As Christopher hauled back for a third hit, Phillip went into
full-blown defense mode. He whipped forward and head-butted
him. Christopher stumbled backward with blood gushing from
his nose, and Phillip seized the opportunity, rushing him and
tackling him to the ground.
He saw a psychotic look in Christopher’s eyes as he lashed
out at Phillip again, this time landing a punch in his temple.
Dazed, Phillip knew he had no choice but to put him down. He
wasn’t sure how many times he punched Christopher before he
felt arms around him pulling him upward and backward. David
was screaming in his ear.
“Enough, Phillip, enough!” Fury’s security team arrived on
the scene and rushed the three of them to the limo. They were on the road by the time he realized just how badly Christopher
messed him up. He passed out, and when he woke, he was told
that he had a concussion and he wasn’t allowed to sleep for
hours. David sat vigil beside his bed and pestered him relentless-ly, lecturing him for fighting.
The blaring sound of the boat’s horn startled Phillip, yank-
ing him back to the present. He whipped his head in the direction of the wheelhouse to see Nathan doing God-knows-what with
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Saffron on the control panel. He rolled his eyes and turned back to where Stephanie still stood, one hand over her ear and the
phone to the other.
“This has nothing to do with him.” She sounded like a defensive teenager as the words tumbled from her lips. Phillip felt his heart gallop. Sounded like lover boy had a chip on his shoulder about some other guy. He could relate to that, too.
Steph put a hand on her bare hip and looked up at the sky.
“Chris: Have I ever done anything to make you not trust me?”
She turned and looked directly at Phillip and he was thank-
ful for his dark Ray-Bans. He just barely heard her next words.
“Phillip and I are done. You know how much he hurt me.”
For the next three minutes, he tried to control his breathing,
convinced he would hyperventilate. He could not believe that she had made him out to be the villain. Especially after her backstage whoring with Clive. Phillip thought back to Steph saying that
Christopher thought it was a “good business” for her to move to
Europe. Wriggling doubt began to take hold of him, and he won-
dered if this “thing” with Christopher was going on before he
proposed to her. He heard her say “I think you’re being way too
emotional about this. I’m not going to sit and psychoanalyze this right now. I’ll call you later tonight” and hang up. He saw her
put her phone in her backpack. When she turned toward the
steps, he stood and headed after her.
She disappeared into the rock face ahead of him, and he
quickened his pace, sliding between the two rock walls; she must have heard his foot falls, because she turned back. Upon seeing
him her entire face flushed. Though she was ten feet from him,
he could almost see the wheels turning as she realized the only
way out of the narrow passage was up the rickety ladder or
through him.
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Stephanie slipped into the crack in the cliff and looked
ahead at the frightening medal ladder that stood between her and the best views on the island. She could hear the agitation in
Christopher’s voice. Coming here without him had been a mis-
take. His insecurities about her past with Phillip were at an all-time high, and she wasn’t sure how to explain how laughable
that was since Phillip was openly hostile to her. Now here she
was, stranded on Fantasy Island, her bed less than 250 yards
from his. She had to admit, if the situation were reversed, she’d be concerned.
She trudged forward, psyching herself up for the climb. It
seemed that Phillip really had put her out of his mind. He’d
completely ignored her on the boat and when she had caught him
looking her way, he’d either seemed annoyed or repulsed.
Though she knew she had no right to feel glum about that, it
irked her, like a pebble in her shoe.
She heard something move behind her in the dark space,
and she spun around. When she saw Phillip approaching her in
the narrow passage, she blew out a loud, exasperated breath. He
whipped off his sunglasses, and his eyes blazed as he dropped
them to the ground. He continued in her direction, his jaw
clenched; and his aggressive movements caused her to step back.
“Still breaking hearts, I see.” His words dripped with angst,
and the hostile look in his eyes caused her to drop her gaze. She realized a second too late that she was staring at his clinging wet trunks. It was impossible not to admire the way they revealed the perfect v that pointed directly to his groin like a neon sign. She knew all too well what those trunks contained and blushing furiously, she snapped her eyes back to his face. “What’s your tally up to, love?”
“Huh?” Steph took another step back. She hadn’t a clue
what he was referring to and was having trouble deciding wheth-
er she was more afraid or aroused.
His eyes felt like daggers as they raked over her. “Tell me
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the truth, Steph. Were you already shagging Christopher and Clive while you were with me? Is that why you said no?”
Steph gasped and felt a volcano erupt inside her. “What the
hell are you talking about? I wasn’t with anyone else when I was with you!”
“You know how I feel about you,” he mimicked her, and
she realized he’d been listening to her phone conversation. “Do
you say that to all your boy toys or just to the ones foolish
enough to declare their love?”
Steph fumed and wracked her brain in an attempt to under-
stand why he’d be talking about Clive. Finding no concrete an-
swer, she succumbed to her anger.
“Fuck off, Kersey. I don’t know why the hell I ever got
mixed up with you.” Her voice was icy and deathly quiet. She
realized she was shaking with rage and despair. There was no
way in hell she’d let him see her cry. She
