He stood on the deck of his yacht and studied her. She’d always had a regal walk but had never been one to hold herself apart from anyone. Unlike him, she was a people person, but she’d always included him in everything, making it clear that, along with Vashti, the three of them were a team. And during that time when Vashti had been sent away to have her baby, the two of them continued to bond and their bond had transformed into love.

That she was even communicating with him after what had happened was a miracle in itself. But he knew that, although she’d forgiven him and had now reclaimed him as a friend, she still guarded her emotions where he was concerned. He knew that and for now he accepted it as the price he had to pay for hurting her the way he had.

“Nice yacht,” she said when she came aboard. He had reached out his hand to assist her, and the moment their hands had touched, he’d felt full sexual awareness. A part of him knew she had, as well, but was refusing to acknowledge it.

“I admit one of the reasons I accepted your offer to meet you here was because I’ve been dying to see around your yacht for a long time. It’s beautiful. Ry and Duke brag about it every time you invite them to go night fishing with you.”

He chuckled, thinking how much fun he had with her brothers whenever they all went fishing at night with Ray and Sawyer. “Now you can take a look around for yourself. Spencer’s will be delivering our pizza shortly.”

“Okay, but you didn’t have to order food. I only need to be here for a minute to go over the music ideas with you. I made a list.”

“It’s just something light.”

“Pizza?”

He grinned. “I know how much you like pizza. By the way, I checked out a number of bands that perform in the area. Only two were within the committee’s budget.”

“Figures. Good bands aren’t cheap these days.” She glanced up at him. “Well, are you going to show me around?”

“No, feel free to look around. I have no secrets where you’re concerned.” He could see the surprise in her eyes at what he said. There. He’d planted that thought in her head and he wanted it to take root.

She didn’t say anything. Instead she turned and, out of the corner of his eye as he began setting the table for their meeting, he could see her looking around. She was right—his yacht was a beauty. His dream come true...behind her, of course. Bryce was his first dream and would always hold that position.

When she left to go check out other parts of the yacht, he released a deep breath. Her scent alone could render him weak. It was such a luscious fragrance. His phone went off and he checked the caller. It was a number he didn’t recognize, so he let the call go to voice mail and then listened to it.