Page 11

A dark shape stepped in front of the warm sun, casting her in shade. Maddie shielded her eyes and smiled at the short man dressed in white.

“Here you are, Mrs. Santiago.” The waiter handed her a tall margarita and passed her a napkin. She cringed. The urge to correct him seared through her mind, but she forced a smile.

“Thank you,” she said sweetly, the corners of her mouth ached in protest. He nodded and turned away.

She propped the back of her chair up, lifted the sunglasses from her eyes, and rested them on her head.

The pool deck was swarming with people, at tables and in loungers, and some were floating in the massive pool.

Red, low-slung swim trunks caught her line of vision.

Her gaze dragged up long, muscular legs, and lingered on nicely tanned abs.

God, he was ripped. Water coursed from his dark blonde hair and trailed over taut nipples on his broad chest. Her mouth went dry.

A deep, steady throb started low inside her.

The memory of his hot mouth sealing over hers and his fingers curled into the back of her neck flashed through her mind.

It had taken everything in her to walk away from him that night in her apartment, but she’d had no choice.

Nate would never risk everything for her, and if he had walked away from her again, it would have cut her like a knife. So she’d done it for him.

A low whistle brought her eyes to his.

One eye narrowed at her and he wagged his finger near his hip.

Heat seared across her chest. She shifted in her chair and turned her cheek away from him.

A loud splash split the air and she turned back as he surfaced, his long arms cutting through the water.

Thank god, Carlos was on a conference call in the room.

It was next to impossible to be in such close proximity to Nate without reacting.

She hadn’t known he’d be at the pool, yet her eyes had sought him out amongst at least one hundred people.

She took a long sip of the ice-cold cocktail in her hand.

Tangy sweetness touched her taste buds, but it did nothing to cool the flames that had spread to her cheeks.

“Maddie? Is that you?” a shrill voice split the air behind her. Maddie shot forward and whipped her head around. Her margarita sloshed over the side of the plastic glass and coated her hand.

Brittany Renner let out a squeal and scurried across the deck. Her strawberry blond hair hung in a ponytail at the top of her head, and she wore white shorts and a navy-blue tank top. She dropped onto the side of the vacant lounge chair beside her and threw her arms around Maddie’s neck.

Panic lodged at the back of Maddie’s throat as she pulled out of Brittany’s embrace.

“What are you doing here?” She forced the words through the tightness in her throat.

Brittany’s freckled brow furrowed and her cool blue eyes squinted.

Damn. She’d been stupid to assume she wouldn’t run into anyone she knew.

With the wealthy crowd that circled her family, and on a ship like this, she should have expected the possibility.

Her pulse slowed and she fought the urge to massage her temples.

If Brittany met Carlos, she would blow her cover. Brittany had always had a mad crush on Ethan and asked about him every chance she got. If Carlos found out her brother had been with the FBI and was now a private investigator, she’d be screwed.

“I’m on a cruise, honey. What are you doing here?” Her mouth dropped open and she straightened her shoulders sharply and scanned the deck. “Who are you here with? Are you seeing someone?” she hissed as she leaned in and snagged Maddie’s hand.

Maddie swallowed and turned in her seat to scan the crowd.

It was on the tip of her tongue to point out a random stranger, but that wouldn’t work.

She had six days left on the ship and there was no way in hell she’d be able to avoid Brittany that long.

Nate strode across the deck, the bulging muscles in his biceps flexed as he moved.

Even from a distance, his scowl at her made her whip her head toward Brittany.

She had to stop looking at him. She cleared her throat and squeezed Brittany’s hand.

“I’m with… a guy.” She leaned in as if she were letting her in on a big secret. “Actually, he’s married.” She dropped her gaze to the blue towel on her lounger.

Brittany gasped, and her lips formed a giant ‘O’. “Maddie! You’re so bad,” she cried. But her eyebrows lifted with interest. “Who is he?” She asked, peering over Maddie’s shoulder.

“He’s on a business call right now. But he’d be so upset if he found out someone who knows me is here. We’re trying to be discreet, so if you see us together please don’t say anything.” She pleaded, her voice dropped low.

Concern etched the smooth ivory of Brittany’s skin. “Oh my god. Is it someone well-known?”

“No, not really.” She tucked the corner of her mouth in at the irony of the question. If she told Brittany that Carlos was well-known for drug-trafficking, she might have a heart attack.

“He hasn’t broken it off with his wife yet, and he’s paranoid about bumping into people. My coming on this trip was very last minute, but we couldn’t resist the chance to be alone.” Disgust swirled inside her.

Since they’d set sail yesterday, she and Carlos hadn’t had any alone time. Carlos had stayed out late with the guys, and she’d faked a headache and had gone to bed early. Tonight was formal night and they needed to be at the main dining room for cocktails at five p.m.

Brittany nodded and understanding creased the fine lines beneath her eyes. “It must be so hard to sneak around. Is it serious?”

Maddie lifted a shoulder. A flash of red crossed her peripheral vision, but she focused her gaze on Brittany’s.

No way in hell she’d let him catch her checking him out again.

Her tongue burned as another lie formed on her lips.

There was no help for it. Brittany being here was like a ticking time-bomb—unless she had a reason to watch what she said.

“I like him a lot. He told me he and his wife have had problems for years, and she has expressed wanting a divorce.” She sipped the pale-yellow drink in her hand.

“We’ll see what happens. I’m not going to hold my breath.

For now, we’re having fun, and if he doesn’t want to leave his wife then we’ll end things. ”

She set her drink down on a nearby table and zeroed in on Brittany. “But you have to promise that you’ll pretend you don’t know me. It would really upset him.”

Brittany pouted and crossed her legs. “But we’re both on a cruise, how can we not hang out?

” Confusion clouded her eyes and Maddie’s fingernails dug into her palm.

It wasn’t Brittany’s fault. She was a nice woman, and they’d been friends since college, though it had been months since they’d gotten together.

As much as she liked Brittany, it was difficult for Maddie to be around people that didn’t understand her career path.

Maddie forced a smile. “Of course we can. I’ll tell Carlos we just met. You just have to be very careful not to bring up my family or past.”

Slim, carrot-colored eyebrows rose. “You mean he doesn’t know who your family is?”

Apprehension churned in her stomach, eating away at the lining.

Carlos wasn’t stupid. He knew she drove an expensive car, and lived in a high-end area.

She’d told him her family had money, but if he looked into her background, he would find that the Worth family was one of the wealthiest on the west coast.

Thankfully, if he looked into her siblings, he would find nothing on Ethan.

As a private investigator and ex-FBI agent, Ethan had ensured that his background was covered up.

Of course Carlos had questioned why she was working in a club and not traveling or shopping like most trust fund babies.

She’d shrugged and told him she was bored of that life, and that because her parents didn’t agree with her moving to Miami, they’d limited her funds. He’d bought it.

“Not exactly.” Maddie’s toes curled into the smooth wooden planks on the deck. If Carlos finished his call early, he would be looking for her. “Where’s Henry?”

Brittany straightened her spine and turned her wrist to glance at her watch. “Oh my god. I have to meet him for lunch.” She got to her feet and Maddie stood next to her. “Will you be at the formal dinner tonight?”

“Yup, and Carlos will be there too.”

Brittany’s smile lit up her eyes. “I can’t wait to meet him.

And don’t worry, I’ll be extra careful—just keep the champagne at bay.

” Her laugh tinkled through the air. If she had to, she’d take Brittany down to prevent her from getting drunk.

She was a busybody, and alcohol would only loosen her lips more.

Maddie laughed and Brittany turned and waved.

“See you tonight,” she called. Maddie’s shoulders relaxed and she dropped back in her seat.

She lifted her margarita glass and took a long sip.

The cool liquid coated her throat. She’d dodged a bullet, but the danger was far from over.

She’d introduce Carlos to Brittany tonight, but after that, they had to keep their distance. It was too much of a risk.

Her cellphone chimed in her bag next to her and she groaned, and then set her glass down. She reached inside her bag and pulled the encrypted phone from the tear inside the liner of her bag where she’d hidden it. Nate’s number popped up on the screen. She swiped to open the message.

Who the hell was that?

She lowered the sunglasses over her eyes. Without lifting her head to gaze around, her eyes glided over the heads of people around her. Where had he gone? He had to be watching her, because he wouldn’t have sent the message until Brittany had left.