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He was tempted to just go get his laptop and bring it into the bedroom. Not the first time he would’ve worked from his bed. But now it was their bed and he didn’t want anything outside to come between them here.

He pulled on a pair of workout shorts while she slipped into a fluffy spa robe and followed him to the main room. Seated close on the couch, he opened his laptop and quickly found the email.

He paused before he opened the message. “I warned you the Guardian Agency security teams wouldn’t let Gallo’s antics slide.”

“I remember. And?” she prompted.

“And during the staff meeting I asked them to dig a little deeper.”

“Hm.” She didn’t sound pleased. Started to move away from him.

He rested a hand lightly on her thigh. “Not about your past,” he said. “About his present.”

She relaxed under his hand, frowning thoughtfully. “Go on.”

“His comments and grandiose assumptions bothered me.” Along with everything else about the guy. “Long before he poked around at the Ellington properties.”

Her gaze fell to the rings on her left hand, the only jewelry she wore at the moment. It made him feel possessive and proud and countless other emotions he didn’t want to dwell in for too long.

After a moment, she nodded, coming to some decision. “You’ve kept them waiting long enough. Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it.”

“Do you have any idea how strong you are?” It was one of her most attractive features.

She rolled her eyes. “High praise before we have any details. Go on.”

He opened the email from the research team and they read through it together.

The extra manpower team he’d asked for was being supervised by Travis Upton, Max’s former partner. The report was comprehensive as they followed Gallo all around the Lowcountry yesterday from the moment he left his room at the Inn. He’d poked around Brookwell businesses on Central Avenue and walked around the marina. Apparently, bored with tourism, he’d gone into Charleston. He spent thirty minutes each at two different banks, had lunch with a real estate agent, and played a round of golf with a well-known business investor.

“That doesn’t make sense,” Trina said. “My mother says he does business with many people, but one main reason she wants him to marry me is to get me back home. What does he need with bankers and real estate in America?”

“I’m curious how he got on the investor’s calendar so quickly. That guy is constantly in demand.”

“Maybe he didn’t,” Trina said, lips pursed. “He showed updays earlier than planned. Is it possible he set up these appointments earlier?”

“It’s the most logical explanation.”

Her smile bloomed, then faded. “What’s all of this?” She pointed to the bullet points below the surveillance report.

Rhett skimmed the intel and understood the urgency. “Financial report.” None of it was good. “He’s bankrupt, or close enough.”

“No,” Trina lurched back and stared at him in denial. “That can’t be right. My parents would know. They wouldn’t shove me at a man with such poor prospects.”

“But they’d shove you at a man who hurt you?”

“I never told them,” she snapped. “They wouldn’t be so excited for me to marry Luca if they knew the truth. About either issue.” Her chin came up, daring him to contradict her.

He didn’t dare. In fact, he believed her. “Good to know. I really want to like my in-laws.”

She blinked. “Of course you do. You’re a good man. And they will like you too.”

Though she didn’t say it, the “eventually” came through loud and clear.

Rhett quickly shifted back to the pertinent issue before he gave up on the report in favor of showing her the wonders of sex on a couch.

“For the sake of argument, let’s assume the report is accurate. You know him better than I do. Better than the team currently tailing him,” he reminded her. “Would Gallo be aggressive about marrying you to solve his money problems?”

She sucked in a deep breath and released it slowly. “I haven’t spoken with him in years, so my data might be skewed.”