“What are you doing?” Dylan’s deep voice jolted me out of my sexual trance. Rowan too, if his loud yelp was any indication. Thankfully the shock made my erection disappear as quickly as it came.
“Don’t creep up on people like that!” Rowan replied. “And what does it look like Dylan? I was covering his back with sunscreen.”
“And he needed to lie down for that?” Dylan raised one eyebrow. “I think you’ve got it covered now, Ro. Come on, last one in the water buys lunch.”
I bolted off the lounger, with Dylan and Rowan hot on my heels. I ran on the silky sand and dove headfirst into the crystal-clear bay. The salt water was refreshing given the midday heat, and I relished the feeling of weightlessness. After swimming the whole length of the beach, we rented paddleboards and did a quick tour to another nearby beach.
An hour later, all three of us flopped down on the loungers in the cabana and ordered lunch. I noticed several people checking out Rowan and Dylan, but no one approached us or had their phones aimed at us, so we relaxed into the day. Dylan was once again worried we weren’t enjoying ourselves and encouraged us to order whatever we wanted to drink.
“Truthfully, I don’t drink much anymore. I had a bit of an issue with it last year, so now I save it for special occasions,” I said after taking a big bite of my conch fritter. The salty, spicy seafood was fresh and cooked to perfection.
“What happened?” Rowan murmured in between mouthfuls of his lobster roll.
I took a deep breath and decided, what the hell. I now considered Dylan and Rowan my friends. Sort of. Boss slash friend. And friend of the boss. And if anyone would understand, it would be Dylan. And Rowan, who had seen the worst of his friend’s addiction.
“I was in a long-term relationship that ended horribly… Anton and I met in hospitality school, and we were together for nine years. After graduation, we lived and worked at a hotel that his parents own in Atlanta. Just over a year ago, I took a weekend camping trip with friends, but Anton stayed behind because he hated that sort of thing.” I paused, taking a deep breath and attempting to swallow past the lump in my throat. Fuck, even a year later, the humiliation was still a raw wound.
“I came back on Sunday night to find I’d been locked out of our apartment. I didn’t understand what was happening, so I called him in a panic. He said our relationship was over, that he was in love with someone else. He fired me and told me he’d packed up my things. All my stuff was in boxes in the hallway outside our apartment. As you can imagine, I was in complete shock. Then I discovered he’d also run up my credit card bills, and there was nothing I could do. He had my passwords, PINs. Between being dumped, losing my job, getting tossed out of my home, and the staggering amount of debt, I was a total mess. I needed to numb myself, and I started drinking heavily.”
“Jesus, Andrew. What did you do? Where did you go?” Rowan asked, and I couldn’t help but warm at the look of concern in his eyes.
“I moved back home with my folks for a while. They knew how much I was hurting and wanted to help me financially, but I couldn’t let them do that. They had to refinance the house because of Dad’s bypass surgery a few years back. Anyway, eventually they read me the riot act when they noticed how much I was drinking. I started seeing a therapist, and things began to improve. Then I woke up one morning, two months later, and applied for a job overseas. I needed to get away, a fresh start. And I haven’t looked back.”
“Your ex sounds like the worse kind of shithead,” Dylan murmured.
I nodded in return. “He’s a real piece of work. The hotel event manager, who Anton fired after I left, contacted me a few months ago to tell me that Anton had slept with him as well as many guests over the years. All that time and I never knew,” I paused and shook my head. “That relationship taught me some hard life lessons.”
“People can be cruel,” Rowan muttered. “I’m so sorry you went through that.”
“It’s been really fucking hard, but I finally feel like I’ve turned a corner, and I’m ready to move on.”
Dylan reached over with his glass and clinked mine. “You got this, Drew. We’re a work in progress.”
I raised my glass in return. Even though I was sitting in between a billionaire and a Hollywood icon, we were hanging out and talking about regular shit like normal guys. Since I was missing my friends something fierce, today had been a welcome experience.
“I’m glad to see that he didn’t ruin your kind spirit or your sense of humor,” Rowan said as a sad expression flitted over his face. “I went through a similar breakup two years ago with Jojo. He’s a big celebrity in the UK. Turns out, he was in love with someone else the entire time we were together. So, I sympathize with your situation.”
“I guess we’re two of a kind.” I couldn’t help but turn to him. It seemed my eyes didn’t want to look anywhere else.
“I guess so. Thank you for confiding in me. I mean, in us,” Rowan murmured, and suddenly I was lost in his dark blue depths.
“Thank you for joining me today. It’s been great.” I smiled in return.
We stared at each other in silence, and something more potent than our physical attraction flashed between us. I quickly turned away, lightheaded.
“So, what’s the plan for this afternoon?” Dylan asked, and I was grateful for the diversion.
“I’m happy to stay on the island for another hour,” Rowan replied. “Then I’ve got to return for cocktails with my guests this evening, since they should be back from their excursion to St. Croix by five PM. And I must sit down with Owen again. I need to finalize that deal before he leaves Tuesday. But I don’t know if it’s going to happen.”
“What’s your history with him?” I asked as I stacked up our plates and cutlery into neat piles, then motioned for the server.
“What do you mean? He’s a business colleague,” Rowan replied tersely.
“Don’t get defensive, Ro. I’m asking a simple question. Owen’s cat and mouse game with you feels personal.”
The sun was lower in the sky now, facing the opening in our cabana. Rowan sighed and stretched out on the lounger, his body gleaming under the intense rays. My body heat rose at the sight of all that tempting skin and I considered heading back into the water to cool down. I tried not to let my gaze linger on him. Tried but didn’t succeed. Thank God for dark sunglasses.
“You called me Ro,” Rowan whispered.