Page 131

Annie scoffs. “She was just being polite.”
“No, she wasn’t.” I hold her gaze, my tone firm. “Those people aren’tpolite. Not about that. She wouldn’t have ridiculed you to your face, but if she didn’t like your dress, she wouldn’t have said anything at all.”
Her lips part slightly, but she doesn’t say anything. I can see her mind working, trying to find a way to dismiss what I’m saying.
“You have the talent,” I continue. “You’ve already proven that. The only thing stopping you from making this happen is you.”
“Yeah, and also, living under a roof and eating and clothing myself and paying for food. It’s easy to dismiss money when you have so much of it that you regularly forget that you own a freakin’island.”
She throws her arms out to encompass everything around them—the beach, the house.
She drops her arms back to her side and exhales, looking away toward the ocean, her fingers fidgeting with the delicate fabric of her dress. “It’s just not that simple, Cole.”
“Yes, it is,” I say resolutely. But before I can continue, she rounds on me again. “Why is this so hard to understand? It takes more than just talent. It takes connections, money, time—”
“All things you have access to,” I cut in.
Her eyes narrow. “Oh, right. I forgot. Let me just pull a few million dollars out of thin air and launch my own brand.”
“You wouldn’t need millions,” I say smoothly. “Not to start.”
“Oh, wouldn’t I?” She lets out a bitter laugh. “Do you have any idea how expensive materials, production, marketing, and distribution are? And that’s not even including the fact that no one knows who I am. No one’s just going to throw money at some random girl who made one good dress.”
I arch a brow. “I would.”
She blinks. “What?”
“I would invest in you.”
She stares at me, completely caught off guard. “That’s—” She shakes her head. “No. That’s crazy.”
“Is it?”
“Yes!” she exclaims. “You barely know anything about the fashion industry beyond movies, and you’d just—what? Throw money at me? That’s not how this works.”
I smirk. “You think I don’t know a good investment when I see one?”
She shifts uncomfortably, her arms tightening around herself. “You’re just saying that,” she mumbles.
“Why would you think that?”
She lets out a breath but doesn’t answer.
I take a step closer. “Annie,” I say in a warning tone.
She looks down and kicks the sand a bit with her toe.
“Because we’re sleeping together,” she whispers.
It takes a beat to absorb what she said, then I throw my head back and laugh.
Hard.
And for a really long time.
When my laughter eases a bit, and I can stand up straight again, I see Annie standing there with her hands on her hips, confused at my behavior. I don’t blame her too much. I don’t laugh often, and rarelyeverlike this.
“What the hell is so funny?” she demands.