Page 73 of The Business of Love Box Set 1: Books 1 - 4

RICK

I left Kim sleeping in the cabin when I woke at quarter after eight the following morning.

I wandered down the narrow hall of the lower deck and found my blurry-eyed way to the kitchen, where the cooks were chatting over a pot of coffee.

They saw to fixing two lattes with caramel drizzle on top and sent me off with a platter of fresh chilled fruits, four flavors of yogurt, and granola.

I returned to the cabin with the tray of goodies and coffees and found Kim still sleeping soundly in the bed.

I cracked open a curtain to let in some light and let her wake up slowly. If we didn’t have a flight to catch, I would have let her wake on her own, but we had a timeline to keep, and we both needed some nourishment to restore what we’d spent last night.

When she sat up and saw the tray of fruits, she smiled. “Oh yeah. I could get used to this.”

Kim began assembling her own bowl of vanilla yogurt with granola and fruit. She ate delicately and closed her eyes as she savored the fresh flavors. “This is heavenly.”

I helped myself to some fruit as well and nudged her coffee toward her on the tray.

“How much time do we have before we have to get off the boat?” she asked.

“About an hour and a half. Enough time to shower, freshen up, and relax a bit. We’re already back at the docks.”

“Plenty of time,” she said.

Plenty of time and yet not enough. If I didn’t have to get back to work tomorrow, I would’ve suggested we prolong our little vacation a night longer.

Then again, Chessie was waiting at home for me and I missed her dearly.

I wasn’t used to spending a full night and a day away from her and I was excited to get back to her and find out how her night was with Jennifer.

I’d sent them off to the movies with tickets and popcorn money, and Chessie had been thoroughly looking forward to it all week.

“I had a good night with you,” Kim said. “How long do I have to wait before we can do this again?”

“We can easily make this happen again sometime soon.”

“How soon?”

I chuckled. Her enthusiasm to spend time together delighted me. “How soon were you thinking?”

“Tomorrow,” she teased.

“Give me a couple of weeks. Then we’ll fly out again.”

“Deal.”

Kim and I enjoyed our fresh breakfast and a hot shower together, even though the shower left us a little pressed for time.

Once we actually got out, neither of us felt much cleaner than when we’d gotten in.

We perspired as we put our clothes on and complained about how sticky they felt against our skin.

“You do not know discomfort until you try to put a bra on when your skin is all sticky like this,” Kim said as she performed magic behind her back and did up her bra clasp. She eyed me seriously. “No idea.”

“You’ll hear no argument from me. Women are impressive creatures. Heels. Bras. Tummy controls—”

“Fuck tummy controls,” she said sternly.

I laughed. “I never said I thought they were a good invention.”

“Good. Because that’s deal-breaker talk. Eventually, I’m going to fill out and I refuse to subscribe to the pressure of society by wearing a modern-day corset designed to make other people feel more comfortable when looking at you.”

I arched an eyebrow. “All right. I sense this is a topic not suitable for how little time we have to get off this boat.”

She gave me a cheeky smile. “Sorry. Easily provoked when it comes to that sort of thing. A friend of mine really struggled with her weight and self-confidence for a long time and she was always looking for something to make her look the way she thought she was supposed to in order to be beautiful. It’s hard when someone you love doesn’t see themselves the way you see them. ”

Kim slung her overnight bag over her shoulder, slid her sunglasses into her hair, and waited expectantly for me at the cabin door.

“I’m coming, I’m coming.” I patted down my pockets to make sure I had all the important items: keys, wallet, and cellphone.

Check. Then I fell into step behind Kim and let her lead the way out of the cabin, down the hall, and up the narrow set of stairs to the main deck.

The staff was there to see us off and down the ramp.

When our shoes hit the wooden dock, Kim wobbled.

“Whoa,” she said. “Why does it feel like we’re still on the water?”

“It’s a trick. After you get used to the movement of the boat, solid land always feels a little strange. Give it five minutes. It’ll pass.”

“Trippy.”

“Verity used to complain it would make her nauseous.”

Kim rolled her eyes. “Of course, she did. Only she could find something to complain about after spending an entire night on a damn yacht.”

Our shoes slapped against the wood as we made our way to the parking lot where the car would be waiting to take us to the airport.

The dock was particularly crowded today.

It was a sunny Saturday morning, just before eleven, and people were out and about and ready to take their own boats out on the water.

Families with kids were passing lunches and coolers from the dock to the boat.

Fathers ensured the inner tubes and water skis were on board before pulling away from the docks, and mothers applied sunscreen to noses and ears that were prone to burning.

The sight made me miss Chessie. The next time we came out, we would definitely take her with us. But I had to move slowly. I wanted to make sure things with Kim were serious and headed somewhere before Chessie got invested.

Things would be different with Kim. Chessie adored her.

Whereas with Verity, there had never been much of a connection.

It was one of the things that upset me the most when thinking about my daughter growing up.

I wanted her to have a mother figure in her life who was strong, capable, and loving—who wasn’t afraid to show her feelings and talk about the hard stuff just as easily as she could celebrate the good stuff.

Kim was exactly that kind of woman.

Which was another reason why I wanted to go slow. I wanted to do this right. We both deserved that much.

Kim nodded down the dock. “Looks like there’s a commotion down there.”

I peered toward the parking lot and shielded my eyes against the glare of the sun.

She was right. There was something going on.

That was for sure. Dozens of black sedans and SUVs were parked at the entrance to the docks.

Upon a closer look, I noticed dozens of people all clustered at the entrance near a limo.

Our limo.

“Shit,” I breathed.

Kim slowed her walk. “What is it?”

“Media,” I growled.

Her eyebrows drew together. “Media? What would they be down here for? Is there an event or something?”

Her innocence struck a chord with me. “No. They’re here for me.”

Kim blinked. “Oh. Right. Duh. Billionaire, all-of-a-sudden-a-bachelor-again is a good headline.”

“Only I’m here with you.”

She swallowed. “Mhm. That, you are.”

“We can leave separately,” I suggested. “These people can be pretty pushy. And judgmental, too. If you don’t want to deal with any affiliation to me, I completely understand. I can wait here. You go through first and I’ll follow in five minutes.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Rick.”

“I’m not.”

Kim stopped walking. Her bag slid down her shoulder. I offered to take it for her for the third time and she refused. “I’m not interested in a relationship that I have to hide from the public.” She planted her fists on her hips. “Are you?”

“No.”

“Then let’s go. Together.”

“Hold on.” I caught her elbow when she made to continue walking to the end of the dock, and I pulled her back to me.

“I mean it, Kim. These people… they don’t have boundaries.

They’ll cross lines any chance they get if they think it will make a good story.

A lot of people say they’re okay with it, but when it actually happens to them, they change their tune.

We could lay low for a bit. Until the fallout from the wedding is over. ”

She shook her head and pulled free of my grip. “No. I refuse to hide because of a few trigger-happy reporter posers. These aren’t news vans. These are gossip magazines. They can take as many pictures as they want.”

I grimaced.

This didn’t feel like a good idea. In fact, it felt like the exact opposite of a good idea.

But Kim was already marching forward, her knuckles white as she gripped the straps of her bag.

I followed and kept my remaining opinions to myself.

How could I maintain the belief that Kim was a strong woman if I overstepped and took away her choices?

Even if I thought it wasn’t going to go well, it wasn’t my call to make.

We were still about fifty feet away when they saw us coming.

The crowd became charged with energy. Soon, they were shouting my name.

Cameras flashed, pops of light against the backdrop of bright sunlight bouncing off the sides of white boats.

Kim grumbled under her breath and kept her head down, eyes hidden behind her sunglasses as we drew close.

They didn’t make way for us.

They shouted questions over each other and shoved microphones in our faces.

“Who’s the new girl, Rick?”

“Look this way, sweetheart! Do you want to be on a magazine cover?”

“What’s your name, miss?”

“Looks like you moved on quick, Mr. Garrett!”

“Anything you want your ex-fiancée to know about your new relationship, Rick?”

“Is this serious or just a fling?”

We broke free of the crowd. I jerked the back door of the limo open and Kim hurried inside. I slid onto the seat beside her and closed the door. They continued taking pictures even as we pulled away, and when I turned to Kim, she had a deer-in-the-headlights look plastered to her face.

“Are you okay?” I asked, putting a hand on her thigh.

She nodded. “I think so. That was… well, a lot more intense than I expected.”

I tried to warn you.

She forced a smile at me. “How often do you have to put up with stuff like that?”

I shrugged. “More often if something is happening in my life that the press perceives as drama.”

“Like a broken engagement,” she said pointedly.

“Yes. Exactly. But like everything before this, the story will go stale and they will move on to bigger and better things. Until the next scandal, of course.”

“It sounds exhausting.”

“You have no idea.” I sighed.