Page 55

“That depends. Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”

“Nope.”

“Saadiq—”

“Trust me, shorty.”

I sighed dramatically. “I feel like those are famous last words.”

He laughed, took my hand, and led me outside. A sleek black SUV waited outside the villas’ fence line. I stopped walking when I recognized the woman standing beside it.

“Demi?”

Our driver grinned. “Morning, Miss Topaz.”

I turned to Saadiq. “You brought Demi on vacation?”

He shrugged. “She said she gotta work.”

“Demi has a family!”

“And she has a week off after she drops us at the marina.”

I looked back at Demi. “Please tell me he’s paying you an obscene amount of money.”

“Miss Topaz, I’m about to buy my wife a new car,” she said.

“Well, damn! Carry on, then,” I encouraged as Saadiq opened my door.

“Absolutely not.”

Saadiq stood beside me at the marina, looking entirely too damned smug. “What’s wrong?”

I pointed at the enormous white yacht bobbing gently against the dock.

“This ain’t a boat. This a floating mansion!”

“It’s a yacht, Apple.”

“Is it, Captain Obvious?”

He chuckled and guided me toward the gangway. The yacht was magnificent. It was all gleaming white surfaces, plush seating, polished wood, and an upper deck that offered panoramic views of the Atlantic. A uniformed captain greeted us as we boarded, and a young woman appeared with two glasses of sparkling juice.

“Welcome aboard, Miss Waters.”

I looked at Saadiq. “How does everybody know my name?”

He shrugged. “Because I told them.”

“Of course you did,” I mumbled.

He led me to the shaded rear deck, where breakfast had been arranged beneath a canopy. Fresh fruit, fluffy scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, pastries, and a beautiful arrangement of tropical flowers covered the table.

I stopped.

“Saadiq.”

“What?”