Chapter 30
JETT
The moment I saw Cari coming down the stairs in that dress, I knew this evening was going to be tough.
My heart lurched at the sight of her. The black fabric made such a contrast with her golden-red hair, she was a striking vision to behold.
It was so her . No flimsy fabric. No slit. No plunging cleavage. And yet I want her in this as much as I wanted her in that red dress.
I shouldn’t have come here. I wouldn’t have. Bryce and I have bad history, a business deal that went sour when he turned on me and took more money than we’d agreed on.
I detest people like him. I like honest people, and Bryce is anything but honest. I have ulterior motives for coming here, and now I’m paying the price having to converse with people I don’t even regard as my friends. I get to spend more time with Brooke, and she loves the ponies. She wouldn’t stop talking about them last year. Anna brought her, because I was working on a big business deal during that visit.
But it’s not just because of Brooke’s love for ponies. I wanted to disrupt Cari’s evening with Jacques. My blood boils at the thought of her seeing him again.
“Jett, old boy. I didn't expect you to show up.” Bryce slaps me on my shoulder, and we shake hands warily.
“You asked me to come,” I reply, casually, before sliding my hands into my pockets.
“So I did. I’m delighted to see you. And who is this delightful creature?” he asks, eyeing Cari like a predator. If she senses him being slimy, she doesn’t show it and instead gives him a smile he doesn’t deserve. I feel a muscle pop along my jaw. Before I can answer, Cari does.
“I'm taking care of Brooke.” She can probably see right through him, and tells me she’s taking Brooke to see the ponies, then quickly makes her escape. I chuckle to myself. She’s always been a good judge of character.
“I don’t remember her from last year,” Bryce comments.
“That’s because my nanny quit. Cari’s helping out. She’s my assistant.”
“Your assistant? ” Bryce winks at me. “She must be super fucking talented if she’s an assistant and a nanny. And she’s a hottie.” Bryce gazes at Cari and Brooke in the distance. Pretty soon they’ll be out of his line of sight. And mine. She looks gorgeous in that dress which contrasts so magnificently with her hair. I’ve never looked at her as intensely as I have here in Bermuda. In New York, I have ways and means of avoiding her, but sadly none of them apply here. And now not only is she wearing a dress and looking so damn fine, she’s also not wearing any panties. My cock hardens some more. At this rate I won’t be able to contain myself any longer.
I love how Cari is with Brooke. She genuinely cares and wants the best for her. She could so easily be a nanny, and a PA, and anything else she set her mind to. That girl is just fucking amazing all around. I’m lucky to have her.
“Does it bother you?” Bryce pulls me back into the conversation.
“Does what bother me?” I ask, bracing myself
“Brooke. She’s grown so much and she looks so much like Sophia.”
The bastard. Trust him to bring up my wife.
“Why would it bother me?” I look away, hoping this fucker gets the message that I don't want to talk about this.
“Because, you know—”
I don’t know and I don’t care to find out. “Excuse me.” I need to get away from this prick. “I should check in on them.” I pat him on the shoulder, but he grabs my arm.
“Your daughter? Or the PA?” He winks at me again. He knows. I need to be careful.
There's something happening between me and Cari. Something weird and wonderful. Something that can get me in trouble. I should hold back. I should . But I don’t think I can.
I shake him off and walk away, swiping my hand through my hair as I head for the stables. What the fuck am I walking into?
I turn the corner to see Cari taking photos of Brooke and it makes me happy. I always forget to do that. My eyes linger on Cari longer than they should. I take in her curves, her slim waist, and remember how she looked in that red dress. I groan, and when my gaze dips lower, below her waist, I suck in a breath at the thought of her being naked underneath.
I’d rather be in the bar at home with her than here. I’d rather be talking to her than these people. Even though she’s giving me the silent treatment right now, I deserve it.
I led her to believe that I had feelings for her, and then I told her to leave.
I would hate me too if I were in her shoes.
CARI
I keep snapping pictures of Brooke to add to the many I've taken on this trip. It was something my mom always did, even though we never really went on vacations. Just the one.
Mom used to snap pictures of me doing the most ordinary things. Eating ice cream. Watching TV. Looking up at her. The photo albums she lovingly put together have been a blessing these last few months. I have roared with laughter, and sobbed with heartache seeing the wonderful, beautiful childhood she gave me. She was a single mom who worked so hard, and I will never get over losing her.
My camera is full of moments with Brooke, and it seems to have been one non-stop rollercoaster ride. We’ve done so much and have been somewhere every day. At this rate, I’ll need a vacation to recover from this one.
Right now, I’m glad to be away from everyone, including Jett. This corner near the stables, away from everyone, is where I plan to spend the rest of my evening. So much for having fun and mingling.
I snap some more pictures of Brooke so that she’ll have memories to look back on when she’s older. These are things a mother would do, and seeing Jett around his daughter, I’m all too aware that he doesn’t take many pictures and I plan to print a book with photos from the trip for her.
Brooke shouts “Daddy!” and my insides turn to fire. I glance over my shoulder to find him standing a few yards behind me. He doesn’t look happy, though he plasters a smile on his face and waves to Brooke.
Something is bothering him, even though his adoring gaze is fixed on Brooke. He doesn’t even look my way. I wonder if he’s annoyed with me. It can’t be me, because I gave myself to him on a plate last night, and he turned me down.
Maybe his father has done something. Again.
I decide to be the bigger person. After all, I’ll never forget the hungry look on his face when I told him I wasn’t wearing any panties. I’m discovering that it wasn’t a good idea because I feel naked and exposed. I’ve been in a constant state of arousal ever since our interactions went up a notch.
“What’s with the face?” I ask. The question makes his jaw muscles twitch some more.
“Why did you tell me that you're naked under that dress?”
This is an easy one to answer. Something about being aroused, something about the conversations we had, something about the look in his eyes when I wore that red dress for him has turned out my inner vixen. I smile sweetly. “I wanted to mess with your head the way you've messed with mine,” I whisper. We’ve standing close now, almost turned towards each other, and I lower my voice, trying to keep this conversation quiet.
“How’s that?” Jett’s eyes pierce through me.
“I told you how I felt about you. I did what you asked. We were … close last night,” I say, struggling to find the right word. “And then you told me to leave before you did something you regretted. I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
“Believe everything I said to you last night.”
My heart stumbles in my chest, and my knees go weak. “But you told me to—”
“Meet me tonight, when Brooke’s asleep. In the gazebo out back.”
When I don’t respond, he leans in and whispers right into my ear, “I need to see you again. Alone .” His words and his overpowering scent cast their magic spell on me, making my heart flutter.
Is he crazy for saying this to me out here? People might hear. I look around, but it’s just us, with the children in the riding ring. But still. I seem to be driving this man crazy, and he can’t contain himself.
It makes me feel so good. I bite my lip again, but standing so close to him makes it difficult to clearly process his words. I try to steady my breath as the knot in my stomach becomes even more tangled.
I quickly pull myself together. He's so slick with the art of persuasion. This man is a salesman. A negotiator. A savvy businessman. I’m a pawn on his chessboard, and if I’m not careful, he’ll convince me that he wants me. He’ll make me do things just because there’s no one else here who has caught his eye.
No girlfriend for release.
I’m just a substitute.
Someone to play with.
“You say all the right things, don't you?” I’m doing my best to stay strong, even though I can’t control my need and desperation for him.
His brows push together. “The right things?”
“Like the things you said to me last night, before you rejected me and sent me away.”
His eyes shut for a few seconds longer than normal, his face twisting as if he's in pain. He leans closer to my ear. “I was trying to do the right thing. Truth is, Cari, I want you so badly, it hurts all over.”
Chills slide over my back and arms. He’s whispering into my ear again, his words an arrow straight to my heart.
“Then don't push me away and make me feel like you don't want me.” Words from my own mouth shock me. A month ago, I would never have believed such words would leave my mouth, especially when talking to my boss. But something has changed. There must be something in the air here.
“Meet me,” he begs.
Being in an unfamiliar territory, in an exotic location, has caused havoc on my sensibilities. But now there is a chance to do something about it.
He gazes at me with an intensity that makes my jaw drop before leaning towards me again. “I love touching you. I know you loved it, too.”
I bite my lower lip again, trying hard to resist running my fingers across his face. I’m so desperate to touch him. I used to imagine these things in my daydreams, and now I want to reach out and do the unthinkable—skate my fingers across that five o’clock shadow lightly dusting his face.
He is not my boss here. All the guardrails between us have disintegrated.
“Jett!” Someone calls out for him, but he ignores them.
“Meet me. At midnight.”
Someone calls Jett over and he goes to them, leaving me standing there, feeling so aroused I’m almost giddy.
I try to take in a few calming breaths as I watch Brooke on her pony, but my thoughts are a jumbled mess. I feel like I’m on shifting ground. My boss has told me he wants me, and now that my fantasy has come true, I feel afraid and exhilarated.
When Brooke comes up to me and tells me she’s hungry, I’m grateful to have a distraction so that I don’t have to dwell on what Jett has asked me.
After getting Brooke to wash her hands, I take her over to the buffet tables, making sure to keep her by my side. I don't want to be left alone to face Jett or the party guests.
I plate up some food for Brooke, but I don't have an appetite myself. Brooke sits at a table with the twins, who seem to think of her as a cute little plaything. I hear them gush about how they’ve seen her grow up, from a baby to now. From the sounds of it, she’s been coming here every summer, while her father handles business meetings. She knows a lot of people, at least, and many seem to know her.
Jett holds court with a group of people nearby. He’s surrounded by women who are smiling and laughing. They run hands through their hair, rearrange their postures. Smooth down their outfits.
For him.
So many crave him. Even married women, like tonight’s hostess. She keeps touching his arm as she talks to him.
Brooke is ravenous, and has cleaned her plate and wants more. We go up to the buffet together because she can’t reach some of the platters.
She can reach the one with donuts. I let her, folding my arms and smiling at her as she picks one up and looks at me, then cheekily puts another small donut on her plate.
Jett walks over to us. “Daddy, these are delicious!” Brooke picks up another donut and hands it to him.
“Yeah?” He takes a bite. Behind him, a couple of the women are talking amongst themselves conspiratorially, like they were when I took Brooke to the lunch play date.
“You’re not eating?” Jett asks me.
“I’m not hungry.” The air is too charged with anticipation. I’m simmering with want for this man, so no, I’m not hungry for food.
“Do you mind just running into the house and fetching some more drinks?” The hostess, the gorgeous woman with her hair tied up in a severe bun, asks me. Someone who looks like she might be her sister joins in. “Grab a couple of bottles of Mo?t, would you?”
They stare at me as if they’re waiting for me to skip to the kitchen and do their bidding. I look back, stunned. The group of people behind them stop talking, and they’re all looking at me. Jett included.
I wait for him to say something, to stand up for me, but he doesn't. “I'm keeping an eye on Brooke,” I reply as calmly as I can.
The hostess waves her hand dismissively at Brooke. “Don’t you worry about her. She’ll be fine. The drinks are just on the kitchen table.” She waves a slender, perfectly manicured hand at one of the tables. “We need more champagne there.”
I stand my ground. “I'm not a server.”
“Oh, sweetie.” This time the younger woman talks. “Brooke's eating. Just run along and fetch the drinks. It’s not a big ask.”
“She's not a server. And if it's not a big ask, why don't you go and do it yourself, Nicole?” Jett's voice is laced with quiet fury.
I know that tone. It's the one he sometimes reserves for his father. Or the Italian Knights.
“What's the problem, old boy?” The big guy, the host, puts his arm around Jett. “The help is the help, eh?”
“Get your fucking arm off my shoulder,” Jett growls. “Cari is not the help. She's here as my guest, and therefore as your guest. I'd appreciate you treating her with the respect she deserves.”
Oh, my heart.
He's standing up for me. He's standing up to these people and putting them in their place. It can’t be easy for him, but he’s doing it. For me. My heart feels like it’s going to burst.