Page 49 of Beach Reads and Deadly Deeds

“Then I realize what it is. It’s him. Something about him makes me feel like I am about to fall. Or turn to liquid. Or burst

into flame.”

—Veronica Roth, Divergent

Jason had thought of everything.

The evening was a little chilly, though the sea was calm. He set up the meal in the main cabin, a table for two, champagne,

and steak salad with fresh rolls. It was perfect—hearty and healthy and very delicious.

I told him everything I knew over the meal. About how I’d found the book, what I’d read in the pages, why I believed that

it belonged to Diana Harden and that she had been blackmailing at least one person. I would have shown him the pictures except

that my phone was in the seat of the Jet Ski. I explained how one of his staff members had torn out a page my first day here,

and why I thought Amber and Parker had stolen the book—or hired the kid to do it. They were looking for documents that Diana

had hidden somewhere on the island, and thought clues were in the book—which was why Brie and I had followed them yesterday,

and that’s how I ended up falling in the hole.

I told him I didn’t trust Gino. I didn’t tell him Brie and I had broken into Tristan’s office for Ethan Valentine’s information—that was really crossing a line I still wasn’t comfortable with.

I told him about why Sherry Morrison was giving me weird vibes, about her money problems, but also admitted that she was possessive of Andrew and thus might just not like me on general principle.

I’d already told him about CeeCee’s lunch with her boyfriend’s ex, and what Tristan told me of her departure.

“When she disappeared on St. John, I thought she might have been a victim, like Diana,” I said. “I’m glad she’s okay, but

I still think she had a secret.”

“Like?”

“Like she’s not exactly who she appears to be.”

He listened to everything I said, asked a few questions, didn’t call me foolish or make fun of my amateur sleuthing.

“And because of all these things, you think someone might be sabotaging the resort.”

“I don’t know—I only had that idea because of what happened to your Jet Ski and boat. I still think that Diana was killed

because she had blackmailed someone. She had information about a lot of people. I figured out who most of them were because

her number coding system is pretty simple, but there are a few I couldn’t find—I mean, the initials don’t match to anyone

I’ve met here. She tracked guests’ net worth, property values, and made comments about bad behavior.”

“You’ve been working this vacation, haven’t you?” He smiled, and I didn’t feel awkward anymore.

“Brie helped me. But I don’t want to get her in trouble,” I added quickly. “Her dad was angry about what happened yesterday.”

“I won’t say anything.” He crossed his heart.

“CeeCee wasn’t who she pretended to be, and it’s really bugging me. Trevor’s a wealthy man, involved in commercial real estate

among other things. The commercial real estate market is depressed right now, and it’s not a good investment, but his company

is working some other ventures.”

“This is your world.”

“Financial planning, maybe. I know good long-term invest ments. Maybe CeeCee is in league with someone to steal from him, like a honeytrap.”

“A honeytrap?”

“You know, where a woman seduces a man—”

“I know what a honeytrap is,” he said with a chuckle.

“Anyway,” I continued, “maybe that was why she left.” I thought about her meeting with his ex-wife. “She met with his ex-wife

and disappeared.”

“You said honeytrap... what if that’s exactly what it was? Maybe she was hired by his ex-wife to take something from him?

Money or information.”

“Yeah,” I said thoughtfully. “Maybe that is what she was doing.”

“I bet you could figure it out pretty quick.”

“How?”

“Like you said, you know good long-term investments. You could probably look at his portfolio and projects and see what might

be valuable to someone else.”

“I could,” I agreed.

“But tonight, let your brilliant mind rest. Forget all this, okay?”

I nodded.

“What were you doing on St. John?” Jason asked as he poured us both more champagne.

“Promise you won’t think I’m ridiculous?”

“I don’t think you’re ridiculous in the least.” He took my hand, kissed it.

“I thought I could get information about Diana’s murder investigation from the police because I think Diana was blackmailing

Gino. And if she was, he shouldn’t be investigating her murder,” I said.

“You think Gino killed her?” He sounded surprised, but not like I was completely crazy.

“I think,” I said slowly, carefully, “that he has done a lot of things to make me believe he’s guilty.

Some of her notes referenced him—he’s 77 for Gino Garmon.

The first day I arrived, he asked about the article I was reading describing her disappearance.

Told me not to worry about it, but it was the way he said it that made me suspicious.

He’s in charge of the investigation, and then he threatened me when he brought me back to the resort last night. ”

Jason’s spine straightened. “He threatened you?” His voice was low, and for the first time, I saw something more in Jason

than his carefree manner. I saw a backbone that I didn’t quite expect.

“He knew I’d gone to St. John and talked to the police, made a point to tell me that it would benefit me to stay out of the

investigation. It was the way he said it.”

“We need to tell Tristan about this,” Jason said. “He’s the manager. He’s in charge of staff, including security.”

“I have no proof of anything.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Jason said. “He shouldn’t have intimidated you like that.”

Jason was right, but what if I was wrong? “I don’t want to ruin his career because I let my imagination get away from me.”

Jason laughed. “Mia, you’re the most down-to-earth, logical person I’ve met in a long, long time.”

I don’t know why, but that made me happy. Maybe because he said it as if my personality delighted him. Maybe because he believed

me about Diana and didn’t dismiss my many theories.

“I try,” I said lightly.

“I like that you’re straightforward and honest. It’s refreshing.”

I was practically beaming. I cleared my throat and said, “Dinner was delicious. Did you make it yourself?”

“Not really.”

“What does that mean?”

“I had the kitchen prepare everything. I just put the salads together.”

“You put the salad together very well.” I smiled.

He took my hands and said, “Are you sure you’re okay be ing stranded out here tonight? I promise, someone will come for us in the morning.”

“I’m fine,” I said. “I’m not alone, am I?”

I was nervous. Flirting didn’t come easy to me. And while we had kissed—dear Lord, had we kissed—I was still uneasy about

my ultimate goal: casual sex with one of the hottest men I’d ever met.

Then he brought my hand to his lips and kissed my palm, and my nerves disappeared. I gasped from the sensation of his tongue

as he licked my fingers.

“I want to show you something,” Jason said, and I nearly stopped breathing.

He got up, quickly put the plates on a tray, and led me up to the deck. We went all the way to the top of the cabin, where

there was a wide platform. He pressed a button, and all the boat lights turned off.

“Look,” he said, and pointed to the sky.

It was so dark, I couldn’t see the island at all, except for a very faint row of lights at the very top, blinking red likely

to warn low-flying planes that there was a mountain.

The sky was awash with light, millions of stars, more than I had ever seen in one place. I was in the middle of the ocean

and felt as if Jason and I were completely alone in the world.

“Oh. My. God.” I didn’t know if I’d spoken until Jason kissed my ear.

“It makes you think, doesn’t it?” he whispered.

“I can barely form a thought, and I didn’t even drink that much.”

“Nothing we do changes the stars. I look up and think of all the people who never see outside themselves, never stop moving

long enough to take in this ancient sight. The stars we’re seeing are already gone, burned up, burned out, but their light

remains. It’s why I think everyone should live their dream, because if you find joy in what you do, when you’re gone, you’ll

leave a light in your place that everyone who comes after you will see. Just like the stars.”

I turned around so I could face him. The moon had not yet risen, but the stars gave enough light that I could see his eyes as he stared at me. I kissed him.

Jason wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close, deepening our kiss, champagne mingling with salty air. I couldn’t

get enough, didn’t want to get enough. The gentle waves of the ocean undulated beneath us. The boat moved up and down, slowly

rocking, seducing both of us.

“Here?” he whispered at the same time he untied the sash on my robe, revealing my naked body.

“Yes.” Because I didn’t want to wait to go downstairs. I wanted to make love now, here, under the stars, in the middle of

the ocean without thought of murder, blackmail, or tomorrow.

I especially didn’t want to think about tomorrow.

His hands were on my hips, then on my ass, then up and down my back as if he wanted to touch me everywhere all at once. He

wore a T-shirt that hugged his lean muscles; I pulled it up, touched his warm skin, breathed in his scent.

All doubts disappeared when his hands cupped my breasts and we both moaned. We wanted each other, we craved each other, and

that made all the difference in the world.

“Off,” I said of his shirt, and he pulled it off. I unsnapped his shorts, and they fell to the ground. He stood there completely

naked in the starlight, and if I could hardly breathe before, I was breathless now.

Jason was perfect.

Tight, lean muscles. Tan, from both heritage and time in the sun. His hair had dried curlier than usual after our swim. His

expression was part desire, part whimsy, part earnestness. He wanted to make me happy. It was etched across his face. He seemed