AllFreeNovel
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I’ve been to the Caribbean before: I had a memorable two days in Grand Cayman with the president of a bank once. Memorable for him, at least.
I’ve been to Mexico twice. Again, with clients.
Being an extremely well-paid escort meant that my clients often had more money than they knew what to do with and liked to spend it on me. Trips and jewelry and clothes.
Which is why I didn’t like Max buying me the dress.
Most of the clothes were low cut and revealing. They liked to show me off, and I went with it because they paid the bills. But when I finished with that life, those clothes were the first to go.
Maybe that’s why I dress so conservatively now. Even the bikini covers more than the essentials—high-waisted and high-cut, with a top that goes for coverage and functionality rather than fashion.
It’s like I’m trying to turn off Max.
Maybe not, but he doesn’t need any encouragement.
That’s not a bad thing. He’s a nice man, but the problem is that I don’t know many nice men, so I don’t know what to do with them. I don’t know how to be myself—other than the Cady who will take care of your every need.
Max seems like he wants to take care of my needs, and that’s such a foreign concept that it makes me more nervous than I need to be. It makes me—
“Hey, beautiful.”
I ignore the call and keep walking.
“Hey!”
Someone really is persistent.
“Cady!”
I turn to see Max loping toward me, and I swear, the crack that starts in my heart is like an ice cube breaking.
Why? It’s only Max.
Ha came back.
“What’s wrong?” I call to him. “I thought you were in a boat.”
He shakes his head as he comes up to me. And that smile. “No boat. Not for me anyway. I thought I’d hang with you instead.”
I can only blink with astonishment. “But your friends…”
“Are perfectly happy without me to nag them about wearing a swim belt.”
“Like a life preserver?”
“Naw, just a floaty belt. Nick went after a turtle the first time we went out and had to be towed back by the captain. I’ve never let him forget it.”
“But he’s…”
“He was nineteen at the time.”
“Ah. You’ve known them a long time.”
“Feels like my whole life. But I don’t want to talk about them. How was your book?”
“I couldn’t get into it,” I confess. “It’s kind of driving me crazy not having my laptop. Or even my phone.”
He laughs. “I did peg you for a bit of a control freak.”
