I laugh, a little less burdened by heavy emotions. “I forgot to mention, he wants me to go to the Maldives with him and his friends for Christmas.”
“You should go! Don’t let Étienne overshadow the chance to go somewhere beautiful.”
I shake my head. “I have so much work to do to get this new shop off the ground and keep the rest of the empire running. I don’t have time for a vacation.”
“Which is exactly what someone who needs a vacation would say,” she points out. “Let him take you on a little trip. Get some sun, swim in the ocean, and give yourself a hard reset.” She reaches across the table to grasp my wrist to drive her point home. “You deserve this, okay? I’d go so far as to say you need it.”
A break from the stress of life and work does sound spectacular. And it’s not like my company will tank if I take a week or two off, as I’ve already learned. What’s the harm in giving myself a real break this time?
“Plus,” Janelle goes on, “you clearly need some vitamin D. Firstly from the sun but also from Thomas’s—”
“Don’t you dare say it,” I interrupt, but I’m already pulling my phone out of my purse with my free hand.
I unlock the screen and tap on my short chain of messages with Thomas. Janelle, as sweet and vulgar as she is, has a point. I deserve to have a hot man sweep me off to an even hotter destination.
I changed my mind, I type before I can think better of it.Let’s escape to paradise, your highness.
Chapter 26
Thomas
Stella in a little white dress sipping an old-fashioned is alluring. Stella in a slinky gown while entertaining a group of people is an absolute vision. But Stella in the tiniest bikini the world has ever seen while smiling slyly over her shoulder? Fuck me for declaring that I was okay with being just friends—I’m not feelingremotelyfriendly toward her right now.
“I’m so glad you convinced me to come here,” she says on a dreamy sigh, gaze drifting to the crystal-blue Maldives water. “This is so beautiful.”
It’s not nearly as beautiful as the sight of her standing on the deck of our overwater bungalow, but since saying that is verboten, I just mumble “Yeah” and shove my hands into the pockets of my shorts.
In reply, Stella playfully rolls her eyes and tosses her waist-length braids over her shoulder.They’re vacation braids, she explained when she came home from the salon with the new look.So I don’t have to worry about my hair for the trip.I didn’t tell her I already knew that thanks to Amara’s influence, because Ilove her little explanations of things she thinks I won’t understand.
Two weeks have flown by since the gala, and with as busy as Stella has been, I haven’t seen much of her. Honestly, our flight out here was the longest amount of uninterrupted time we’ve had together lately. She spent most of it passed out, though, too exhausted from the fifteen-hour workdays she’s been pulling. When we landed and transferred to the seaplane that would take us to the resort—which I made sure wasnotan A.P. Maxwell International property—we exchanged a few words to check in on each other, but that was it.
My fingers are crossed that we’ll get to spend some solid time together on this holiday, because I miss talking to her. I miss the jokes she cracks at my expense and how she can take it as good as she dishes it out. I miss feeling like I have a partner in crime.
“I’m gonna go for a swim,” she announces. “Then maybe we could find something to eat?”
I nod. “Sounds good. Joshua and Amara should be here in the next few hours, so we’ll meet up with them.”
“Can’t wait.”
And then she dives into the water so smoothly that I need to ask if she ever swam competitively. There are so many things about her I still want to discover. I’m praying I’ll get a chance to during the ten days we’re set to spend here.
I almost regret booking us the two-bedroom villa. Maybe if we were forced to share a bed again we could have a little pillow talk or some late-night chats, anything to get her to open up to me. We were getting there before, and then I fucked it all up, but I’m determined to change that on this trip.
I’m determined to learn everything about her—because that’s what friends do, right?
A few hours later, Stella is dressed in a floor-skimming cotton skirt and a tiny top that leaves the dramatic curve of her waist exposed, her hand resting in the crook of my elbow. Our arms look almost comical next to each other—Stella’s shimmering brown skin has only grown deeper after hours of basking in the sun while mine still looks like I’ve never seen a ray of light before. I’ll pick up some color after a few days, but for now, I’m content admiring Stella’s glow.
Good God, man, stop being such a simp.
“I’m excited to meet your friends.” Her grip on me tightens as she flashes a grin. “Mainly so they can tell me all the embarrassing stories about you.”
I eye her, amused. “Is that why you won’t let me hang out with you and Janelle? So she won’t spill all your secrets?”
“Maybe,” Stella says breezily. “Although you and the world already know about my worst moment, so anything she told you wouldn’t be so bad.”
We can relate there. There’s nothing Joshua and Amara could reveal that would be worse than my Lorenzo rant. They could tell her anything about me and I think I’d be glad for her to know it. To know me.
“Is that them?” Stella murmurs as we step into one of the resort’s many restaurants.
