Dillon’s POV At first, I didn’t respond. I’d already known, deep in my heart, that she was going to say that. I knew how much she loved that estate, and she wasn’t nearly as attached to my house as I was. I wasn’t sure what to say. I felt like I was damned it I did and damned if I don’t, so to speak. If I told Cassandra that I wanted to stay at my house, she’d be disappointed. But if I told her I was fine with moving into the estate, I’d be lying. And I was worried that resentment would build and make the tension between us worse. It felt like an impossible situation. “You don’t want to move there, do you?” Cassandra’s words hung in the air between us. Should I lie? What was the right response? I finally decided that honesty was the best policy, so I replied with one word, the same way she had to my question. “No,” I said. We both sat on the boat, the breeze blowing through our hair. It was the middle of the afterno
Dillon’s POV The first few days on the yacht flew by. It was as though the tension that had been building between us sailed away with the wind. We were happy, laughing, enjoying each other’s company. We sailed down the coast and then docked in a small harbour just off the coast of Mexico. The weather was hot and humid, but there was always a breeze on the boat.We swam in the crystal clear water and took to land in the late afternoon to eat at quirky little Mexican restaurants. We even fished off the yacht and caught enough fish one day to have for dinner. We weren’t on anyone’s schedule, and it was nice, just doing whatever we wanted when we wanted. We wandered through markets and ate fresh fish and fruit in the mornings. We took long naps in the late morning, and stayed up past midnight, staring at the star-speckled sky. Cassandra definitely thought the proposal was coming a few times, and I played it up, teasing her without knowing I was
Dillon’s POV The yacht was perfect, as I knew it would be. Cassandra’s eyes lit up when she saw it. It wasn’t massive because I had to sail it myself. Cassandra had signed up for sailing lessons, but she was still learning. So I’d chosen a yacht I was confident I could handle on my own. I stepped onto the yacht first and then offered Cassandra my hand. “My lady,” I said. “Permission to come aboard?” she said. She looked cuter than hell in what she called her ‘yachting’ clothes. A crisp white shirt with a nautical scarf and clam digger pants. “Permission granted,” I said with a smile. She took my hand and stepped onto the yacht. An hour later, we were out in the open waters, not too far off the shore, but far enough that it felt like we were in the middle of the ocean. The morning air was still crisp as I opened the sail. Cassandra sat on the front of the boat, her face lifted to the sun, her hair blowing beh
Cassandra’s POV I stared at the small velvet box, confused. What was it doing there?I reached for it, not even thinking for a moment that maybe Dillon had deliberately hidden it there, under a pile of socks. I turned it over in my hand. Then I lifted the lid. “Oh my god,” I gasped, nearly dropping the box. I snapped it shut. It was a ring. A stunning, beautiful, princess cut pink diamond ring. My heart started racing. Was this what I thought it was? Slowly, I lifted the lid again and peeked inside. The ring sparkled under the bedroom lights. It was so elegant, so…perfect. So…me. Of course I’d fantasized about Dillon and I getting married. It was impossible not to. And it didn’t help that Stella was in the middle of planning her own wedding. Stella was so blissfully happy with my brother, and I wanted that to. I wanted a bachelorette party, and an engage
Cassandra’s POV Three days later, and I was packing for my yachting trip with Dillon. Stella and I had a good talk about Laura and the contract, and we both agreed that there were benefits to having Laura act as an objective opinion for us. Neither of us particularly liked how she’d gone about it, but we understood why she had.I still had my reservations, but I was willing to set them aside to do what was best for the company. Stella and I had so much on our plates. We both wanted the expansion to go well, with as few hiccups as possible. Truthfully, it felt a little nice knowing that Laura was willing and ready to help us if need be.I’d settled up everything at work and cleared my schedule for my trip with Dillon. Blaire Montgomery’s final dress design had been approved, and I planned on finishing the dress when I got back. She still hadn’t paid us, but I had my inheritance from Stanley to fall back on. I knew she’d settle up the bill when she was back from her African Safari, so
Cassandra’s POV Everyone was siding with Laura. She was persuasive and her position made sense. But I still wasn’t so sure. I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to this than Laura was letting on. She was telling us that she wouldn’t intervene unless we asked her to. But that didn’t negate the fact that she literally COULD call vote whenever she wanted. I’d come to the restaurant that night so sure that Laura would be exposed as a manipulative liar. I’d been confident that, by the end of the night, she’d be out of our friend group, shunned and exiled for her behaviour. Clearly though Stella, Jordyn, and even Dillon were taking her side. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Were her intentions sincere? Was she really just trying to look out for us and our company? There was no denying that Laura was a genius. And she did have the ability to see things from an objective point of view, an ability that both Stel