The Billion Dollar Pact: Waking Up with the Boss (Billionaire Brothers Club) / Single Mom, Billionaire Boss / Paper Wedding, Best-Friend Bride
When they separated, she wanted to pull him back into her arms. But she knew that wouldn’t change anything. So she let him go.
While he went into the bathroom to clean up, she made a beeline to her own bathroom, grabbing her panties along the way. This time, she wasn’t going to lose them in the shuffle.
Carol returned with her dress smooth and tidy, her underwear in place. Jake came back with his shirt tucked in and his fly neatly zipped.
Fighting a bout of sadness, she glanced down at her feet. She was wearing sandals decorated with little sparkling gems. The other jewels, the real ones Jake had given her, were packed. She didn’t know if she would ever put them on again.
“Ready?” he asked.
She looked up at him. “To go home and act as if nothing happened?”
He nodded.
She searched his gaze, but all she saw, all she felt, were her own scattered emotions staring back at her. “I think I will make you a quilt, with all of the Caribbean trimmings.”
“Promise?”
“Yes.” She wanted Jake to remember that she’d once been his lover, even years from now, when she was happily married to someone else. “Just so you’ll have it.”
“Thanks. But we better go now.” He took charge of the luggage, his and hers. “Should we ask the caretakers for a ride to the helipad or do you want to walk?”
“We can walk.” It was a paved path, with stairs leading to the raised platform. “But I’d like to go the beach first, to the area where the sandcastle was. Or might still be.” Even if it was in ruins, she wanted to see the remnants.
“Okay.” He agreed to take her there.
They went downstairs, left their suitcases on the front porch and ventured onto the beach. But there was nothing to see. Everything was gone, including their beloved mermaid.
“We’re too late,” he said.
“Did the candles get washed away, too?” she asked, trying not to feel empty inside.
“I think someone removed them. I doubt Lena would have allowed them to pollute the ocean.”
“That’s good.” Carol turned to look at him as a salty breeze skimmed the shore. “It’s so quiet.”
He captured a strand of her billowing hair. “Lena told me at lunch that she really likes you.”
Carol leaned closer. “I like her, too.” She’d gotten to know the pop star a little better. During the course of the weekend, they’d chatted here and there. But mostly Lena just smiled whenever she saw Jake and Carol together, saluting Carol for taking a sexy chance on him.
He released her hair, sliding it through his fingers. “And you were worried about fitting in with my friends.”
“But I misbehaved like them instead?”
“Much to my pleasure.” He kissed her, soft and slow, surrounded by the tropical paradise that helped inspire their affair.
Their last kiss, she thought. Their last moment. She slipped her arms around him, holding him as if it was never going to end. Only, they both knew it was coming to a close.
But still, she deepened the kiss, savoring the taste of him for as long as she could.
* * *
A little over a month had passed since the island trip, and now Jake was meeting Garrett for a drink at the LA-area resort Garrett owned. The main building was a grand hotel, with a view of the Pacific Ocean. To the west of it, along the boardwalk, were private condos. Guests could stay at either type of accommodation, depending on their needs.
On this crisp, clear afternoon, a group of people were horseback riding along the shore. Garrett was a horseman who’d built a fancy stable on the property for himself as much as for his guests. In fact, he lived on the premises, near the stables, in a custom-built house on a cliff above the beach.
Jake entered the hotel, his thoughts scattered. He was supposed to be concentrating on a fund-raiser that was in the works for their foundation, but he kept thinking about Carol instead.
She’d called in sick four times this week. That wasn’t like her. She rarely, if ever, missed work. She did seem ill, though. The last time he’d seen her, she looked tired and pale. But Jake wasn’t sure if it was physical or emotional.
Being around each other was becoming increasingly difficult, even with the amount of time that had passed since Lena’s party. They did the best they could, but it was awkward, with both of them overcompensating for the heat that still sizzled between them. He wasn’t sure what was worse: being alone at the office with her or having other people around. Either way, he was feeling the pressure, and so was she.
Was it the stress that was making her sick? He wouldn’t be surprised if it was. But at this point he didn’t know what to do about it other than urge her to see a doctor, if she hadn’t done that already.
He was concerned that if it continued for much longer she was going to find herself another job, one that didn’t include an ex-lover as her boss.
Then what would he do? How would he replace her? Carol was an asset to his company...and to him. She understood him. She knew what made him tick. But maybe it would be better if she left, if they didn’t have to see each other every day. No, he thought. He didn’t want to lose her, not like this.
“Hey! Where are you going?”
Jake spun around and saw that he’d just walked right past Garrett in the front lobby bar. Cripes, he didn’t even realize what he was doing.
“Sorry. I just—” Rather than try to explain, Jake finished with, “Need a beer.”
“Me, too.” Garrett motioned to a table that had been reserved for them.
They sat down, and a spunky little blonde came by to take their orders. They both chose bottled Mexican beer. Normally, Jake would have checked out the waitress or at least smiled at her in his usual flirtatious way, but he was too preoccupied with thoughts of Carol to behave like his old self. Garrett seemed the same as usual, except maybe a bit more uptight.
Not that he was a stick in the mud. Garrett Snow was a great guy, just in a strong-willed way. He didn’t take any crap from anyone, and he didn’t party or play the field the way Jake did, either. Garrett had always been a one-woman kind of man. He was also organized and focused. He preferred to do things himself, barely needing a secretary or assistant. Jake couldn’t fathom it. Carol was the most important person in his employ.
The beers arrived and Jake swigged his first. He glanced around, taking in the decor, with its rich, dark woods, painted details and Native American accents. Garrett was a mixed-blood from the Cheyenne Nation, sired by an Anglo father he’d never known.
“You look like you have a lot on your mind,” Garrett said, reaching for his beer.
“Yeah, I do. I don’t know if I’m going to be much good today, finalizing the fund-raiser stuff.”
Garrett sat back in his chair. He was tall and broad, with deep-set eyes, short black hair and hard-edged features. He squinted a lot, just as he was doing now. “We can work on it another day.”
“Really?” Jake was surprised. His foster brother rarely pushed business aside. “You’d be cool with that?”
“I have things on my mind, too.”
Curious, Jake leaned forward. “Like what?”
Garrett didn’t respond. He didn’t alter his posture, either. He remained as he was, seated far back in his chair, his eyes narrowed. He looked like the hero of an old Western B movie, a half-breed cowboy, preparing to fight the bad guys and clean up the town.
Finally he said, “The woman who ripped us off