“The other parts, though. You taking that shot was…” I shake my head. “You hate losing control.”
“I do,” he says. He doesn’t elaborate. But his expression doesn’t change either, and it’s clear that he doesn’t regret that shot.
“Who was that man? Hadrian?” I ask. I was the only one to speak to him at that party, and no one ever explained who he is. The guys didn’t want to elaborate.
Rafe looks away. “Someone from my past. He’s not important.”
“I’m the one who spoke to him. I think it’s only fair that I know who he is.”
Rafe’s eyes slide back to mine. They’re the same color as the tall cypresses behind him. And I see him considering it.
Considering if I’m trustworthy.
Something hot slides down my insides. It feels eerilysimilar to hurt, and I take a step back. Shit. He shouldn’t be able to hurt me. We’re partners for the time being, but that doesn’t make us friends.
“Fine,” I say. “I’ll just assume he’s someone you wronged in the past, too. Did you try to take over his company?”
“No, I didn’t,” Rafe says. He spins his tennis racquet in his grip, but his eyes don’t stray from mine. “Hadrian went to Belmont with me and the others. We were friends, once. But a lot of things happened… and that friendship ended.”
“Have you seen him recently?”
“Not for years,” Rafe says. “He disappeared for a while. But in the last few years, he’s started to make a name for himself.”
“Doing what?”
“Finance,” he says. “I don’t like that he said he orchestrated Monaco for a reunion.”
“I don’t understand why he just left, though,” I say. “It was like he just suddenly changed his mind.”
Rafe slowly shakes his head. “I don’t either. We’ll avoid him in the future.”
We, he says. And future.
I grab another long sip of water to quell the way that makes me feel. He reaches for a towel and runs it over his face. “I should tell you, too, that I’m leaving tomorrow. You’ll have the villa for yourself. Try not to burn the place to the ground?”
I pretend to consider it. “You know what, now that you mention it, that sounds fun. I could invite Sylvie and Leelyn, too. Roast marshmallows.”
“Hilarious.”
“Where are you going?”
“I have to drive to Switzerland, to stop by Artemis headquarters.” He tosses the towel and reaches for the hem of his shirt. He often dives into the lake after we play. I’m going todo the same and reach for the waistband of my tennis shirt. I’m already in my bikini beneath.
“I’ll be gone for a night,” he says.
“And you’re not inviting your wife? Rude.” I shimmy out of the skirt.
“I assumed you wouldn’t want to come.” His voice is careful, eyes guarded. “It’s deep in Maison Valmont territory.”
“You know what they say. Keep your enemy close.”
His eyes flash. “Exactly.”
“That was in my wedding vows, actually. But I cut it out. Thought about our audience.”
“How kind of you.”
“That’s me,” I say.
