16. Blue #2
Cade went dangerously still next to me, probably assuming I was talking about my cuddling job. I wouldn’t go that far off script, but I also wasn’t about to spend a week pretending to be a “consultant.”
A shudder trembled through me just thinking about how bored I’d be.
“Where do you work?” Fletcher asked, though he seemed more interested in retying his sweater than the answer.
Luckily, that made it easier for me to focus on my deception.
“At a local cat café. I take care of the cats and oversee robot operations,” I lied, going with my old job. The best lies always stuck close to the truth. Plus, working with robots just sounded cool. Unfortunately, all it was met with were blank stares. “Cade came in for a drink one day—”
“Stop right there.” Harrison held up a hand, frowning at his brother. “You go to cat cafés, bro? Since when? I didn’t even know they existed outside Japan.”
Cade’s gaze drilled into the side of my head before he answered through a clenched jaw. “It was the nearest place with coffee.”
Well. He really wasn’t doing a great job of selling this.
Looked like I’d need to do more of the heavy lifting and help him relax.
Giving them my most charming smile, I leaned against Cade’s side and placed a palm over his stomach—feeling him stiffen under his soft shirt.
“Lucky for me, it started storming really badly, so Cade stuck around,” I lied, making a show of tilting my head back and batting my eyelashes up at him. “We got to chatting, and it turns out we have a lot in common. After that, he made a habit of stopping by the café to see me.”
I hadn’t planned to add the storm part, but what was more romantic than getting stranded in the rain together?
Unfortunately, lying had a habit of making me itchy, and a spot on my neck practically begged me to scratch it.
“So… that means you were dating before Cade went over to London.” Harrison’s eyes narrowed on his brother. “Did she go over there with you?”
“No, but we kept in touch,” Cade lied smoothly, earning a side-eye from me.
Maybe he wasn’t as bad of an actor as I’d thought.
“I was skeptical of the distance at first,” I added, seeing an opportunity to beef up our story while subtly scratching my neck, “but then Cade did the most romantic thing ever and wrote me love letters from across the pond. How could I resist that?”
A chorus of awws sounded from the women, almost drowning out Vlad’s snort of laughter.
“Love letters?” Madison echoed with a dreamy sigh, before poking Harrison’s side. “Why don’t you ever write me love letters?”
“Ow!” He rubbed his side. “Maybe leave the country, and I will.”
“I had no idea you were such a romantic, Cade,” Piper said, eyeing him thoughtfully. “Love letters and getting stormed in together? I always figured you’d leave it up to an algorithm to choose a wife for you.”
Cade smiled tightly while grabbing my arm with one hand. “Like I said, things change. Excuse us for a moment.”
He strode off, pulling me along behind him with such force that I had to speed up so it wouldn’t look like he was dragging me away like a toddler.
It gave me déjà vu to when he tried to kick me out of his penthouse.
When we reached a railing overlooking the water, Cade stopped and leaned closer with a dangerous smile. “What happened to following the script?”
“The script is boring,” I whispered back, scratching the inside of my wrist where a few red bumps had appeared. “Our story needs substance. Intrigue. There’s nothing interesting or cute about the brief your team created.”
His lips pressed together. “So you chose a cat café? And love letters? I’ve never written a letter in my life.”
I shrugged. “Kitty’s café is closer to the truth and adds character. Plus, it doesn’t sound like it was decided by a team of people in suits.”
Cade went quiet and looked out at the water in front of us. I got the impression he was weighing the pros and cons of tossing me overboard.
Thankfully, he must’ve decided to let me live, because he dragged his gaze back to me with a sigh.
“You’re single-handedly destroying my reputation,” he finally said, earning a blank stare.
“If writing love letters to your supposed girlfriend ruins your reputation, then I think you have bigger problems to work through,” I said slowly. Another idea occurred. “Have you considered therapy?”
His grip tightened on my arm—not enough to hurt, but enough that he must be seriously considering saying to heck with this plan and dragging me off the yacht. “Just stick to the script.”
“But the script is lame—”
“It’s what you agreed to,” he reminded me coolly, before pulling me back to the group, all of whom made no attempts to pretend they hadn’t been watching us the whole time.
“All good?” Harrison asked lightly, glancing between us.
“Peachy.” I smiled brightly, sticking beside Cade. “What’d we miss?”
Harrison and Madison exchanged a long look, and I braced myself for more questions as Harrison cleared his throat. “Well, there’s something we should share with the group before we toast and kick off the trip…”
He looked toward Madison, who clasped her hands together.
“We kept it a surprise, but this isn’t just a normal holiday,” she explained, smiling widely. “To celebrate our new marriage, Harrison and I wanted to do something special. So, we reached out to someone I really admire for help setting up a life-changing experience for everyone here.”
I frowned. That sounded more than a little ominous.
Harrison started a little drumroll to build suspense, but apparently Madison couldn’t contain her excitement any longer.
“It’s a couples retreat!” she blurted, throwing her arms up and vibrating with joy. “We’re spending the next week strengthening our connection with our partners, spending quality time building foundations, and embracing group therapy together. Doesn’t that sound fun?”
My brows shot up, and I blinked—unsure if I’d heard her correctly—while Cade’s entire body went rigid beside me.
… This was definitely not part of the script.