Page 61 of Wed to the Devil
“You’ve got to be kidding.” I spin, my white sundress fluttering. “What kind of a friend has this kind of beach house sitting around, unused?”
He shrugs, pulling out a bowl of tropical fruits and a container of yogurt. He sets them on the countertop and rustles through the pantry for a minute. Then he pulls out a plastic package of very expensive-looking granola and waves it at me.
“How does a parfait sound?”
I bite my lip and repress a smile. “I'm so hungry that I would be pretty much anything you put in front of me, given that it was edible.”
His lips twitch and he starts to put a handful of blueberries in a bowl. I take a seat at the kitchen bar and watch him slice an Apple up and alternate it with layers of granola and thick dollops of Greek yogurt. My stomach rumbles and I run my hand over my growing baby bump, as if to soothe it somehow.
By the time Dare is done, I am absolutely ravenous. He sets the glass and a spoon on the counter in front of me and I wolf it down, barely tasting the bright, sweet notes of the fruit and the creaminess of the granola. Dare stands back and watches me with some amusement. I wolf down the whole parfait in less than three minutes. When I'm done, he takes the glass and spoon from me and sticks them near the sink.
“I take that as a compliment,” he says.
I can't help but laugh. “Thank you for feeding me. I hate to even ask, but do you think that there are any salt and vinegar chips in this house? I'm having a crazy craving for them all of a sudden.”
He smiles and shrugs his shoulders. “Whatever you want, they can get it for you. Salt and vinegar chips should be easy.”
I bite my lip and lean forward, resting my arms on the counter. “Would it be too much to ask if they can get kettle chips?”
He whips out his cell phone and starts to text someone. “I'm sure they can figure something out.”
He leans back against the cabinet and crosses his legs as he concentrates on his phone. I look Dare up and down, admiring his tall, trim physique. He is still wearing his usual black dress pants and his white button up, his suit jacket missing entirely. He's rolled up his sleeves at some point and I look at his strong forearms and his undoubtedly high end platinum watch. He's always handsome. But just at this moment, he is extremely attractive.
The fact that he is my husband doesn't hurt either.
I'm busy imagining my sexy husband shirtless and feeding me salt and vinegar potato chips when I catch movement out of the corner of my eye. I see two figures walking down the little path beside the house, a man leading the way and a woman holding his hand and lagging slightly behind. I can see the man's dark hair and looks are familiar to me. He clutches the hand of a woman whose blonde hair is tucked up in a red handkerchief. They are both dressed for a midday walk on the beach.
Why do I feel a sense of dread when I see them?
As I watch, the man stops and pulls the woman into his arms, kissing her dramatically and even dipping her backwards. I raise my hand to point them out to Dare, but then I see who the man and woman are.
It's Burn and Daisy. They are unmistakable from where I'm standing about forty feet away in the kitchen.
My jaw drops.
Dare turns his head to look, spotting Burn and Daisy in less than a second. He pushes off the cabinets and immediately his posture grows tense. His hands curl into fists and he spreads his legs, his gaze growing steely.
“What the fuck?” Dare hisses. “How do they even know where we are?”
I stand up and walk to stand beside him, pulling at one of his hands and lacing my fingers with his. I look up at Dare and take a deep breath. “They must've followed us. Or they knew that you had a plane booked to the island.”
His eye twitches. Out the window, Burn pulls away from Daisy and looks in the window, making eye contact with us. Burn grins and heads down the path, toward the front of the house. I look at Dare, who looks like he is spoiling for a fight. Tugging at his hand, I try to talk him down.
“Dare? Look at me.”
After a moment, he does. I gave him a soft smile and touch his cheek.
“You shouldn't fight with Burn. That's obviously what he wants.”
Dare grits his teeth. He grimaces. “He touched you. He kissed you. He knew you were mine and he fucking did it anyway. No one lays a hand on you and walks away unscathed. I'll kill him for it.”
I put my hands on his shoulders and try to calm him down.
“You're letting him win. You're letting Burn wind you up like a toy car. The only way that takes back the power right now is by not engaging.”
He arches a brow. “The only way to win is not to play at all?”
I nod. “It seems that way.”