“Happy to be of service.” I raise my glass in a toast to the notion.
“I couldn’t believe it when James told me. I mean, who does that? Who fakes a pregnancy? It was like something fromThe Bold and the Beautiful.” She rolls her eyes and I freeze at her words. Dameon conveniently left that part out of his story. I try to keep my face blank so she continues to spill the tea, but I’m not that skilled of an actress.
“He didn’t tell you, did he,” she says.
I sigh and shake my head. “Nope.”
“I’ll tell you, but you can’t say anything, okay?” Her voice lowers. “I don’t want to betray Dameon’s trust. Or James’s, for that matter.”
“I promise; my lips are sealed,” I assure her.
“Apparently, Mia really wanted him to propose, so she tried to trap him by getting pregnant, even though she knew Dameon didn’t want kids.” Cora’s voice is tinged with disbelief. “When she couldn’t conceive, she faked her pregnancy. And then, when she couldn’t hide it any longer and came clean, he broke up with her. He was furious, as you can imagine. Learning that the person you love and trust the most could do something like that? It’s messed up.”
I’m utterly dumbfounded. My heart goes out to Dameon, truly, but I can’t get over the audacity of Mia’s behavior. How could someone even think of faking a pregnancy? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. It’s not like she could keep up the lie forever; it’s bound to unravel eventually… in nine months, to be exact.
“Wow,” I mutter, shaking my head.
“I know, right? And then she has the balls to go to the media to ruin him.”
“Oh, this part I know,” I say.Poor guy. That’s fucked up.No wonder he requires absolute control in a relationship.
The guys return to the deck, bringing an end to our gossip session.
“Look who we found,” Dameon announces, slapping the back of none other than Carter Ashford. Carter’s arm is casually draped over the shoulders of Blaire, the goddess who served him at Eden. She’s positively glowing with happiness, basking in his presence.
“Hey, you’re from Eden, right?” Carter addresses me.
“Sure am. We all are,” I reply, nodding toward Chloe as she joins us, followed by Dr. Zac, who wraps an arm around her waist and rests his chin on top of her head.
“Well… except for Cora,” I add, flashing a playful grin in her direction. “She left us for her knight in shining armor.” I bat my eyelashes at her.
“Not true! I just couldn’t see myself submitting to anyone else,” Cora pouts, but James quickly wraps his arm around her neck, drawing her close. “Damn straight,” he murmurs against her lips.
“Speaking of, I said strip, goddess… that means everything.” Dameon reaches around my body and pulls the string of my bikini top until it falls away, leaving my breasts exposed. All eyes fall to my chest, and my nipples bead into hard tips, and not just from the cool breeze. Dameon dusts his thumbs over them lightly. “That’s better,” he says, locking eyes with me as he takes a seat beside me on the U-shaped lounge. The waters of the harbor sway and roll around us, but I’m hypnotized by the depth of his blue-green eyes.
“One for all, and all for one!” Cora interrupts our moment, her voice filled with playful mischief as she swiftly removes her bikini top. Chloe and Blair follow suit in quick succession.
“These too,” James chimes in, flicking at Cora’s bikini bottoms. The three of us comply, slipping out of the skimpy fabric.
“Much better.” Dameon never takes his eyes off my body. The rest of the group join us on the lounge, and I’ve never felt more comfortable in my own skin than at this moment, surrounded by these people. It feels completely natural, as if this is exactly where I’m meant to be right now.
“How’s the leg feeling?” Zac asks, indicating to my thigh. It’s been two weeks since the attack, and it’s healing up nicely. The stitches have dissolved, leaving behind a raw pink line that will eventually fade to white as it scars.
“Much better now, thank you. It’s all healed up,” I reply, offering a grateful smile. The lines around his eyes crinkle as he dips his head.
Chelsea emerges from the galley and serves each of the men a crystal tumbler filled with two fingers of amber liquid. Her presence catches me off guard, yet there’s a small sense of relief in knowing she’s the one serving us. She’s completely unfazed by our nakedness.
My pink cocktail is long forgotten; it was way too sweet for my taste buds to endure.
“Is this the good stuff?” Carter asks, taking a sip.
“Yep, from my personal stash,” James confirms.
Carter groans in satisfaction. “Fuck yeah.”
“You know what would make this whiskey even better?” James turns to Cora.
“What’s that?” Her teeth sink into her lower lip, but he gently pulls it away with his thumb.
