My voice drops. “Let me assure you, a lot of married and unmarried men would give their left testicle to have one small taste of what I’ve had.”
“That’s gross.”
I can tell she also dismisses it as not accurate, but it’s a cold fact, and the idea that she doesn’t know it is the four-hundred-thousandth reason I love her.
“But true.”
“If you have any feelings for me at all, you’ll listen to what I’m saying.”
“I’m listening. I just don’t like what I’m hearing.” I try to control my frustration. I’m mad that I’m not getting my way. I always get my way. Why is she so difficult?
“I’m sorry. It’s not going to change.”
This is exactly the opposite of what I want to hear. I have to take a moment to breathe. “Can we go for a walk when we get back tonight?”
“Of course. I’m here at your disposal.”
“I don’t want you to do it because I’m your boss, or that we have Earth-shattering sex. I want you to spend time with me because you like me, and you have feelings for me.”
I see tears pool in her eyes. “I do have feelings for you.”
“Then please tell me what’s going on.”
“You know how broken Nate is over Cecelia’s death?”
“Of course. He’s incomplete without her.”
“He’s lost and heartbroken. That’s how I’ll be when you decide you’re going to move on.”
“Why would I move on? I don’t understand.”
She smiles. “I’d love to go for a walk with you when we get back.”
This conversation isn’t over, but I’m obviously missing something. It’s times like this that I wish I had a sister or someone who could translate women to me. I just don’t understand.
Corrine and I sit quietly for a while. How can I make her comfortable coming back to work with me? I’m lost without her. I need her almost as much as I need oxygen.
I pay the bill, and we walk back to Brian and our waiting car.
“Could we run through all the things I need to do before everyone arrives in two weeks?” Corrine asks.
I nod, and we spend the drive back to the estate talking about what needs to get done and how I can help her. The cloud of her leaving weighs heavy on me—and now we’re not even talking about it.
Brian pulls into the driveway, and we get out before he parks the car for the night in the garage. Walking hand in hand, we wander out toward the cliffs. As we enter the back patio, Corrine stops short, and her hands go to her mouth.
The mesh fence around the pool has been cut and shredded. Brian rounds the corner from the garage and immediately makes a phone call. Security comes running in.
I’m pissed. “What the hell am I paying you all for if this person keeps coming on the property and doing damage?”
There’s so much commotion that Leilani comes out of her apartment. She sees what’s going on and pulls Corrine into the house. I can hear the sirens wail as Brian takes pictures and directs one of his team members to pull the video of the last three hours.
This night can’t get any worse.
Chapter 36
Corrine
Seeing the fence shredded scared the crap out of me.
It wasn’t the fence itself that alarmed me, although if the twins were to come tearing out of the pool house, it could be dangerous. What scares me is that it happened just feet from the pool house and Leilani’s apartment with the security cameras and invisible fences. I feel violated and vulnerable, not only for myself but for everyone living on the property.
Why does this keep happening with me around? It’s been quiet in San Francisco, and I know there are no updates on the harassment situation.
We’re sitting inside when Brian comes in to report that the camera feed indicates the intruder is a petite female, all in black. I meet with the detective assigned to the case. We have over sixty cameras throughout the property, but I guess it makes sense that they’d miss actually seeing someone enter the property if they didn’t trip the alarms.
Jackson rubs my back as they finish interviewing us. “Let’s go upstairs.”
I’m grateful for the break from all the activity. When we walk into the master bedroom, it’s lit with candles, and I can see a beautiful display of roses and my favorite chocolates.
I turn to Jackson and wrap my arms around him. “There couldn’t be a better ending to this night.”
“I was hoping it would be an open salvo to a weekend in bed, doing all sorts of naughty things to one another.”
I lean in and kiss him, our tongues doing an aggressive dance. He dropped the L-word at dinner, and I was shocked. We’ve known each other a year, but we’ve not really been dating for very long—if that’s even what you call going out when we’re in the same town and having incredible sex and delightfully naughty phone calls.
I stand before him naked, and I try to get down on my knees. I may not be able to tell him I love him, but I can show him.
He reaches for me. “This is about you, tonight and always.”
***
Jackson hadn’t planned to stay the week, but after the vandalism, he was determined to oversee things personally until security gets it sorted out. Secretly, I’m grateful. I felt safe with Brian on property, but I’ve felt safer these past few days with Jackson in my bed.
When Jackson left for a meeting in Honolulu with the governor early this morning, he made it clear he wanted the security team to figure out where the break in the sensors is—and do it yesterday. They’ve been working on it for
