SIXTEEN
BEFORE SHE COULD ask any questions, or even attempt escape, a tall, dark-haired guy swaggered on out. He noticed her and raised his sunglasses to his head but kept on walking.
“Thea,” he said. “Hello. Welcome.”
“You say hello to the guest before you say hello to me?” Roxie asked but angled her chin to accept his kiss.
“It’s the only way I can judge how much damage you’ve done.”
“I haven’t done damage,” Roxie said, catching his hand. “I’ve been filling her in.”
“On?”
“Everything, everyone, getting her up to speed on… the Roxiverse.”
“Where did you get to?”
“What do you care? It’s nothing to you, you know the stories. It was nice she showed up, given you abandoned me for golf.” Roxie shifted to peek around him at her. “He abandoned me to go play golf with your guy. Golf!” She sank back to talk up at her man again. “Do you know how long it’s been since I was alone, Casanova? Like completely alone?”
“Probably a while.”
“A long while. Think of the damage she prevented me from doing by keeping me entertained.”
“Now that you mention it, I should ask, how much do psych ward vacations run for these days?”
“Joke, my love, enjoy yourself,” Roxie said. “Won’t make me forget you play golf.”
“Golf?” she asked. “What’s up with golf?”
Was there a reason Roxie kept reiterating that?
“Yeah, I know, how embarrassing. Our men are golfers.” Roxie shivered. “I’m never admitting that again. Anyone asks, I’m pleading the Fifth.”
“Rox, did you—Thea?” Zane paused for a moment before coming from inside the house to stand by his friend. “Are you okay?”
“I didn’t damage her,” Roxie said. “Why do people think I’m some sort of disaster zone?”
“You’re a crisis event, Lola. Did you forget?”
“Ha-ha.”
“I…” she started, hesitant to inject herself into their rapport. “I assume this is—”
“Right, yes, duh, sorry,” Roxie said. “Thea Florin this is Zairn Lomond. Mr. Kyst-Lomond.”
Zairn was deadpan. “Is that what we’re doing now?”
Roxie beamed up at her partner. “What’s so wrong with that? Shouldn’t you be as obliged to take my name as I am to take yours?”
“What happened to no arguing on our honeymoon?”
Horror hit. “This is your honeymoon?” She turned to sit side-on, then pounced to her feet. “Oh, God, Roxie, I’m so sorry!”
“Don’t be,” Roxie said, using her link to Zairn to pull herself onto her feet too. “It’s only our rehearsal honeymoon, and I’ve had a blast of a day.”
“No, not that.” Thea couldn’t stop herself from embracing the blonde. “I’m so sorry you married a man who’d choose golf with a buddy over sex with you on your honeymoon!”
When she pulled back, Roxie’s amusement landed on the man next to them. “See what taste I have in friends? Thea gets it. Just like I said, I could never be with a man who plays golf.”
“Except you are and it’s hardly grounds for divorce.”
Zairn was good at playing it straight even as the energy between the couple fizzed.
“It is in California,” Roxie said, absolutely certain. “I’ve got an in with the DA.”
“Droll,” Zairn said. “Watch out you don’t get arrested on your way to his office.”
“Why would I? I won’t go by way of Crimson.”
“No breaking and entering planned?”
“I find it’s better to be spontaneous,” Roxie said, tossing her hair for effect. “Reduces the sentence if they find there’s no premeditation.”
“Just because they don’t find it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. I can help them out with that. And, FYI, if you go to prison, I’m having our babies without you.”
“All of them?”
“All of them.”
Roxie sneered. “You just can’t wait to get your hands on that exchange student, can you?”
“I’ll be living the life, baby. Might even get me more than one.”
“Don’t expect child support.”
A hand slid onto her lower back, Zane’s. Yeah, she’d been kind of blocking out his proximity.
“You okay?” he asked, guiding her away from the couple still sparring.
“You have a beautiful house.”
“Thank you,” he said. “I haven’t been staying here. Zairn and Roxie were supposed to have it to themselves.”
Horrified, she tensed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt. Roxie didn’t say anything. I didn’t expect—”
“No, that wasn’t aimed at you. With Roman’s bullshit, all plans have gone to crap… Everyone’s having dinner here tonight.”
“I heard. Roxie’s looking forward to it.”
“She’s a people person.”
They stopped at the stone wall surrounding the terrace. The water beyond was so awe-inspiring, the sky, the glorious light, she couldn’t take it all in. “You picked the perfect spot.”
“To talk?”
She smiled. “For your terrace.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s Cam Collier for you—baby, did you come here for a reason? Is there something you need?”
“Right, sorry.”
“Don’t apologize.”
“That’s why I came here,” she said, hoping he could read her contrition. “I came to apologize for yesterday and—Alessia doesn’t want to leave.”
“She doesn’t have to, I want both of you to stay.”
“I overreacted, or maybe I reacted in the right way, I just aimed that emotion at the wrong person. You can’t be responsible for another man’s actions. And I shouldn’t have unloaded my fear and anger on you—”
“Thea,” he said, sliding in closer, catching her hair in the breeze to tuck it behind her ear. “I’m exactly the person you should unload your emotions on.”
“You didn’t know your cousin was going to do that. It wasn’t your fault he—”
“Because your boyfriend is exactly the person you should share your feelings with. I want to know if you’re scared, if you’re angry, and I will always do everything in my power to right any wrongs.”
“Boyfriend?”
“You know how I feel about you,” he said, his hand skimming onto her waist to edge her closer. “I thought I blew the whole thing, but if you’re telling me there’s a chance.”
And the bounce of her diaphragm lightened so much that the cascade of hope became relief.
Her hands opened against him. “You still want to…?”
“I still want to,” he said, his palm continuing to her mid back to hold her against him.
“How do you know it’s not, that I’m not…” Her lips parted as he stooped. “All about the money.”
“Baby, if you forgive me…” he murmured. “I’ll sign it all over to you.”
“There’s nothing to forgive. I was out of line. You should be the one refusing to forgive me.”
“You’re forgiven,” he said. “Can I kiss you now?”
“Uh huh.”
Tipping her head back, she welcomed the heat of his mouth closing over hers and the gentle sweep of his tongue as it—
“You guys want to have Sex on the Beach with us?” Roxie called out.
The moment broken, they smiled at each other before turning to their mischievous friend.
“You know exactly what you’re doing, Kyst,” Zane called. “Didn’t I give you my house? Twice now?”