A Certificate
. . .
Maybe Cade was onto something, because winning felt good.
Really good.
Dr. Lovejoy put together a whole medal ceremony after we reboarded the yacht.
There was a podium and everything. Cade and I sported heart-shaped gold medals around our necks, Harrison and Madison won the silver, and Vlad sulked with his bronze medal while Piper proudly wore hers.
Fletcher and Candace didn’t even bother finishing the race, and they quickly trashed their participation ribbons.
Dr. Lovejoy didn’t stop at just the ceremony. She threw a deck party in my and Cade’s honor that evening, filled with music and drinks and laughter. We even got a certificate that declared us the Love Champions—signed by Bliss herself.
“I’m getting this baby laminated,” I declared, beaming proudly at our winner’s certificate. My whole body vibrated with excitement.
Cade glanced between his scotch glass and the paper in my hands. “How many things have you laminated?”
“Not enough.” I looked around at the other couples drinking and laughing. “Do you think it’s okay if I disappear for a minute? I need to put this in our room for safekeeping.”
“I’ll take it.” Cade reached for the certificate and nodded behind me. “Go get a dessert. You’ve been making heart eyes at that cake for the last half hour.”
He walked off without waiting for a response, and I blinked after him. He’d noticed how I looked at the cake?
Since he insisted, I enjoyed a big slice of chocolate cake and chatted with the other women.
Cade’s mother and grandfather had turned in early after congratulating us on our win—which I was incredibly grateful for after all the thrusting they’d witnessed.
Mac left to watch a movie with Whiskey while Dr. Lovejoy wandered off for her nightly meditation, leaving just us couples on deck.
Once I was full of cake, I found a glass of champagne and a spot to myself on a couch to think. Tonight was the last night of our trip—and my and Cade’s deal—and it was… weird. There were unfinished questions, like what would happen when we got back into bed together? And tomorrow?
Not long after I cozied up against the plush cushions, Fletcher wandered over with a drink in his hand. I pressed my lips together to stop from scowling at his stupid face. The swelling in his eye had gone down a touch, but it’d turned a shade of dark purple that made me grimace.
He dropped onto the couch beside me.
“Congrats on the big win.” He grinned—wincing from the simple expression—and held out his glass to cheers. “We should celebrate.”
I did not clink my glass against his. Did Fletcher have the memory of a goldfish? What the heck was he doing even smiling at me after he’d thrown Whiskey off the boat?
I frowned but also tried to stay polite because it wouldn’t help my deal with Cade if I clawed this guy’s face off on our last night here. “We’ve been celebrating all evening.”
“I meant us.” He smirked, eyeing me before taking a swig of his drink. “You and me.”
My frown deepened. “Excuse me?”
He winked with his nonswollen eye. “Westbrook and I can swap cabins tonight. It’ll be fun.”
I blinked, still not comprehending this was actually happening.
“Why would you swap cabins?” I asked slowly.
His knowing look made me scoot an inch away. “So you and I can get to know each other better.”
My jaw dropped to the deck floor.
“I would’ve offered earlier, but I thought you were a prude,” he continued while I could only gape at him. “You proved me wrong with those moves during the balloon game. So, you down to swap?”
The shock strumming through my chest quickly morphed into rage. He thought I wanted to sleep with him? “Why do you think I’d ever be interested in you? You tried to kill my cat!”
“Hey, I was just playing with him.” Fletcher rested a hand on my bare thigh right below the hem of my swim cover, giving it a squeeze. “And I already apologized, but I’ll make it up to you tonight.”
I stared at his hand on my thigh, hardly believing this was really happening. “Please don’t touch me.”
He chuckled like I’d said something funny, scooting even closer. “You need to relax. We’re all friends here.”
I was ten train stops past uncomfortable now, so I shot off the couch to leave—but Fletcher followed and grabbed my wrist. “Easy now. We’re not done yet.”
I recoiled. His grip tightened, and I spun to him. “Oh, but we really are. I said no.”
“Careful,” he gritted through a tight smile. “Don’t blow this up into more than it—”
“Hey.” A deep voice cracked like a whip behind me, making me freeze. “Hands off, Montgomery.”
Fletcher muttered a curse, abruptly dropping my arm, and I staggered back—bumping straight into Cade’s front.
He caught hold of my waist to steady me and kept one hand settled against my lower back as he moved to my side. “You have your own fiancée. Don’t grope mine.”
“Relax, man.” Fletcher laughed to play it off. “It’s all friendly.”
Cade’s cold gaze remained glued to him. “Stay the hell away from Ellie.”
The other man’s hands flew up. “I was just offering to show your girl a good time. Thought you two might want to switch it up tonight.”
Cade went dangerously still, and I jumped into de-escalation mode. “It’s fine, Cade. Let’s just go.”
I gripped his arm and tugged in the opposite direction, but he didn’t budge.
“Hey, Harry?” Cade raised his voice without taking his eyes off Fletcher.
Harrison appeared on my other side. “Everything good, bro?”
“Yeah.” Cade carefully pried my fingers from his arm before grabbing Fletcher by the collar of his shirt. “Just hang out with Ellie for a bit while I help Fletch get back to his room.”
Uh-oh.
Harrison glanced at me, then nodded. “You got it.”
“Oh, come on, Westbrook.” Fletcher scoffed, failing to shrug Cade off. “Don’t be such a buzzkill. I was just asking.”
I stepped forward and rested a hand on Cade’s arm, worried about what else helping Fletcher back to his room could mean. “Cade?”
His dark gaze flicked away from Fletcher, and the frost in his eyes thawed when they landed on me. Even as he kept Fletcher’s collar in one hand, his other hand wrapped around the back of my neck and drew me closer. He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I won’t be long.”
I hesitated before nodding and tried to keep my voice light. “You better not be. We still have some celebrating to do.”
Harrison pretended to gag, but a smile tugged at the corner of Cade’s lips as he pulled back. “Wouldn’t miss it.”
Fletcher scoffed and tugged his shirt down, looking like a child being disciplined by his daddy.
“Let’s not overreact, man.” He grunted while Cade dragged him away. “It was a harmless offer. No harm, no foul, right?”
Cade stayed silent as they disappeared inside.
With a sigh, I flopped back onto the couch and questioned all my life choices.
Harrison settled in next to me with a nervous chuckle. “Well, that was intense. I’ve never seen my brother like that before.”
I shot him a sidelong glance, too curious for my own good. “Like what?”
He grinned. “Possessive. I saw it in his eyes. He’s got it bad for you. Real bad.”
Heat infused my cheeks, and I almost denied it—which a fiancée would definitely not do. As ridiculous as it was to think of Cade falling for me, that was what we’d been trying to fake this whole time.
Except Cade’s predatory focus toward Fletcher hadn’t felt like an act.
Guilt tore at my stomach at all the lies, but a seed of hope stirred too, because… the Love Olympics hadn’t felt fake either. Unless Cade was secretly some acting savant, there was nothing fake about the way he’d kissed me in the water. How we’d clung to each other. The way he’d smiled at me.
It had all felt almost too real.