Page 30 of Betrayal of a Billionaire

A cool breeze whipped across the sea, sending the waves swelling higher as they skirted the island. Julia shivered, tugging her cardigan closer.

“Cold?” he asked as he slid a protective arm around her.

Two could play this game, and it was his ring on her finger. His very large ring.

His mind turned to another ring, still encased inside its velvet box. He longed to give it to her, but as he’d stood on that island, his mind flooded with a sea of unwanted images of Julia in another man’s arms, he wondered if she’d accept it.

She’d accepted a ring from another man once. And she’d walked away from him. Why? Were they truly finished?

“Who’s ready for dinner?” Luke asked as they continued toward the docks of Harbor Cove. “Wow, don’t all speak up at once.”

“Well, I’m starving,” Sierra said as she scrolled through her photos. “And I hope this place has Wi-fi because I haven’t had a signal for like this entire time. How am I supposed to let people know I’m having fun if I can’t post to Insta?”

Luke side-eyed her as he steered. “You could just…have fun in the moment instead of worrying about letting other people know.”

“That’s stupid. What’s the point?”

Luke furrowed his brow. “Having fun. That’s the point.”

“Who cares if no one can see you having it?” Sierra offered him an incredulous glance. “Just tell me there’s Wi-fi.”

“Yep, there’s Wi-fi,” he answered.

“Thankgoodness,” Sierra said as the boat slowed.

Grant practically leapt from his seat as Luke secured the boat, ready to leave him behind.

“Which way to this place?” Sierra asked as the dog trotted next to Julia. “Why is the dog with you?”

Julia glanced down at the animal before she wrinkled her nose. “Maybe we should skip the dinner–”

“Skip dinner?” Sierra said with an incredulous tone. “Uh, no. We did that once already yesterday. Today is about guaranteed fun, remember?”

“And I would like to have some guaranteed fun at the…” She tapped on her phone. “Hungry Pelican.”

“There are lots of other rest–”

“Julia, we’re going to this one. That’s what my itinerary says as part of this tour.” Sierra said as she pushed past her and pointed. “There it is.”

“Julia, if you don’t want to go–” Grant began, sensing her reluctance again. The last time she was reluctant, they’d spent five hours with her ex. A man who could tear their lives apart.

“It’s fine,” she said. “It’s important to Sierra.”

They stepped off the docks and crossed to the restaurant, pushing inside the quaint old space. As Grant’s eyes adjusted from the bright, sunny day to the dimmer light of the bar-slash-restaurant, Sierra’s shriek ripped through the din of the mostly empty restaurant.

He snapped his gaze to his daughter’s face, finding a horrified expression on it. “Sierra, what’s wrong?”

A pointed finger shot out. He followed its direction as she explained further. “Why is there a half-naked picture of my step-mommy on the wall?”

Grant’s eyes widened as he studied the large picture of a swimsuit-clad Julia clutching a ship’s wheel and offering the camera a coy smile as Luke kissed her cheek, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist.

“Ohhhh,” Julia murmured as she blew out a long sigh, her eyes transfixed on the picture as heat rose in her cheeks. She wanted to melt into the floor. “I think I’ll go to the ladies’ room.”

She strode away from the group, disappearing into a back hallway.

“This just keeps getting better and better,” Kyle said as they settled at a table. “There’s no mistaking what was going on between them now. Though I’m pretty certain you could tell from all the looks he kept giving her on the island.”

“Well, you’d know, they’re pretty similar to the creepy looks you’re always giving her,” Sierra said.