Taming Lily (The Fowler Sisters #3)(58)

I stand above her for a moment, blinking hard as I try to wake myself up. She looks so beautiful, so peaceful, lying there on her side. Her lips are pursed, her hair is a wavy mess, and she’s the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.

I don’t want to walk away. I want to keep her. I want her to be mine. We could really be something, Lily and I. I know we could. We’re more alike than even I care to admit. I think we could be good for each other. Good together.

But we can’t. I have to do this. It’s my job. And my job—my business—is all I have. Despite how I feel about Lily, there are no guarantees. I must take that f*cking laptop, despite my never wanting to do it since I got here, hating Pilar Vasquez and her shitty demands.

Closing my eyes, I tighten my hands into fists and take a deep breath. I’m being completely irrational. This woman … I don’t know what could happen between us, but it’s not real. It can’t be real. I’m too caught up in this tropical location, the pretending I’m on vacation. If she finds out the truth, I’m f*cked. I need to go. Just … grab that f*cking laptop and leave. But this is the last time I’ll be with her, look at her, touch her …

Reaching out, I streak my fingers across her cheek, lightly. She shifts and sighs, her eyelashes fluttering, and I snatch my hand back, praying she won’t wake up.

She doesn’t. I can’t help but be relieved—and a little disappointed, too. If she woke up, I’d have no choice but to stay.

I take a deep breath and go to the closet, quietly sliding the door open. Stepping inside, I reach for the laptop, not surprised at all to find it in the exact spot that I last saw it.

Holding it close to my chest, I make my escape from the bungalow.

And never once look back.

Chapter twenty

Lily

“LOOKS LIKE MAUI AGREED WITH YOU.” Violet greets me as I walk toward her, practically falling into her welcoming hug. I squeeze her back, closing my eyes for the briefest moment as I absorb her love and warmth, so incredibly thankful to be with her again.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you in person,” I tell her before I withdraw, though I don’t let her go—my hands still clasp her shoulders and she’s holding on to my arms.

“I know.” Violet’s smiling at me, looking gorgeous with all that dark hair falling down her back in luxurious waves, her dark eyes sparkling as bright as the giant diamond on her finger. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen Violet look so genuinely happy.

I could almost get choked up, having her here in front of me. I didn’t realize I missed my sister so much until now. “Skype just doesn’t cut it, you know,” I say, my voice rough as I clear my throat past the emotional bubble clogging it.

Violet rolls her eyes and smiles. “I totally agree. But guess what? You’re stuck with me now. No more going back to London for us except to visit.”

I’m so grateful for her warm acceptance of me that I can feel the tight knot in my chest slowly unravel. I was scared to death this morning as I prepared to come into Fleur. Seeing Daddy, Grandma, Rose, and Violet … and worst of all, that evil witch Pilar … I wasn’t looking forward to it, and that’s the understatement of the year.

I was petrified really, afraid of what any of them might say. I’d rather pretend the fact that I ran away to Maui to escape my problems—especially a problem that neither I nor Pilar wants made public knowledge, I’m sure—was swept under the rug.

I don’t even want to talk about Maui and what happened there. The man I met. The man who somehow, some way, double-crossed me. Stole from me …

I have my suspicions about why Max did what he did. Nothing confirmed yet, but come on. I had jewelry in my suitcase—expensive jewelry. Cash in my wallet and stashed away in my travel bag. Yet he took my laptop and that’s it. The f*cker stole from me.

Why?

Could he be working for Pilar?

No. It couldn’t be possible, just some weird coincidence. Maybe he didn’t steal from me. Maybe one of the hotel employees snagged my Mac. I hadn’t checked on it in days. For all I know, it could have been missing since the day I stashed it up on the shelf in my closet.

That’s the problem. I don’t know what happened, when it was stolen or why. I can suspect Max all I want. It makes sense in a way. He held me close until I fell asleep and when I woke up in the morning, groggy and hung over, he was gone. Disappeared like he’d never existed in the first place. He didn’t even leave a note. I searched for him everywhere. By the pool, in the lobby, down by the beach, in the hotel restaurants, but he wasn’t there.

I went to his hotel room only to find the door cracked open and the maids inside, cleaning. His stuff was gone. The maids let me know he’d checked out that morning.

He didn’t even bother saying goodbye.

It hurts that he didn’t believe me worthy of a goodbye. Worse, he lied to me. Said that we would see each other again and then ditched me. I don’t get it.

What did I do wrong? That last night, when we had sex, I gave him everything I thought he wanted. I wanted to please him, wanted to be the submissive woman, not only to make him happy, but because it made me feel … good. I liked handing over the control to Max so I could get lost in the pleasure. It aroused me, his controlling ways, the words he said, the demands he made on my body. I wanted more. I wanted all of him …