“Maybe. But not for a lot of people. Not everyone gets it.”
“Canceling plans is fine, but the courtesy of a call is nonnegotiable. That’s just being polite.”
“Deal. Or at least... I’ll try. I’ve been known to lose track of time. Anything else?”
She studied him for a long moment. “We agree that we can add to the ground rules as needed if and when things come up we didn’t think of tonight.”
It was odd, setting rules for something as simple as a casual relationship, but Bran also knew that setting the rules now meant their relationship would stay casual, which was what he wanted. What they both wanted.
He let out a sigh. “Does this feel weird to you?”
And then she laughed, that light, musical sound that he enjoyed so very much, and he smiled, too. The awkwardness and tension of the evening fell away, and she leaned forward, putting her hand over his. “Of course it does. But we both feel the need to protect ourselves, and Bran, I needed to be honest. The only way this is going to work is if we’re honest with each other.”
Something undefinable flickered behind her eyes, and he briefly wondered what it was, but then she got up from her chair and went to stand in front of him. “And now,” she whispered, “will you please kiss me? Because I’ve been dying for you to for over an hour.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
SETTING GROUND RULES seemed to be working. Jess was an early bird, so she was up early each morning, sketching and painting, and usually touched base with Bran when she broke for lunch. Some days they’d venture into the nearby town for errands; sometimes she drove to his house and they spent the day on the beach below his low cliffs, dipping into the ocean and soaking in the sun.
They made love on a blanket in the sand, and in his enormous bed. One evening there was a thunderstorm and the power went out, and so they gathered all the candles he had and put them around the bedroom, making love to the sound of the rain.
She loved his house. Even though it was big, it wasn’t cold. No expense had been spared, and sometimes they cooked dinner together in his vast kitchen, which was much better equipped than the boathouse. One afternoon he wrote in his den, and she pulled a book out of his bookcases and read. And because that first day she’d mentioned the Jacuzzi, she arrived one evening to find a bath drawn and a glass of wine waiting from the bottle she’d gifted him, so she could soak and watch the ocean through the windows. It had felt incredibly extravagant and surreal. Even more surreal when he’d held her towel when she got out...
But she didn’t stay over, and he didn’t stay at the boathouse, either.
It should have been absolutely perfect.
Bran and Jeremy’s friend Cole came to town and stayed at Bran’s, which put a bit of a kink into their social plans. And yet Jess thought it lovely when she saw the two of them together. Cole was tall and fair, with a magnetic personality and an energy that was contagious—something that had a positive effect on Bran. He smiled more and laughed often, and Jess got a glimpse of the man he used to be. She already thought him pretty amazing. But this...it was different. For a little while, it seemed as if the weight of the world was off his shoulders, particularly when he, Cole and Jeremy were all together. She remembered what he’d said—that they were family.
Today they were all going to an island offshore to look at property. The whole island, in fact, with the exception of ten acres that was owned by someone else. Cole was considering buying it and turning the mansion into a corporate retreat that he could use for business. Jess tried not to be awestruck when she realized that she was accompanying three billionaires on a shopping spree worth what they were calling a steal—nearly seven million dollars.
The five of them were making a day of it, or at least the better part of a day. Tori’s mother was coming to stay with the baby, and it was Tori’s first day away from Rose for more than an hour. As she and Bran met the others at the wharf, Jess could tell that Tori was both excited to be going along, and anxious about leaving Rose. She put an arm a
round Tori’s shoulders and gave her a squeeze. “It’ll be all right, Mama,” she said with a smile. “Grandmas need a chance to spoil babies anyway.”
Tori smiled back. “I know. It’s just first time nerves. I’ve got to do it sometime.”
Cole had rented a boat for his stay, a fast and luxurious Boston Whaler docked at a nearby marina. The island itself wasn’t far outside the bay, but it was only accessible by boat or, Cole explained, by the helipad on-site. Tori looked at Jess and shook her head. Neither of them was used to such luxury, and Jess grinned up at Bran as he sat beside her. “Helipad, huh? Does Cole have his own helicopter?”
Bran shook his head. “Naw. He just charters when he needs to.”
Jess’s and Bran’s definition of need seemed to vary, but today she didn’t care. Today she was free and ready for fun. How often did one get to visit a private island, anyway?
Cole piloted the boat, and it wasn’t long before they were at the island. Instead of docking right away, Cole took them all the way around. Jess got a glimpse of an enormous house with well-trimmed grounds sloping toward the water; the west side had more of a rocky shoreline but the east side had a beautiful sandy beach, similar to the one at Jeremy’s, and what looked to be white, soft sand like that by the Sandpiper Resort. The dock was at the southern tip of the island. An ancient fishing boat was already docked, as well as a smaller craft.
Jeremy got off first, and held out his hand to help Tori and then Jess, with Bran and Cole following. “The other Realtor will be at the house. But there should be a golf cart up there—” he pointed to a garage-type structure at the top of the path “—that we can use to get to the main house.”
Jess followed the direction of his finger and noticed not only the garage, but a large house behind it. “That’s not the main house, is it?”
He shook his head. “Nope. There’s about ten acres that’s owned by another party. The house is hers. The rest of the island, about eighty acres or so, is what’s for sale.”
Interesting. Jess hung back and waited for Bran, and together they walked side by side behind the others. “Your friend is seriously going to buy his own island,” she said incredulously.
Bran nodded. “Looks like it. He’s right. It’s a steal. Besides, Cole’s changed a lot in the last year. He tries not to show it, but he has.”
“How so?”
“He took over his father’s businesses when he was only twenty-three. He’s accumulated more since, and I’ve never seen anyone work so hard or play so hard. It caught up with him and while he won’t come right out and say so, I think he hit some burnout. He stepped away for a few months.”