“Ugh!”

I wrinkled my nose and spat out my first bite of the soggy pizza I’d ordered up to my suite. Balling up the napkin I spat it into, I threw it onto the plate and pushed it all aside with a sigh. This awful culinary disaster was meant to be my dinner.

Hurrah.

Everyone I knew seemed to be busy tonight except me. My friends all had various work commitments, Mom and Dad were at some business gala, and Allegra was out with some new friends she’d managed to make recently. I’d warned her (nicely, of course) that a girl in her position needed to be careful about who she made friends with, seeing as so many people in this city were out for fame and liked to cling on to socialites and celebrities, but she seemed to think they were fine. Thus, she was attending her first ever dinner party up in the hills.

As for myself, I had nothing on the agenda, which was rare for me. No parties to attend, no events to pose at, no new products to launch.

Zilch.

Even the media seemed to have better things to do. In recent days, they’d finally calmed down and started to leave me (and the Mirabella) alone, and so there hadn’t been any paparazzi or journalists camped outside for a while now. It was weird how much quieter things were despite the fact we were fully booked. I guess I’d gotten used to the massive, almost stifling buzz surrounding the hotel when my sister first returned. It was a relief that it was seemingly over, though.

Seeing as I had nothing going on for the time being, I’d decided to have a quiet night in my suite and order in some pizza to enjoy while I watched a movie. I needed to be careful about my weight, though, so I ordered this ridiculous healthy version of a pizza from a nearby place that delivered, and god…it was horrendous. The base was made from boiled cauliflower which had been mashed and then flattened and baked into a so-called crust, and the veggie toppings were sparse and quite dismal.

To be frank, it tasted like ass.

Why couldn’t food that was good for you actually taste good? I’d found a few decent-tasting healthy options in my time, but they were few and far between. It really sucked that the world pressured girls like me to be skinny, but then gave us so-called ‘healthy food’ which tasted worse than what I’d want my worst enemy to be given in a Siberian gulag.

A sudden knock on the door startled me out of my annoyed musings. I jumped up and rushed over to it, hoping the restaurant had realized their mistake and sent me something palatable.

Instead, I saw a delivery man standing there with a bouquet of red roses in his arms and a smile on his face. It wasn’t a friendly smile—it seemed like he was trying not to laugh at me.

“Ms. Cadwell?” he said, barely disguising a smirk.

“Yes, that’s me.”

“These… err… flowers are for you.”

He pressed the bouquet into my arms, and it was only then that I noticed the actual contents of it. It wasn’t just red roses with a card.

Hidden amongst the fragrant blooms were several blue silicone dildos. There were all different sorts—some were small, others were bigger, some had glittery interiors, and others had little ticklers attached.

“Who… who is this from?” I asked, my eyes widening.

“I don’t know. The cards might say,” the delivery guy said before walking away, leaving me standing at the doorway in shock.

“Cards? As in more than one?” I called after him, but he didn’t reply.

I frowned as I closed my door and headed back into my suite. Placing the heavy bouquet down on a table, I yanked out a white envelope from the bottom of the arrangement. Then I turned it around and saw a smaller card stuck on the back. This one wasn’t in an envelope.

I opened it to see a poem.

Roses are red,

Your new dildos are blue.

Enjoy the ride, sweetheart,

Hope the toys please you….

‘Sweetheart’ was underlined, and I narrowed my eyes. Cade. Of course! Who else would find it amusing to send me something like this? I should’ve known immediately, given the pranks he’d pulled on me in the past.

I opened the bigger card next.

Peyton,

Hope you enjoyed your flowers. I have another surprise for you, too. Meet me in the lobby at 8:30 tonight to get it….

• C

I looked at the clock on my wall. It was already a quarter past eight. Cade must’ve somehow found out that I had nothing on tonight, and he’d timed this ‘surprise’ accordingly.

So what was the next surprise going to be?

Going by what he’d sent me tonight and in the past, I could only assume it was bright pink anal beads. Or a bedazzled paddle complete with a spanking horse for me to bend over.

I had to admit, as much as these childish pranks annoyed me, I was still curious to meet Cade and see this ‘surprise’. And not just that. I also wanted to confront him once and for all, find out why he’d stuck a target on my back for all these pranks. Was it all for fun and games because he wanted to be friends, and the kiss the other day was simply a one-time thing? A mere accident?

No, surely not…. there was something in that kiss.

Something powerful.

Something real.

Obviously, Cade was trying to get my attention in his own silly way with all the pranks. That had to be it. He wanted more. More than just one kiss and a quick fumble in a giant closet.

But did I want more?

I’d been torn over whether it was a good idea for quite some time now. Was I willing to take that next step? Take on all that risk for a guy I still barely knew?

I guess I was about to figure that out once and for all.

I selected a cashmere wrap cardigan from my closet and slipped it on over my dress before grabbing some shoes and my purse. Then I headed downstairs, my heels clacking against the tiles as I finally entered the lobby.

“Careful. Looks like there’s a wet spot right here.”

I turned to see Cade standing right behind me. I had no idea how he’d sneaked up like that.

I shook my head at him and rolled my eyes. “Very funny. But I always watch out for signs on the floor now. Ever since….” My voice trailed off. He knew what I was talking about, obviously, since he brought it up.

“Who said I was talking about the floor?” he said, giving me a very pointed look which landed several inches below my abdomen. “I presume you received my gift?” he added, his gaze traveling back up to meet my eyes.

I crossed my arms. “I did. So why did you summon me here? Got more butt plugs for me or something?”

He chuckled. “Not quite.”

“An Anal Pounder 3000?”

“I don’t even know if that’s a real thing. You’re a dirty girl.”

“No, I’m just a girl who’s grown accustomed to receiving dirty gifts from a certain someone.”

He lifted a brow. “I think you like it, deep down,” he said, humor twinkling in his eyes.

I sighed. “Just tell me what this surprise is.”

“I can’t tell you. I have to show you,” he said, motioning toward the main doors of the hotel.

Now it was my turn to raise my eyebrows. “You want me to go somewhere with you?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Why should I go anywhere with you? We barely know each other. For all I know, you aren’t even Cade Miller.”

For a second, I detected a hint of worry on his face. I wasn’t sure what that was about, but then he smiled and the worry vanished from his expression. “What do you mean?” he asked.

I shrugged. “Maybe your real name is Cade Bundy. You’re the secret grandson of Ted Bundy, and you’re here on a mission to carry on his legacy of serial killing,” I said. “If I leave the hotel with you, I could wind up dead in an alleyway somewhere.”

He held up a hand. “Right. You got me. I’m a crazy killer,” he said. Then he shook his head slowly. “But seriously, Peyton. We should talk. We’ve been dancing around this for weeks now. I know you’ve had a lot going on, and that’s fine—I get it. But I thought for just one night, you could take a break, and we could finally talk somewhere with no interruptions. So what do you say?”

I smiled shyly. “I’d say that almost sounds like a date.”

He grinned. “It doesn’t have to be. Could just be two people enjoying each other’s company as friends.”

“Now it sounds like a date in sheep’s clothing.”

He chuckled again. “Okay, it’s a date. Now come on, let’s go. I know you want to.”

My smile grew wider. He was right. “Fine. Lead the way.”

He led me out of the hotel and across to the employee parking lot. From there, he directed me over to a silver Aston Martin. “This is your car?” I asked with wide eyes, wondering how on earth he ever afforded it.

“Uh… I rented it for the night,” he said. Then he nodded to the passenger side. “Get in. It’s not far away, but you’re in heels as usual, so I won’t make you walk.”

“Thanks.”

We pulled onto Azure Boulevard, then took a small turnoff about three minutes up the road. I knew where we were going now. The little road we’d just turned onto led to one of the nearby beaches.

This particular beach was in a little cove. It was too small to attract many tourists, so it was mostly frequented in the daytime by people who lived in the city when they wanted a more private place to swim.

At night, it was almost always empty.

We pulled up to a parking spot just above the cove, and Cade helped me down the wooden steps which led down to the sand and water. It was difficult in these shoes, but he grabbed my arm and kept me steady, and I knew for sure that he wouldn’t let me fall.

As we reached the bottom step, I saw a little campfire on the beach. Next to it was a large picnic blanket surrounded by lit candles. The blanket was covered in pillows, and in the center sat a wicker basket, presumably filled with food.

It was simple.

It was sweet.

It was perfect.

Whenever guys had asked me on dates in the past, they always went all out to impress me with expensive things, because they assumed that as a wealthy socialite, I must always want glitz and glamor. But that wasn’t the case.

I didn’t always want fine dining and five-star views, or bottle service at the ritziest club in town. I did that for a living, so when I went out with a guy, I much preferred if we did something quiet and sweet. Something that required thought and effort instead of an American Express black card.

See, spending money was easy.

Making memorable moments wasn’t so easy.

At first, when I saw that Cade had rented an expensive car for our date, I’d been worried that he was going to be just like the others, trying to impress me by splashing a ton of cash. But he wasn’t. This inexpensive little setup on the beach was incredible.

I turned to him. “This is exactly what I’ve always wanted on a date,” I said incredulously. “How did you know?”

“Maybe I know you better than you think,” he replied with a smile. “Someone like you gets a ton of attention nearly every minute of every day. So I figured sometimes you might want to get away from all that and do something private and quiet.”

I smiled back at him. Somehow, despite coming from a different world, Cade understood me perfectly. He really got me.

I was about to walk over to the blanket when something occurred to me, and I whirled around. “Hold on… did you light the fire and all these candles, then leave it to come and get me at the hotel?”

Cade laughed. “No! I’m not that stupid,” he said. “I got someone to help and watch the fire while I went to meet you.” He lifted his right hand to his mouth and let out a loud wolf whistle before calling out. “Bianca! We’re here! Thanks for your help.”

Bianca emerged from the other side of the campfire, where she’d been hidden by shadows. “No worries. Enjoy,” she said. She winked at me before walking away and heading up the wooden stairs.

Cade’s face softened as he looked down at me. “Don’t worry. Bianca is cool. She won’t tell anyone about this.”

I nodded. “I know. She’s awesome. We’ve actually hung out a few times.”

“Nice. Anyway, sit down,” he said, gesturing toward the blanket.

The scent of smoke from the fire mixed with the salty sea breeze in an almost-intoxicating way, and I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, loving how relaxed and close to nature I felt right now. It was magical.

“I really needed this,” I murmured. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I know you’ve had a lot going on. Work, Allegra coming back… all that stuff,” Cade replied, opening the picnic basket as he spoke.

I nodded and gave him a rueful smile. “Yeah. It’s been crazy.”

“How are you and Allegra getting along now?” he asked. He passed me a chocolate-covered strawberry from the basket before leaning back on an elbow. “When she moved into the hotel, you seemed a little… I dunno… it almost seemed like you weren’t sure about her.”

I took a bite of the strawberry before replying. “I wasn’t. I was actually a real bitch to her. But we’re past that now.”

“Glad to hear it. I’ve noticed she’s been going out a lot. I guess she’s a real Cadwell—used to all the attention and fame already.”

I laughed softly and reached for another strawberry. “Yes. She’s loving all the attention. But she deserves it. The spotlight has never been on her, and now she’s finally getting what most girls dream of.”

Cade frowned slightly. “Most girls, yeah. But you’re not most girls, Peyton. It’s not what you dream of, is it?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Yes you do. Remember when we first met? You told me your current job isn’t your true passion. Remember?”

I sighed and nodded. “Yeah. You told me I should write a list of all the elements of my job that I enjoy. And another list of the things I don’t like, to see if there’s a way to change or improve those things.”

He leaned closer, lifting a brow. “And did you write those lists?”

I smiled sheepishly. “Not yet. I’ve been a little distracted.”

“I knew it.” He sat up straight. “Why don’t we do it now that you aren’t distracted?”

I shrugged as I reached for yet another chocolate-covered strawberry. “Sure. Do you have a pen?”

“No,” he replied, shaking his head. “We’ll have to memorize it.”

“All right.”

“Let’s start out with the things you like about being a socialite.”

I frowned and looked out at the ocean, which was glittering under the moonlight. It was gorgeous, calm, and peaceful, unlike my chaotic mind as I desperately tried to come up with an answer.

I finally thought of something and swallowed the berry. “Um… I guess I like being able to test out new things, and I get sent a lot of free stuff to try, so I can do that quite often. That’s really cool.”

“Okay. So you like trying and testing new things. What else?”

“I like sharing stuff with people. I get to do a lot of that.”

“Okay. Anything else?”

I frowned, deep in thought. Then I shrugged. “No. I really can’t think of anything else I like about it at the moment.”

“What about the things you don’t like?”

I looked down at the picnic blanket. “The constant expectation for me to be out and about at clubs and parties. It used to be so fun, but now it’s exhausting. I know I get paid to attend a lot of stuff, but still… I’m tired of it.”

“Anything else?”

“Well, you know how I said I like testing out all the stuff I get sent?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“I do, but there’s a catch—a lot of it is really crappy. Like for example, last month a company sent me some sort of detox herbal tea to promote if I liked it. I was excited, because I’m pretty into healthy living, but when I tried it, it was gross. So gross. And they kept pressuring me to promote it for them on my Instagram, since I’m seen as an ‘influencer’.”

“Uh-huh.”

I frowned, then went on. “Another time, this new organic vegetarian restaurant offered me a free meal in return for being seen there. The menu sounded great, but the food was awful. I felt bad, because a lot of people saw me there in photos and assumed it was great, but honestly, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone if they actually asked me.”

Cade smiled. “Have you ever noticed how much you talk about food?”

I was taken aback by the sudden change in subject. “What?”

“You talk about food a lot. You love it,” he said with a grin. “I mean, look—you’re devouring those choc strawberries.”

“Well… I guess that’s true,” I admitted with a wry smile. “But who doesn’t love food? I can’t get a job based on that alone.”

He held up a palm. “Hear me out. You said you’re into healthy living. But a lot of the supposedly healthy stuff you get asked to promote is total garbage. And you also said you like sharing stuff with people. Plus there’s your passion for food. What if you did something with all that?”

I wrinkled my nose. “Like what?”

“Like… you could start some sort of lifestyle and wellness blog or website. You could hunt down healthy recipes, restaurants, and other relevant things, and you could test them out without being asked or paid to do it. Or you could even make up things yourself, in terms of healthy recipes that actually taste good,” he said. He took a breath before continuing. “Once things have been tested out and given your seal of approval, you could post them up on the blog. That way you’re sharing stuff with people—sharing the things you would genuinely recommend. Things you know people will love. And because you aren’t being sponsored to do it, people are more likely to listen, because it’s your real, unbiased opinion.”

I nodded slowly, contemplating the idea. “If I did that and it took off, I wouldn’t need to do paid appearances for money. I could make my income off little ads on the site.”

“It would take off. You’ve got the fans. They’ll follow you.”

I nodded again. “That’s true.”

“And you’d have more time for yourself. Less time out at clubs, partying constantly and tiring yourself out.”

My face brightened. “Holy crap. I actually love this idea. I can’t believe you thought of it based on a little list of stuff!”

“I have my moments,” Cade replied with a grin. “Glad you like the suggestion.”

“I really do. I love it.”

I wasn’t exaggerating. I’d never thought about things like this. It was like Cade could see inside my mind and know things about me that I hadn’t even figured out yet. I hadn’t even realized how much I talked about food, but he was totally right—it was obviously a real passion of mine, and I was in a position to do something with that passion.

I was lucky. So lucky.

Cade opened a wheel of cheese from the basket and sliced it before placing the little pieces on some crackers. “Here you go, hungry girl,” he said with a grin.

“I thought I was ‘dirty girl’,” I said with an arched brow.

“Dirty hungry girl. Maybe you’re actually hungry for….” He trailed off, letting the words hang in the air.

I laughed and poked him in the chest. “Don’t push it.”

He held up his hands in mock surrender. “You know I’m just kidding.”

We sat back in silence for a few minutes as we ate, watching the ocean as a breeze stirred up some small waves. The moon seemed bigger and brighter now, and the glittering water was dazzling.

I finally turned back to Cade. “What about you?” I asked.

He rubbed his chin. “Hm?”

“Like… what are your passions? And who are you?” I asked. “I keep thinking that I barely know you, and it’s true. All I really know is your name, and the fact that you give amazing advice. So… who is Cade Miller? That’s what I want to know.”

Cade looked down. He opened his mouth slightly, as if he were about to say something, but then he closed it again and turned to the picnic basket. “I forgot I brought champagne,” he said. “Want some?”

“Sure. But I still want you to answer me,” I said with a raised brow.

“I will,” he said as he carefully poured two glasses of champagne. “What do you want to know about me?”

I hesitated as I took my first sip. “Um… where are you from? Did you grow up here, or somewhere else?” I finally said.

“I grew up here.”

“What are your parents like? And what do they do?”

He bit his lower lip before replying. “They both work in the hospitality industry.”

I nodded. “Same as you, then.”

“Yeah, sort of.”

“What do you want to do with your life? Are you happy working at the Mirabella for now?”

He grinned. “Real interrogation we’ve got going on here, huh?”

I smiled. “Well, you’ve always listened to me whine about all my crap, and you’ve learned a ton about my life along the way. It’s only fair I get to hear about yours.”

“Fair enough. All right… to be honest, I have absolutely no idea what I want to do with my life. When I was younger, I did a lot of running around and partying, but after a while I knew it just wasn’t for me anymore. A bit like you, I guess. So now I’m just trying to figure out what I really want to do.”

“Why don’t you write lists, like you taught me?”

“Doesn’t work for me.”

I grinned. “So you’re good at telling other people what to do and how to sort out problems, but you can’t apply it to your own life… hell, you should go into management!”

We both laughed at that. Then Cade rubbed his chin again. “I know you were kidding, but that’s actually not a bad idea,” he mused.

“What, being a manager?”

“Yeah. Like you said, I could be good at it. And I think I would enjoy it.”

I threw up my hands. “Well, there you go. Our lives are both sorted, all within the space of one night.”

He chuckled again. “So then you’d say it’s been a successful date so far?”

I looked directly at him, drinking in his gorgeous features and wishing I could run my hands all over his body. “Yes,” I said softly. “Except for one thing.”

“What?”

“I’m gonna need more chocolate strawberries.”

He shook his head. “And you say I’m incorrigible.”

“When did I say that?” I asked, wrinkling my forehead.

“I’m not sure exactly when… maybe when you got my surprise package? Or maybe it was the other day in the lobby. After you stole my clothes and we….”

He didn’t need to finish that sentence. We both knew he was talking about the kiss we shared, deep in the dark recesses of the Mirabella’s employee wardrobe.

He leaned closer and slid a hand onto my leg, gently squeezing my thigh. It was a small movement, but it made me tremble as goosebumps cropped up all over my skin.

“Seeing as our lives have apparently been sorted out on this date, does that mean you think the night is over?” he asked.

I didn’t even need to think about my reply as I slid myself even closer to him. My lips were now only inches from his mouth.

“Oh, no, it’s not over,” I said. “I think it’s only just begun….”