I hadn’t expected gaining information right away. I thought it would take a week at the very least for things to slip past alcohol-drenched lips. Once everyone aboard shed their shallow skins and ingrained manners. Give the spoiled rich kids playground passes to do as they pleased, and they’d shuck every one of their inhibitions, giving everyone several years’ worth of gossip to carry them on until they did it again.

I wasn’t exactly sure of the newlyweds’ friends and had pretty much settled on the fact that Josh and I would have to mingle with a good majority of them to get a feel for who we were dealing with.

Josh had handled himself well meeting Allyson. She was a very excitable sort of person. Not many could handle her chipper giddiness when something pleased her. She’d always been that way. Even as kids, Allyson found a reason to smile. To be happy. I’d spent many a summer holiday kicking around with the Baron sisters. There wasn’t much either of them wouldn’t do. They weren’t typical rich kids, which was great for me. Not many of the elite would allow their offspring to hang out with the helps’ daughter. And that was what I was, the daughter of the maid and gardener to Garett Barron’s sprawling estate.

Once, when we were ten, Garret Baron paid for the three of us to go to Switzerland for summer camp. I’d never been more out of my element in my entire life, but I loved every single moment of it. And I knew from that day forward that I was born to wander the world. And that was why I’d jumped at the chance to work with Cole Enterprise when I’d graduated boot camp. Not only did it give me purpose, but I’d also get to see the world too.

Cole had flown in on his private jet of mysteries, booted the sergeant in command out of his office, and made me a deal I couldn’t refuse. It had been the beginning of the end of who I was and who I’d become. 

Our first stop brought us to Salt Cay where we’d stay docked for the week. Guides to the island milled around the docks, waving sun-kissed hands to anyone who made eye contact with them.

Josh nudged me toward one, but I shifted us away.

“What are you doing? Shouldn’t we have a guide?”

“As long as we’re with them, a guide isn’t necessary,” I said, following Allyson and Alex who were waving down a car.

When Allyson noticed us, she pointed at the waiting vehicle. “Izzy! Over here!”

I waved and flashed a smile.

“We’re going to go check out the city. Come with us!” she insisted.

Just what I was hoping for. More time to get to know Alex and get a feel for him. “That’d be great,” I said, tugging Josh along with me.

When we slid inside the car, Allyson moved to Alex’s lap, giving us more room along the backseat. As soon as Josh closed the door, the car took off.

I jammed my finger into my ear to block the excitement Allyson projected. “Tone it down, Ally. My ears can’t take that pitch in such close confinement,” I said, blindly swatting at her.

“Party pooper.” She grabbed my hand, disengaging my finger from my ear canal.

“Better a party pooper than deaf,” I tossed back at her.

She threw her head back and laughed. “God, I’ve missed the hell out of you.” She hooked her arm around my neck. “I couldn’t have asked for a better honeymoon.”

Josh leaned into me, looking over my shoulder at her. “A honeymoon with an entourage doesn’t seem very… private.”

Allyson’s smile slipped a little bit. One shoulder lifted, her only cue that something wasn’t right. “Daddy insisted.”

I made sure to look at Alex. Needed to see his face when I asked, “Why did Garret insist on you having so many people with you?”

“Oh, you know how Daddy is. Overprotective about everything,” Allyson answered as she picked at the hem of her dress.

“So these people with you… are they friends of yours?” Josh casually asked.

“As much as anyone can be friends with people they only associate with once or twice in year,” Allyson answered. Continuing before Josh could ask something else, she said, “I’m just so glad you could make it, Izzy. It’s been so long since we were last together. Between your life and mine, and now the mister, it seems like we never get to see each other.”

I reached for her hand and squeezed, allowing myself to feel the nostalgia of our friendship. It was weird, the feelings bubbling up from the depth of me. Being around Allyson brought back so much of the girl I used to be. The girl with the big dreams and easy laughter. The girl I’d been before life hardened me.

I cleared my throat, shoving the emotions back down. “Speaking of life, how’s the shelter coming along?”

Allyson always had a soft spot for animals. It was a running joke with us when we were younger that she would end up blowing through her trust fund just to make sure all the homeless and unwanted animals had a forever home with her.

Her face brightened. “It’s going really well. I started vet school last year. Daddy wasn’t too thrilled, but Alex told Daddy to stuff it and paid for my second year. I think that’s when Daddy started liking you,” she said, nudging Alex, wearing a look of adoration.

He chuckled, making his face light up. He was a good match for Allyson. Lean without being scrawny. Handsome without looking overly polished. A bit rakish, yet not an ass. “You flatter me. If anything, it was the contract I signed stating that if you decided you were no longer happily married, I’d leave with what I came with.”

A shadow crossed her eyes as she shook her head. “I still can’t believe you signed that.”

He smoothed his thumb over her chin, eyes delving into hers. “I told you, Ally… No matter what everyone else thinks, money isn’t always the answer. And no matter how much you have of it, it won’t keep you warm at night. I’d rather have you and be dirt poor.”

Allyson flushed deeply and planted a kiss to his forehead. I never thought it possible to actually feel the chemistry between two people. But they radiated it. Especially when her lips trailed a searing path to his mouth where she stayed.

I shifted the same time Josh did, and something zipped through me like lightning. My skin felt loose and tight at the same time. Nerves twisted into a tight knot in my stomach. And when Josh tapped me on the leg, I startled from the contact.

He put his arm around me, pulling me against his chest. Nuzzling his face into the crook of my neck, he whispered, “Whatever you do, don’t look at them. It’s a trap. They’re some sort of cult that makes you want to rip off your clothes and hump the seat.”

I busted out laughing until I realized that things were progressing a little further than I’d realized when Allyson moaned.

Josh pulled back and looked down into my eyes.

“Are they making out?” I mouthed the words to him.

His gaze was hooded. The stain of arousal was flush against his cheeks. He gave a quick nod of his head, nostrils flaring as the noises and heat from their bodies surrounded us.

My eyes popped wide, and again I formed silent words only for Josh. “Oh. My. God.”

We watched each other, the car slowing as the driver had more than likely caught on to what was happening in his backseat and was more intent on watching them than he was the road.

Josh leaned forward again and I lost myself for a moment, thinking he’d fallen into the passion-infused air. And worse? I couldn’t stop the feeling of want and need coursing through me. It didn’t matter that we were sitting beside another couple. That there was a cab driver getting a backseat peep show. The entire world seemed to have stopped inside of that car and it began again right there between Josh and me. His lips brushed mine, not stopping as they followed the curve of my jaw and nipped the sensitive spot just below my ear. His voice was rough, and it sent a shiver of longing down my spine. It had been way to long since I’d felt the touch of a man. Too long since I’d let go completely, and, in that moment, I felt every single second of it.

“We need to get the hell out of this car before we’re all arrested for lewd acts done in the presence of the public. No wonder her sister has a tough time being near them. I feel like I either need a really cold shower, or a few moments alone,” he said, fingers digging into my shoulder as he shuddered. “Since neither one of those are a possibility, do you think we can get tacos? I’m kind of hungry.”

The car came to a sudden stop, and Josh was out the door, pulling me along behind him. “Don’t look back, for God sake.”

When he finally stopped, we were both out of breath. And then suddenly, we were laughing.

“Phew, that was a close one,” he said, wiping his eyes.

“I’m sorry, Josh. I had no idea.”

He brushed it off with a wave of his hand, stuck his elbow out, and said, “How about those tacos?’