“It’s all right,” she said softly. “It wasn’t my place to say anything. It’s your business.”
He raked a hand through his hair, her understanding making him feel like even more of a jackass. “It’s just, I don’t know how to turn it off. I’ve never not worked on a Monday. Even when I had my appendix out, I held a conference call from the hospital the next day.”
She frowned. “Why? Is your job that unforgiving?”
He released a breath. “No, but my dad once told me that being successful is all about inertia, and I took it to heart.”
“Inertia?”
He stared out toward the dark blue waves and recited the law. “Yes. ‘A body moving forward will continue in the same direction at a constant speed unless disturbed by outside force.’ It’s a law in physics, but Dad applied it to life, meaning as long as I kept moving forward with the same routine and intensity and didn’t let anything distract me off that path, I’d reach whatever goal I had set for myself.”
“Oh.”
“The only time I let something move me off that path was in college. Mia.” He turned to meet Kelsey’s eyes. “Suddenly, I was so far off course, I didn’t even know where the path was anymore. I was okay with it at the time. It felt freeing—a rebellion in the face of that tight hold I’d always kept on myself. But falling in love with her and then losing her fucking destroyed me. The year afterward, I became someone I didn’t even recognize. My grades slipped, my thesis went unfinished, and I didn’t give a fuck about much of anything. I just wanted to be numb.”
“Been there,” Kelsey said quietly.
“And the only one who stepped in and snapped me out of it was my father. Jace couldn’t do it. He was wrapped up in his own drama after Evan disappeared. So I leaned on my dad like I never had before. He didn’t know why I was so fucked up all of a sudden and didn’t ask. He just kicked my ass like a drill sergeant and put me back on the trajectory I was originally on, one that would lead to success, to me eventually taking over the company. He reestablished my inertia.” He took a deep breath and shook his head, no longer able to look Kelsey’s way. “And since then I’m terrified of anything that deviates from my routine, that distracts me. That question is always lingering in my head: What if this move is the force that shoves me off course again? If I don’t take care of my Monday-morning things on Monday and let myself indulge in the beautiful woman sashaying around my kitchen, will everything fall apart?”
The question hung heavy between them, the space only filled with the roar of the ocean and the distant sound of voices down the beach. He didn’t dare look at her. He knew what he was saying sounded ridiculous and weak. Like a man living in fear. If she rolled her eyes, he wouldn’t be able to bear it.
“Prom,” she said simply.
The word was so unexpected, he swung his head to look her way. “What?”
She turned in her chair to sit up and dug her toes into the sand, her gaze firmly on her feet. “That’s the day I got knocked off my path, when I lost my inertia.”
He swallowed, wanting to ask questions, but giving her time to say what she needed to say.
Her hands gripped the bottom of the lounger. “I lied to you in your movie room. I used to be even more of a hopeless romantic than Brynn. All those eighties movies she watched imprinted on my brain like some sort of disease, giving me hopes for things I didn’t have, love I didn’t understand, and experiences I always wanted. I remember watching Pretty in Pink and thinking, Hey, that could be me. Andie was poor, too, and she made her dress, went to the dance, and landed her Prince Charming. She got to fall in love despite all the crap she had to go through.” She gave a humorless laugh. “So ridiculous. I was hopeless and stupid.”
“Kelsey,” he said, his chest hurting for her.
But she didn’t stop. “When I was sixteen, I fell in love for the first time. Or at least I thought that’s what it was. Brynn didn’t like the guy, and my mom told me he was no good, but I wasn’t hearing any of it. When prom rolled around, he promised he’d take me even though he’d already declared that prom was ‘retarded.’ And I didn’t have the skill to make my dress, but I found a pretty black gown at the thrift store and made it my own. Brynn did my hair and makeup, and I was so freaking excited I could barely wait for the day.
“But when it rolled around, my boyfriend picked me up and told me there’d been a change of plans. Instead of going to prom, he was taking me directly to an after party. Only the party turned out to be at a dealer’s house. I woke up that morning thinking I’d experience my first prom, but instead I got my first taste of cocaine and lost my virginity. I don’t even remember having sex, I just woke up sore and bleeding.”
“Jesus.”
She raised her head, looking at him finally. “And no one could get me back on track after that. Maybe your dad’s theory is true. Makes me wonder what my life would’ve looked like if that night hadn’t changed everything. If I had told him to go to hell and had gone to the dance alone.” She gave him a wan smile. “Maybe you’re right to be scared of deviations. Maybe you shouldn’t have taken me here at all.”
“Baby,” he whispered, the pressure in his throat blocking anything louder. He reached out for her hand, and she let him guide her onto his lounger with him. He lay on his side and tucked her against him, his hand drifting up and down her arm. Something hot and determined burned in his veins, and for once, it had nothing to do with her body nestled against his. He kissed the curve of her neck. “There’s no one I want here with me more than you.”
She sighed, sadness lining the soft sound.
“And I turned off my phone.”
“Hmm?” she said, obviously still lost in those bad memories.
“Every vacation I’ve ever taken since I’ve been an adult has been centered around work. I’ve been on beautiful islands like this and never put a toe in the water because I was tied to my phone and computer. Even when I was a kid, my father filled vacations with lessons for us—skiing lessons, sailing lessons, you name it. I’m ready to change that. So I turned off my phone. No more work calls for the rest of the week. Now I’m all yours.”
She turned in his arms to face him, her curious gaze meeting his. “What do you propose we do then?”
He kissed her nose. “Think you can teach me how to have fun, love?”Her lips curved at that, some of the weight of their histories lifting and swirling away in the breeze. “Absolutely. I know just the thing to start with.”
He smirked. “Should I have brought protection?”
She laughed and rolled off the lounger, grabbing his hand and tugging him upward. “No, horny boy.” She bent over and grabbed two abandoned plastic cups. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?”
But she was already moving toward the water, so he followed. When she reached the line where the wet sand transitioned to dry, she plopped down like a child and patted the spot next to him. “Sit.”
Amused at her bossiness, he complied. “Yes, ma’am.”
She pushed a cup his way and laid a quick kiss on his lips before settling back in her spot. “The key is mixing the right amount of water with the sand. With all your math skills, I suspect you’ll be an excellent architect.”
“Architect?”
She grinned and scooped a pile of damp sand into her cup, packing it down. “Wyatt Austin, we’re going to build ourselves a sandcastle.”
He stared at her for a moment, then laughed. She was serious. He grabbed his cup and filled it with sand. “Well, okay, then.”
He plunked the packed sand down, creating the first tower.
Never before had he wanted to get something just right.
Because if anyone deserved the perfect fairy-tale castle, it was Kelsey.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Wyatt circled his arms around Kelsey’s waist and set his chin on the top of her head, giving her puppy dog eyes in the bathroom mirror as she re-powdered her nose. “Can’t we bail on this get-together and go lay out on the deck? Naked. We’ve got all kinds of privacy out there. And think how fun it’ll be to lather up with sunscreen.”
Kelsey gave him her best attempt at a stern look, though it was hard with his fingers creeping beneath the bottom edge of her top and stroking her belly. “No way, Mister. I danced with Mr. Fancy Pants the other night to get you this invite. You are going to go play nice and get his business.”
“I told you, love. I don’t want Carmichael’s goddamned business.” His palms slid upward, cupping her breasts through the thin lace of her bra. “I want you. Plus, I thought I’d teach you to drive a jet ski later.”
She shivered beneath his touch, her body going hot at the mere suggestion of spending the rest of the day beneath him. But she had to remind herself that they were here for another reason besides wanton sex and island fun. For most of the week, she’d let Wyatt tempt her away from time with the other guests because one look and sexy suggestion from him usually had all her resolve melting and her clothes magically falling off. And luckily, during the few couple’s activities they’d participated in, he’d made good contacts and had a few meetings set up, but the gold medal of clients hadn’t been landed yet. So when it came to today’s plan, she had to turn the tables on her dom and push the issue. He could punish her for it later.
She set her compact down and turned in his arms. He didn’t back up, but simply pressed his hands to the edge of the sink, caging her in. “You brought me here to help you.”
“And you have. More than you know.” He leaned down and kissed her. “I don’t need to go spend time with that jerk. You’re much more interesting.”
“So the guy’s an asshole, so what?” she asked, doing her best not to get sucked into the vortex of temptation. “You don’t have other assholes on your client list?”
His smile dipped.
“Exactly. And this guy can help your company. You wouldn’t have gone through all this trouble to come out here if you didn’t need this to happen.” She put her hands on his chest. “So let me help you. Play their game. Which today is poker for you boys and mani/pedis for we delicate ones.”
“Delicate, huh?”
She slid her hands upward and wrapped her arms around his neck. “For the record, I could kick all of your asses at Texas Hold ’Em. I play at The Ranch with some of the other employees. But apparently getting invited to Andrew’s exclusive poker game is only for a chosen few . . . and those chosen few must have external genitalia. So I’ll go hang with the girls and see if I can make any more friends for you. And you go land yourself a whale.”
He sighed and touched his forehead to hers, but she could tell she’d already won. “I thought you were supposed to be taking orders from me, love.”
Her lips curled. “Not in this arena. But later . . .”
He drew his hand up from her waist and gently collared her neck, his thumb tracing the delicate skin there. Her muscles automatically went pliant, her weight leaning onto the sink, as if that simple touch hit some liquefy button inside of her. “Yes. Later there will be no talking back, unless it’s to beg.”
She closed her eyes, her heart hopping like she’d turned up the dial on the treadmill. It took everything she had not to give in and let him take her to the bed right then. She wet her lips, trying to put together her thoughts. “For the poker game . . .”
“Mmm-hmm,” he said absently as he wedged his thigh between her legs, giving pressure right where she needed it, and kissed behind her ear.
She swallowed against his hold on her throat, her head tilting back on its own volition. “Don’t play too well. Play good enough so that they know you’re smart and make wise decisions about when to take risks and when not to, but don’t cut off their balls by beating them into the ground and winning all their chips. Let them think you’re evenly matched. Let them win some big hands against you.”