Free Before I Do Amazon by Barbara Freethy Page A

health. She got cancer. While that photograph had once started out as a way to save her marriage, it became the focal point of her battle to better health. She dreamed about going to that beach, resting on that hammock, sailing on that sea. She thought if she could just get there, everything would work out."
    Isabella's eyes filled with moisture, and she put a hand on his arm in concern. "She didn't make it, did she?"
    He shook his head, painful waves of emotion rolling through him.
    "I'm so sorry, Nick. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
    Her words should have freed him from saying more, but while he hadn't wanted to talk about it at first, now he couldn't seem to stop the words flowing from his mouth. "After she died, we were packing up her things, and I took the picture off her bulletin board. I don't know why I kept it, but I couldn't bring myself to throw it away. We had so many talks about that beach. I felt like I had to get there for her—if for no other reason."
    "It took you a long time to go."
    "No, it didn't. I went the first time when I was twenty-two, right after I graduated from college. I fell in love with the beach. I vowed then and there that I'd find a way to own a piece of that land, but first I had to make some money. I wasn't interested in my father's offer to join his firm. I knew that he would try to make me over in his image, and I didn't think much of his image. I also didn't want to move money around for a living. That sounded very boring. I got a job in a hotel and started working my way up. I found that I loved the hotel business. Along the way, I made some valuable contacts with people who had money to invest in me and my dreams."
    "Did your father help you at all?"
    "No, he was angry that I didn't fall in line with his plans. He told me over and over again that I'd never make it."
    "You proved him wrong."
    "Yes, I did," he agreed. "Not that he'd ever admit it. In fact, he still gives my grandfather more credit than me."
    "Why is that?"
    "While my father wasn't interested in investing in my business, my mother's father did leave me a sizable nest egg when he died. That was the seed money for buying my first hotel. It was a boutique hotel in Southern California. It became extremely profitable. After that I acquired some partners and some venture capital. From there, I just kept going."
    "You make it sound pretty easy, but there must have been hurdles. You're very young to have built so much."
    He shrugged. "Apparently, I inspire confidence—when I'm not dancing, that is."
    "Good point," she said with a smile. "Well, you should be extremely proud of yourself, of all that you've accomplished."
    "I'm not where I want to be yet."
    "Which brings us back to my original point. I wonder if you'll ever feel that you're where you want to be."
    "I guess I'll find out. I've had my head down, pedal to the metal for a very long time. I can't remember the last time I took a day off and thought about anything but work."
    "That's not good. Every life needs balance."
    "Balance is overrated. It's just one more thing to work into the schedule."
    She tipped her head in acknowledgement of his point. "So maybe not balance, but you still have to find a way to appreciate the moment you're in and not always be looking toward the next one and the one after that. Otherwise, you'll miss the life you're living."
    "You like to live in the moment, don't you, Isabella?"
    "I do," she admitted. "There are so many nuances to every minute, every conversation, every person you see or pass by. I don't like to rush my way through life. I like to savor things."
    He'd like to savor her. That was one part of his life where he liked to go slow.
    "Unfortunately, my live-in-the-moment strategy sometimes leaves me open to unexpected problems," she continued.
    "Like old pipes that suddenly break?"
    She made a face at him. "I'm not taking sole responsibility for that. My aunt knows more about the plumbing than I do."
    "Which