I don’t know if she really has a flight to catch or if she just packed and left in an attempt to get rid of me. But it won’t work.

I look at the box that hopefully still contains the snake as I grab my shirt and push it back on before I pick up the box and dart out the door behind Skye. I get a glimpse of Skye’s pickup truck driving off down the road in the general direction of the airport. I want to jump in my rental and chase after her, ensuring that she’s going to the airport. I would if it wasn’t for this damn snake.

I throw open the trunk of my car and place the box with the snake in it, keeping it as far away from me as possible. I slam the trunk and hop in the driver’s seat. I speed off down the road as fast as I possibly can. When I get there, I carry the box inside and hand it off to the receptionist, not bothering to wait for Alicia to come get it. I make the receptionist verify that the snake is still in the box and not in my car before I leave, but that’s all I wait for.

And then I’m back in my car, racing toward the airport, hoping that she didn’t lie to me and that I manage to stop her or at least get on the same flight with her.

Thank God for checked bags because that’s where I find her waiting in line—to check her bag. I watch her from a distance so that she won’t know I’m here. She’s oblivious to me as she stands in the line. And it gives me another opportunity to really just watch her. She looks so different from the last time I saw her in the Bahamas. She looked so normal compared to now. Now, she’s trying to blend in instead of stand out.

She finishes at the counter, and I immediately go up after her. Luckily, there is a young woman working there. With a little flirting, I get her to tell me exactly where Skye is headed—LA. And there just so happens to be several seats left on the same flight as her, so I buy a ticket. I could try to convince her to stay here and think more about my offer. But I doubt she would consider staying. This way, I get to find out more about her life and what she’ll be doing in LA.

The flight attendant calls for boarding, and Skye gets in line while I linger back. She still hasn’t noticed me, but I do know that I will be sitting about three rows behind her on the plane. I give her about a fifty-fifty shot whether she will see me or not.

I board the plane and immediately spot her six rows back, fumbling with her phone. I doubt she’ll even notice that I’m on the plane, which will give me the entire flight to plan on how I want to reveal to her that I followed her to LA.

As I start walking by her, she looks up. Her eyes widen as she realizes what’s happening. She opens her mouth to say something but doesn’t get it out before I casually walk past her and take my seat.

I smirk but otherwise don’t give her any attention. This is better. Now, she’s going to have the entire flight to worry about me.

I put my earbuds in, planning on listening to an audiobook about business strategies to keep my mind occupied. I close my eyes, ignoring the safety briefing and all the other BS that happens before the flight takes off. I’ve flown enough times to know how everything works. I feel the plane take off at some point while I listen to my book.

“Excuse me,” I hear Skye’s voice say even through my haze of sleep and the audiobook.

I try to ignore her as she convinces the stranger next to me to swap seats with her. I keep my eyes closed like I don’t notice her at all as she finally takes a seat next to me, even after her thigh and hand brush against my leg—whether intentionally or unintentionally. I try to act like I couldn’t care less about her when what I really want to do is sneak her into the restroom and fuck her brains out.

“I know you can hear me and that you know I’m here. Stop acting like you can’t hear me,” Skye says.

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were on this plane.” I remove one of my earbuds, giving her half of my attention.

“Don’t play dumb,” she says, reaching for my other earbud and jerking it out of my ear.

“I knew you couldn’t get enough of me.”

She huffs and rolls her eyes again. She lifts her legs up into her seat, and she wraps her arms around them like she is giving herself one big hug. “Why did you follow me here?”

“I didn’t follow you. I live in LA. When you told me you were leaving, I got on the next available flight since there was no longer a reason to stay in Albuquerque.”

“Liar. You don’t live in LA.”

I closely study her. “You looked me up, did you?”

She looks away from me. “No, I didn’t.”

I laugh. “You totally did.”

“No, I didn’t,” she says empathetically.

“Then, how do you know I don’t live in LA?”

“Because you live in Detroit.”

I bite my lip to keep my excitement down. She looked me up. She wants me just as badly as I want her. I just have to figure out what the key is to unlocking her hesitation about starting this up again. Because, clearly, the pain I caused her on the last day in paradise isn’t the reason.

“Why don’t you want to do the arrangement?”

“Because you’re an ass.”

“I am, but then that’s exactly what you wanted. An ass. So, tell me the real reason you won’t agree to my arrangement, and I’ll leave you alone forever.”

“For real? After I tell you the truth, you’ll get out of my life and never come back?”

“I promise I’ll leave you alone. If that’s what you want.”

She leans her chair back and closes her eyes like she’s going to take a long nap.

“Are you going to tell me or not?”

“I’m going to show you.”

* * *

To my surprise, the rest of the flight is uneventful. We both sleep—or at least pretend to sleep. When we land, we get off the flight, being relatively civil to one another. After we collect our bags, she tells me to get into her car with her.

I do.

The Maserati we climb into isn’t a rental. It’s a car that she owns but is the complete opposite of her car in Albuquerque. That pickup truck was all about function and getting the job done with no fuss about its appearance. This car is a luxury car with little purpose other than to provide comfort and be flashy to all those who look at it.

“Do you have a split personality or something?” I ask as she drives.

“No.”

“Then, explain to me why you have such a fancy car in LA and such a shitty one in Albuquerque.”

She glares at me. “My truck isn’t shitty.”

I raise my eyebrows.

“Just because it isn’t what you expect on the outside doesn’t mean it isn’t worthy on the inside.”

“That was deep.”

“Just shut up until we get to my condo.”

“Is your condo as fancy as this car? Because I have a feeling that your house back in Albuquerque is going to feel run-down compared to your condo here.”

She turns a little too fast around the next corner, and I hit my head on the roof of the car.

She smirks. “Like I said, you should probably just stop talking until we get to my condo.”

I do but only because, clearly, she won’t tell me anything until we get to her condo. Something at her condo holds the key to everything she’s been hiding from me. She thinks she’s going to be able to get rid of me once we are there, but I don’t think there is anything she can show me that will make me want to leave. And all I have to do is get one kiss, and she’ll be begging me for more.

Skye parks the car in a fancy parking garage and then makes her way to the elevator. Of course, she presses the button for the top floor. I smirk at her, guessing that her friend paid for this place while Skye pays for her house back home. I just don’t know which version she’d rather be, not that it matters. I’d fuck her either way.

The elevators doors open, and she stomps out like she can’t get out of there fast enough. I follow, making sure to walk as close as possible behind her to be as obnoxious as I can. She pulls a key out of her purse and unlocks the door, gesturing for me to follow her inside. I do, letting the door close behind me. I watch as a tall man with light-colored hair in a business suit greets her. He wraps her in his arms and firmly kisses her on the lips.

I glare at the man who has my woman wrapped in his arms. My woman’s lips pressed against his. A few moments pass before he finally comes up for air. Just enough time for my internal rage to fill every crevice inside me.

“Baby, this is Brody, the man I told you about from my Bahamas vacation. Brody, this is Gabe, my fiancé.”

Gabe extends his hand to me. I take it, gripping as firmly as I can.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Brody,” Gabe says.

“You, too.”

He squeezes Skye one more time with a bright smile on his face, happy to have his fiancée home. She, on the other hand, couldn’t seem more uncomfortable in his arms. The only reason she even has a smile on her face is that she can show me that I was wrong. That our relationship is over.

“I hate this, but I have to run. I have a meeting I have to get to. But we should all do dinner tonight,” Gabe says, kissing Skye one more time on the lips before giving me a nod and slipping out of the condo.

I’m not sure I believe that the relationship is real. She probably just called an old friend and asked him to pretend to be her fiancé to try to get rid of me. But whatever it is, I’m going to figure it out.

“What the fuck is going on?”