“Poker,” Ted said. “The high-stakes kind. That guy is fearless. Not always smart, though—I took more money off Warren Chambers than anyone who ever played the game.” His laugh cracked through the air. “He got in pretty deep, I think. Stopped playing not long after your dad passed—God rest his soul. I think that really shook him up. Shook us all up. Made no sense God took the good one and left the rest of us here.”

Cody’s stomach turned. He didn’t follow any of this, but the mere mention of his father had left the taste of bile in his throat.

Before he could ask Ted a single question, Warren was back. “Should we get a drink?”

Ted held up his glass. “I’ve got a drink.”

“Well, I don’t.” Warren glanced at Cody. “Good luck in the race.”

Cody stood there dumbly as the two men walked off.

Ted hadn’t said anything incriminating, so why did it feel like Warren was hiding something? So he played poker. High-stakes poker was big among rich guys, wasn’t it? Cody spotted Louisa walking toward him. She’d changed out of her white dress and now wore shorts and a tank top over her bathing suit—a navy-blue-and-white polka-dot thing that he never minded seeing her in.

Should he tell her about his conversation with Ted Kauffmann? After all, she was the reason the man was here.

She reached him, but her face remained expressionless. “Let’s get this over with.”

And off she went in the direction of the sailboats, where the rest of the men were gathering with their partners.

He sighed. Whatever he’d done to tick her off, he’d done a good job of it.

Louisa sat near the back of the boat, waiting for the guardsmen to stop razzing each other so they could get the race under way. She truly hoped Cody wasn’t counting on winning because with her on the jib, it was unlikely.

Manning the small sail toward the front of the boat and keeping an eye on the compass were the only two jobs she had.

She was unsure of both.

Cody shook hands with two of the guys standing on the deck, then moved into place. As he passed by her, she inhaled his familiar scent, and it frustrated her that in spite of her irritation with him, she still found him terribly appealing.

“You doing okay?” He faced her, and the full weight of his attention sent her nerves dancing.

“I’m fine.”

“You seem upset.”

From the boat next to them, McKenzie Palmer let out a loud, joyous shout. “Hey, XPO Boggs, you sure you don’t want to trade partners? I promise I know what I’m doing.”

Louisa glared at McKenzie from behind her dark sunglasses, but she noticed Cody didn’t respond. If he wanted to trade her in, Louisa would happily bow out. . . .