Chapter 10
“So, where have you been for the past week?”
Sadie started when Mia, the island's lawyer and officiant, put her on the spot over lunch. Thankfully, she wasn’t able to speak immediately as her other friends chimed in.
“Yes, I was wondering that myself,” Natalie agreed with a nod of her curly, chestnut head.
“You didn’t even come down to the club.” Shelly, a pole dancer who had recently taken on the role of chief choreographer, added her own commentary.
“I was almost tempted to check to see if you’d left the island,” Dani, the island administrator, and the most serious of them, murmured, her eyebrows raised. “Even though we all know how unlikely that is!”
“Ah, sorry,” Sadie muttered, still scrambling for how to reply. “Some unexpected stuff came up that I had to deal with.” Well, that sure as hell was the truth, even though they undoubtedly expected more from her.
“Nothing serious, I hope?” Dani pressed, an edge to her voice that gave Sadie pause.
Scooping up a bite of her delicious conch fritters, Sadie eyed Luca’s cousin.
“Nothing I can’t handle,” she replied enigmatically.
All of them knew there were some very scary skeletons in her closet.
They also knew she wouldn’t talk about them, which meant there was something else at play here, if Sadie wasn’t mistaken.
“Why do you ask?” She directed the question very deliberately at Dani, and stared her down, silently daring the other girl to deny there was an ulterior reason for her query.
Come to think of it, Dani was a bit out of sorts herself. Sadie cocked her head on one side and waited. Always an effective trick.
Dani cast her eyes down, but Sadie didn’t miss how she pursed her lips like she’d just sucked on a lemon. “I just got word that Zack Kincaid is visiting the island. It’s unusual, so I wondered if it was related.”
Sadie quirked an eyebrow. “Dani, I’ve never even met Zack Kincaid.
” Although she’d heard of him. The billionaire tech giant was one of those people everyone knew of, kind of like Saul, but unlike the man who’d taken up residence in her cabana, Zack Kincaid was very rarely in the public eye. A recluse.
She did know, however, thanks to a couple of therapy sessions she’d had with Dani, that there was a history between them. She was less thrilled that Dani could possibly think Sadie had anything to do with the man turning up out of the blue.
Dani sighed and rubbed her temples. “Sorry, I’m just a little peeved about him putting in an appearance here after so many years.”
“Wait, I know that name... he’s an investor.
Isn’t he the guy…” Natalie trailed off when four pairs of eyes turned on her with various measures of censure in them.
The younger girl, who also happened to be Luca’s step-daughter, so related to Dani in a roundabout way, held up her hands in supplication.
“Forget I spoke,” she responded quickly, but Dani shook her head.
“Yes, he is. I haven’t seen him since he was here for the opening weekend, and it’s making me a bit angsty.”
“You want to talk about it?” Sadie asked, placing her hand over Dani’s tense one. “Either to us, or I can make you an appointment if you’re struggling with it.”
Dani looked at each of them, considering, then huffed in clear frustration.
“I guess it’s no big secret. Zack and I…
well, we used to scene together, and I thought he was the one.
My forever man. My soulmate.” Her voice wobbled, and she sucked in a breath, then bit her trembling lip, her eyes dropping back to the table. “Then I found out he was married.”
A collective gasp echoed around the table, and Sadie squeezed Dani’s clenched fist in support.
Getting this kind of thing out in the open was therapeutic in itself, and if Zack was going to be on the island, Dani could use the support.
She was so strong all the time, it was like she never allowed herself to be vulnerable.
But this unexpected situation with Zack Kincaid would test that, Sadie knew, and Dani would need her friends.
Sadie was glad the island administrator had been brave enough to put herself out there.
“And you never knew. Never suspected?” Shelly whispered, glancing surreptitiously at the other tables as she leaned forward to ask.
Dani shook her head. “Not even an inkling.”
This! This was why she shouldn’t put any trust in a man she barely knew, Sadie thought.
You just want to know him in the biblical sense. You don’t need his life history for that.
Freaking voices in her head. She’d have to certify herself at this rate. Sadie forced her attention back to the conversation.
Mia was frowning. “There’s nothing on file about a wife, or even a next of kin,” she remarked, then put her hand to her mouth like she’d said too much, although the truth was, all of them, with the exception of Shelly, had access to said file.
“I’m aware,” Dani said flatly. “Believe me, I looked. But I got that information straight from the horse's mouth, so unless he just wanted to blow me off - and I’m pretty sure there were easier ways to do that - then it’s 100% true.”
“I’ve never heard of him linked to any woman,” Natalie said quietly. “Did he explain?”
Dani shook her head. “I didn’t give him the chance. What the hell is there to say, anyway? I just need to get over him and move on.”
Which, of course, Sadie knew she hadn’t done. Perhaps this visit really would bring the closure Dani needed.
And what about you? Will you move on from Saul so easily when he’s gone?
There is no me and Saul.
You keep telling yourself that.
“Well, my office door is always open if you want to discuss things confidentially,” Sadie offered, shoving away the unwanted thoughts and concentrating on Dani’s nod and her brave smile. “Now, what about Jared, Natalie? We haven’t seen him for a while now, either.”
Natalie pulled a face as the spotlight moved to her and her difficult long-distance relationship with an older man, and Dani seemed to quietly breathe a sigh of relief as the conversation moved on.
Sadie made a mental note to check in with her friend in private.
She also wondered if Zack Kincaid’s sudden appearance had anything to do with Saul.
That was something she guessed she’d find out later. Hopefully, it wouldn’t make things even more awkward than they already were.
It was already hard enough having to keep any kind of secret on a small island where literally all the staff knew each other.
Never mind trying to conceal an entire billionaire playboy with an injury.
One who was doing his best, albeit unknowingly, to set all her nerve endings on fire with his good-looks and intoxicating presence.
Perhaps she needed a night at the club. Although even that didn’t hold the appeal it should have.
Now Dallas was happily settled with Mia, there weren’t any regular Doms willing to indulge her particular quirks, and the idea of attempting to negotiate with a complete stranger, never mind trying to submit to one, was enough to dull every bit of her ardor.
Sadie pushed the clutter of thoughts out of her head and concentrated on her friends. She knew from harsh experience it never did any good to dwell on the issues that had left her broken and disillusioned.
She’d just have to work something out.
Of course, that was easier said than done when she was sharing her limited living space with the sexiest man she’d met in a very long time. One who she was having all kinds of inappropriate thoughts about.