Cocky Prince

by Jules Barnard

  Paul’s jaw shifts and he touches his hair in a precise manner that smooths it down while covering his receding hairline. “We’ll talk about this later.” He walks to the door and cuts Hayden a scathing look she doesn’t see, before walking out, William close on his heels.

  Hayden didn’t catch the threat in Paul’s eyes, because she was too busy watching me. “What is going on?” she says.

  I circle back to my chair and set the applicant folder on my desk. “Nothing. Paul’s an ass; you know that. But he’s harmless.”

  “Is he?” she says, a world of meaning in her voice.

  I look up. “Please stay out of it, Hayden. Stay away from Paul. And William.” William’s too damn touchy-feely. And for that matter, I didn’t like the way Paul was looking at Hayden when she first walked in. He wasn’t just appreciating a beautiful woman, which Hayden is. He was staking her out—calculating. Who knows whether Paul would ever act on his desires, but I’d just as soon Hayden kept her distance.

  “We’ll talk later.” I glance at the door, sending her a silent message that now is not the time to discuss this.

  “I have plans later. I’m meeting up with Mira.”

  I raise my eyebrow. “Ditching me?”

  Her mouth twitches, trying to hide a smile. “No, but…you just stayed the night,” she says quietly. “We can’t be together every night.”

  And for the life of me, I can’t think of a reason why not. But I realize that’s not rational. “Very well. We’ll talk later.”

  She moves to the door.

  I stand and follow her. “Hayden.”

  She turns, and I reach over her shoulder and close the door partway so that no one can see inside. “Don’t miss me too much.” I lean down and kiss her lightly.

  Her gaze, half-lidded, focuses on my mouth. “You can break the rules, but I can’t?”

  “When I need to. And I needed to kiss you.”

  She smirks and opens the door. “I’ll remember that the next time I need something.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Hayden

  I ended up going to a movie with Mira last night. We saw some romantic comedy guys would call a chick flick, but I call awesome. I cannot believe Paul yesterday. What the hell was his deal? He didn’t put my mind at ease that everything is fine at Blue. If anything, our encounter in Adam’s office ratcheted up my nerves. I may have jumped too soon in assuming Adam wasn’t involved in the ugly side of Blue Casino, which worries me, given he’s my new boyfriend.

  Mira and Nessa sip Rum Runners next to me at the Beacon Restaurant. After the movie, Mira and I made plans to meet up with Nessa this afternoon. Work and, if I’m honest, Adam, have monopolized my time this week, and I wanted to catch up with the girls.

  “So you and Adam?” Mira says. “That’s all going well? You guys are getting along?”

  I pray to God he isn’t involved in whatever scheme Paul is up to. “You’d be surprised how well we get along.” Mira glances at Nessa, who shrugs lightly. “Is it that hard to believe?”

  Mira ponders her drink before answering. “It’s not hard to believe you guys have chemistry. That was obvious from the beginning. But yeah, I guess I never saw Adam getting serious with anyone. Or you, for that matter. Work has always come first.”

  It’s true, but at the same time, Adam is important to me now too. “I can’t explain it,” I say. “This thing with him just works.”

  Nessa smiles. “I understand. Sometimes lo—uh, relationships take you by surprise.”

  “That’s right.” I grin.

  Mira’s mouth pulls back at the corner, as though she’s skeptical. “What about Blue? With all the time you’ve been spending with Adam, have you learned anything?”

  “No, but there was a situation with Paul yesterday. He got super agitated when he found out I was working with Adam to replace his assistant.”

  Mira’s eyebrows rise. “Did you ask Adam about it?”

  “We were at work.”

  “But after?”

  “I went to the movies with you. I didn’t get a chance.”

  She bats her long, dark lashes several times, her astute caramel-brown eyes narrowing. “Hayden, tell me you’re not backing down from this because of a man.”

  “No, I’m just withholding judgment until I have evidence.”

  She sets down her Rum Runner and leans forward. “But you are looking into it, right?”

  “I will, and I have. The suites I told you guys about aren’t under construction anymore, but Blackwell has guards in front who won’t let me in.”

  “And that doesn’t tell you something?”

  “Of course it does. But all it tells me is that Blackwell isn’t letting employees into the suites. I’m walking on shaky ground where our CEO is concerned. The last thing Blackwell is going to do is make an exception for me. If you have any ideas on how I can get in there, I’m all ears.”

  Mira purses her bow-shaped lips and twists them to the side. She turns to Nessa. “What do you think?”

  Nessa’s expression is thoughtful. “Now that you mention it, I might have something. I received a phone call in marketing a couple of days ago from a vendor who lost her contact information. She was searching for someone to send her customized napkins to for a party the casino is supposedly hosting the night of the burlesque and auction. I asked her what party, and she said it was for some grand opening. When I told her I didn’t know anything about a grand opening, she stammered and quickly got off the phone. If the suites are finished,” she continues slowly, “and the burlesque and auction event is the same night, do you think the party is for the new rooms? I mean, if the marketing department were involved in promo for the suites—which we haven’t been, and that’s weird—we’d show them off to the wealthy muckety-mucks coming into town. Throwing a party for the suites during the burlesque weekend makes sense.”

  “Exactly,” Mira says. “They’re using the event to introduce the new dens of love.”

  I can put two and two together as well as the next person, but this is one coincidence I wish weren’t true. I stare out at the lake. “If I can’t get into the suites before then, I have to get into that party.”

  “One of us does,” Mira says.

  I shake my head. “You can’t. Remember? You’re going to Tyler’s editor dinner that night.”

  Mira curses.

  Nessa drums her fingers. “I’ll be around, but I’m helping my boss hand out party favors inside the club. I won’t be able to slip away.”

  “But I can,” I say.

  “Hayden.” Mira stares at me warningly. “You just said they won’t let you into the suites. As soon as Blackwell figures out you’re there, he’ll have you thrown out.”

  “Not if he doesn’t know it’s me. You said the last suite had drugs lying around. I just need to get in there and take a few pictures. I could dress up as a waiter, or something.”

  “And you’d look like yourself in a waiter’s uniform. Everyone knows who you are. If Blackwell also knows you’ve tried to get into the suites, he’s probably warned his staff.”

  “The staff Adam hired,” I say, putting it all together. “Adam didn’t want me involved in the new hires, and he has a safe in his office where he keeps his files. I saw it yesterday. Who keeps files in a safe?”

  My palms go clammy. I want to trust Adam, but Mira’s right. I can’t stick my head in the sand because I care about him. Not over something like this.

  Mira shakes her head. “Don’t even think about getting into that safe. Your days of breaking and entering are over,” she says, and I frown at her. “Admit it. You sucked.”

  “Fine. I totally got caught in the facility manager’s office. And anyway, I don’t want to lie to Adam. Snooping around in his office would be dishonest. And a creepy girlfriend move.”

  Mira’s eyes widen. “You’re his girlfriend now?”

  Shit. I tuck a lock of hair behind my ear. “We’re not seeing anyone else, and yeah, he call
ed me his girlfriend in front of his family.”

  Mira’s voice goes up an octave. “You’ve met his family?”

  “Briefly. It’s not what you think.”

  I don’t know why I’m defending myself. Being with Adam feels right.

  “Hayden.” Nessa smiles. “It’s okay. I can tell Adam really likes you. I think it’s sweet.” Her brows pull together in a vee. “What if instead of going behind his back, you talk to him. Ask him about the Bliss suites.”

  I could have talked to Adam days ago. I didn’t want to, because I was caught up in us. At that point, I had no evidence that the Bliss suites were connected to the suite Mira and Tyler found. But after walking in on the meeting between Adam, Paul, and William yesterday, and now with this revelation about a grand opening…I’m scared.

  “What if I ask him,” I say, “and he tells me he knows all about Bliss and it’s as bad as we think? Or he tells me he isn’t involved when, in fact, he is?”

  Nessa reaches across the table and squeezes my hand. “He cares about you, Hayden. Give him a chance.”

  I drop my head into my hands. “God, you’re right. We’ve only been together a week and I’m already screwing things up. He’s done nothing to deserve my mistrust.”

  “Well…” Mira stands and shades her eyes with her hand, peering out at the water. “Here’s your opportunity to ask him.”

  “What are you talking about?” I look in the same direction. At the Beacon dock. And see Adam, Zach, and Tyler getting out of a large ski boat.

  “What are they doing here?” My voice cracks, and okay, I’m panicking. I’m not ready to confront Adam. I want to run and hug him, not accuse him of being in cahoots with Blue Casino.

  This time it’s Mira’s turn to look guilty. “Well, you see, I sort of invited them. Tyler wanted to hang out today and I had plans with you girls. He may have, uh—convinced me—to divulge where we’d be, through clever tactics.”

  Nessa makes a face. “Please don’t go into details on that.”

  Mira frowns. “He’s persuasive! I mean, shit, look at him.”

  And we do. We gaze across the beach at the three men crossing it, and so does everyone else in the vicinity. Because they are gorgeous. Adam’s in board shorts and a fitted T-shirt, his baseball cap turned backward. He has a light golden tan and insanely sexy legs I’ve had the pleasure of being tangled in. He’s wearing Aviator glasses and a smug grin, and I’m salivating.

  When I pull my gaze away from my incredibly good-looking boyfriend, a quick scan of Tyler and Zach confirms that they, too, look pretty darn good. Not as good as Adam, but then, no one does.

  The best part of this entire hot-guy-crossing-the-sand image is that Adam is staring straight at me. He doesn’t seem to notice or care that every female head is turned in his direction.

  Adam enters the patio where Mira, Nessa, and I are standing, and wraps me up in his arms. “Hey, beautiful. Miss me?”

  My face turns the temperature of an oven. I’ve thought about him nonstop since I last saw him, even during that damn chick flick, and he knows it. “Maybe.”

  “I’ll have to remind you why you like me so much. Later. In bed.” He whispers that last part in my ear, sending a shiver over my tank-top-bared skin.

  The funny thing is, sex with Adam isn’t even the best part. Laughing over meals with him, cuddling with him in bed, or talking about humiliating life experiences and having him be outraged on my behalf—those are the best parts. The incredible sex is just a massive dose of icing on the cake, as are his handsome looks.

  Adam sets me back on my feet and I look around to find everyone’s gaze on us. Mira is smiling, her arm wrapped around Tyler’s waist, and Tyler is looking at Adam like he’s never seen the guy before, even though they’ve known each other for at least ten years. Zach and Nessa are sneaking glances here and there, but they have the manners not to stare.

  Zach pulls out Nessa’s chair for her and steals a giant gulp of her Rum Runner as she takes a moment to sit down.

  Tyler flags the waitress, and the men order more drinks and food.

  “So, what do you ladies think?” Adam drapes his arm over the back of my chair, his warm, muscled leg bumping into mine every now and then. I’ve missed this. We can’t flirt at work, and Adam’s flirting is about as seductive as his hands on my body. Okay, not quite.

  He stares down at me. “Want to go for a ride on the boat with us?”

  I cut him a look. “I didn’t know you owned a boat.”

  He grins. “You didn’t ask.”

  “Right, because that’s a question that comes up in casual conversation.”

  He chuckles. “Well? You up for it?”

  I look around the table, and both Mira and Nessa nod their agreement.

  “Okay, then,” I say. “I guess our girls’ lunch just turned into a group date.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Adam

  We finish our food at the Beacon and I haul my pirate’s loot—that being my beautiful girlfriend—onto my boat with the guys.

  When Zach called to suggest taking out the Chaparral, I didn’t need an excuse. The sky is a clear blue, the temperature in the low eighties. I welcome any reason to get out on the lake, particularly on a day like this. And when he suggested picking up the girls, I might have dropped what I was doing and hauled ass to pick up him and Tyler. Because, sorry sap that I am, I missed Hayden like crazy last night.

  We’ve spent a few nights away from each other since I started working on her closet over a week ago, and I gotta say, I’m not a fan. I want to spend all of my free time with Hayden, but I need to chill. This is new, and I don’t want to freak her out. I’m out of my depth where she’s concerned.

  I ended up hanging with Wes after Hayden said she had plans with Mira. We hit golf balls on the night range and drank beer. Like always, I had a great time with my brother, but when I saw Hayden from across the Beacon patio, my heart kicked in as though I were on the final sprint of a marathon.

  I knew she’d be there; that’s why we came today. But there’s something about her face lighting up the moment she sees me that feeds a void. Because that smile is one hundred percent genuine. I was surrounded by people with shallow motives in my father’s circle. There’s no artifice with Hayden. She’s the real deal, which is how I know I can trust her.

  Mira and Tyler lounge at the front of the boat, and Zach and Nessa are sprawled on the seats in the rear. Hayden sits in the seat next to mine in shorts and a pale mint tank that’s loose over her curves. She tucks her sunglasses on the top of her head and smiles as I start the motor and wave at the attendant on the Beacon dock.

  “They just let you park whenever you want?” she asks.

  “Sure,” I say as I back up and steer the boat through the no-wake zone.

  Zach laughs from behind. “Cade has a pass to any dock on the lake.” I swivel my head and glower at him. “What? It’s true,” he says.

  Hayden slips off her flip-flops and sits back in her seat. “What does that mean?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Quit being modest,” Zach says from the rear. “It means, Hayden, that because your boy is a rich son of a bitch and everyone knows his father, he can go wherever he wants.”

  “That’s not true,” I counter. “The Hyatt hates it when I dock at their north shore property.”

  Zach laughs. “That’s because you crashed into their party yacht the summer after senior year.”

  “It was a slight nudge,” I say, irritably. “And the driver of the other boat was high.”

  Nessa props her tiny legs over Zach’s meaty thighs and points her face toward the sun. Zach absently places a hand on her thigh. “Rumor is,” he continues, ignoring my glare, “the guy at the Hyatt said you were drunk.”

  I shake my head at Hayden. “I don’t drink and boat.”

  She glances at the cooler Tyler is sifting through. “Never?”

  “Well—I provide it—but no, I never drink whe
n I’m driving the boat. My brothers and I had the fear of God put in us when we were learning water safety.” I chuckle. “We were taught by a Club Tahoe groundskeeper who was an ex-Navy SEAL. He put us through boot-camp torture before allowing us to operate anything on the water. Hunt is the most fanatical about boat safety, but the rest of us are as well.”

  Hayden stares out at the water and smiles at a passing paddleboarder, her hands crossed in her lap. She looks relaxed and happy.

  “We’ll have to take the boat out sometime without the rest of the gang,” I say in a low voice. She looks over. “Not that I want to change our normal setting, because I like your place.”

  We’ve never stayed at my house on the lake, and I don’t miss it. But I miss the boat.

  “I’d like that,” she says, and my chest fills with warmth. I’m on the lake with my girl, and I’ve never been happier than at this moment.

  Hayden

  Mira, Nessa, and I sip canned margaritas Tyler was kind enough to bring along with the beers as we bob lightly on the anchored boat inside Emerald Bay, the sun beating down on us. The guys have taken off their shirts and it’s a pretty, pretty view inside Adam’s boat.

  Adam has one foot propped on the cooler, and he’s smiling at me. How am I going to talk to him about Blue while he’s looking at me like that? This relationship we’re building is different. It’s special, and I don’t want anything to come between us.

  His smile slowly drops, as though he senses my thoughts. He leans forward and opens his mouth, but before he can say anything, the sound of splashing draws our attention.

  Nessa reaches over the edge of the boat and splashes Zach. He’s already wet, so she must have gotten him a second ago too. They moved to the seats that face a small deck off the back of the boat, and the water is right at their feet.