Our lips are almost touching when his phone rings.
The sound shatters the moment. Phoenix's jaw clenches, but he doesn't move away. The phone keeps ringing.
"You should get that," I say, my voice shakier than I want it to be.
"I should."
But he doesn't. For three more rings, he just looks at me. Then finally, reluctantly, he steps back and pulls out his phone.
"What?" His voice is sharp. He listens for a moment. "Fine. Tomorrow. I'll handle it."
He hangs up and looks at me. The moment is gone, the connection broken.
"We should head back," he says.
The sail back to the marina is quiet. The sun has set completely by the time we dock, and the air is cold enough that I wrap my arms around myself.
Phoenix drives me back to the cottage without speaking. When we arrive, he walks me to the door.
"Thank you for today," I say, because I don't know what else to say.
"Tomorrow," he says. "I'm taking you somewhere else."
"Where?"
"You'll see."
He leaves before I can ask more questions.
Inside the cottage, I collapse on the couch and pull out my phone. Three missed calls from Chloe and a string of texts.
How's it going?
Should I be worried?
JADE. Answer your phone.
I call her back.
"Finally," she says. "I was about to book a flight out there."
"I'm fine."
"That's what you said yesterday. Are you actually fine or are you just saying that?"
I think about Phoenix's arms around me on the yacht. About the almost-kiss that would have been a real kiss if his phone hadn't rung. About the way he looked at me like I was the only thing in the world that mattered.
"I don't know," I admit. "He took me to his office today. Then lunch. Then his yacht. He's showing me his world."
"And? How do you feel about it?"
"Overwhelmed. Attracted. Terrified."
"That's pretty much what I expected." Chloe pauses. "Jade, you know what he's doing, right?"
"What?"
"Love-bombing. Showering you with attention and gifts and experiences. Making you dependent on him. It's textbook manipulation."
