Meghan pulled herself out of the warm, tropical water and onto the platform at the stern of the boat. She clambered up the steps onto the back deck before dragging off her mask and snorkel. The wooden deck was pleasantly hot under her feet, and the sun would dry her in no time.

Jackson handed her a towel and the sunglasses she’d left on the deck. “How was it?” he asked.

Her smile felt so big, it was all but splitting her face in half. “Are you kidding?” She swiped her face with the towel so she could put her sunglasses on. “I’ve never seen anything like it. So many fish! Did you see the little black ones with the yellow eyes? And the ones with bright green stripes?”

“What about the big stingray?”

“That was incredible! The way it moved, flying in slow motion. How enormous was it? From where I was, it looked gigantic.”

“It was a big one.” He nodded to the boat’s outdoor dining table. “Are you ready for a drink? There’s chilled champagne. Or a soft drink if you prefer. Or beer, perhaps?”

She blinked at the table, laden with not just drinks but plates of exquisitely prepared food. They were on a luxury motorboat somewhere in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef. Nothing but ocean for miles around, and the staff of people he seemed to be able to conjure out of thin air had outdone themselves. Was that lobster surrounded by oysters on a bed of ice?

It was too much. There was nothing she could do but laugh. “What, no strawberry martini? I’m disappointed.”

Jackson turned toward the cockpit and raised his voice. “James, could you bring Meghan a—”

“No, stop. I was joking.” She gave his arm a light punch. “You know I wasn’t serious, Jackson. You’re doing this on purpose.”

“Doing what?”

She shot him a look she hoped would convey that she didn’t want to be messed with. “Is this some kind of test?”

“What do you mean?” He sounded too puzzled by her question. Suspiciously puzzled. As though he wasn’t puzzled at all.

“This.” She swept her arm around to encompass the sparkling expanse of ocean, the luxury motor yacht, and the table groaning with delicious treats. “Are you aiming to impress me? Because I don’t need to be reminded how different our lives are. I’m already well aware of it.”

“I just wanted you to enjoy a nice day on the water. You’re enjoying yourself, aren’t you?”

“If I wasn’t, you’d need to check my pulse. Only someone who was dead or in a coma wouldn’t enjoy this.” She spoke lightly, though it was clear Jackson wasn’t telling the truth. This was some kind of test. He was watching her to see how she reacted to all this opulence.

But why? Was he really so terrified she was trying to take advantage of him that he had to try to test how enamored with his money she might be? The truth was, all this luxury made her uneasy. But if she told him, would he believe her?

“I’m going to have a beer,” he said, moving to the table. “You?”

“Beer sounds good.” She took the cold lager he handed her and took a seat at the table, slicking her wet hair back so it didn’t drip on the food. Then she helped herself to an oyster. Delicious. After slurping it down, she took another. Test or not, it would be a damn shame if they went to waste.

“These are good,” she said as he took the chair next to her.

“Are they?” Leaning over, he kissed her. His mouth felt so right on hers, it made her forget all her doubts and fears. She could probably be in a war zone with bombs exploding around her, and his kiss would make it all go away.

“Mmm,” he said eventually. “They do taste good.”

“Want to try something else?” Her voice came out a little hoarse. “I could eat everything on this table and you could taste it all.”

“The perfect meal.”

“Beer next.” She took a sip. The song in her head was It’s In His Kiss. If only the song was right and his kiss described how he felt about her. In that case, she’d have nothing to worry about.

He laughed and grimaced at the same time. “Beer and oysters? If that combination isn’t illegal, it should be.”

“Don’t knock it until you try it.” She offered her lips for tasting, and he didn’t disappoint. Once more, she could lose herself in the taste and feel of him. Kissing him was fast becoming her favorite thing.

And that could be dangerous.

Today was the day she’d been supposed to start working on her plan. Postponing it again made her uneasy. But she couldn’t walk away. She had to know what she meant to Jackson. Now that she’d fallen for him, she needed to find out whether their relationship had a chance of working or whether his heart was too well guarded to ever let her in.

“You were right,” he said. “Beer and oysters taste good together.” He grinned. “Or maybe it was the delivery method I liked.”

Megan smiled back, tempted to forget the question that was running through her mind. How much easier would it be to relax and enjoy kissing him all afternoon, rather than follow a disturbing train of thought?

But dammit, she’d put her plan on hold because she had to know.

“Mind if I ask something?” she said, already knowing that he was going to hate the question. “How many other women have you taught to snorkel?”

He shot her a sharp glance. “Only one other,” he admitted. “Why?”

“Were you dating her for real? Or did money change hands?”

“I told you, it’s not like that. Just because I have Freya arrange for a gift, doesn’t mean—”

She waved a hand, dismissing his protest. “How long did you date?”

His expression was inscrutable. “A few weeks.”

“And you ended it?” she guessed, her heart sinking. “You’re not exactly Mr. Commitment, are you? Why did you break up with her?”

“She wanted to go out all the time. I didn’t.” He picked up a pastry and took a bite. “I’ll ask the crew to start heading to the place we’re spending the night, unless you’d like to move to another snorkeling spot first.”

“You dumped her because she wanted to go out more than you did?” Meghan let her voice rise to indicate a serious level of disbelief. “That was your reason? Too many dinner dates?”

“I wouldn’t have minded dinners. But after the fourth charity gala, I’d had enough.”

“You don’t like charities?”

“It wasn’t the charities she cared about. It was taking pictures of herself for all her thousands of Instagram followers.”

“I see.” Meghan poured Tabasco sauce on another oyster and slurped it out of its shell. Jackson’s problem was slowly becoming clear. She just didn’t know what to do about it.

“Have you ever water-skied?” asked Jackson. “The water’s calm enough for it.”

“Were you part of her Instagram image?” asked Meghan, poking what she suspected might be the center of his wound. “Was she just with you because a handsome rich dude looked good in her photos?”

“Maybe.” Jackson put his half-eaten pastry down. “How would I know?”

“That’s the problem, isn’t it? Short of giving her a lie detector test, there’d be no way to know for sure.”

“We may as well get moving. I’ll let the crew know.” He stood up.

“It’s no way to live though,” she said, angling her face up to keep his gaze. “Being suspicious of everyone. Not letting anyone get close.”

“That’s why we should take it a day at a time.”

He looked so stern that she forced a smile, wanting to ease a little of the tension her questions had created. “Makes sense. And did you say something about water-skiing?”

“Want to give it a try? We could stop off on the way to the island.”

“I’ve never done it, but it looks like fun.”

But a little of the sparkle had gone from the day, and the sunlight had lost some of its pleasant warmth. As hard as she’d fallen for Jackson, she didn’t want to keep being tested to make sure she was genuine. She couldn’t be with someone who was always suspicious of her motives. Who’d want a relationship like that?

What if she acted too impressed by her surroundings? Or not impressed enough? Worrying about how he saw her would be exhausting, and what would happen if she failed whatever test he’d decided to set?

They’d only run into each other a few days ago, so maybe it wasn’t so bad that he didn’t trust her a hundred percent yet. But would Jackson ever really be able to trust anybody?