Staring dumbly out the window, my mind reeled. I'd have to be crammed on a plane with two people I absolutely despised and at least one that I knew despised me. "Cat, are you sure you're okay with this?" Luke asked, standing close behind me. I whipped around and stared at him. "I'm fine!"Luke put his hands up. "Okay, I'll let the pilot know he can begin pre-flight."Jason's attention was now on me. He'd been silent since Luke announced his entire family would be joining us. He stood and sat down next to me. "What's going on? Cat, do you know Luke's family?" he asked. I shrugged. "Loosely," I muttered. "There's a story there," he commented. "One that we'll have to recount another time," I murmured sourly. I heard Mr. and Mrs. Carter before I saw them come into the plane. Mrs. Carter stopped talking and grabbed her husband's arm when she saw me. She sucked in a sharp breath, her lips getting tight. "That's right, you're Luke's newest architect," Mr. Car
**Cat POVAfter the most awkward, uncomfortable three hours I'd ever experienced, the plane touched down on the ground. I practically threw myself out the door to kiss the pavement when the door opened.No one tried to stop me. There were several limos waiting on the private airstrip. "Come on, Fiona, get your bags. The resort is waiting for us, and we have to finalize the wedding plans," Mrs. Carter said, heading to one of the limos. "Maybe we can get them to extend the patio area. I don't know if they'll be done in time, though." "They requested some changes be made to the venue," Luke said as he walked by me, noticing my confused look. Of course, they owned the place and could request to modify it at will. "Luke, I got your group separate cars," a woman called from the passenger seat of one of the limos. "Thanks, Johanna," he said, waving back. "Aren't you coming to the resort with us?" Mr. Carter asked. "Those of us here for work are going to stay at the pr
**Cat POVAs soon as I hit the water, I held my breath. I started kicking back to the surface. A muffled splash echoed overhead, and someone wrapped their arms around me, pulling me up. When my head broke the surface, I heaved, breathing hard and pushing away from the person that was still holding onto me. "Cat, Cat, are you okay?" Luke's voice asked worriedly. His arms tightened around me. "I'm fine, you can let go of me," I snarled, trying to wiggle away. My movement dragged us both underwater again, and I quickly held my breath. We surfaced once more, and Luke was still holding onto me. "You're going to drown us both," I argued, trying to wriggle away again. "Cat, stop struggling. I'll get us to the dock," he said. "What are you doing? Let me go!" I snapped, swatting at Luke's chest. Finally, he released me and drifted back. "Rescuing you," he said, creasing his brow. "I know how to swim," I argued. I kicked my legs, treading water, and used my
**Cat POVStripping off my wet clothes, I kicked them into a pile in the corner of the bathroom. It was a nice bathroom with white-tiled walls. There was a porcelain clawfoot tub and a stand-up shower with tiled walls and a nice glass door. The shower had a bench and everything. The bathroom also had a marble top vanity with an above-counter sink and a large round mirror. I caught my reflection as the shower water warmed up. My cheeks were still flushed. How stupid was I to stand there and watch Luke taking his shirt off after I'd just yelled at him for being a cheater?Shaking my head, I slipped into the steaming water. I might have been in the tropics, but even warm air against wet clothes and wet skin felt freezing. My skin felt a little tight from the drying salt, so I quickly washed myself off and then took my time to lather up and rinse my hair. Now I was wondering if I'd be able to have an adult conversation with Luke. He always had a way of turning t
**Cat POVMy smile faded, and I set the wine down. Victoria glared at me, her eyes so fierce I thought they might burst into flames. The joy I'd been feeling before evaporated. I looked over at Luke. He didn't seem all that surprised to see Victoria, but he definitely didn't look happy, either. "What are you doing here?" he asked in a cold, clipped tone. I bit my lower lip to keep from smiling. Now that I knew they weren't together, I didn't feel so bad about being happy when Luke was cold about Victoria. Victoria didn't say anything. She sneered at me and went to Luke. Gracefully, she slid into his lap and draped her arm around his neck. Glancing at me, she smirked, and then grabbed Luke's face and kissed him hard and sloppy on the lips. I arched an eyebrow at Luke. He tensed and brought his arm to Victoria's stomach, pushing her away. Victoria pouted as she slid off Luke's lap. Luke straightened his clothes. "My parents aren't around. There's no nee
**Cat POVI could tell that Luke was upset by Jason leaving my cabin early in the morning. We'd just settled one misunderstanding, and I didn't want another one to get in the way. Just as I was heading over to Luke's front door, he came out of the cabin, fully dressed and fresh. He eyed me up and down, taking in my rumpled clothes and messy hair. "Hey, I just wanted to let you know, that stuff with Jason isn't what it looks like," I said, pointing in the direction Jason had walked off. Luke shook his head. "It isn't my business." His voice was cold and hard. "Like, nothing happened," I said quickly. He just waved my explanation away. "We don't have time to discuss personal matters. One of the local architects agreed to a meeting this morning. He'll be working with you on the project.""Oh, is he coming here so I can meet him?" I asked, glad to change the topic to work. "No, we're meeting him at the hotel. I've got a car waiting," Luke said, nodding toward the v
**Cat POV"Oh, my God!" a shrill, feminine scream followed the clatters. "You're here. You're really here!" I recognized Fiona's voice. "I can't believe you're getting married!"Several other women's voices echoed from the lobby out to the beach. I winced when I heard Fiona's friends start to gush over the resort and the wedding plans. "I know it is short notice. I'm really sorry if this was an inconvenience," Fiona said. My stomach rumbled, and I looked down at my empty plate. The delicious breakfast felt like a sour stone weighing me down. "Look at my new ring! Aaron picked it out before we came down here. Isn't it just gorgeous?" Fiona asked. I imagined her holding her hand out with her sparkly diamond engagement ring as all her preppy friends "oohed" and "awwed" over it. "Albert, thank you for this meeting. We've got some last-minute details to take care of before we go to the site tomorrow. Will we see you there?" Luke asked. He stood up and shook Alber
**Cat POV"Is this all too much for you, Cat?" Luke asked me. I wouldn't meet his gaze. My mind was far off, thinking of how my best friend had betrayed me again. "Cat, look at me," Luke urged, squeezing my arms. Slowly, I turned my eyes to his. "I'm tired," I admitted. "Please tell me, is all of this too much? Because if it is, just say the word. I can have you on a flight back home in a few minutes. No questions asked," he offered. For a moment, the offer sounded really appealing. I gave Luke a half smile, grateful that he was looking out for me. Then I shook my head. "No. I can't leave the project. Now that I've met the lead architect. I'll be okay as long as I stay away from the main event.""I wish this wasn't happening while we were here. I know it can't be easy," Luke said apologetically. I shrugged indifferently. "You could have told me this was happening before we met at the airport." Luke bowed his head and nodded. "I know. I should have. Or, when
Luke POVRunning out on my own wedding had been the best decision I'd ever made. Almost two years later, I still didn't regret that decision. "Up, up," a soft voice cooed to me. I pulled my eyes from the gorgeous Caribbean sky and bent down, scooping my beautiful daughter into my arms. Arianne had been a surprise, but a very welcome surprise. Cat had always been the embodiment of home and family for me. When she told me she was pregnant, that feeling had finally become completely real. We were going to be a real family, and now, we were. I balanced Arianne on my hip and blew a raspberry on her cheek. She giggled and squirmed in my arms. "No. No." she laughed, pushing at me. "Let's get home. I'm sure your mom is waiting for us," I said. I walked along the rocky embankment we'd been playing on and headed back home. Since the Caribbean project had taken up so much of our time, Cat and I decided to move down here. It allowed us to be closer to the project an
Cat POV"I've got to go," I cried, rushing to the hotel room door. "The ceremony is in the penthouse," Alistair called after me. "Top floor!""Thank you!" I shouted back, not stopping to look back or wave at him. There was a moment when I wondered if his slow movements earlier had been to wait until this moment when the ceremony was starting. It made for a more dramatic entrance. I didn't have time to think of it beyond that, though. At the elevator, I hammered the "up button" over and over again. "Come on, come on you stupid piece of sh*t," I groaned. The elevator never came. Groaning, I ran to the stairs. I had to run up almost ten flights, but I was determined to stop Luke from making the biggest mistake of his life. He couldn't marry Victoria until he knew the truth. Even if we didn't get back together…My pulse pounded in my head, and my calves ached as I ran up flight after flight of stairs. By the time I made it to the penthouse, my legs felt like j
Cat POV"Do you really think that I am the right person for Luke?" I asked slowly. "Why would you think you aren't?" Alistair countered. "I come from a different world. My family, my history, it is all different from his. We don't… mesh," I argued. Alistair snorted and shook his head. "There is no doubt in my mind, Catherine, that you are the one for Luke.""You can call me Cat," I muttered, looking down again. I thought about everything Alistair had said, how Luke had reacted when Victoria had tried to turn him against me, and how he'd taken off without telling his family. Devastated, I grabbed my chest and groaned, leaning forward against the table. Everything Alistair said made me realize I'd walked out on Luke when he needed me. I'd abandoned him after all he'd done for me. If he went ahead and married Victoria, it would be no more than I deserved after what I'd done. I knew there was a chance he would end up hating me. That was a price I'd been willing to
Cat POV"I… that… does it matter?" I asked, unable to say anything else. What did it matter how I felt, now?"When Luke and I spoke in France, he talked about you more than anything else," Alistair explained. "We had some good times together, but it wasn't meant to last," I said, shaking my head. "And why do you think that?" he asked back. "Luke and I are the closest members of the family. He tells me everything, and I know him very well.""He told me the two of you were very close as well," I agreed with a nod. Alistair sighed and sat at the head of the table like he was a CEO about to lead a very important conference. He lay his palms flat on the table. "Then believe me when I tell you that he was happier talking about you than anything else. Happier than I'd ever seen him," Alistair said, fixing me with a challenging look. It was like he was daring me to argue with him. "It doesn't matter, we aren't meant to be together," I said, shaking my head. "If that wer
Cat POVMy heart felt like it was cracking open, a fragile egg being smashed to pieces. I glanced at the article my coworker had shown me again, my chest aching and my stomach trembling. Victoria was right all along. As soon as I was out of the picture, he ran right back to her, and now they were getting married. It seemed like Luke had never loved me at all. Sighing, I folded the pages over so I didn't have to look at the article anymore. With one final heave, I got up and went back to the sink. Quickly, I brushed my teeth and washed my face. I touched up my makeup again and double-checked my clothes. As much as I wanted, I couldn't hide in the bathroom all day. My coworkers didn't know anything about my past, and I didn't want to have them ask me all kinds of questions. Not to mention, I had to make a good impression on them if I was going to be working there long-term as I wanted. With one final look in the mirror, I nodded to myself. If I could just make it thro
Cat POVBefore Luke returned, I went to his place and cleaned out my things. Then I went home to live with my mom. It didn't take me long to get a job at a small, local firm. They designed office spaces. It wasn't the most interesting job, and I certainly wasn't flying all over the world for it, but it paid me enough to take care of things around my mom's house and lessen the financial burden on her. It had been almost a month and a half since I'd been home. She was mostly happy to have me there, but she did like to hit me with condescending remarks now and then. It was tense most of the time. At least the dude she was seeing seemed to have backed off for good ever since I returned. "Honey, you look pale," my mom said when I came down for breakfast. "I'm fine. Just a little tired," I said. I waved her off and went to the coffeepot. My mom only kept decaf in the house. It was horrible, but at least it made me feel like I was getting a morning jolt of coffee. "Are
Cat POV"You see, you could never understand Luke. He is way out of your league. I'm the only one that ever truly understood him," Victoria continued. I was only half listening. I had my phone out, and I searched for the Pink Slip. It was supposedly a cabaret, though everything about it screamed it was something more. Tons of pictures came up online, including one that looked identical to the door Luke had walked through on the video Victoria had. In the picture, it showed the sign above the door, a pink flashing sign that read "Pink Slip" with a cute, light up, neon, pink dress next to it. My heart sank like a rock, and I gasped for breath. Luke had been to a brothel while we'd been together? While we were living together!?"I'm the only person that has ever understood him. The only one that can make him happy. So, if you care about him at all, leave. And he will come back to me like he is supposed to," she said. Without turning back to Victoria, I left the library,
Cat POVI had no idea when Victoria had showed up. Luke's cousins had asked about her, so it made sense that she was there. Sort of. It wasn't like it was her grandfather who was dying. "What are you doing here?" I asked again as she closed the library door. "I told you, we need to have a chat," she said. She pulled out her phone and a thick file folder and set them on a table. She sat down and lifted her feet, resting her ankles on the table. "You might want to sit down for this," she said, motioning to the chair across from her. "No, I'll stand," I said, crossing my arms and glaring at her. "Have it your way."Victoria opened the file folder and pulled out a stack of papers. I saw Luke's company log watermarked on the page, and at the top of the page in bold lettering was the lot number of the land he'd just purchased from Victoria's father in the Caribbean. "I'm sure you know that until everything is signed for and watertight, I can still convince my fath
Cat POVI'd agreed to go to Luke's grandfather's house with him, but I hadn't realized it was in France. We packed our bags and headed off across the Atlantic in Luke's private jet. The house was in the countryside on a massive vineyard. We got a good look at it as the plane descended. It was so large and old it was basically a French castle, with the vineyard still fully operational. There was even a private airstrip on the giant estate. After Luke's jet landed, a car was waiting to drive us from the airstrip back to the mansion. "This is one of the longest-running vineyards in Europe," Luke muttered to me as we drove through the rows of grape vines. "And perhaps the only place I ever felt a little at home." Workers in big straw hats with satchels were busy harvesting grapes. "Hand harvesting?" I asked, squeezing his hands. "My grandfather says it is the only way to properly harvest wine grapes. He's been in the business for his entire life, just like his father.