. She wondered fleetingly if skimming through the sky would be as liberating as skimming through the water.

The streets were crowded and noisy, exciting in their own way. It occurred to her that she’d seen more people in the hour since they’d landed at the airport than she might in a week on Cozumel. Liz stepped out of the cab and wondered if she’d have time to check out any of the dive shops.

Jonas had chosen the hotel methodically. It was luxuriously expensive—just Jerry’s style. The villas overlooked the Pacific and were built directly into the mountainside. Jonas took a suite, pocketed the key and left the luggage to the bellman.