Chapter Nineteen

Annabelle

For the next five days, we just enjoy ourselves. Marco does a great job of arranging for snorkeling and all sorts of other requested activities. Elliot is incredibly attentive and sweet the entire time, and I can’t ask for anything more except…

Elliot does not talk about the “I love you” and I don’t make a big deal about it either. I didn’t say it hoping that he’d say it back.

Still, I’d be lying if I claimed it didn’t create a sharp pang in my heart. Every night, he pleasures me until I can’t stand it anymore, each wave of orgasm shattering me more and more until I can’t help but cry out my love for him. If he’d been a less attentive lover before, I’d think he was doing it on purpose, but he’s always been very thorough, so…

“I can’t believe we’re going to be leaving soon,” I murmur over late breakfast in our suite on our sixth day. I’m sore but languid from our morning bout.

“Tomorrow,” Elliot agrees, applying a healthy amount of jam on his toast.

My phone buzzes. It’s Nonny again.

“Your sister?” Elliot says.

“Uh-huh. She’s just remembered another thing about the dinner.” She’s been texting me nonstop ever since she and Elizabeth visited Ryder’s mansion, telling me every little detail of the night.

“You don’t look happy.”

“I’m just worried. She puts way too much stock in this. Apparently she’s now one of the most popular girls in school.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Because she didn’t, you know, earn it.” The instant Ryder’s no longer in her orbit, people will dump her. As smart and mature as Nonny is, she is too young to really understand this. I certainly didn’t until it was too late.

Elliot rolls his shoulders. “Eh, let her enjoy her moment. There’s no harm in it.”

No harm except a crushing disappointment. I know that’s part of growing up, but it still bothers me that she’ll have to go through the pain. Sighing, I put the phone away. I shouldn’t let this mar my time with Elliot. He’s done so much to make it as wonderful as possible.

“Thank you. This was a perfect week.” I munch on the croissant filled with dark chocolate. The pastry is so flaky and light, it feels like cotton candy dipped in chocolate in my mouth.

“My pleasure, Belle.” He takes my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles softly. “It’s nice to see you happy.”

I smile. “You make me happy, Elliot.”

“So. What should we do on our last day in paradise?” He looks at me, his eyes hooded.

“We are not spending the entire day in the bedroom,” I say with a suppressed laugh. “I want to work on my tan a little bit.” Unlike Elliot, I don’t tan well.

“I don’t care what color your skin is. You always look hot.”

I flush. “So do you.” I squeeze his hand. “So do you,” I say it again, almost helplessly.

It’s hard to believe this magnificent man is mine. I don’t even know precisely why he chose me. When we met, I was a stripper, then a hired escort out of a birthday cake. Given what a great catch he is, he has his choice of women. Any one of them would’ve been happy to marry him so he could get the painting he wants. It didn’t have to be me—a college dropout with nothing.

The romantic in me says my life is Cinderella, but unlike that poor heroine, I’m going to be richer than before when the clock strikes midnight.

“What are you thinking?”

“Nothing in particular.” I grin, then giggle. “Actually, that you’re too perfect.”

“Nobody’s perfect.” Elliot is grave. “But I’m pretty close. Maybe half a percentage point off from perfection.”

This time my laugh is genuine. “A whole half a percentage point?”

“Well…I’m not naked at the moment.”

I finish my latte. “Why don’t you put on your trunks and show off your prowess in the pool?”

“The pool?”

“I love watching you swim.” I rest my chin in my hand. “You look gorgeous when you swim.”

A corner of his mouth quirks upward. “Very well, milady. Your wish is my command.”

“You want to go to the main pool?” The central one is so much bigger than the private one in our villa. And because the resort is so exclusive it’s hardly ever crowded.

“Oh ho. So now you want to show me off?”

“Maybe I do. Anybody can admire you, but I’m the only one who can touch.” I stop, then flush at how possessive I sound.

He flicks the tip of my nose. “Fair enough. That’s how I feel about you, too.”

* * *

Annabelle

The main pool is huge, stretching through five major wings and sitting in front of the pristine beach. The staff scurries around, arranging the giant parasols and chairs and tables for guests to come. It’s still early enough that there aren’t that many people. Elliot and I take a couple of loungers between the beach and the pool; he takes off his white shirt, gives me a peck on my mouth and then he’s gone.

Breathlessly I watch him, my lips tingling from the kiss. He dives into the pool like he was born in water.

I strip out of my sheer wrap dress and kick off my flip-flops. The blue bikini Josephine sent is sexy without being too revealing. The exposed portion of my skin is about a shade darker than the one covered by the stretchy fabric. I sit back in the lounger and relax, occasionally ogling Elliot. Okay, frequently ogling him.

I almost don’t notice when another woman claims the chair next to me.

“Fancy seeing you here.”

I stiffen at the familiar purring voice.

Annabelle Underhill is seated, water beading on her toned body. She’s clad in one of the tiniest bikinis I’ve ever seen in my life. She must’ve been here for a few days judging by the dark shade of her golden, flawless skin. The sand on her feet says she’s been at the beach. Huge sunglasses hide her eyes, but her flushed lips are curved as though she’s secretly amused.

How in the world is she at the same resort as me and Elliot? If it’s a coincidence, then fate is a cruel, cruel thing.

“Vacation?” she asks.

“Honeymoon,” I say.

“Ah.” She lies back in her lounger. “You clean up well.”

Her condescending tone raises my hackles, but I ignore her. I don’t want to get into a public argument with Elliot’s ex. Now I wish we’d locked ourselves in our villa.

“Amazing, isn’t it?”

“What is?” I say, almost unable to help myself and knowing that she won’t leave me alone until I talk to her.

“You and him. You aren’t his type.”

“True. I’m not a backstabbing bitch.”

The smile starts to turn into a sneer, but she catches herself. “So he told you? It seemed like the right choice at the time.” She speaks as though what she’s done is simply fashionable, the kind of thing an unsophisticated girl like me couldn’t possibly grasp.

“Even if he hadn’t, I could’ve looked it up. Who the hell screws both son and father at the same time? Eww.” That may be a juvenile attitude in her world, but I don’t care. Survey anybody off the street, they’d have the same reaction.

“You really think you’re that much better than me?” She tilts her head. “Do you know why he married you?”

“For all the usual reasons men marry, I imagine.” Elliot wouldn’t want his traitorous ex-girlfriend-slash-ex-stepmom to know about his father’s messed up proposition.

“He wants to humiliate his father with you, my dear. The Reeds may be new money, but they’re a good family, respected in high society.”

The memory of the huge scene at the family dinner floods me, and I can’t help but stiffen. I don’t think I did anything too out of line, given what Julian’s wife pulled, but I’m sure my behavior was embarrassing.

On the other hand, Elliot couldn’t have known I’d react like that or make things awkward with his father. He may be a billionaire prodigy, but he isn’t prescient.

“Trust me. Who you are won’t stay a secret for long.” She smiles, her nose wrinkling.

Normally I would dismiss a vague threat like that as empty talk, but she’s entirely too confident. With a sinking heart, I realize she must’ve looked me up and gotten the whole Ponzi scheme story. “What my father did has nothing to do with me,” I recite the familiar line.

“Your father?” She bursts out laughing. “Who said anything about your father? It’s one thing to embarrass Julian, but what about your sister? She’ll die of humiliation, I imagine.”

An older man in navy blue bathing trunks comes over. “What’s so funny, dear?” he asks. I can feel his speculative gaze even through the reflective shades on his face.

“Nothing, my love.” She puts a hand on his thick forearm, and he sits down beside her.

“Who’s this?”

“My former stepson’s wife. They recently got married.” She gestures in no particular direction. “This is my husband Stanton.”

I take a good look at the man. He’s got to be in his late fifties or early sixties. Silver threads his dark hair, cut expensively and precisely. He’s tall, but he doesn’t look as tall as he could because of an exceptionally thick build. Despite a hint of softening, his body is still hard, with the kind of muscles that say he works out. The haughty tilt of his head and the smooth diction of his voice all indicate he’s a man of wealth, used to being listened to.

“Nice to meet you,” I say almost reluctantly. I’m not that interested in getting to know Elliot’s ex’s current life.

“The pleasure’s mine,” he responds. “Your name?”

“An”—I catch myself—“Belle.”

“A pretty name for a pretty lady.”

Annabelle turns to Stanton. “Love, this area doesn’t seem to get good light.” She pouts. “It’s going to be hard to tan here.”

“You want to move?”

“If you don’t mind.” The smile she gives him is dazzling. “Pretty please?”

He laughs. “All right.” He waves good-bye, and he and his wife leave.

Watching them go to the opposite end of the pool, I breathe out. The knot in my chest finally loosens. I don’t like her, and I’m not sure about her husband. He seems to dote on her, but what do I know about a man who marries a woman young enough to be his daughter?

I sit for a while and stare at nothing. Sometime later, Elliot joins me, rubbing a towel briskly over his body.

“What are you thinking?” he asks.

Should I say something? But if I do, it’ll undoubtedly ruin our last full day in St. Cecilia. Annabelle Underhill is a woman from Elliot’s past, and that’s where she belongs.

I smile. “Nothing.”

“So. Let’s go to the villa.” He sits next to me and nuzzles the back of my neck, sending hot shivers down my spine. “Unless you don’t mind public sex?”

I laugh and take his hand. “You’re incorrigible.” I don’t want to risk running into the Underhills again. “We can go. And we can stay there until we have to leave the island.”