Another Offer
. . .
Ellie
I dreamed of saltwater kisses, oven-warm chocolate croissants, and an army of orange crabs scuttling across a moonlit beach.
Instead of waking up on the cabana bed, I blinked open my groggy eyes to find us back in our cabin with no memory of getting here.
Clothed in Cade’s navy blue college T-shirt and nothing else, I was draped over his front like a blanket.
Bone-deep satisfaction loosened every muscle in my body, leaving me plastered to his bare skin.
I absently trailed a finger over my scratch marks on his chest. Contrary to the horror I’d felt seeing Whiskey’s marks on Cade, mine made warmth dance up my ribs.
Last night had been better than all the chocolate in the world.
Now, the balcony doors were cracked open, letting in a cool ocean breeze. The sheets were warm; Cade was toasty. I was in honest-to-god heaven.
A deep throat cleared, pulling my gaze up to Cade’s dark chocolate eyes locked on me. My fingertip froze against his skin.
Busted.
I splayed my hand out on his smooth chest, too comfortable to be embarrassed at being caught admiring him.
“Morning, cuddle muffin,” I croaked through a hoarse throat. My voice had gotten plenty of use last night.
One side of Cade’s mouth curved up. “How’d you sleep, Darling?”
Something about the soft way he murmured Darling made my pulse stutter, and I swallowed.
“Best sleep of my life,” I whispered, quoting his words a few days ago even though last night hadn’t involved much sleep.
His smile widened, which was totally distracting.
I averted my gaze to stop myself from immediately jumping his bones, and the skyline out the balcony doors snagged my attention. The very familiar skyline. I lifted my head. “Hey, that’s Westport! We’re already back?”
Cade picked up a strand of my hair and played with the end. “We dropped anchor about an hour ago.”
My brows rose. Did that mean he’d been lying here awake for an hour?
“No morning swim today?” I asked, surprised he hadn’t slipped away while I slept.
A soft laugh rumbled in his chest. “I got more than enough of a workout last night.”
Ridiculously pleased by his answer, I grinned like a fool before another realization sank in.
Our deal ended today. Would we even see each other again after this? All the sex could’ve been a goodbye, but it didn’t feel like one. It felt like the start of something, not an ending.
My quickly spiraling thoughts were interrupted by a little fluffball headbutting my foot. Whiskey carefully crawled through my and Cade’s tangled legs, wiggling to get between us.
“Hey, buddy. How’d you get back here?” I scratched under his chin, then frowned. “Wait. How’d I get back here? I thought we fell asleep out on the deck.”
“I carried you,” Cade answered. “Figured you’d want to see Whiskey when you woke up, so we picked him up on the way.”
I bit my lip. That was thoughtful.
After pulling Whiskey into my lap, I gave him his morning rubdown while studying Cade. The hard lines of his face had softened, and his hand moved from my hair to play with the hem of my borrowed T-shirt. This was the most peaceful I’d seen him all week.
“You seem extra relaxed this morning,” I observed, tilting my head as I studied him. “And not just the kind that comes after a good cuddle or what we did last night.”
Cade’s lips twitched at the corners before a smile cracked through.
“Our plan worked,” he said, shoulders loosening with a heavy sigh. He sank back into the pillows. “I got the promotion.”
I froze midpet, earning a displeased huff from Whiskey. “What? When?”
“Grandfather told me last night.”
A surge of happiness and pride and relief flooded me. “Oh my gosh, Cade!”
We’d done it. The plan had worked—he’d gotten his promotion.
Overcome with joy, I launched myself at Cade—earning a grumpy chirp from Whiskey before he scampered off the bed. I peppered Cade’s face with kisses, giving him the biggest hug I could manage. “That’s amazing! I’m so proud of you.”
“There’s something else,” he said, gaze turning serious. I leaned back to straddle his waist, and his hands settled distractingly on my hips. “I have another offer for you.”
“Yeah?” I asked, smiling so wide it hurt.
My heart ricocheted off my ribs. Maybe this wasn’t a fling for him either. Maybe he wanted to see where it went, too.
Maybe he would ask me out for real.
“How do you feel about seeing our deal all the way through?” he asked, eyes focused on me and not betraying a hint of his thoughts.
I blinked, not following. “What do you mean?”
“My grandfather added a catch to the promotion. He wants to wait until after our wedding to make it official,” Cade explained.
“I’ll pay you good money to keep up this charade and play along with the marriage.
Starting offer is ten million and access to your own spending account during the ruse, but I’m happy to negotiate higher. ”
A smile spread across his face as he spoke, as if this were good news. But I blinked down at him again, not seeing anything good about it.
“You want to pay me to marry you?” I asked slowly, convinced I’d misheard him. But Cade’s expression didn’t even flicker as he nodded. Dread twisted in my gut. “… Oh.”
My brain didn’t know what to do with that information.
I just felt numb.
“You said you don’t need the money, but ten million can go a long way,” he continued, completely misreading my silence for hesitation.
“You could donate it all to your friend’s café or cat shelters if you want.
Or hire a fleet of personal chefs to bake chocolate croissants for you.
Hell, you could upgrade Whiskey’s square foot of land in Scotland to a full-on castle. Whatever you want.”
I glanced at where my cat had curled up on his red pillow, but even picturing him on a golden throne couldn’t penetrate the numbness.
When words continued to fail me, Cade squeezed my hips. “We’ll pretend to be married for a year to make it believable, then split amicably. That should be plenty of time for me to get established in the role.”
A scoff slipped past my lips.
“A year of pretending to be your wife,” I stated slowly, feeling a bit like a robot as I forced a tight smile. “Sorry, but I think I’m going to pass on that.”
“Pass?” Cade’s brows arched, and his gaze flicked over my face. “I thought you’d be excited about this.”
I choked out a wet laugh, suddenly terrified I would burst into tears while sitting on top of him. “Right, because who wouldn’t be excited about ten million dollars? I’d be an idiot to say no.”
My vision blurred. I sure felt like an idiot.
I abruptly rolled off both Cade and the bed, landing on my feet with much less grace than Whiskey would’ve. “Sorry, but my answer’s no.”
Autopilot took over. I needed to get out of here, so I beelined to the closet to grab my battered suitcase and Whiskey’s astronaut backpack.
After tossing both on the bed, I blindly packed my things while Whiskey trotted closer to see what was happening.
He rubbed against my ankle, easily sensing my inner freak-out.
Cade watched me carry an armful of my clothes—not the wardrobe Nate had so expertly curated for me—and drop them into the suitcase. “What are you doing?”
“Packing,” I answered through a tight throat, quickly clearing out the drawer that held Whiskey’s things. “The trip’s over, right?”
I stuffed another armful into the suitcase, while Cade slid off the other side of the bed.
“We’ve still got time for breakfast,” he said.
It was almost funny how cautiously he spoke. Almost.
I paused in packing, but I couldn’t bring myself to look directly at him. I settled for looking at the beige wall over his shoulder. “Do I need to go to breakfast to fulfill our contract?”
Cade jerked back like I’d slapped him.
“Of course not.” His voice hardened as he walked closer. “Why the rush? My driver isn’t picking us up for a few more hours.”
“Well, I’m leaving now. I’ll take that little boat to shore and get a taxi.” After zipping up my bag, I scooped Whiskey off the floor and tucked him into his astronaut backpack. It weighed at least a hundred pounds as I hauled it onto my shoulders. “Bye.”
I walked out the door without even bothering to put pants on, and Cade wasn’t far behind.
“Ellie.” His fingers circled my wrist, feeling way too intimate and familiar right now. “Hey—”
I yanked my arm away and marched down the hallway, barely holding back tears at how stupid I’d been.
The walk up to the main deck was a blur of me ignoring Cade while also trying to figure out how to get to the tiny boat taxi. This place didn’t label anything.
I made it to the lounge without getting lost. Curtains covered the windows, giving it an eerie glow for the morning, and Cade blocked my path before I reached the sliding doors.
“Will you just talk to me for a second?” He caught my shoulders, stopping me from dodging him. The crease between his brows and the hard set of his jaw bristled with frustration. “What the hell happened between waking up this morning with that smile on your face and running off now?”
“It doesn’t matter.” Just wanting to leave, I knocked my suitcase into his legs—which did absolutely nothing.
Cade held me steady, his dark brows slanted down. “It does. What’s wrong?”
“‘What’s wrong?’” I echoed softly, momentarily so distracted by his obliviousness that I stopped trying to escape. I gaped at Cade. “What’s wrong is that we never should’ve made this deal!”
He went slack enough for me to jerk out of his hold.
“What’s wrong is that none of this is real.” I threw my hands up, gesturing wildly around us. “What’s wrong is that we’ve been playing house for a week, and it’s toying with other people’s lives. What’s wrong is that I’m a fraud.”
“You’re not a fraud. Our deal is harmless—”
“It’s wrong.” I scratched at my arm where it was turning red and splotchy.
“I can’t keep lying to your family. I just can’t do it.
It’s cruel. Your mother offered to take me to France to shop for a wedding dress, and I had to smile and nod while knowing I’d never see her again.
How would she feel if she knew you hired me a day before this trip? ”
Apparently, Cade’s fake proposal had been my breaking point. Everything I’d bottled up throughout the week just exploded.
“And now you want me to keep up this fake relationship for a year?” I laughed in disbelief, shaking my head.
But the laughter quickly died, replaced by a lump taking up home in my throat.
I swallowed around it, just sad now. “No. No, I can’t pretend to marry you, Cade.
It just… It’d hurt too much. I’m sorry.”
I didn’t wait around for him to say anything, just pushed past him to the exit.
It was early, which meant the main deck should’ve been mostly empty aside from the crew.
That wasn’t true this morning.
I stormed out the lounge doors and straight into a magical wonderland of balloons, giant bouquets of blue flowers, and tables filled with enough pastries to feed an army—just as cannons of confetti shot off and scared the living daylights out of both me and Whiskey.
A giant banner hung across the deck with big, bold writing: Happy Engagement, Cade and Ellie!
And a gathered crowd of familiar faces—Dr. Lovejoy, Cade’s family, the other couples minus Fletcher and Candace—gaped back at me in varying degrees of shock. Mac face-palmed in the back of the group.
Well, that answered the question of whether they’d heard my emotional breakdown.
I stopped dead in my tracks as red confetti rained from the sky, and Cade stopped behind me just in time to avoid bowling me over. He settled a hand on my waist as if it was the most natural thing to do.
The touch reminded me that all I had on was Cade’s college T-shirt, which landed way too high up on my thighs to be comfortable in this situation.
A painful silence settled in, threatening to suffocate me.
Harrison’s burst of nervous laughter echoed off the hushed deck, and he flashed us an awkward smile. “… Surprise?”