Page 38 of Falling for Love

“Are you two close?” she asks.

I shrug. “We keep in touch. He’s older than me, so it’s more sporadic. Plus, Asher’s a workaholic. He owns and operates Dirty Dare Spirits. His siblings all own shares. As for this island, many of my relatives have spent time with their significant others here. In fact, the place is so romantic it’s where Asher fell in love with his wife, Nikki.”

I tell her the details of how my grumpy cousin took his best friend’s sister, a model running from scandal, to this island to get her out of the public spotlight, and they ended up falling in love.

“I knew this place felt special from the moment we landed,” Taylor says.

I pause again and pull her into my arms. “You’re special,” I tell her, dipping my head and kissing her, ignoring the people who have to walk around us. Too soon, I lift my head and smile. “Ready to walk back?”

She nods and together, we walk back to where I left the car. Although I made a promise that we wouldn’t discuss the senator, I spent an hour last night talking to Lucas, Tristan, and my father about her situation, and Dad asked questions that I didn’t have answers to.

I wait until we’re back at the estate and in our bedroom. Before I put the suitcase on the bed so we can pack, I sit down and pat the space beside me. “Can we talk?”

“Sure.” She lowers herself beside me, smoothing her dress beneath her before sitting. “What’s wrong?”

I take her hand in mine. “I know I said no senator talk, but I have some questions. If you don’t mind.”

She nods, but her hazel eyes cloud over at the mention of the man making her life miserable. “Sure. What do you want to know?”

“You told me he’s holding things over you that make it look like you were complicit in campaign fraud, right?”

“Right.” She nibbles on her lower lip, and I’m determined to make this quick.

“Explain to me exactly what happened?”

She draws a deep breath and lets it out before explaining in more detail than the first time. “So the donor, Victor Hale, was furious that a reporter had somehow gotten wind that his donation was done to grease palms for a state contract Chandler had promised him. They both denied it, claiming it was a normal donation. Chandler had me email Victor to calm him down.”

“And he told you exactly what to say?” I ask.

She twists her hands in her lap. “Yes. I promised Hale we’d take care of things. I told him not to talk to anyone about it, especially the press. Not until we’d looked into the matter. I said this was something we had to investigate discreetly and we’d get back to him.”

“That’s it? That’s all you did?” I knew this, but until I’d spoken to the people closest to me, I’d been running on adrenaline, anger, and frustration, just like Taylor.

“Sweetheart, did you ever accept money from Victor Hale or any other donor on Chandler’s behalf?”

“No!” She sounds outraged by the possibility.

“Did you lie to anyone? Do anything illegal on his behalf?” I ask, already knowing the answers.

She shakes her head. “Of course not.”

“So basically, you sent emails, used the word we, and those notes can be interpreted as if you knew about campaign fraud.”

She looks at me, wide-eyed. “Yes.”

“He’s been gaslighting you. Making you think he has something on you that’s illegal, and you felt so alone and scared, you believed him.” Fury sizzles through my veins. I wish I’d had this detailed conversation with her earlier, but she led me to think what the senator wanted her to believe.

“No. You don’t understand. He will make sure I look guilty.”

I take her hand. “Then we outmaneuver him.” Ideally, she’ll go to the Federal Election Commission and tell them what she knows about Senator Chandler Cross. But she isn’t ready to hear that yet, and it’s too soon to take that step. I need to make sure she’s protected first. “You have more on him than he has on you. But you need to trust that we’ll figure a way out of this. Do you trust me?”

She nods. “Of course I do.”

“Now, how about we make the most of our last couple of hours here?” I ask, reaching for the hem of her dress.

Her eyes darken as she lifts herself up so I can peel the dress up and over her head. Hooking her thumbs into her panties, she slides them down her legs and kicks them aside. She reaches behind her for the hooks on her bra, but I stop her, pull her to a standing position, and turn her around.

I trail my lips down the silken skin of her back, then up the other side. She shivers and I know if I spin her back so I can face her, her nipples would be hard and ready for me to take into my mouth. So I unhook the bra and wait for her to shake the garment off her arms.