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Martin takes one of my hands in his and brushes a kiss on my knuckles. “Speak for yourself, Buttercup. I was a goner from the moment I met you.”
I slant him a suspicious look. I keep it playful, because we’re the center of attention, but I’m sure he can hear the doubt in my voice. “You liar. You thought I was some kind of crazed candy striper.”
Our “audience” laughs.
Martin seems not to notice as he continues to gaze at me. “Yes. A gorgeous, unforgettable, clever, crazed candy striper. And no matter how much I told myself you weren’t meant for me, I couldn’t get you out of my head.”
Savannah clears her throat loudly and levels a hard look at Martin. “So that’s your story, is it? You’re admitting that you met Trinity by accident and then hired me to work for Ian, all so that you could impress her?”
I expect him to try to dodge the question, but instead he just nods. “Yep. That’s pretty much it.”
Savannah rolls her eyes. “I call bullshit. Two weeks ago, you were both at our engagement party and you definitely weren’t together then.”
Again, I expect Martin to duck and cover, but to my surprise, it’s Seb who answers.
“Yeah they were.” Everyone must be as surprised as I am, because we all turn to gape at Seb, who just chuckles. “Apparently I was the only one who noticed how he looked at her the whole time she was there.”
I look from Seb to Martin and then back again. “And how did he look at me?”
But it’s Martin who answers. “Like a man in love.”
nineteen
MARTIN
Trinity is quiet through the rest of dinner.
I can’t tell whether or not I’ve convinced her. I seem to have convinced Savannah and Lily, though maybe it was Seb who did that. Either way, the conversation drifts to other topics, first how the other couples met. And then it meanders back to some of the projects Ian and Lily have been working on together.
Now that he’s retired from running Cookie Jar, he devotes most of his time to helping the foundation narrow down the never ending list of interesting research to invest in. Under other circumstances, I might be tempted to linger over dinner and make sure that Lily knows how important Trinity’s research is, but I’m pretty sure that hook has enough bait on it all on its own.
Besides, I’m eager to get Trinity alone. I’ve had my hands full of her for hours now. I’ve had the scent of her in my nose and the taste of her on my lips, and right now, there is nothing more I want than to be alone with her.
She follows my lead when I make our excuses to the group. Claire jumps up when she realizes we’re leaving.
Claire hands us a flashlight. “Your cabana is the last one on the left. The butter yellow one. Your bags are already there. There’s a land line if you need anything else before tomorrow morning. And?—”
Jonah tugs his wife into his arms and holds her to his chest. “They got this, peanut.”
“Okay, okay.” She playfully elbows him. “I just want everything to be perfect. After all, they might be coming back for their own wedding if they like it here.”
I flick the flashlight on and take Trinity’s hand in mine as I lead her up the beach to the butter yellow cabana sitting off by itself at the very end.
I half expect her to make some comment about Claire’s crack about our possible wedding. Or maybe that’s just wishful thinking on my part.
Instead, after a minute, she says, “That’s what you meant about my life getting turned upside down, isn’t it?”
I slant a look at her. She’s somehow even more stunning in moonlight. “What do you mean?”
“Meeting Lily McPherson. Having dinner with one of the richest women in tech. Having the chance to ‘catch up with her tomorrow’ about my research.”
“Ah.”
“It hardly seems fair, having an opportunity like that.”
“Yeah. I know.” I squeeze her hand. “You deserve it. But, no, it’s not fair that you have it and others don’t. It’s just the way the world works sometimes. As long as you do amazing things with the opportunities you have… well, that’s all you can do.”
She’s silent for several moments before asking, “Do you think that’s why Trent is here?”
