Lost in Paradise (Paradise Club #2)(33)

“I was long gone and was already living in London by then,” Camryn mentions.

“Were you at his wedding?” my brother asks Camryn.

“Nope. I wasn’t on good terms with my mom then,” she explains.

“I was, as I was living with them in Paris after graduation from my Swiss boarding school, thanks to husband number three. My mother said that I could only stay with them if I got a job, and Pierre said I should come work with him as I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I loved it. I loved Pierre. He was my favorite of all my mother’s ex-husbands. He trained me, mentored me, which he never did for anyone. I knew I was incredibly lucky for him to take me under his wing. Even when they divorced two years later, and she moved on to a bigger fish, we always kept in touch. Still do,” Ivy tells us.

“Now I’m upset I didn’t go to the wedding. We could have had fun together,” I say, knocking Ivy’s shoulder in jest.

“I came for the ceremony and then disappeared for the reception. I liked my own company more back then,” Ivy explains with a sad smile.

“I’d started the first Paradise Club, so that was why I wasn’t there. I love Pierre, he’s so much fun. Well, my mind is truly blown by all this,” Nate adds.

“Such a small world.” Camryn chuckles.

“It explains how beautiful your resort is, though,” Ivy states.

“He helped me from day one by designing for the clubs. There was no one else I could trust to do it. Plus, he’s family and open-minded, which helps.” Nate gives Ivy a friendly smile.

“He’s a wonderful man. I don’t get nearly as much time to catch up with him anymore, but I think I might have to give the old man a call and compliment him on his workmanship at your resort.” Ivy grins.

“That will give him a heart attack,” my brother laughs.

“Make sure you tease him good,” I add.

That old man likes to prank you when you work with him. When he decorated my parents’ home when I was fifteen, he painted my bedroom bright pink saying that was the color I had signed off on, then he proceeded to show me the paperwork with my signature on it. I thought I’d lost my mind. Why on earth would a fifteen-year-old boy pick a pink bedroom? It turned out to be a prank and they repainted the walls to the color I had requested. I can laugh about it now, but at the time, I did not find it funny. At all.

“Sounds like there are some stories,” Ivy says, smiling at me.

“You have no idea,” I say, grinning back.

“Still can’t believe it.” Camryn shakes her head as we continue into the villa.

“No wonder my mother is a fan of your work. I wonder if she follows you because of Pierre?” I ask.

“Do you think I’ve already met her?” she asks.

“Maybe, who knows.” This is crazy that Ivy’s always been in reach, but I never knew anything about her.

“I need a drink,” Camryn states before helping herself in Nate’s kitchen. She looks quite comfortable moving around the villa. Ivy walks into the kitchen behind her sister as they chat away.

“Camryn seems to know her way around your villa,” I question my brother.

“And?”

“Just an interesting development, that’s all.” I grin. Nate never lets a woman into his personal space, especially not here on the island. He built this villa so he could be alone and have no one bother him—it’s his sanctuary.

“How long have you been messing around with Ivy then?” he asks, turning the tables onto me.

“The entire time.”

“Don’t fuck her over,” he warns.

“I have no intention of fucking her over, thank you very much!” My eyes narrow in on Nate.

“From what Camryn’s told me, she’s been through a lot,” my brother adds softly. He must really like Camryn as I’ve never seen him so protective before.

“I’ve gathered that from the conversations we’ve had. Her ex seems like a piece of work.”

“They had an intervention. They had to kidnap her away from him. He used to stalk her, but he seems to have given up on that now,” Nate adds. Shit! I didn’t realize it was a stalker situation, nor did I know it was that bad. “Go easy on her. There are hundreds of other women you could hook up with on the island.”

“But I like her,” I confess, which has his brows raising high as he stares at me in bewilderment.

“She does seem comfortable around you.”

“We’re taking it slow. I don’t want to ruin her time here. She’s having fun and enjoying herself like she should. I’m happy to wait,” I tell my brother.

“Even if she’s fucking other guys?”

“Are you okay with Camryn fucking other guys?” I question him back.

“Of course, I get off on it, but you and I are built differently, Alex.”

“Ivy’s told me about everything she’s done since arriving here. And as crap as it is knowing someone else is enjoying her, she always comes back to me,” I explain the situation to my brother.

“You want more, then?” he pushes.

“I’d like to see where things go … yes,” I answer honestly, looking over to where Ivy is standing in the kitchen with her sister laughing.