Every Last Secret(37)

He leaned against the railing, and even from here, I could see some dark chest hair peeking out of the top of his white robe. “Good morning!” he called out.

“Morning.” I moved closer and lifted my hand in greeting. “It’s actually warm out!” The prior few days had been miserable, the air thick with humidity, the skies dark and gray.

He laughed. “I don’t know about warm, but I’ll take it.”

An awkward silence fell, the distance too far for real conversation. Still, the effort should be made. “The pavers look great.”

He came to my side of his balcony and leaned forward, cupping his ear. “What?”

I worked my way around a bed of lilies and leaned against the low stone fence between our two backyards. “The pavers!” I pointed to the new white bricks that circled their pool. The color would be impossible to keep clean. I’d told Neena that, but she’d ignored the advice, picking a crisp bone color that would require bleaching and weekly pressure cleaning. I made a thumbs-up sign.

He nodded, then turned, a guilty expression flashing across his face. The door behind him opened, and I saw Neena appear, her obligatory workout outfit on. She’d probably already pounded out five miles on the treadmill, then jumping-jacked her breakfast off.

“Morning!” I called, waving up at her.

She came to stand beside Matt, looking down at me without returning the smile. “Cat.” Turning to her husband, she said something I couldn’t catch.

His head dipped, and he gave me an awkward wave. “See you later.”

I lifted my cup in response, my gaze settling on Neena’s face. She glared at me as if I’d pissed in her cereal. I kept my expression light, my voice sunny. “Can you believe this weather?”

She knotted her arms over her chest. “It’s fine.”

“Matt looks great—that keto diet is amazing.” I rested my forearms on the fence, a bit of chill coming in through the gap in my robe. “Maybe I should get William on that.”

She blinked at me, and I could see the inner struggle she had with a response. She was probably warring between telling me to keep my eyes off her husband and reacting to the reference to William.

“How was the wine-festival meeting?” she finally managed.

I was surprised she knew about it. Then again, I wasn’t. It was funny she had asked, since she had come up as a topic of conversation. Valerie Cortenza had mentioned she had seen William leaving Bevy’s Sandwiches with Neena on Tuesday. I’d found that information very interesting, since I hadn’t been aware of that lunch. I’d returned home and examined my calendar. I’d had an early dinner with William that night, and he hadn’t mentioned a word about a lunch meeting with her.

“It was good. Again, so sorry you didn’t make the board.” I frowned in mock regret.

I pushed off the fence and lifted my coffee to my lips, making sure to use the hand with the diamond, the huge stone impossible to miss. He’s mine. “Have a nice day, Neena.”

“You, too.” She smiled, and I smiled, and the morning chill didn’t have anything on us.





CHAPTER 23

CAT

“I can’t believe I’m not there.” William cleared his throat, his exhaustion audible even through the phone. “I miss you already.”

I stretched out on the master bed in our Hawaiian home and kicked the expensive sheets loose. “I know. How’s everything there?”

He groaned. “I can’t even go into what a screwed-up situation this is. I’m crunching numbers to try to salvage the deal, but it doesn’t look good.”

“I’m sorry.” I fluffed the pillow under my head. “We should have canceled the trip.” He’d been on his phone since the minute we’d headed to the island. Half of my conversations with him were ignored, his fingers tapping across his phone, the sound of his text-message notifications driving me insane. He’d left two dinners in the middle of our entrées, stepping outside the restaurant for calls, then returning after I’d already polished off dessert.

“Even the brief moments were worth it. I just owe you another trip after I fire every member of my acquisitions team.”

For once, the issues hadn’t been with Winthorpe Tech, but with Winthorpe Capital. William had been midacquisition of an accounting firm when a whistleblower in upper management revealed that half of the due-diligence documentation had been altered. This morning, William had left the jet in Hawaii and taken a direct commercial flight at nine. He’d gone straight to the office from the airport and buried himself in work. I’d heard from him sporadically throughout the day, his energy level waning with each call.

I yawned into the receiver. “I could have come back with you. I’d be dragging you to bed and forcing you to get a few hours of sleep.”

“As tempting as that sounds, I’m glad you’re there. Someone needs to enjoy that view.”

I looked out the open french doors at the turquoise waters, the gentle sweep of waves barely audible. “I’d rather look at other things.”

“Just enjoy the next few days. Get lots of massages and run up our credit card. I expect you to come back tan, spoiled, and ready to punish me for our foiled vacation.”

“What kind of punishment are you thinking of?”