“Impossible but true. We have no schools, no restaurants, no easy transportation. The businesses failed because the tourists went away, and the residents left because the businesses failed, and now here we are. If you came to Whispering Key thinking you’d be making easy money at some cushy resort…” I broke off, shaking my head. “Look, you have every right to be angry. And I’ll take you back to the airport whenever you want, okay?”
Loafers scowled. “I can’t justleave. I wouldn’t do that. I told you, once I’m committed, I’m committed.” Still, his gaze tracked over the worn buildings in disbelief. “What you’re telling me iscrazy. Gulf-front property like this has got to be worth a bajillion dollars for the beaches alone. Any land developer would jump at the chance to buy all that abandoned property from the owners and make the island into McMansion-ville, complete with waterfront condos! There’s no such thing as abankrupttropical island.”
The anger that had been simmering in my gut since this morning—anger at Rafe, anger at myself for doing his bidding, anger at seeing this island through new eyes and being forced to acknowledge just how pitiful it was—rose to the surface. “And yet, the proof is all around us! Are you one of those flat-earther people, too, Loafers?”
“My name isMason.” He put his chin in the air. “And I’d like to speak to Mr. Goodman now. Please take me to the resort.” He waved a hand imperiously.
“You’re joking! Big Rafe lied. You don’t owe him anything.”
“I didn’t ask your opinion. Does this look like the face of someone who’s joking?” he demanded, pointing a finger at his chin, and I couldn’t help but take a long, long look, as instructed.
His cheeks were flushed and damp, his hair was disheveled, and his lips were bright red, probably from pushing them together so hard. I could see, in that second, exactly what he’d look like, crawling out of my bed after a long, thorough fuck, and my cock twitched in my shorts at the very idea.
Which pissed me off even further.
Why wouldn’t this man accept the fuckinginevitableand leave without prolonging this mutual torture?
“Fine,” I said, shifting the car into gear. “You wanna continue this charade, it’s your funeral.”
But I had the sinking feeling that if I didn’t get Loafers to leave Whispering Key immediately, the joke might just be on me.
Chapter Four
Mason
You were played,Loafers.
I sucked in a deep breath, letting the tangy salt air soothe me slightly, and hoped the rushing air would block out the sound of Fenn saying those words in that deep, rough voice and pitying tone.
Really, what kind of a name wasFenn,anyway? At least as stupid as Gunner. Maybe stupider.
I glanced over and saw his knuckles were going white on the steering wheel, the tendons in his forearms popping beneath his skin likehewas somehow mad atme, which was logically inconceivable. It was none of his damn business whether I stayed or left.
I swallowed and stared out the car window at the beauty of the scenery and the weather-battered buildings hung with No Trespassing signs.
Mason Bloom Takes Charge of His One Goddamn Life and Lives Fearlessly.What a joke. What a clusterfuck of enormous, never-before-seen proportions of clusterfuckery.
Didn’t it figure that theone timeI did something without thinking andoverthinking, it ended up with me on a third-world island with a tour guide who provoked the crap out of me? I was an easygoing person. Askanyone. Laid-back with patients, laid-back with my family, laid-back with my ex. But I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been so fuckingangry.
“How much further?” I demanded.
“Two minutes. Still enough time to turn back.”
I set my jaw. “I’mnotturning back.”
It was tempting. Like,verytempting. But I’d signed a contract, and I took that shit seriously. I wasn’t going to walk away from this job until I’d talked to Mr. Goodman and given him a chance to find someone to take my place.
And honestly, even if I hadn’t felt honor-bound to stay temporarily… where the fuck was I going to go from here? I had less than nothing in New York to go back to: No apartment. No job. No girlfriend. Hell, even mycarwas with Toby. And when I thought about what my brother would say when he found out, howsympathetiche’d be and how I’d never live it down?
Yeah, there wasno wayI was leaving Whispering Key without another job lined up. If the idiot next to me could handle life on this island, I sure as fuck could, at least for a few weeks. Wouldn’t be the worst experience of my life by a long shot.
“I’m going to take control of this,” I said under my breath. “Fearlessly.”
Fenn turned his head and gave me a look that might have been amusement or maybe concern over my mental state. “Stubborn, noble, or dumb as fuck? Hmmm. Smart money says a little of each.”
I ignored him and turned my head so I could rub at the spot between my eyebrows. I could feel a headache brewing like an impending storm.
“It’s only gonna get worse,” Fenn warned. “You have no idea what you’re in for.”
