Chapter 15
Sutton
“Hey, Edmund.” My stepfather was parked at the bottom of the train-platform stairs, waiting for me. “Thank you for picking me up.”
I’d opted to take the Long Island Railroad out to Montauk this morning rather than drive with everyone after work last night.
It was bad enough that I was going to spend a weekend in close confines with Brendan and his new bride.
Squishing with the two of them in the backseat of Edmund’s car while we sat in Hamptons traffic was more than I could handle.
Edmund hugged me and took my weekend bag from my hand. He tossed it into the trunk of his Range Rover and opened the passenger door for me before slipping behind the wheel.
“Is Mom still sleeping?”
He smiled. “It’s only ten o’clock, Sutton.”
I laughed. “What was I thinking?”
Edmund had a small house in Montauk’s Ditch Plains, a low-key surfing area.
I’d been there a few times and thought the route he was driving today was different than usual, but then again, I wasn’t the best with directions.
Though when he pulled into a ritzy-looking area with houses five times the size of his, I was certain we weren’t heading the right way. “Are we going straight to the dock?”
“Not until a little later. Your mom said she’d be ready by eleven, so I’m guessing that means about one.”
“This isn’t the way to your house, is it?”
“I need to make a stop and pick up keys. I borrowed Jagger’s boat. The captain I hired for the day was supposed to get them on his way out, but he wound up taking the train because he had car trouble, so I figured I’d save him the trip.”
My horrendous day just got a little sunnier. “Jagger has a house in Montauk?”
“Sure does. The place used to be owned by Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio. It has a long history of celebrity visitors.”
We drove for a few more minutes until we came to a sprawling house nestled on the edge of a cliff. Gray, salt-kissed cedar shingles gave the mansion a Cape Cod-style look. It sat far back, off a long, manicured lawn.
“Wow. This is incredible.”
Gravel crunched under the tires as we pulled down the long driveway.
“You can wait here, if you want,” Edmund said. “I’m just going to get the keys and we’ll be on our way.”
I would’ve liked a tour of the inside of the beautiful house, but instead I stayed in the car and watched Edmund climb the stairs and knock.
The tall door opened, and a shirtless Jagger appeared in the doorway.
Oh wow. I should’ve gone with him. I could’ve gotten a closer look.
Though the view from this distance was still pretty spectacular.
I might’ve imagined how fit Jagger was more than once, but my vision didn’t hold a candle to the real thing.
The man was something else—broad shoulders, washboard abs, a narrow V waist..
. I leaned forward in my seat and squinted for a better look at the happy trail that ran from his belly button down into the waistband of his pants.
Jagger Langston got me hot and bothered in a bespoke suit and wingtips, but I also needed to turn the AC up seeing him in a pair of low-hanging gray sweatpants and bare feet.
The two men talked and then, mid conversation, Jagger looked over, and it was obvious he spotted me.
Even from fifty feet away, I saw the hint of a smile that formed on his lips.
Edmund followed his boss’s line of sight and pointed to me.
After another minute of conversation, both of them headed toward the car.
My heart started to race. Do I get out? Roll down my window? Was licking the deep etching of each of Jagger’s abdominal muscles an option? In the end, I was lucky my brain managed to remember how to press the button to lower the glass.
“Hi.” I lifted a hand to shield my eyes from the sun as I looked up.
Jagger smiled. “I was just telling your stepdad that I owed you a prize for whipping my butt yesterday.”
Edmund’s face filled with warmth and admiration. “I told you she was smarter than me. You should snap her up for the executive training program in the fall. I know her mother would love to get her back in New York permanently.”
Compliments always made me uncomfortable. “Your house is beautiful.”
“Thank you. I can’t take any of the credit. It was this way when I bought it. It’s an old house, but the previous owners took great care of it.”
“Are you sure I can’t talk you into joining us today?” Edward laughed and looked to me. “I’ve been inviting him to his own boat the last few days.”
Jagger smiled. “I have a lot of work to do.”
“If you change your mind, we aren’t leaving for a couple of hours. Mia is a late sleeper and Brendan just left to go try to catch some waves at Ditch.”
Jagger’s eyes narrowed. “Brendan?”
Edmund nodded. “My new son-in-law.”
Jagger’s eyes slanted to me and then back to my stepfather. “Who else is going today?”
“My daughters—Colette and her husband and Chloe and her boyfriend, Ryan—plus Mia’s best friend, Patrice, and her husband.”
Jagger frowned. He didn’t have to say what he was thinking because somehow I’d already learned his faces.
This one said—you’re making this poor girl spend the day with her ex-fiancé and his new wife and three other couples?
His eyes moved back and forth between his watch and me a few times before returning to my stepfather.
“What time did you say you were leaving?”
“Probably about one.”
Jagger took a deep breath and exhaled. “I’ll tell you what, I’ll see how much work I can get done. Maybe I’ll join you after all.”
I seriously wanted to hug him. He was probably the only person who could distract me enough to make thirty-six hours with my ex bearable.
Edmund slapped his boss’s back. “Excellent. You work too much. I hope you can make it.”
Jagger nodded. “I’ll try. But don’t wait for me if I’m not at the dock by one.”
***
I checked the time on my phone a dozen times. At 1:04, there was still no sign of Jagger.
Mom and I sat at the back of the boat with her best friend, Patrice, while everyone else was inside, still checking out the luxurious interior.
I didn’t know much about boats, but I was pretty sure this one qualified as a yacht.
The seventy-five-foot Benetti was insanely beautiful.
It had two cabins, a living room, a dining room, and a kitchen.
Edmund stood on the dock, getting ready to untie the lines so we could leave. He checked his watch. “I guess the boss got sucked into work. Shame. He could use a day off.” He waved his hand and gestured to the captain, who was up top on the bridge deck. “You all ready?”
The captain nodded and yelled back, “Whenever you are.”
Four dock lines kept us tied to land. Edmund untied the first rope from a cleat, and my eyes bounced to the wooden path that led to the parking lot.
No one was coming. The same thing happened as he untied the second and then the third rope.
When he got to the fourth and final one, there was still no sign of Jagger. My shoulders slumped.
Once we were untied, Edmund jumped on board and gave the captain a thumbs up. He shifted the throttle forward, and slowly we began to pull away from the dock. It felt like I was leaving all my hopes behind. But then I looked back one last time and saw a man jogging down the path.
I jumped up from my chair. “Edmund, stop! Jagger is coming!”