Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Aknock (and Stephen’s face at the window) signified it was time for us to rejoin the group.
Colin gave a loud, disapproving grunt and led us back outside.
He pulled me toward him and spoke into my ear, “I can’t wait to get you alone later.
And tonight, I’ll make sure you get the best night’s sleep of your life,” before walking toward his brothers, who had his fishing pole.
It took a moment for the shivers running up and down my spine and into my fingers and toes to mellow out.
I walked around making small talk. It was a bit nerve-wracking speaking to Mr. Gordon, but he seemed to have only one persona. It was an expeditious back-and-forth with him about how I liked Brightwater Island, and then he was on to the next topic, and then he was on to the next person.
On observation, it seemed like Charles Gordon was equally surface-level with his sons.
He never hunkered down in one spot. He abandoned his fishing pole as soon as it was set up and sauntered around as well.
It was funny to watch him maneuver his conversation with Pam, who would have kept anyone around for ten minutes, into about two minutes of chit-chat.
Colin called me over to him, and I settled in next to him, his arm around me as he spoke with his brothers about fish and fishermen and fishing trips.
Things I didn’t care for and understood nothing about.
But when Landon spoke about the beach near my mother’s retirement community, I finally had something to interject.
Landon livened up when I agreed with his favorite Mexican restaurant in that area, and we tried to convince his brothers what a lively place it was on that boardwalk by the ocean, especially on a weekend night.
“You’ll have to show me when you introduce me to your mother,” Colin said.
Before I had a chance to react, Stephen jumped in. “Meeting the mother? Whoa, whoa, whoa. Yesterday you were introducing her as ‘just a coworker,’ and now you’re going to meet her mother?” His air quotes were exaggerated to prove his point.
Colin looked at me and shrugged. “It’s up to Katelynn. I’m simply expressing my willingness.” A quick wink afterward, and I was ready to jump into the ocean in celebration.
Is this really happening? Am I moving too fast? Is he? Or is this exactly how it’s supposed to feel?
It seemed too good to be true. A rich executive brings me to an exclusive island and tells me on a yacht that he’s ready to meet my mother when I give the word? He was always one step ahead of me, but I was ready to meet him wherever he was at. If only I could get myself to speak from the heart.
They caught fish with great fanfare, including Colin's catch of a large bluefin tuna. He insisted that I be in the picture that Landon took of him and the fish.
“Let me have your number so I can send it to you, and you can post it,” Landon said.
Colin’s jaw clenched, and I quickly answered, “Oh, I rarely post pictures. Send it to your brother, and he’ll share it with me later.”
“Okay,” Landon said and moved on to take a picture of Ron, who had caught something as well.
I put a hand on Colin’s chest. “Are you alright? You understand that I don’t care about posting anything on social media. Or that you’re… well… rich.”
“I know,” he said, nodding. He put both arms on the railing, and I followed suit.
“You haven’t told me what happened at the gate with Andrea. You don’t have to,” I quickly added.
“I want to. It’s only that everything happened so fast last night, and after we were… distracted with each other.”
I laughed, and he continued.
“When I got to the gate, she was on the passenger side, shouting over the driver into the intercom. When she saw me, she opened her window and called me over. I shouted for her to go home, that we wouldn’t let her in, that I knew what she’d done, and that she was too late.
She yelled back that I was jealous, a coward, and that I used her to get the company publicity. ”
He paused then and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.
“It was absolutely ridiculous. I wasn’t working with my father at that time, and she knows that back then I could not have cared less about the agency. Anyway, security showed up after that, and she gave in and left.”
“How awful. I’m sorry she keeps putting you in horrible situations.”
“I’m just glad I found her out before I married her,” he said.
I looked around until Stephen came into view, laughing loudly with Landon at something or other. “It doesn’t seem that Stephen minds marrying someone who will put up with anything to get your family’s name or money.”
“No, he doesn’t.” He shrugged. “But that’s not what I want out of a marriage.
My whole life, I’ve seen marriage as a thing of convenience.
But when Andrea tried to convince me we were a ‘power couple’ and it would be mutually beneficial, I was sick to my stomach.
I don’t want that kind of thing to be part of the equation.
I decided then I’d probably never get married because what I wanted didn’t exist.”
My heart sank. In truth, it broke a little.
He didn’t ever want to get married? True, there were a lot of shitty people and marriages that he’d seen throughout his life, but he didn’t know of one good marriage?
“Your parents are still married,” I pointed out.
“Technically, yes. But my mother spends her days here. My father in the city. I don’t ask and they don’t say, but that’s not fulfilling, is it? No, there aren’t many happy marriages out there.”
“My parents were happy together until my dad died,” I said. It was as if I were trying to convince him of something he’d already made up his mind about.
“To your knowledge. Look around. Is Pam with Ron because of his awesome personality, his fifteen years on her, and his round belly?”
I stood quietly. I wasn’t sure how to process all of this and make it make sense with how he’d been talking to me earlier.
He must have noticed that I was lost in thought. “I’ve brought down the mood. I’m sorry. Talking about Andrea riles me up. I don’t truly believe every marriage is doomed or a failure. But a happy marriage is like winning the lottery—a fantasy. Something not likely, but not impossible.”
He was looking deep into my eyes. I could see it then. He was craving it so badly. He wanted to be loved for himself. He wanted the happy marriage, but needed it to be a sure thing.
“We can’t predict what the future looks like for us, Colin,” I said, “but I would never agree to marry anyone who I wasn’t positive I’d spend the rest of my life loving and being loved by.”
His eyes widened just enough for me to notice. His cheekbones lifted slightly as he clenched his jaw. He swallowed and cleared his throat before speaking again.
“You make anything seem possible, Katelynn Donovan.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him.
My fear of telling him what was on my mind was all too real.
Knowing his outlook on marriage, it was an even bigger risk to share my feelings, but it was more than that.
Having lost my father at an age when I’d started dating, and with all those I’d dated turning out to be like one-hit wonders, never caring for more than a third date, it seemed like a real connection with a man wasn’t going to happen for me.
But now… this was more than I’d ever felt for anyone.
Would I call it love? That was what was weighing on me.
What words would express what was stirring within me without scaring him away, like all the other guys I’d dated?
They must have sensed my desperation (for lack of a better word) for connection.
But with Colin, I sensed his own craving for love, companionship, of being understood and accepted.
“I want to kiss you,” he said. His hand on my back moved down and clutched my waist.
I nodded in agreement. I, too, wanted to kiss him.
And so much more.
I closed my eyes for a moment, remembering this morning and last night. When I opened them, his inviting eyes teased me with a promise that we’d be having many more delicious moments like that.
His father interrupted our present moment by calling him over because he’d caught something. Colin gave a short huff and reluctantly walked away from me.
I hoped to be alone for a few minutes to gather my thoughts on our conversation. Fortunately, everyone else was engaged in conversation. Pam was excitedly cheering on her husband, who was also reeling in a catch.
About two minutes of quiet reflection passed in which I envisioned myself breaking through Colin’s insecurities about relationships, him pushing through my own personal insecurities, and us making a go of this.
Reaching this conclusion, my phone started to vibrate in the small crossbody bag I’d forgotten I was wearing.
The screen said it was Grant calling. I considered not answering, but when another sweep around the boat showed that everyone was occupied, and I remembered Grant’s two missed calls from yesterday, curiosity got the better of me.
“Hey,” I answered, staring out into the ocean, marveling at its deep blue coloring.
“I tried reaching you yesterday,” was the first thing Grant said.
“I saw the calls early this morning. I must have forgotten about my phone yesterday.” My phone was the last thing on my mind as we flew in a helicopter, dealt with Andrea, and had the most exquisite sex of my life.
“It sounds like you’re pretty busy out there. What’s it like?”
“Well, I’m out on a yacht right now. It’s pretty much what you’d imagine a mansion by the ocean to be like, but it’s so much more awe-inspiring to walk through the foyer and look up at the tall ceilings.
And the grounds! You’d be amazed by how much land they have.
And Colin’s room is practically the size of my apartment,” I said.
“That’s great,” he said and hastily jumped into the real purpose of his call.
“Listen, I stayed late yesterday to catch up on work, and I was sitting at my desk when I heard Maggie talking. She must have thought I’d gone home already because she wasn’t keeping her voice down.
I couldn’t understand the words she was saying, even when I got up close to the door, but she was definitely in an argument with the same guy.
His voice on the speaker was getting louder and louder.
More than once, though, she yelled his name to get him to listen to her. It wasn’t Brandon.”
He stopped. He was doing it again—wanting to hear how badly I needed him to continue. Except this time, I was truly titillated enough to give him what he wanted.
“What name did she say?” I probed.
“Landon.”
I covered my open mouth with my hand as I tried to bring my widening eyes back to their normal size.
“What?!” My eyes traveled, looking for Landon, spotting him on the other side of the boat, having a beer and chatting with Martin Flame.
“Isn’t that the name of one of Mr. Gordon’s sons? The baseball player?”
“Yes,” I drew out the word. “But what does that mean? If they’re together, why isn’t she here?”
“What if that’s why they were arguing? Maybe she tried to break up with him, and he’s not taking it well?
It could be anything. I wonder if he has anything to do with her disappearance that week.
This guy seems like a real asshole, the way he’s talking to her, but would Mr. Gordon’s son really kidnap an employee? ”
I couldn’t make sense of it either.
“Grant, her father is on the board of directors. He’s here on the yacht right now talking with Landon. They’re joking around and having a grand old time. There’s no way her dad knows they have something going on.”
“Well, that’s fucking crazy, isn’t it? What are the chances there’s another Landon?” I could almost hear the wheels turning in his head through the phone.
“We won’t figure this out right now,” I said when I saw Colin walking my way.
“No. I guess not. Call me if you find out anything,” he said.
“Uh-huh,” I quickly replied. “I’ve got to go. See you Monday.”
I didn’t wait for his goodbye, but pressed the red button on the screen and threw the phone back in my purse, smiling at Colin.
“Who were you talking to?” he asked when he reached my side.
“It was Grant,” I said. I was avoiding going into the details of the conversation, but bringing Colin into the loop seemed essential to figuring out what was going on.
I was considering telling him about everything Grant and I had been investigating, but Colin’s demeanor changed when I mentioned Grant’s name.
“You guys are pretty close if you’re talking on the phone on a Saturday morning,” he said. His sudden stiffness had me changing my mind about discussing anything Maggie-related.
“We’re work friends,” I said, hoping he wouldn’t say that Grant was romantically interested in me again. I hated the way saying Grant’s name shifted something in Colin. “He was calling to tell me about something that happened in our department yesterday.”
It was the truth, but he narrowed his eyes slightly. I was about to start defending myself, possibly even break down and tell him everything rather than have him think I had anything at all going on with Grant.
Colin pulled his phone out of his pocket. The sun was bright overhead, but I was still able to make out the name on the screen.
It was as if it were in slow motion—me recognizing the name on the screen, my head automatically turning to find Landon and Martin still chatting, and my head swiveling up to witness Colin and his deer-in-headlights expression.
If Martin Flame was right there, then why the fuck did Colin’s phone show that M Flame was calling?