Captivating You (How to Marry a Billionaire #2)

Episode 77

EPISODE 77

A HOUSE DIVIDED

Sebastian

I head back to my suite only to spy the lovely Emily leaving River’s room. She and I have hardly spoken since the first night when I made her come in my suite.

“My English rose,” I say, approaching her.

She raises an eyebrow. “My elusive rocker.”

She offers no explanation for leaving River’s suite, and I don’t ask. None of my business anyway.

“Is our brooding cowboy decent?” I ask.

I rake my gaze over her. She’s wearing a simple running tank and shorts, but God... She looks like she just finished a wild night of sex.

And she doesn’t look the least bit ashamed or embarrassed.

“See for yourself.” She walks away with an ever so slight huff.

Fuck, she’s still hotter than forty hells.

I sigh. Does River have his sight set on the English rose? She was my first choice, but now that I’ve gotten to know Heather better... Oh, hell, I haven’t made any decisions yet. But if River is gravitating toward Emily, maybe she’s the pawn I need to get him to stay on the island.

I pound on his door.

River opens immediately, his eyebrows raised, but then he scowls at me.

“Expecting someone else?” I ask. “An English damsel, perhaps?”

“What do you want, Seb?” he demands.

I walk in without an invitation and close the door behind me. “Change of plans,” I say. “ I’m going to escort Sienna to the mainland. You need to stay here.”

“Fuck you and your ideas,” River says. “I told you my terms. Misty goes or I do.”

“I know what you said, and I know what we all said before we started this. We come together and we leave together.” I shake my head and motion toward his door. “Am I wrong, or do you maybe have a reason to stay?”

He pauses a moment.

I try another tactic. “What about Rachel?” I ask.

“I hardly knew Rachel,” he says.

“But you spent time with her the first night.”

He says nothing.

“Emily, then?”

His cheeks redden. Only slightly, but I notice.

So it is the English rose.

“Or Misty...” I can’t help adding.

River’s expression goes dark. “Fuck off, Seb.”

“See? You’ve got to stop that, Riv. There’s too much at stake here for all of us. We can’t fight among ourselves. I’ve got a plan to get to the bottom of what Misty’s after, but we need to work together.”

“I’m done with plans and schemes,” River says. “You all do whatever you want. I’m going to do damage control with Ginger and Rachel. Make sure we don’t get our asses sued on top of everything else.”

“What if I told you that Ginger and River are coming back? As soon as Rachel is clear to leave?”

River widens his eyes for a split second, but a moment later he’s back to anger. “Bullshit. You’re bluffing, and you’re shitty at bluffing. You really think they’re going to even consider coming back when Rachel thinks Misty or Evangeline sabotaged her?”

“You don’t understand. I’ve worked it out with Evie. I told her to get them back, to do whatever it takes.”

“And if she can’t convince them?” River asks. “What then?”

“Then we continue.” Anger surges through me like feedback from an amp, a piercing, uncontrollable screech that refuses to be silenced. I breathe in, trying to tame it. “We need to deal with Misty together. All four of us. I can’t believe you would even consider leaving, River. A house divided can’t stand. You leave, and you take us all down. And if you’re not here, you won’t have shit to say about how the rest of us handle Misty. You want Brett marrying her? For some reason, he wants her to stay now. I don’t know why, but you know Brett. When he makes up his mind about something, it happens. You want Jake’s half-sister to be a part of our lives for fucking ever? You know what that would mean?”

River scoffs. “She won’t marry Brett.”

“I know she’s got her mind set on you, but we both know how persuasive Brett can be.”

River looks at me a moment, except he’s not looking at me at all. He’s looking through me. Then, when he begins to speak again, I’m not sure who he’s actually talking to.

“You can’t replace one love with another,” he says softly. “You can’t find something that’s gone in something else. It’ll break your fucking heart. Why would you want to break your heart twice?” He shakes his head. “Why would you put yourself through that? It’s like trying to replicate something that never even existed in the first place. You can try until the cows come home, but you’ll only end up worse off than you were before. Why can’t he see that?”

Has my friend truly lost it? I wave my hands in front of his face. “Earth to River.”

His gaze meets mine.

“You want to explain what the fuck you’re talking about?”

“No.” He turns away from me.

I breathe in. “Fine. Something’s eating away at you. It’s been eating at you since your date with Misty, and I’m trying to be patient. We all are. Misty’s thrown this whole thing out of whack, but we can salvage it. We just need to work together.”

“Maybe it’s time to go our separate ways, Sebastian.”

Sebastian? The guys never call me Sebastian. It’s always Seb.

As much as River is pissing me off right now, I never want to be without him or Alex or Brett in my life. We’ve been through too much. Sacrificed too much.

And we have way too many damned secrets that need to stay buried.

“River, you know what needs to happen as well as I do. Now more than ever because of Misty and her revelation. We see this through to the end, which means you stay on the island. Stay and make it work with?—”

“Misty?” he interrupts me, scowling.

“Fuck, Riv.” I walk toward him. “We’ll figure the Misty thing out, but we have to do it together. We’ve always done everything together. We each have our role to play.”

“Maybe I’m sick of playing roles. Maybe I’m sick of being the guy everyone turns to when they need to focus on their inner strength. Maybe I’m just not strong enough to continue. Did you ever consider that?” He thrusts his hands into the pockets of his shorts. “Emily came here this morning accusing us of monitoring their rooms.”

My heart lurches. “Say what ?”

“You heard me. I assured her we weren’t, but then I got to thinking. Did Brett arrange to have the women watched?”

“Why would he do that?”

“Why the fuck does Brett do anything?” River shrugs. “I should know. I’m his best friend. But it turns out I don’t know him at all.”

“Brett would not have the women monitored,” I say.

“Are you sure, Seb? Are you really sure?”

When I don’t reply right away, River nods. “See? You’re not sure either. I’m out of here.” He walks to his bedroom door and picks up his packed bag.

I stop him, yanking the bag from his hands. “You have to stay. It’s the right thing to do, and somewhere inside, you know it.”

River reaches for the small clock sitting on one of his end tables. He picks it up and hurls it against the wall, leaving a gouge. “You’re boxing me into a fucking corner. I don’t like being caged.”

I shake my head. “You hold the keys, Riv. You stay, you can be part of the solution. You leave? Whatever happens, you’re leaving it in my hands. If you want to escort Sienna to the mainland and check on Rachel, do it. Do what you need to do. But then man up and get your ass back here by nightfall.”

“Do you hear yourself?” River storms at me. “You sound like a fucking Bruce Willis movie. I don’t have to take this shit from some pansy-assed rock star.”

I advance toward him. “Sometimes, Riv, you go too far.”

He clenches his hands into fists, his jaw going rigid. “I was ready to pummel you last night, and I’m more than ready now.”

I draw in a deep breath, count to ten. This isn’t River. This isn’t the emotional core of our group, the quiet strength. The one who empathizes and understands. The one who’s so good at articulating all our feelings.

I move back from him. “I won’t fight you, Riv, and I don’t think that’s what you want either.”

River threads his hands through his hair. “Fuck you. Fuck Brett. Fuck Misty. Fuck this whole damned thing.”

“I said I’d escort Sienna. I think it’s best, but I won’t stop you if you want to be the one.” I walk to the door and look over my shoulder. “But one way or another, you are staying until we’re finished here.”

I walk out the door to a stream of F-bombs from River.

I know what has him spooked. It’s got us all spooked. But River will see reason.

He has to.