“You heard me.”
“You don’t want me to wear these pants?” She laughed.
He made some sort of grumbling noise. “Just remind everyone that you’re pretending to marry me.” He pointed to his chest, and Gabby laughed.
“I’ll make sure to let them know.”
A little late to Ladies-Only Power Couple Orientation, the wave pool
While Geeves cleared their breakfast dishes, Gabby walked down a rock-lined path that she wasn’t entirely familiar with and dialed Granny. No one had noticed that she hadn’t turned over her cell phone, and she intended to keep it that way. A week of no communication with her family was a non-starter.
“Hey, Granny, how is everything?”
“It’s—” The line fuzzed out.
“What was that?”
“It’s… uh… card… Kyle.”
Damn it. The signal was almost nonexistent.
“Let me call you back in a second.” Gabby faced a crossroads in the path. One direction went up. Maybe if she climbed higher, she’d get a signal, like in one of those lost-in-the-wilderness shows.
She climbed higher and higher, keeping half an eye on the time. All she had to do was check in with Granny, and then she’d run the phone back to their cottage for safe keeping. After reaching the top of a rise, she emerged at a scenic overlook where the view of the beach, the cottages, and the ocean spread below her like apostcard. If she wasn’t undercover using a false name, she’d take a selfie.
This was a fantasy that she could not bring home. Not the marriage, the man, or even a selfie. It’s not like she could wear a São Miguel T-shirt home from “Cleveland.” What happened in the Azores truly had to stay in the Azores. But that begged the question: If she couldn’t tell Justin everything in excruciating detail, did it even happen? Or maybe it would be a special secret for Markus and her to share.
Staring at the Atlantic, she hit “Granny” in her recent calls list.
“Gab—” Granny’s voice turned to fuzz after one syllable. The signal was still shit. She tried again. Still nothing. She sent a text:
Is everything OK?
The message couldn’t be delivered. Damn it.
She shoved the phone in the pocket of her leggings and let her mind wander to its favorite topic: Markus. Her skin flushed as she recalled the way he’d undressed her with his eyes, not that he’d had to do much work in these pants.
“Hello?” A voice called around the bend.
“Um… hello.” Gabby took a few steps and peered around a bend in the path.
There he was. Genesis, because the man needed no introduction, reclined in a moderately-sized wave pool overlooking the ocean. His legs were kicked out, and his arms spread wide over the rocky ledge into which the pool had been carved. Or maybe it was just good concrete work. Either way,Architectural Digestshould do a thing.
Men’s Healthshould probably do a thing too. Big G’s muscles were a sight to behold. Gabby couldn’t remember all the names—traps, lats, biceps, deltoids—but he had all of them, plus some to spare. His hair was piled on top of his head in a messy man bun. The braided beard gave her pause, but if anyone could pull it off, it was this guy. The Big G was primal sex appeal written in easy-to-understand caveman scrawl.
“I like your pool,” Gabby said. She said it in the same voice she would use to compliment Janice at parent pickup about her new Kia Sportswagon.
“The waves are attuned to my natural energy. My heartbeat powers the water.”
Well, that sounded like some cult leader BS.
“Would you like to get in?” he asked.
“Umm…” Was this a come-on? He had admitted to cheating on Jasmine, but “only with his body.”
Unsure of herself, Gabby shifted her weight from one foot to the other. A second ago, she had felt like a goddess. Now she was out of her element, a mere mortal in the presence of a Greek God. No wonder the Big G ran a cult. What else could someone like him do? He probably couldn’t walk through a grocery store without causing a stir.
“You’re welcome to join me,” he said She was about to say “No!” when the righteous indignation caught in her throat. Her entire job at this resort was to gather information on this man and his organization. Naked hot tubbing with the cult leader was exactly what she should be doing.
