Jada’s smile slipped a little. “You okay?”
“I’m ready to hit the stores,” I said, forcing a lightness into my voice I didn’t feel. I hadn’t wanted a shopping spree when we’d left the penthouse that morning. I’d actually fought with her about it a little and had been relieved when Dax had shown up to bring us to the yacht club. Now, I was saying I wanted to go do just that, and it was sending her signals that were easy to read. I was upset. I needed to go.
“Sure.” She stood. “Shall I call Kaida, or do you want to shop with us?” Jada asked Dax just as Dawson came up from the cabin.
She shot Dawson a puzzled look, and he shook his head ever so slightly. So slightly that Dax hadn’t even caught on. They were definitely in it together.
“If you don’t mindIto-sangetting you, Dawson and I could use some time to go over our strategy for the race,” Dax said.
He’d been colder to Jada this morning than he had been that first night at the penthouse, and it had hurt Jada. I’d seen it in her eyes before she hid it behind her bored-heiress face. Both of these men were good at tearing us apart.
“We’ll see you at dinner then,” she said and disembarked.
Dawson reached out and grabbed my phone, typing in the notes again.
I know you’re upset. Please give me a chance to explain before you say anything to anyone.
I didn’t understand why he didn’t just text it. More secret spy?or secret villain?bullshit. I glowered at him but gave a curt nod before following Jada off the yacht.I glanced back at the two gorgeous, dark-haired men standing at the helm, and my heart flipped in my chest. What would I do if Dawson was the villain of the story?
My pleasure at seeing the name of the ship when I’d arrived had disappeared. I’d forgotten to ask him about it. Was it random, or did he really remember that Ada Lovelace and Mae Jemison were two of my favorite female scientists?
When I turned away, my eyes caught on a vessel opposite theAda Mae. An enormous man watched me from the stern. There was something authoritative about him that had me thinkingfederal agent. I wondered if Dawson would be arrested and if it was my words below deck that would be the catalyst. I wondered what I’d tell Truck and Jersey about it.
I joined Jada at the front of the yacht club. She went inside, sitting on a velvet-and-gold couch in the lobby while we waited for her driver to show up in the bulletproof SUV she’d been driving us around in for two days.
“What happened?” Jada asked.
I shrugged.
“He kissed you. Dax said you were otherwise occupied, which means kissing or more. I leave you alone for two minutes, and you can’t keep your hands off each other,” Jada teased.
It brought back the feel of Dawson’s lips and hands on my body, his tongue seeking the depths of me. My body filled with heat, tingling bubbles of longing. I’d had a taste of something I’d wanted for years, and now I wasn’t sure if it was good or bad, because that one little taste would never be enough. But I was also furious with him. I didn’t know how to keep the anger from entwining in with the other emotions.
“Was it that bad?” she asked.
I laughed. “It was that good.”
She smiled. “That makes no sense,Baioretto.”
“Exactly. Nothing makes sense.” I stared at her. “Tell me again why you spend so much time with each other.”
She rolled her eyes. “If you insinuate one more time that there is?”
“That’s not what I mean. I get there’s nothing romantic going on between you, but it isn’t just friendship either, is it?” I demanded.
She looked down at her phone, flipping it over and over as she did so often. “I don’t know what you’re trying to say.”
“Tell me about your dad’s business.”
She froze, eyes seeking mine with fear coasting over her face. It took a long time for her to reply. “Otosanhas a hand in a bunch of industries. He’s like an entrepreneurial guru of sorts. Why?”
“Does Dawson work for him?”
She stared, eyes growing larger, darting around the club.
“What did Dawson say about it?” she asked.
“I’m asking you.”
