Barnes chuckles. “Yes, that surprised me. I chalked it up to you giving me space to think, and then you walked through the door of that tent. I can tell you in no uncertain terms that that act alone could have cost you my company.”
I swallow, listening to Amelia’s heels ahead of me as she talks animatedly with Marilyn. I can’t look at Barnes. Coming here was always a risk; I just didn’t realize how big it was.
“I don’t like being hounded, Lucas. And I don’t appreciate my private time with my wife being interrupted because of your greed.”
I want to argue the point, but it would be futile. His company is going to make me a lot of money. In the end, everything comes down to that, and it would be disingenuous to pretend otherwise.
“But once again, your assistant may have saved your bacon,” Barnes says quietly.
“Is that so?”
“She told me I had every right to want to punch you in the face for turning up like this, but that the only reason you were here was to secure the best deal you could. For both of us. And that if you didn’t believe you could make my company greater—that’s an important word—not ‘great’,greater, then you wouldn’t be here.”
I nod, keeping my mouth shut, knowing he isn’t done.
“I believe you’re passionate about what my people can do for you. I think you’ll build my company from strength to strength.”
We reach his hotel room, the ladies a little separate now, waiting in the gentle breeze, watching us curiously.
“I received Bishop’s offer, just like all the others,” he says. “It had four typos on the first page.”
I hide a smile, looking out at the ocean.
“I never even considered it. In fact, I never considered any of them. I was quite content to enjoy mypeaceand accept your terms when I got back. But as you’re so eager to have certainty, let me make this as plain as I can. I’m sticking around, and I’m gonna make your life hell, but only to make us both greater. Until then, you don’t need to worry that I’mrenegingon anything. I just want to watch the sunset with my wife and enjoy my vacation.”
I nod, holding out my hand, and he shakes it with a little roll of his eyes that makes me laugh.
“See you on the flip side, Lucas. And stop dragging that poor girl to business meetings. She should be on a sun lounger with a cocktail being spoiled rotten.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I say, as Marilyn and Amelia bid each other farewell and we walk back towards our room.
“So?” she says as we walk up to the door. “Did he accept?”
“He did. Mostly because of you again. You do have a way with words.”
She smiles, looking pleased and relaxed, a flush to her cheeks from the wine, her eyes bright and happy.
“That’s good,” she says with a smile, and as I open the door and she walks in ahead of me, a feeling rises in my chest that I haven’t felt in a long time. As I watch her silhouette sway gently before me toward the pool outside, it’s as if I’ve gone back in time.
I’ve felt this before, an emotion I never thought I would experience with Amelia, and it scares me more than anything else ever could.
It’s how I felt the first time I fell for Megan, but far more potent, more intoxicating, more unbearable, because I know Amelia can never be truly mine.
Chapter 42
Amelia
After the meal with Barnes, I am determined to prove to Lucas that I am fully on board with anything he might want to do. I’ve never vocalized how much I enjoy sex with him, or eveninitiatedsex before, and I plan to change that.
Ignoring the tense atmosphere in the hut, I go into the bathroom and put on some new lingerie that I bought for the occasion.
I leave my hair down because he seems to love it when it’s loose, and I come out of the bathroom, fully expecting him to want sex like he always does.
But he’s on the balcony, staring out into the middle distance. I lie down on the bed, waiting for him to come back inside. I’m lying with my head propped up on my arm when he comes back in.
He stands in the entryway, watching me, but his face is in shadow.
As he walks over to me, I can tell he’s turned on, his eyes are dark with lust, and there’s an obvious tent in his pants. But then he sits down on the bed beside me, tucks my hair behind my ear, and tells me to get some rest.
