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But what if he hadn’t?
Nope. I wasn’t going to think that way.
As I continued pacing the floor, I found myself drawing closer and closer to the table where the box was sitting. What in God’s name had the man sent me?
Oh, fine. I needed to know so I could send it back, maybe after cutting whatever it was to ribbons. I stormed into the kitchen, grabbing a pair of scissors from one of the drawers. When I returned to the living room, I attacked the box as if whatever was inside needed to be killed.
How dare the man make an ultimatum at the end? How dare he think I was going to wait for him?
Then what are you doing?
“Shut up, little voice.” I stabbed at the box, uncertain if I cared whether or not I damaged whatever it was. When I noticed the special box located inside the cardboard exterior shipping box, I was more floored than I’d admit to anyone.
Intimissimi was one of the more expensive ladies’ lingerie stores in the city. I found myself staring at a coat-size box for a solid five minutes before finding the courage to lift the lid. The lovely tissue paper was carefully positioned and folded. Why were my hands shaking as I peeled both sides away?
Unless he’d gone shopping right after our fight in the restaurant, he’d ordered whatever was nestled inside earlier.
I sucked in my breath as a series of vivid colors splashed into my periphery of vision. “Oh, my God.”
As I held up likely the sexiest lace bra I’d ever owned and a matching pair of panties, I felt a bead of perspiration forming. The dazzling plum was only one of…
“Shit.”
The man had purchased a dozen sets, all in different colors. Was he kidding me? What had Valerio thought he would accomplish?
I couldn’t help myself, brushing my fingertips across the dazzling array, hating myself for doing so. This was… He was…
Oh, God.
Sexy.
Infuriating.
Dangerous.
Merciless.
Every attribute spelled disaster. I flew to my laptop I’d placed on the kitchen table and thumped down in the chair. I’d brought a pad and pen from my even more crowded little office, determined to make a list of all the unscrupulous things Valerio, his father and brothers had done to achieve such tremendous success. I’d compare notes with the financial sheets and other contract information my dad was going to send later in the day.
The one thing my father had taught me from day one was when you had an enemy, find their weakness and exploit it. I had a feeling the sexy clubs might be his. It took me a little while, but I finally found a link to one of them.
For the most part, you had to be a member of their club or have been a previous guest to obtain a log-in code that would give you access to anything more than the glossy website with limited photographs.
“Royal Players Club,” I whispered.
Of course, the Royal boys would highlight their best features including the resort and outlying buildings, the fabulous Caribbean Ocean waters skimming a perfectly pearlescent shoreline. And the flowering trees and shrubs, with thousands of flowers, were a sight to behold.
Five stars all the way, at least from what they identified on the main page.
Top chefs.
All the amenities you could ever want.
Both islands were accessible by the small airports and by boat.
I bet the boys made a fortune. Forget about the wealth management firm. They touted among their hundreds of clients Hollywood celebrities, multimillion-dollar recording artists, corporate moguls and even politicians, some flying in from states across the country.
The men were millionaires several times over. All three were also considered the most eligible bachelors certainly in San Diego, likely all of California, and maybe every state west of the Mississippi.
