Meghan leaned on the rail of Jackson’s yacht, watching the island disappear behind her. Magic Carpet Ride by Steppenwolf had been playing in her head since yesterday morning, when they’d left Sydney on Jackson’s private jet.

Jackson has his own island. She kept repeating it to herself and not quite believing it, even after spending the night there. And it wasn’t just the island that was difficult to wrap her mind around. Everything about the last twenty-four hours had felt surreal.

“Did you say something?” Jackson came out of the cockpit to join her by the rail. His white shirt was open at the neck, and he’d picked up a light tan. The glow in his skin suited him. He looked every inch the squillionaire she now knew him to be. Handsome and wealthy. Every woman’s dream.

A full-scale orchestra with kettle drums. That’s what she’d told him a couple of days ago. Since then, he’d only gotten louder.

She shook her head. “Not a word.”

“You had a good time?” He leaned on the rail next to her, his hand on her lower back. She liked the feel of it there. In fact, she liked so many things about him, it was difficult to accept she couldn’t stay with him. At least, not until her plan to get her life on track was underway.

“Of course I did.” How could she not when every moment had been spent in unimaginable luxury? But this wasn’t real life, was it? And if she spent her days living like this, there was a strong possibility she’d never sing onstage again. What would be the point of trying to be successful when she could coast along, enjoying the fruits of his success? Why hang onto a dream that was hard, if life could be all about having fun and not worrying about a thing?

It was a disturbing thought that went right to the core of who she was, and who she wanted to be. If she let this be her life, then this was all she would ever be.

“You don’t sound very sure,” he said.

She heard a phone ring and realized it was her cellphone ringing inside the handbag she’d thrown onto one of the yacht’s seats. When she retrieved it, the call was coming from an unknown number.

“Hello?” she said, moving into the shelter of the cockpit so she could hear more easily.

“Meghan Paige?” said a man’s voice. “This is Lex Baine. We met the other night and got off to a rough start.”

It took Meghan a moment to realize who he was. Then her stomach fell away. “How did you get my number?”

“I want to apologize for misjudging you. I thought you were another of Jackson’s regulars.”

Jackson’s regulars? Jackson had told her he didn’t date prostitutes, but Lex sure made it sound that way. “Apology accepted,” she said, just to get rid of him. “Goodbye.”

“One hundred thousand dollars,” he said before she could hang up.

“Excuse me?”

“It’s what I’m offering. One hundred thousand dollars, and a personal introduction to the head of any of the big record companies. Sony, Universal, EMI. Just name the one you prefer to work with. I have a lot of influence in the industry. I can fast-track your career, Ms. Paige, and make you very comfortable on your way to the top.”

He’d named three of the record companies she’d give anything to get signed by. Well, almost anything. She gritted her teeth. “I’m not interested.”

“You haven’t asked what I want in return. It’s not a lot, by any means.”

“I don’t care what you want. I don’t want your money or your help.”

“That’s a shame. Because when I say I have a lot of influence, I mean it. I can just as easily make sure you never get a recording contract, Ms. Paige.”

Although the tropical sun was still high, Meghan suddenly felt cold. Her stomach was hollow, and she swallowed bile. “Are you threatening me?”

“I’m telling you how it is. You’ve worked hard for a long time and never had any luck, isn’t that right? So here it is. Your big break finally being handed to you. And the question you need to ask yourself is, do you want to be a nobody forever? Or do you deserve your chance to be a star?”

Hands shaking, Meghan disconnected the call. She took several deep breaths to calm her racing heart. But when she finally left the cockpit and went back to where Jackson could see her, she knew her face was pale.

“What happened?” He was by her side in an instant, slipping his arm around her shoulder. “Are you okay? Who was it?”

“Lex Baine.”

“What?” Jackson’s grip around her shoulders tightened. “What did he want?”

“He offered me a pile of money and a record deal. I assume he wanted me to sell him your secrets, but we didn’t get that far.”

“What did you say?”

“What do you think I said? And how the hell did he get my number?”

Jackson shook his head. “Private investigator, maybe. That’s what I’d do.”

“Would you threaten someone to try and get his secrets?”

“He threatened you?” It was such a furious snarl that Meghan swallowed.

“Not really.” She was reluctant to repeat exactly what Lex had said. A complete stranger knew her career had gone nowhere and figured she’d be easy to bribe. Maybe that fact shouldn’t be so humiliating, but surrounded with all the trappings of Jackson’s success, it made her burn with frustration and shame.

His jaw was clenched, and she could see him struggling to get his anger under control. “I’ll get you a drink,” he said finally.

‘Getting her a drink’ turned out to involve calling for one of his crew to serve them. Why was it that everything he did highlighted how different their lives were? How he’d made it and she’d achieved nothing?

She moved back to the cockpit so she could sit down, and by the time she’d asked for a soft drink and the crew member had put a tall, icy glass on the table next to her, her shock at Lex’s words had changed. It had crystalized into an icy resolve. Lex had said she’d never make it as a singer unless she took his offer. Well, she’d just have to prove the asshole wrong. As soon as they got back to Sydney, she’d put her plan in action. No matter what Lex did to try to stop her, she was damn well going to get a record deal. And she’d do it on her own.

Jackson sat next to her. “The color’s coming back to your cheeks.”

“When we get back to Sydney, I’ll move out of your place. First thing tomorrow, I’m going to start asking around at the bars and clubs to see if I can get a regular gig somewhere.”

His brow creased. “Where has this come from?”

“I need to stop messing around and go after what I want. I recorded some songs at your place, but I’m not good at mixing or mastering them. If I save a little money, I can hire people to do that for me. I have a few songs on YouTube, but I’ve put nothing up for ages, and my website’s a mess. It’s about time I got serious about building some kind of following.”

“I know some people who’ll work with you to do that. And Ellie could give the songs you recorded to someone at her record label.”

“No.” She could tell he meant well, but her self-esteem had taken enough of a battering. “I don’t need a hand-out. Thank you, but I want to do this on my own.”

“You don’t have to do it the hard way.” His words were chillingly like Lex’s. When she didn’t answer, he frowned. “Why can’t you accept my help?”

“If Ellie gives my demo to someone, they might string me along because they don’t want to let her down. And if something good happens, I don’t want to have to wonder if I really deserve it.”

“Of course you do.”

She shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. There’s only one way to be sure, and it starts with getting a steady gig somewhere and building enough of a name for myself to get a studio interested. In the meantime I’ll use the money you gave me to get set up in a place of my own.”

He leaned back in his chair and picked up his drink. “Lex said something to make you want to leave,” he said flatly. “What was it?”

“Nothing. It’s just time to go, that’s all.” She picked up her own drink to avoid his gaze, and sipped it looking out to sea. She could tell he didn’t believe her, but she couldn’t tell him about Lex’s threat to end any chance she had of ever having a real career.

Jackson was at the top of the mountain, and she was still floundering at the bottom. Once she’d at least scaled some of the foothills, things would be different. With a job, a home, and at least some hope she might one day be able to make her dream come true, maybe she’d be able to face him as more of an equal.

Okay, ‘equal’ might be stretching it. She was never going to have a yacht, an island, or any of the other things he had. The only thing she did have was her pride. And she refused to let that go.

She dragged in a breath. The hollow feeling in her stomach she’d had since Lex’s phone call was worse than ever. What if the only way she could hang onto her pride was to lose Jackson?