“This can’t be happening,” I finally whispered, shaking my head with a watery laugh. Ithadto be a nightmare. I turned to Cade, feeling like a broken record. “I’m sorry. Add it to my fee for breaking the NDA, I guess.”
I could never pay him back. Not in a million years.
I needed to get out of here. Now.
Tears blurring my vision, I grabbed Whiskey and bolted toward the stairs, ignoring my cat’s startledmeowand his claws sinking into my arm.
But there was one small mercy to me single-handedly obliterating our deal and screwing everything up: at least the itching had finally stopped.
gravity
. . .
Cade
Well, that could’ve gone better.
I tracked Ellie’s blue braid and where my shirt’s hem fell distractingly high on her thighs until she disappeared down the stairs, before turning to my head of security. “Go with her.”
Mac stopped midslurp of his tropical drink, eyes going comically wide. He let go of the straw. “Are you insane?”
“Drive her home. Make sure she gets back okay. And find her some damn pants.”
Instead of following orders, he rubbed his temple like I’d caused him physical pain. “…Youareinsane. This is the perfect opportunity to wash your hands of her and be done. She’s gone. Let her stay gone.”
“Just go, Mac,” I bit out.
He made a show of huffing and setting down his fruity drink, then followed the path Ellie had taken.
I waited by the railing until the tender boat pulled away from the yacht. Watched it peel away with Ellie sitting at the back and Whiskey in her lap. Kept my eyes on it until it docked—until she and Mac disappeared into the marina. I didn’t tear my gaze away until my grandfather cleared his throat, but the pit forming in my gut widened.
That made facing the others easier. Their shocked expressions were a welcome distraction from the tears that’d pooled in Ellie’s eyes.
I’d never made a woman cry before.
Grandfather was the only one who didn’t seem surprised by the turn of events, but he had the same disappointed frown he’d worn when Harrison crashed his new Aston Martin as a teenager.
Being on the receiving end of it felt like shit.
As usual, Harrison was the one to break the silence.
“I must be dreaming, because it sounds like my golden-child older brother actually hired a woman to be his fiancée?” He barked a laugh. “This is hilarious.”
“Don’t tease him, Harry,” Madison scolded.
“Nah, I knew it!” Harrison smirked at me. “I knew you couldn’t actually lock down someone like Ellie.”
That was enough to crack the ice flooding my veins, and I shot him a glare. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Boys,” Grandfather snapped, making us both clamp our mouths shut just like when we were kids.
“Why, Caden?” my mother asked beside him. Disappointment weighed down her words. “Why would you lie about something like this? Why the big production?”
“I can answer that.” Grandfather undid the button on his jacket before tucking both hands in his pockets. “He knew it would get him the UK branch of Westbrook Capital.”
My shoulders slumped. There went any chance of a cover story.
Whispers broke out on deck, and my mother was at my side in an instant.