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Cady
Max is… tempting.
Very, very tempting.
It’s like I’m standing at the gates of an amusement park and he’s offering me free rides. Or a pet store and letting me walk out with all the puppies. Or—
Whatever I want.
That’s the problem. I don’t know what I want because I’ve never been able to think about having it.
But as we walk over to the next resort where his friends are waiting for us, I think about wanting those fingers to keep rubbing my feet, moving up my calf, over my knee and onward. Upward. To the tiny bud of tension—
The thought makes things flutter. Things that haven’t fluttered in a long time. Things that—
“Cady?”
Max never gave me an answer to my questions of how many were invited to the wedding, but when we reach the restaurant, he seems surprised by the crowd. Either Marcus has more friends than Max knew about, or he spent the day making new friends along the beach.
Tables are set up on the edge of the room, already full of platters of fresh fish, beans and rice, and salads. There’s a lineup at the bar in the corner, and high tables are spread throughout the restaurant for guests to better mingle as they eat.
The boys position me at a table off to the side and rush off for drinks and food.
I turn to see Marcus approach with a hesitant smile on his handsome face. “Marcus,” I say, instantly morphing back into business Cady, mask settling over my face. I’ve learned it’s better to keep your cards close in big groups. I don’t know these people, but I’m sure they will judge me when they find out who I am. “Congratulations on the upcoming nuptials.”
“Max left a message he was bringing someone, but he didn’t say it was you.”
“Is it a problem that it’s me?” I ask in a cool voice.
He shakes his head, his smile losing some of its wariness. “Of course not. It’ll give me a chance to get to know you a little better.”
I smile tightly. “That’s sweet, but the last thing you want to do at your wedding is to get to know me. I’m a silent partner—no socializing necessary.”
“If you’re about to be part of Max’s life, I’d like to get to know you.”
“No one said anything about being part of Max’s life.”
“Is this just business, then? Not like that,” he says hastily as my expression freezes like the last Ice Age. “You’re both trying for Tingel Island. Is this how you get dirt on your rivals?”
“I don’t know what you mean.” And I don’t because my interest isn’t public. Marcus shouldn’t know—Nick definitely shouldn’t know.
“I know you’re trying to be all sneaky like, grabbing the property before Sandflower, but it’s hard to stay off the radar when you’re in Noam Tate’s back pocket,” Marcus explains, glancing around to make sure no one overhears.
“I’m in no one’s pocket.”
“No? Did you know he put in a hard sell to buy Fantasies last month? About two days after you signed on.”
The mask cracks a little, showing my surprise. “What are you talking about?”
“That offer Coulter mentioned to you? It was from a subsidiary of Tate’s. It took us a bit to find out who was behind it, but it had his name all over it. His son’s name, at least, which is the same thing.”
“Noam tried to buy Fantasies?” After he pushed me into the deal. After he suggested me being an investor.
Marcus looks at me carefully. “I take it you didn’t know. Then I bet you didn’t know he bought three of your other properties in the last few years. The clubs you were having problems with, with the community backlash. Same buyer.”
I look past Marcus’s shoulder, at everyone laughing and talking and not at their life crumbling before them.
Not my life—Noam never had that control over me. But he had a lot of power over my decisions, so the information stabs deep.
