“No appreciation necessary. I did my job, that’s all.”
“Your commitment goes above and beyond the job. How about this: be my date for the Las Ventanas re-launch party?”
“I—” Had his fever burned away all common sense? “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
Her lungs felt trapped in her rib cage. “You know very well why not. I don’t work there anymore. I have no business reason to attend, and going as your date essentially tells the world we’re sleeping together.”
“As it happens, we are sleeping together.”
His logic only intensified the pressure in her chest. “And we agreed to be discreet. There is nothing discreet about attending the party together. It’s the exact opposite. I grew up at Las Ventanas. Some of the people there have known me all my life. Everyone would say—”
“It’s not everyone you’re concerned about. It’s Barrington.”
Paul rated so low on her list of concerns, she almost laughed. Guarding her heart, and her sanity, not to mention her professional reputation—those were concerns. “This isn’t about Paul. It’s about me.”
“Or is it about her?”
The flu had flattened her. She couldn’t keep up with this conversation. “Her who?”
Rafe traced his thumb along the sensitive corner where her lips met. “Cindy. Have you heard from her?”
The barrage of emails and texts from Cindy sprang to mind, filled with accusations and suspicions she’d done nothing to earn, but now, under Rafe’s sharp gaze, heat swept into her cheeks. He’d already overheard her speaking to Paul, and drawn his own conclusions. Admitting Cindy shared his ugly suspicions, to the point of sending multiple daily warnings, only legitimized them.
“I haven’t contacted her.”
“That’s not what I asked.” He ran his thumb over her lips. “And you’re dangerously close to polluting this lovely mouth with a lie.”
She tipped her chin away and broke the contact. “Don’t ask me a question if you already know the answer.”
“I’d like to hear your answer. Trust me enough to tell me what’s going on.”
The unfairness of the situation overwhelmed her, or maybe it was the trace of pity in his eyes, but suddenly everything came spilling out. “Look, I’m not chasing after Paul, despite what everyone seems to think. Tuesday night you overheard the one and only time I’ve exchanged words with him since he dumped me, and the sole reason I took his call was to tell him I had no interest in reconciling. I didn’t get that far, unfortunately, because Cindy interrupted. She’s convinced I’m a threat. They’re having problems and it’s easier for her to blame me than accept that she doesn’t inspire any more loyalty from him than I did.”
She drew in a long, unsteady breath, hoping the burn in her throat would subside. “Seven thousand miles and I still can’t get beyond the debacle I walked away from last year. I haven’t done anything wrong, but I’m the one on the defensive, and I’m forced into interactions I didn’t invite. All I wanted was a fresh start.”
A warm, strong hand uncurled her fist from the blanket. “I can help.”
The offer meant a lot. For one, it meant he believed her, and the show of support steadied her more than it should. She shook her head. “No. This is my problem. I don’t want to pull you in.”
“You didn’t. Cindy made it St. Sebastian’s problem when she sent inappropriate emails to you using her work account. We terminated her employment today, and agreed to pay severance in the form of salary continuation for twelve weeks provided she never contacts you again. You need to let me know immediately if she fails to honor the terms.”
“Oh, Jesus.” He already had his hands full with Las Ventanas. The last thing he needed was another issue. “I’m sorry—”
“I’m not.” He threaded his fingers through hers. “Not about that, at any rate. She needed to go. It was only a question of time, and she resolved the question for us.” He paused and looked her in the eye. “I am sorry about my behavior Tuesday night. I felt like hell, and I took it out on you. I owe you an apology.”
The sincerity of his words soothed away her hurt feelings. They also made her face heat, because she couldn’t help thinking about the last time he’d apologized to her. She looked down at their linked hands. “No apology necessary.”
“I disagree.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. “I look forward to earning your forgiveness.” The heat in her cheeks spread like wildfire. Apparently they weren’t at odds anymore, but she probably looked pretty…uh…unforgiveable at the moment. “N-now?”
He laughed, leaned in, and kissed her forehead. “You’re beautiful, but I meant later, when you’re feeling better. I need you at full strength to offer you a proper apology. In the meantime, the least I can do is feed you. What sounds appetizing?”
“I didn’t realize you knew how to cook.”
“I know how to use a phone.”
“Room service is hard to come by on my side of the island.”
“I also know how to drive a car. What are you in the mood for?”
They settled on takeout from a local deli, and she told herself she’d shower while he went to pick up their order. But when he left, her momentum faded. The peaceful silence, broken only by the gentle lullaby of the neighbor’s wind chime, dulled her ambition.
The next time she opened her eyes pale fingers of dawn pried around the edge of the curtain. A note sat on her nightstand, beside a shiny red apple.
To keep the doctor away. See you soon. Rafe.
“What are you doing Friday night? I need a date to the Las Ventanas re-launch party.” Passengers filed through the first class cabin. Rafe nodded at the “five minute” signal from the flight attendant and fastened his seat belt.
“I don’t think you can call it a date if you bring me,” Arden said. “Since when do you have any trouble finding a real date?”
His sister usually steered clear of St. Sebastian events. She disliked the “hotel heiress” stigma the press had tried to foist on her from an early age, and avoided playing to it, but she’d go if he asked. “My first choice was unavailable.” Unwilling, to be precise, and the fact still burned in his gut. The odds of convincing her to extend their arrangement beyond the close of the deal looked slim given he couldn’t even convince her to go on a public date with him.
“And your second choice? And third, for that matter? I think your bench goes deeper than first choice, and then boom, little sister.”
Leave it to Arden to turn a simple request into a character assassination. “You’re my second choice. I thought it would be nice to spend the evening with my sibling. At least I did, until this call.”
“Who was your first choice?”
“None of your business.” Not subtle, but subtlety never worked on Arden.
“Somebody new.”
Neither, apparently, did rudeness. But her observation piqued his curiosity. “What makes you say that?”
“You’re not attached to any of the priors. You’d just call the next eligible bachelorette on your list if the first one couldn’t make it. But this one’s not interchangeable. You want her or nobody at all.”
“Should I refer to you as nobody from now on?”
“You’re asking me because you don’t want to take a real date.”
He scowled. “I’m asking you because I made an error in judgment two minutes ago.”
“Ha. You’ve gone exclusive, whether by intention or default. It’s the deal liaison, isn’t it?”
Rafe nearly dropped his phone. As a major stakeholder in St. Sebastian Enterprises, Arden had a high-level awareness of the Tradewinds deal, but there was no way she knew about Chelsea. And he wanted to keep it like that for the time being.
“Dad told me you refused to follow his advice and pull out of the deal because you had a thing for the woman assigned to facilitate the sale. He used a bit more French in his version, but—”