Captivating You (How to Marry a Billionaire #2)

Episode 63

EPISODE 63

DIAMONDS ON BLACK VELVET

Sebastian

Brett returns to Alex and me after he and River have their words. He smells of woodsy cologne and cigarette smoke, with a hint of bourbon coming off his breath.

“Where’s Riv?” I ask.

“He went back inside the manse. I think I’m going to go down to the beach for a while.”

“It’s late, Brett,” Alex says.

“Yeah. But I could use some time alone.” He looks up to the sky and then back at us. “See you guys tomorrow. Goodnight.” He strides toward the path that leads to the beach.

Once he’s out of earshot, I turn to Alex. “I’ve never seen Brett quite so introspective. He’s usually all business or pleasure without doing a lot of soul-searching.”

Alex nods. “I wonder what River said to him.”

“I don’t have a clue. The two of them have always shared a special bond. They’ve known each other the longest.”

“True enough.” Alex sighs. “I suppose we should call it a night.”

“I’m not sure I could sleep.”

Alex lets out a scoffing chuckle. “Me neither. You want to walk for a while?”

“Sure, but let’s go out front and take the other path to the beach. I don’t want to horn in on Brett’s alone time.”

“Same,” Alex says.

We walk to the front of the mansion, around the manicured front lawn, and onto the concrete path leading toward the beach. The moon sits high in the sky, and the stars shine down on us. Sheer perfection. I could write a dozen songs about the beauty of this night...if it weren’t so fucked up.

We find a couple lounge chairs far enough from the ocean to not risk the tide washing into us and sit down.

We’re quiet for a while, just listening to the rhythmic rolling of waves. They crescendo as they gather strength and build into a gentle roar that climaxes as they break onto the shore. They retreat with a soft hiss.

The flap of a bird flying through the night sky punctuates the gentle sound occasionally, and the warm night breeze drifts around us. I inhale the salty sea air mingled with the earthy scent of sand with subtle floral notes.

Yet relaxation doesn’t come.

Alex’s voice finally breaks the silence. “Seb?”

I turn to look at my friend who’s staring out to sea. “Yeah?”

“Do you think this was a mistake? Trying to meet women this way? Trying to find love this way?”

“I don’t know. It seemed the best option at the time.”

“I’m wondering if it wasn’t doomed from the start,” he says. “I mean, if we hadn’t hired Evangeline and tasked her with finding eligible women, Misty never would have found us.”

I shake my head. “Oh, I think she would have found us. If she’s truly Jake’s half-sister, her curiosity would have gotten the best of her and she would have gone to Montana. If she made it to Montana, she would have found River first, and that would have led to the rest of us.”

“Would she have found River, though?” Alex asks. “If she only knew that her birth mother had another child who would have been our age... There was nothing to tie him to us. She could have looked into other guys who might have been the same age, but that wouldn’t have led her specifically to any of us.”

“True, though our town is hardly a thriving metropolis. It wouldn’t have taken much digging to find all the residents our age, and then she’d have found Riv. Not us right away since we no longer live there, but people talk. It wouldn’t have been that difficult. It just would have taken her longer.” I draw in a breath, catch the pleasant scent of marine life from the water. “Maybe this is poetic justice. That time in our life is what gave us the determination to rise above the past and find fame and fortune. In doing so, we sacrificed what was most important. Emotional connection. Love. So we hired a matchmaker to help us find what was missing, and now...” I shake my head. “This is fucked up.”

“Checkmate,” Alex says.

“Meaning...”

“It’s the move in chess where your king is about to be captured and there’s no escape. The game is over.”

“Fuck, Alex, I’m not a moron. I know what checkmate is. I’m asking what you mean by it in this context?”

“Isn’t it obvious? It’s over, Seb. We got twenty years and enough money to last ten lifetimes. And now it’s over.”

“Jesus, Alex. Pessimistic much?” Though I basically just said the same thing about poetic justice. Hearing it from Alex makes it feel all the more real.

He sighs. “Sorry. But what are our options? Send the women home? Get back to life and hope to God Misty doesn’t keep searching for her roots?”

Hmm. Misty is searching for something. I’m still not convinced she’s telling the truth, but if she isn’t, she somehow came up with this elaborate lie. Poor little rich girl. We could send her packing, but it’s more advantageous to have her where we can keep an eye on her.

Besides...my date with Heather tonight was phenomenal.

“I don’t want to end this yet,” I finally say.

“I don’t particularly want to either.” He stares out to sea for a moment and then turns to me. “How was your date with Heather?”

“Unexpected,” I answer truthfully. “She’s hot as hell and a superfan, but I didn’t expect to make anything other than a physical connection.”

“But you did?”

Did I? It’s difficult to admit, but yeah, I think I did. “There’s something there,” I say. “So I’m not ready to leave here just yet.”

“Seb,” he says, “Heather’s salon is in Pasadena. You live in LA. No matter what happens here, you can still go home and date her.”

He’s not wrong. Still, I have a lunch date with Ariel at some point, as a result of the game on the catamaran, and I haven’t spent any time with Sienna at all. I’m not one to make a decision without sampling all the merchandise.

“How about you?” I ask Alex. “Have you met anyone you think you could have a real connection with?”

“I’ve spent time with Sienna and Ariel. They’re both amazing women. And I gave Heather a hell of an orgasm this afternoon.”

A boulder lands in my gut. I’d forgotten about that. Alex was paired with Heather for Brett’s “orgasm without touching” game. Why should I be feeling jealous? I gave Heather several orgasms. Fuck. I am feeling something for her besides intense physical attraction.

I’m trying to think about what to say to Alex without ripping his arm out of its socket, but he continues.

“Heather’s not my type, though.”

I’m oddly offended. “Fun, gorgeous, and hot as hell isn’t your type?”

He laughs. “Seb, she’s your type. Exactly your type.” Then he gets serious, staring at the ocean once more. “Sometimes I wonder why we agreed to this—trying to meet a life partner this way. Sure, it’s expedient, but what if two of us fall for the same woman? I mean, I know Brett said that’s nearly impossible because we all have such different tastes, but still...”

I nod. “Brett seems to have an almost hypnotic influence over us when he gets one of his ideas.”

“How is that possible to this day?” Alex asks.

“Because he’s a damned genius. He always thinks things through and takes care of every contingency. He sure did that night.”

“Except for one contingency he didn’t think of.”

I let out a sigh. “Marnie.”

Alex shakes his head slowly. “Like I said. Checkmate. Maybe it’s the writer in me, but I think this whole thing is going to end up being our undoing.”

His words make my neck prickle. “What do you mean by that?”

“I observe,” he says. “To tell a good story I have to look beyond the surface of things and imagine hidden connections to create dimension in a plot and in characters. I have to ask ‘what if?’” He stands and glances up to the night sky. “I failed here. I’m seeing things now that I should have seen before we all agreed to this. I screwed up, Seb.”

I rise and stand next to my friend. Alex and I aren’t touchy-feely, but I grip his shoulder to offer comfort. “This isn’t on you. It’s not on anyone. Not even Brett.”

“I appreciate that, but I should have seen this coming. I’m a storyteller, and in every good story, a character’s past always catches up with him.”

I release Alex’s shoulder and gaze at the stars. They look like diamonds glistening on black velvet, but in truth they’re distant gaseous balls whose light traveled years and years ago so that we can see it now.

So much like our past. It happened years and years ago, but it’s still here and now, beating in our hearts every second. But unlike the starlight that is beautiful and wondrous, our past is haunting and devastating.

Alex is wrong, though. None of this will be our undoing. Not after we’ve lived with it this long.

I have a plan.