Gwen’s heart softened with a tangle of bittersweet sympathy. While it was far better to be rich than poor, money brought a unique set of challenges. Liam would never again be able to automatically trust anyone who tried to befriend him. Every person he met for the rest of his life would know he possessed a fortune, and it would change things. She witnessed it even now as she stood at the railing with him. Cousins came over to congratulate him, far warmer than they’d been on the island. Some wanted details of the meeting this afternoon, while others wanted to know when to expect their first infusion of dividend payments.

A pair of tough-looking strangers loitered near the catering area.

“Who are those men?” she asked.

Liam followed her gaze. “I hired a couple of bodyguards. I figure it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

She had to agree, especially since they had never figured out who was trying to kill him. How ironic that just as she was feeling ready to step outside of her safe, protected bubble, Liam was being forced into one of his own. She glanced at the bodyguards again just in time to see Patrick emerging from the lower deck.

Her heart caught at the sight of his tall form and the way the light highlighted the planes in his kind, friendly face. His eyes found hers across the crowded deck, and his smile was wistful.

She would handle this with cool dignity. The anguish blooming in her heart could be ignored, and she crossed the deck to meet him beneath the awning of the portside door.

“Hello, Patrick,” she said, managing a smile.

“Gwen.” He looked like he was trying to be as civilized and dignified as possible.

“I suppose congratulations are in order,” she said.

He nodded with a little laugh. “It was a bigger job than I could have imagined. Liam and I were holed up in my office until ten o’clock every night going over all the details. It was hard, but we had a grand time of it.”

A hint of jealousy gnawed at her. She’d never expected that Patrick would become closer to Liam than to her. His help spiffing Liam up was supposed to have been a business arrangement, not a real friendship.

“What will you do now?” she asked.

“I’ll go back to the Five Points,” he said. “That’s the sort of law I was meant to do. All this corporate law and rubbing shoulders with the rich was a bit of a stretch for me. I’m glad it’s over.”

He shifted in discomfort, scanning the assembled guests. Only about half the people here were Blackstones. The others were leaders from the smaller steel companies and financiers from J.P. Morgan’s bank. The one thing they had in common was that they were all rich. None of them were salt of the earth like Patrick.