Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 77551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
But it’s time for me to go. To leave this part of my life in the past, where it’s meant to be.
Once I’m back at my place, I pull out my cell phone—it’s nice to be plugged in again, at least for now—and book a flight back to Montego Bay. Then I text Evangeline with the details to let her know to send the ferry.
I’m so glad you decided to return, she texts back. The men will be pleased.
I smile despite myself. Once the men arrived on the island, I busied myself with as much sex and as many orgasms as I could handle. That’s what I thought I wanted, but it only made me feel empty inside.
I’ve come to realize what I really want isn’t endless sexual satisfaction—it’s love, the kind that makes you feel warm and giddy inside, the kind that makes even the darkest days seem brighter. The kind of love I thought I had with Leroy before he betrayed me. I see now that I wasn’t open to it before. I didn’t have closure with Leroy, so I was looking for physical connection instead of love.
But I can find love again—if I allow myself to be open.
With a sigh, I put my phone away. I glance around my apartment one last time before locking up and heading to the airport.
Will I be back here in a few more weeks, ready to resume my career as a corporate attorney?
Or will I be jetting off to marry a billionaire?
I don’t know.
Today the uncertainty feels exciting rather than terrifying. There’s a thrill in the unpredictability of life—a raw, unfiltered beauty in the unknown journey ahead. Instead of running away from the heartbreak of how Leroy betrayed me, I’m running toward something.
Perhaps toward someone.
Brett may have a lost love in his past, but he took the time to call me and tell me he misses me.
Who knows?
I just may marry a billionaire yet.
EPISODE 154
BREAKFAST
Sebastian
“Hey, Shelley,” I say into my satellite phone when she answers. “Any news?”
“On who broke into the Barrett place?” She pauses. “Yeah, and you’re not going to like it.”
Fuck. I run my fingers through my hair. “Spill it.”
“The system wasn’t armed, as you know, which means the video cameras weren’t working, but one of the ranch hands says he saw a blond woman skulking around.”
“A blond woman?”
Damn. That could be anyone... Why would Shelley say I wouldn’t like it?
“She is older,” Shelley continues. “Fifties or early sixties, and a little plump around the middle. Hair looked bleached, he said. I believe his exact words were ‘no one has hair that color.’”
“Anything else?”
“No. The hand only saw her from a distance and didn’t think anything of it since he didn’t realize Monica and the healthcare worker had left. He only mentioned it because I asked everyone at the place what they saw.”
“No one else saw anything?”
“Nope. Or if they did, they’re not talking.”
“Did you get the feeling anyone was holding back?”
No response for a few seconds that seem like an eternity.
“Shelley...?”
“One of the other guys—an older hand who’s been with the Barretts since River was a toddler—seemed a little off to me. Fred is his name.”
“Right. Fred. I remember him. He was young back then. Used to give River and me cigarettes sometimes, until Monica put an end to it. He’s a great guy—or at least he was. I haven’t seen or talked to him in years. Decades, even.”
“He’s in his fifties now,” Shelley says. “And he shifted his gaze a bit when I was asking about the blond woman. I get the feeling he knows something. Or he’s protecting someone.”
“Protecting the woman, maybe?”
“Maybe. Hard to tell. It’s not like I can make the guy talk.” She hesitates. “Well, I can...if you want to go that route.”
Shelley’s the best PI I know. Her instinct is off the charts...and she’s not afraid to bend the law a little when necessary.
But I don’t want to go there. Not yet.
“I’ll have River get in touch with Fred. After all, River owns that whole place now, even his parents’ place, so he’s the big boss. Maybe he can get Fred to open up.”
“Okay.”
“But honestly, Shelley, something isn’t making sense to me.”
“What’s that?”
“Fred’s been with the Barretts forever. Are you sure he knows something? Because he should be loyal to his employers of the last thirty-plus years. If he weren’t, he wouldn’t still be there.”
“I can’t say I’m sure, Sebastian. I’m going on pure intuition here. The man was acting odd as hell.”
“I see.”
I trust Shelley’s intuition. Either Fred knows something, or he’s becoming nervous and shifty in his old age. But hell, fifty-something isn’t that old.
“Let me talk to Riv,” I say. “Thanks for everything, Shelley. Keep me posted.”
“Always. And tell River if Fred doesn’t talk, I’ve got a few friends who owe me some favors. They’re good at making people talk.”