“I heard.” Paco took my baggage up to the steps, and Rod grabbed it and took it inside. I stood in the breeze on the main deck as Paco and Xavier stowed the tender. Above us, on the cliff, I searched out the balustrade of Madame Pascale’s home and saw her and Dauphine standing at the railing, looking tiny from this distance. I waved. They waved back.

Xavier soon joined me, and we stood silently next to each other as the engine turned over and Paco pulled the anchor, then maneuvered us out of the bay. A cool wind had picked up, and goosebumps erupted over my bare arms. Or perhaps it was standing next to this man.

He made a soft throat clearing as if he was about to speak. When nothing came, I turned to him, waiting, as he looked out over the water.

“I don’t know what I am to you right now,” I began. “I mean, are you still my boss? Am I your guest?”

His face swung to mine, blue eyes as complex as the ocean beneath us, fixing on me “What do you want to be?”

My heart bobbed into my throat, shutting off air.

He shook his head suddenly. “I’m sorry, I—” cutting himself off. He winced his eyes shut. “I know you must be angry—”

My head bobbed back in surprise. “Angry? Why would I be angry?” That was the last emotion I was feeling.

“After last night. After what I did. And then you left. I didn’t stop you. I let you leave, thinking …” he trailed off.

“Thinking?” I prompted.

“I’m sorry. I don’t think I can do this. I thought I could. I …”

Panic flared. But for exactly what I couldn’t tell. I simply acknowledged the feeling, knowing I’d have to examine it later. “Can’t do what?” I asked.

“I don’t know.” He swallowed and looked away.

Clarity hit me. He’d asked me back on the boat. Without Dauphine. My stomach flipped. And I knew.

He looked vulnerable all of a sudden. As rich and powerful as he was, he was also just a man. He was attracted to me. He’d admitted it. Shown me, actually, in no uncertain terms. To be fair, he probably just wanted to get laid. But my relationship with his daughter had complicated things.

And now, for whatever reason, he didn’t know whether or how to proceed. That was what he meant by not being able to do this.