To the Victor Go the Spoils
. . .
Cade
Mac wasn’t thrilled when I pulled him away from the yacht’s theater to sit sentry outside Fletcher’s cabin for the night, but it needed to be done.
Whiskey, on the other hand, was more than happy to stand guard next to Mac.
I took a longer route through the lounge to get back to the party, giving myself time to calm down while barely resisting the urge to retrace my steps and give Fletcher a matching black eye after the way the asshole had grabbed Ellie.
“Caden?” a deep voice called, stopping me halfway through the lounge.
My grandfather sat in an armchair off in the corner—in what he’d designed as a small study.
Shelves filled with vacation reads and legal thrillers lined the wall behind him.
He lowered the book he’d been reading. “What takes you away from the festivities?”
I changed course with a tight smile. “Fletcher.”
“Ah, let me guess. Archer Montgomery’s boy showed the world what an ass he is once again?” Grandfather asked in feigned disbelief. He removed his reading glasses and patted the armchair beside him. “Sit, sit. I’ve been meaning to talk to you.”
I looked toward the glass doors, where I could just make out hints of people mingling on the deck. Muffled laughter filtered in. I wanted to check on Ellie, but I hadn’t had a chance to really talk to my grandfather since his splash arrival with my mother. So, I took the offered seat.
“That fiancée of yours sure is something,” Grandfather said, tapping his thumb against the book. “I admit I had my doubts when I heard you were engaged, but I’m glad I was wrong.”
Guilt tore through me. “The only reason I didn’t tell you earlier was because we wanted to share the news in person.”
And because it wasn’t real.
“I understand. You’re a lucky bastard, you know,” he added. “I always thought you’d end up with someone as uptight as you, but that girl could outshine the sun.”
My lips twitched. “You think I’m uptight?”
“In a good way. You’re focused. Intelligent. Clever,” he listed. “But I’ve told you before that you need to stop focusing on work so much. Live a little.”
I raised a brow. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
Grandfather let out a sharp bark of laughter.
“I’m still surprised by that but very happy to see it.” He paused to clear his throat before a sly smile curved his lips. “Speaking of work… Do you think you’ll have any trouble convincing Ellie to leave her life in Westport and move to the UK?”
Every muscle in my body locked up as his words sank in. The same dizzying rush I’d felt when Ellie and I jumped off the yacht to win the Love Olympics hit me again, but I needed to be sure. “Don’t play games with me, old man. Are you saying I got the promotion?”
The amusement in his gaze only shone brighter. “You’ve earned it. We just need to work out some details, like how soon you’d like to relocate.”
“Now.” A rush of anticipation thrummed through my veins, and I almost hopped up from my chair. “Tomorrow, as soon as we dock. I’ll call ahead to ready the jet.”
He waved me off with a soft chortle. “Slow down, cowboy. We’ll wait until after the wedding to make it official. Wouldn’t want to uproot your new bride while she’s planning.”
At first, I was too stunned to grasp what he’d said. The satisfaction was overwhelming—followed by a rush of pride so strong it knocked the air from my lungs.
Ellie was the first person I wanted to tell.
Harrison was a close second, mostly because I wanted to rub it in his face.
But then Grandfather’s words caught up to me, and any elation screeched to a grinding halt.
“We don’t need to wait for the wedding,” I told him. “I can start the transition immediately.”
“There’s no rush,” he insisted. “Enjoy your time as a newlywed before taking over half the company. It’ll still be there after the wedding.”
After the wedding.
I frowned and sank back into the chair, rubbing my jaw as triumph warred with the dread quickly pooling in my stomach.
This was it. The moment I’d been working toward since I first visited Grandfather’s office as a kid. I would get everything I wanted. My own half of the company. I’d be the one with the power to call all the shots.
I just had one problem.
There wasn’t going to be a wedding.
I walked back to the main deck in a daze.
Grandfather had retired to his room after prodding me with more questions about the wedding, which I deflected with lies about Ellie wanting to keep it a surprise.
I don’t know how long I’d sat in the lounge by myself.
My mind ran through all the possibilities of how to pull this off, but it always came back to one option.
I needed to convince Ellie to hold up the ruse longer than tomorrow.
To talk her into going through with a wedding—or at least pretending to with a fake certificate.
She’d probably laminate it.
It was another business deal. A means to an end.
… So why did I feel so shitty about even proposing it?
By the time I made it back out to the deck, the party was over. Crew had already cleaned up the food, and everyone except Ellie and my brother had left.
Ellie had moved to the cabana bed at the aft of the yacht. Her face was red from laughing while she watched Harrison hop around the deck in front of her like he was doing some bizarre animal impression.
It took one wordless look from me for my brother to straighten. He muttered a quick good night to Ellie before rolling his eyes at me and ducking away.
I strolled up to where Ellie sat on the edge of the bed. “Hey.”
Her answering grin shone so bright, I felt my own smile cracking through.
“Hey,” Ellie whispered, shifting to kneel on the mattress. She wiggled her eyebrows playfully. “Ready to celebrate?”
The mischievous gleam in her eyes had me forgetting all about the promotion—and everything else aside from her.
I surveyed the empty—but still very public—deck, and my brows rose. “Here?”
“Why not? It’s a gorgeous night. The stars are out.” She slowly peeled her swim cover up and off, then playfully wrapped the garment around my neck to pull me closer. Her voice lowered to a whisper. “And I’ve been waiting since we got back on the boat for you to kiss me again.”
I didn’t make her wait a second longer. Fusing my lips to hers, I wrapped her in my arms and used her surprise to deepen the kiss.
Ellie let her swim cover drop to the deck, and all my problems went with it.