**Cat POV"Luke, where's Victoria? Simon wants to talk to her about business," Barbs said, standing up. Luke pursed his lips, but he only spared Barbs a quick glance before looking back at me. "Come on, get ready. We're already going to be late," he said, pointing to his watch. "Late for what?" I asked, creasing my brow. Luke pulled out his phone. "Didn't you get any of my texts?""Um… no." I grabbed my phone from the kitchen and scrolled through my notifications. I didn't have anything from Luke. "When did you send them?""I sent a bunch throughout the day," Luke explained. I shook my head. "I didn't get any. Oh… I was driving around the island, I probably didn't have reception.""Well, we are going somewhere special, so dress like it," Luke said, nodding to my bedroom. My cheeks warmed, and I looked down. He was being more forward than I expected, especially in front of my friend. "I want to talk to Victoria, Luke. Is she over at your Villa?" Barbs asked.
**Cat POVLuke shot up from the table, lighting more candles. The room filled with a soft, orange glow. I stayed put, my body feeling cold when the windows started rattling the house. "Are there shutters on the windows?" I asked when I looked over and saw the glass visibly wiggling in the frame. "Not yet. I haven't storm-proofed this property," Luke reminded me. The window at the end of the table blew open. The wind whipped around the room, shaking the paintings on the wall and making the tablecloth flutter. Luke ran over to the window and forced it closed. He shoved a nearby bookcase in front of it. The other windows started rattling just as violently. I stood up from the table and went to Luke. "We can't block off all the windows," I said. Another clap of thunder shook the entire house. Boom! Crash!I felt a tremor through the floor. "What was that?" I asked in a hushed voice. I was holding tightly to Luke's arm, looking around like I expected the
Luke's hands gripped my butt, and he lifted me up, sliding me onto a counter or cabinet in the closet. I couldn't tell what I was sitting on. The smooth wood was cool on my backside. He kissed my neck, and I tipped my head back, moaning as I popped one button at a time off Luke's shirt. It was pitch black, making all my senses heightened. He brushed his fingers along my thighs and my skin shivered, puckering with goose flesh. I sighed and shuddered, my fingers curling tightly around the edges of his half-unbuttoned shirt. Luke's lips brushed my ear. He nibbled on my earlobe and then whispered to me. "Is this okay, Cat? Do you want this?""Yes," I gasped, my hands tightening around his damp shirt. His breathing became ragged, and his hands squeezed my thighs almost painfully. He pried my legs apart forcefully. My stomach fluttered and dropped, and I moaned again. Luke nuzzled my neck and started kissing and nibbling along my throat. Heat pooled between my
Cat POVWhen I woke up, I found that Luke and I were tightly curled together in a ball on the pantry floor. It was cold, but his warm skin was keeping the worst of it away. Outside the pantry, I could hear the pitter-patter of light rain outside but the roar of the wind was gone, and I couldn't hear any thunder anymore. "Luke," I whispered, shaking him gently. He grunted and opened his eyes. "Ugh, it is still so dark," he groaned. "We're still closed up in a closet," I reminded him, laughing lightly. "Oh, right. I was dreaming about something else," Luke said with an amused tone in his voice. He placed his hand on my bare back, and I started, still unable to see what he was doing. "I thought you said storms were quick and violent around here. This wasn't a quick storm at all," I said. "It sounds like things have calmed down. Let's go take a look." I heard Luke stand up and jiggle the doorknob. When he opened the door, a stream of dim sunlight came in. I
Cat POVThe helicopter hovered above us, and a thick line came down. Luke grabbed me and pulled me out of the way. I didn't understand at first, but then a guy came gliding down the line. He landed hard on the ground and lifted the visor on his helmet. "Luke Carter?" he asked, pointing at Luke. "That's me," Luke called over the sound of the helicopter. "Are you well? Are you injured?" the man asked. Luke nodded and shook his head. "We found shelter through the storm. We didn't have any reception and our phones died.""I have an emergency kit if you need it, but this helicopter can't bring both of you back to the resort. Do you want to go one at a time?" the rescuer asked. I grabbed Luke's arm. "Neither of us should be alone out here.""We're not separating," Luke shouted over the loud helicopter. "Your father sent us to find you when he couldn't get you on the phone all night. Almost all the roads are washed out, but we can send a rescue vehicle that is equip
Cat POV"You're joking, right?" I asked. Luke shrugged. "No, not really.""Well, you can't be serious. That would be… I'm not even invited!" I said, throwing my arms out to the sides. "Cat, what better way to stick it to Aaron than show him that you're happy and moving on?" Luke asked, grinning a challenge at me. "But… I… but Victoria will be there, too. She's Fiona's friend, and she's still your pretend girlfriend," I argued when I realized Luke was serious. I couldn't believe that he had suggested it. Go to Aaron's wedding? Though, there was some logic in his suggestion. "It would be inappropriate. I'm Aaron's ex. I don't belong there. Besides, we both know Victoria will be there, and you haven't told her the ruse is over," I said. "This storm is a big setback on the project. I'll have plenty of time to repair things with Victoria's father on the land sale, with or without her blessing. There's no need to continue that façade." Luke took my hand and brushed h
Cat POVKnock. Knock. Knock!I sat bolt upright. I didn't know I had fallen asleep until a furious knocking on my cabin door jolted me awake. Grunting, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. After leaving Luke, I'd taken a long bath. I realized I was still in my bathrobe. I hadn't even gotten into pajamas before passing out. "I'll be right there," I called to whoever was knocking. There wasn't any time to change. The knocking was more and more insistent. When I opened the door, three women walked right in. Between them, they rolled a dress rack stuffed full of hangers and nice dresses. Another set of women came in carrying shoe boxes. "Um… what is all this?" I asked, jumping out of the way to avoid getting run over by the dress cart. "Oh good, you're already in a robe. That will make trying on dresses easier," the first woman to enter my cabin said. "Trying on dresses?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Yes, yes. We are from the boutique at the resort." She stepped
Luke POVThe wedding ceremony seemed like it had taken forever. I'd sat near the back, alone, watching my younger sister get married. She had been glowing and smiling, but when I'd looked at Aaron, it seemed like he wasn't thrilled. After they'd said their vows and kissed, all the guests moved to the garden for the reception. I was still bummed that Cat had decided not to come with me. If she'd been there, I was sure we'd have a way to make it all entertaining. I stood with a small group of investors that had been invited as a courtesy. I'd hoped that by inviting them, they would give me their investment money. A limo pulled up outside the garden. I'd only half been paying attention to the conversation my investors were having, so I was happy for the slight distraction. As far as I knew, all the guests had arrived. At least, the ones my family deemed as important. Who would be arriving late in a limo? It was enough to get my attention. The driver opened the back doo
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.