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She opens her mouth to respond, and I swear, fear clutches my gut because if she says it didn’t mean anything…
It meant something. It will always mean something with her.
I made her come on the beach—the type of orgasm that had her calling out my name, fingers tugging on my hair for me to take more of her—that meant something.
It scares me how much it meant.
Instead of cracking my heart like a walnut, Cady only smiles and nestles into the pillow. “What did your father say that upset you?”
That is not where I saw this moment going. “It’s not important.”
“I saw your face. You were upset. That’s important.”
“Not to him.”
Cady smiles ruefully and her expression tells me she knows exactly what that’s like. “It’s not always the case, is it? But it’s important to me.”
I toy with the ends of her hair, looking dark in the dim light. “He’s always tried to control me. What I do, what I can do. He uses the business to keep me from doing things that would make me happy. And when I have something that makes me happy, he takes it away.”
“Like Caroline.”
I nod. “And like me playing soccer. I like it, it keeps me—it’s good for my head, you know?”
“I do yoga,” she says.
“It’s important to have something that’s good for your head. If I wasn’t playing, I think I might have drunk myself into a stupor after Caroline, and he—my father, doesn’t give a shit. He just sees me happy and good at something and he does his damnedest to take it away.”
“Do you really think that’s what he’s doing?”
“I don’t know. Feels like it.”
“If that’s the case, then he’s a spiteful ass who doesn’t deserve you for a son. I think he’s jealous of you. Of your successes. Of your happiness. Of you, because you’re a much nicer person than he is.”
“You know my father.”
“I know of him. I told you that. Does… does he know I’m here with you?” Cady pauses, waiting for me to respond. “That’s why he’s upset, isn’t it? He knows I’m here with you.”
There’s no point denying it. “You’re some kind of psychic, aren’t you?”
“Did he say why he’s upset?” she asks carefully.
“I didn’t read all of his texts. I think it’s just because he thinks you’re important to me… you are important to me.”
Cady drops her gaze. “You just met me.”
“Too soon?”
“It should be,” she whispers. “I should be running scared, but instead, I’m going to be honest with you.”
My heart skips a beat. “Please tell me you’re not married,” I say, trying to joke.
“Maximus, I’m the other buyer interested in Tingel Island.”
I might need the light on for this. “What?” I squint at Cady in the dim moonlight. “My Tingel Island? The one Sandflower has been trying to firm up for the last three months?”
“Maybe my Tingel Island,” she admits.
I can only stare at her. “Well, fuck. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? To keep me distracted or find out what we’re offering.” I want to laugh. I want to shout at being used, at being nothing more than a means to an end…
