Rafael sighed. Yeah, he knew they’d made sacrifices. Devon was even marrying Copeland’s daughter to cement this deal. They were close to having everything they’d ever wanted. Success beyond their wildest imaginations.

And he’d never felt worse or more unsure of himself in his life.

“Trust me on this, Dev. Give me some time, okay? I’ll make it right. I’ve never not come through before. But this is my future we’re talking about here.”

Rafael heard the weary sigh through the phone. “One week, Rafe. One week and if ground isn’t broken, I’m coming down there and I’m bringing Ryan and Cam with me.”

Rafael ended the call and shoved the phone into his pocket. One week. It seemed a ridiculous amount of time to decide the fate of his entire future. And Bryony’s future. The future of his child.

He blew out his breath and walked away from the beach toward Bryony’s car. She was probably tired. He’d bet that neither of them had slept much the night before. He’d seen dark circles under her eyes when they’d left her cottage before sunup to drive to the construction site.

With a week’s reprieve, it was time to concentrate on the most important issue at hand—regaining his memory and figuring out his relationship with Bryony Morgan.

As Rafael strode back toward the car, Bryony regarded him warily. He looked angry and determined. Whatever phone call he’d made, it hadn’t been pleasant. She could hear his raised voice all the way inside the car, though she couldn’t make out what it was he said.

True to his word, he’d given the order to suspend groundbreaking. It hadn’t taken long for her cell phone to start ringing. Rupert had been first, congratulating her on keeping Rafael de Luca in line. Bryony had rolled her eyes and bitten her tongue. As if anyone could leash Rafael de Luca. No, whatever reason he had for agreeing to postpone construction, it hadn’t been because she’d asked him to.

Her pride had already taken enough of a beating. She wasn’t going to beg him.

Then Silas had called to confirm that construction had indeed been halted and then expressed his concern that the workers were now on the island with nothing to do for the next however many days. He worried about the implications. As if Bryony had any experience with enforcing the law.

Still, she had to remember that a lot of people counted on her to keep things running smoothly. It was what she did. Never mind that her life was in shambles. She didn’t offer any guarantees about keeping her own affairs straight.

When Rafael arrived, he didn’t say anything. He took the keys from her and guided her around to the passenger side.

When he got in, she eyed him sideways. “Everything okay?”

“Fine.”