*Michael*I made my way up to dinner alone. I silently wished Shelby would be joining us. She was one of the only ones in the group that I actually cared to have a conversation with. However, it might be for the best that she wasn’t coming. I found myself always drawn to her, and if I weren’t more careful, Lauren would catch on to my interest in her friend.I knew that would not go over well.I was the last one to arrive, and I took the only seat available next to Lauren’s new fiance, Todd. “I never got the chance to congratulate you on the engagement last night,” I said as I shook Todd’s hand. “I rushed out because I had an urgent business matter I had to attend to.”I hoped that would adequately explain my quick departure the night before. I felt a little guilty that I had not stayed to celebrate and instead took off after Shelby to make sure she was okay.If I was being honest with myself, my evening spent with Shelby, talking in the sauna, was
*Shelby*“I am a normal person,” I said again, with a smile as we walked. Reggie looked at me and raised a single eyebrow with skepticism.“You don’t believe me?” I asked.“Right, because us normal people get invited to one of the largest private yachts in the world as guests all the time. You don’t have to pretend you’re not rich to fit in with the crew. They will like you because you are actually nice,” Reggie said.“I am the furthest thing from rich,” I laughed.“Oh, yeah? Prove it,” Reggie said with a teasing smile on his face.I quickly pulled out my phone and found a picture of me and my two roommates in our apartment and showed it to Reggie.“What does this prove?” he asked.“This is a picture of me and my two roommates, Lin and Aubrey; we are sitting in the living room of our one-bedroom apartment. I am a bartender at a little dive bar, and I currently have two hundred and thirty dollars in my bank account,” I said matter of factly.
*Shelby*“Get your ass to bed before I throw you off my ship.”I fumbled for the doorknob at my back, and the door swung open behind me, almost causing me to trip backward inside. Michael followed me into the room a few seconds later, leaving Todd out in the hall.I thought that this was probably for the best because Michael looked like he really might throw Todd over the side of the ship. Michael locked the door behind him, and I made my way to the bed and sat down, trying to catch my breath. I felt safer with Michale here.He came over to me and placed his hands on each side of my face looking into my eyes. Worry swam in his, and I nearly pulled his mouth to mine.“Did he hurt you? Shelby, you have to tell me if he hurt you.”“I’m fine, really. I’m just a little shaken up, but I will be okay.”He continued to hold my face in his hands as if he were inspecting it to reassure himself that I wasn’t hurt. I had to keep my eyes focused on his so t
*Michael*Once I’m in the hall, I open the text message that interrupted my conversations with ShelbyLucille: Do you know someone named Blaine?That simple sentence made my stomach drop. He was now contacting family members.I made my way back to the privacy of my office for the second time in the same night. I closed the door behind me before dialing my cousin Lucille’s number. “Michael, I am so glad you called me. I just had the strangest conversation with someone named Blaine. I was just getting out of the bath when I got a call from an unknown number. Now, usually I don’t answer the phone if I don’t know the number, but I gave my information to this adorable man at the coffee shop earlier today, so I figured it was him.”“Lucille, this is important; I need you to tell me exactly what Blaine said to you.” I had to keep Lucille focused on the topic; she’d always been a talker, but at that moment, I couldn’t politely listen to all of her stories in the
*Shelby*The last thing I wanted to do was run into Todd, especially after his actions the night before; I thought it would be wise to avoid him completely. Book in hand, I headed to the secret deck off of the dining room balcony, where I had shared a few quiet moments with Michael.I figured it would be the best place for me to hide out and also possibly run into Michael again. He had left in such a rush the night before; I was curious to find out what’d happened.I checked down the hallway before speed walking to the dining room. As soon as my hand hit the doorknob, Lauren’s voice sounded behind me.“Shelby, I have been looking for you everywhere!”I turned around quickly, and I was relieved to see that Lauren was alone. She was wearing a one-piece swimming suit in navy blue with the bust line cutting down to her belly button. She had a white sun hat placed on her waves of perfect curls and a pair of Chanel sunglasses to complete her beachwear.“Lauren,”
*Shelby*“I am so sorry; we didn’t realize you were out here. We will give you some privacy,” Reggie said as he kept his head down and shuffled through the sand back to the dock.“We aren’t leaving for a few more hours,” Michael said, holding my gaze as tightly as I was holding the open book to my chest. “Take your time and enjoy yourself. I will make sure no one comes down and bothers you if you would like to resume reading.”Michael winked at me and then followed Reggie back to the dock. I watched him as he walked away, his neatly pressed linen button-up fluttering gently in the breeze. Once he and Reggie were at a safe distance, I grabbed my shirt off of the lounge chair next to me and slipped it over my head.I let myself fall backward on the plush cushions and closed my eyes, imagining Michael undressing me the way he had done with his eyes when he realized I was wearing nothing save for my bralette. A wave of heat rushed through me at the th
*Shelby*I woke in the enormous master suite to the soft glow of morning coming through the windows. What should have been a peaceful morning was punctured by screams of irritation from the floor below.I wrapped the robe Michael had given me around myself and opened the door to my room. I hurried down the stairs to see what was going on. “You have got to be kidding me! This is completely unacceptable!” A woman with blonde hair matching Lauren’s was yelling at Max, the staff member I’d played cards with on the yacht. “Ma’am, I don’t know what to tell you. Mr. Astor has already assigned the rooms; I cannot go against his direct orders. There is already another guest staying in that room, and I am sure Mr. Astor would not approve of me kicking them out of the room.”Max was clearly exasperated from dealing with the woman, and I couldn’t blame him.“We will see about that. You will be lucky if you still have a job by the time I’m through with you.”
*Shelby*The soft fabric of my chiffon cocktail dress swished against my thighs as I made my way downstairs. I picked this particular dress because the stormy grey color complimented my red hair nicely.The music was already thumping through the house from the back patio, making the windows rattle slightly. The infinity pool was illuminated, giving the entire party a slight glow.The first place I headed was to the bartender, I knew it was going to take a lot to get through this night, and I needed all the help I could get. “Would you like a Lauren Lemon Drop or a Todd Tequila Shot?”“Are the only two things on the menu?” I asked. I shouldn’t be surprised that they had signature drinks named after themselves.The bartender gave me a sympathetic smile, “Or we have the Marry Me Margarita.”This was going to be a very long night. “A margarita then…”I walked away with my margarita in hand and joined a small group of people surrounding the lif