Page 63

Standing next to her, too damn close next to her, is Bennett. He’s facing Eden, grinning like an idiot and holding two iced coffees like he’s auditioning for a romcom nobody asked for.

My jaw locks. Where the hell did she even get that bikini? Was it tucked in her closet with the rest of the things I bought her?

I make a mental note to fire my personal shopper.

Before I can zoom in on the curves my hands still remember from last night, another message from Autumn pops up under the photo.

This is the guy from last night, right? Who is he? Does my sister have a secret boyfriend? – Autumn

My jaw tightens until my teeth ache. No, my wife does not have a boyfriend.

But I don’t type that. Instead I swipe out of the message thread and jab at Vin’s contact, looking for somebody to take my annoyance out on.

He finally picks up on the fourth ring.

“West,” he says, like we are old buddies catching up and he hasn’t been ignoring me for the past few hours. “I was just about to call you.”

“Sure you were,” I say flatly. “The next disbursement of money hasn’t arrived. Did you know?”

“Hey, we had a little snafu,” he says, far too casually. “The money should be with you first thing tomorrow.” A beat passes before he clears his throat. “Of course, it’s contingent on Bennett’s internship. And us agreeing on the casino terms.”

My grip on the phone tightens. “You mean the one I already told you has no place at in this resort.”

“It’s just a small gaming room, West. Purely supplemental income.”

I bite back a laugh that has zero humor in it. “Supplemental income that cheapens the brand and drives out the families I’m building this place for. If you want to run a strip-mall casino, do it somewhere else. Not here.”

“You’ve got to be flexible,” Vin says. “If you want my investment, you need to think like me. And right now, Bennett’s placement and the casino proposal are non-negotiable.”

I stare at the columns of numbers still glowing on my laptop. Negative signs everywhere.

My temple throbs. “You made a commitment. That payment should have cleared days ago.”

“And it will. As soon as we’re on the same page.”

The word lands like a slap.

“None of this was part of the original agreement,” I tell him. “You can’t keep changing the terms as you see fit.”

His voice softens. Like he knows I’m going to cave in. “Look, I know it’s a lot, asking you to have Bennett with you while you’re working hard on the resort, and seeing as you’re a newlywed. But I really need this. I need him out of the way. He’s just a kid. I’vemade some mistakes with him and his mom and…” Vin lets out a sigh, and I realize he’s almost certainly on edge too.

Join the club, man.

“It’s fine. He can stay.” Googly eyes for my wife aside, he’s the least of my worries.

“Good.” Vin nods. “And the casino?”

“I’ll read the proposal. No promises. And I need the payment not to be contingent on that or the agreement’s off.”

“Fair enough,” Vin says, like he can sense I’m about to explode. “I’ll make sure the transfer’s processed today.”

“Thank you.” I end the call before I say something I can’t take back. I should never have gotten involved with him.

There was no other way, I tell myself. But I still regret it.

The office is silent except for the low hum of the AC and the hammering in my head. My phone screen has gone dark, but the image is still burned across it. Eden in strings and sunlight, Bennett looking like he’s on the set of a summer romance movie.

A slow heat spreads through my chest, part annoyance, part something darker. I should stay here and finish fixing this resort mess, but I’m already on my feet.