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I realized that in some ways, Skye had experienced the same things I had when she’d married a rich man. “Do you regret it?” I asked quietly.
Skye had never really talked much about her ex-husband, and I’d never met him. My few conversations with her after she’d moved to San Diego had been pretty superficial.
She nodded. “Everything except for Maya. She’s my everything. If I had to do it all over again to have my girl, I would.”
I smiled. “She’s adorable, and a smart little cookie,” I told her earnestly. “You’re an amazing mom.”
Skye shrugged. “I try. But I’m pretty lucky that she’s such an easy kid. Let’s not talk about me right now. I want to know what you’re going to do with the rich hottie sitting right down the table from you.”
“You’re right. I guess I have to stop obsessing about what could happen with Eli, and just take things as they come.”
I took a few minutes to tell Skye about my adventures with Eli Stone, catching her up on the last several days of crazy things we’d done.
“Oh, my God!” she exclaimed. “So not only is he mega hot, but he’s thoughtful, too? Really, Jade. You have to enjoy every single moment you get with this guy.”
“I know,” I answered. “I’m trying to loosen up.”
“That’s never been an easy thing for you to do,” she said gently.
I shrugged. “I’m a science geek.”
“And an extremely brilliant one,” Skye said. “But you’re also a woman, Jade.”
“Yeah, well, sometimes I have a really hard time getting in touch with that side of myself,” I answered.
Until I met Eli, I hadn’t ever been consumed with lust. Now, I could hardly think about anything else except sex.
“You still haven’t done the wild thing with him? How does that happen? You’re attracted to him, right?”
“Incredibly so,” I told her unhappily.
“Enjoy yourself, Jade, and worry about the fallout if and when it happens,” Skye advised. “He’s obviously got the hots for you. He’s looked over here like a million times since we’ve been sitting here. He wants you. You’ll never know what could happen unless you let go of everything and just live in the moment.”
“I’ve never exactly done that,” I argued.
Skye nodded. “Your childhood was rough, but you all had each other. And you were the bravest one of the bunch. Don’t wimp out now. You were the girl who wasn’t afraid to go out to the middle of nowhere by herself just to commune with nature. You were the girl who would fight anybody who was a bully. And you were the type of girl who would run toward danger instead of away from it like any normal person would. You’re still that woman, Jade. You’re just confused right now. But all that will go away when you realize that you are still you, with or without the money.”
Over the last few days, I’d begun to understand that everything Skye was saying now was true. Maybe I could lie back a little, learn to manage my wealth, and keep applying for the positions I wanted. My inheritance had done that for me. I didn’t have to take a job I didn’t want just for the income. In the meantime, I could do all I could for conservation by putting my money to work on research and projects to help rebuild dwindling populations of endangered wildlife.
The more I learned about my new wealth, the more certain I was that money was not going to alter my life. It wasn’t going to make me different. But it could help me do some incredible things that I’d never imagined I’d ever be able to do in my lifetime.
I hadn’t changed. But I did regret that I hadn’t had a chance to do all of the good things I wanted to do with it now.
“You’re right,” I replied. “I’m starting to understand that I don’t have to be terrified of my bank balance, and that I can learn to manage it. That’s my main goal. Taking control of my own fortune so my half brother doesn’t have that responsibility anymore. I think Evan has done more than enough for all of us.”
Skye reached out and squeezed my hand. “You’ll be okay, Jade. It’s perfectly fine for you to just do nothing until you adjust. The money will still be there.”
I felt tears spring to my eyes as I looked at Skye. She was a strong, resilient woman, and I was glad that we hadn’t ended up drifting away from each other just because I was feeling confused. Skye was the type of friend who would be there no matter what. “Thank you,” I said softly.
“Where exactly are you taking our sister today?” I heard my brother Noah ask as the guys all stood up.
Eli looked at all of them grimly. “It’s a surprise, but I’ll take care of her.”
“I’m not sure I like her flying off without us knowing where she’ll be,” Aiden added.
I rose to my feet and got into the fray. “I’m an adult. I can take care of myself,” I told my three brothers firmly.
“No offense, dude,” Seth said. “But we want to know where she’ll be.”
“No offense taken,” Eli answered smoothly. “I’ll text you so it doesn’t ruin the surprise.”
My brothers grumbled, but seemed to accept that they weren’t going to get an address.
We said our good-byes, and I promised Skye I’d call her so that she and Maya could come to my place to swim and hang out at the beach.
I felt awkward getting into Eli’s expensive Bugatti Chiron. I’d teased him that I felt more like I was riding in the Batmobile than a sports car. But I got into the high-tech vehicle anyway.
“Why did you agree to text them?” I asked curiously as I fastened my seat belt.
He maneuvered the high-performance vehicle onto the street before he answered, “If you were mine, I’d want to know where you were going, too. And they’re your brothers. They took care of you growing up. I can’t blame them for being concerned that you’re taking off with somebody they don’t really know.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m almost twenty-seven years old. I have a PhD. It wouldn’t be the first time that I took off by myself.”
“You’re not alone. You’re with me. I think that’s what they’re worried about.”
“Why?” I asked in a confused voice.
“They know I want to fuck you.”
“How could they possibly know that?” I questioned.
He shrugged. “I guess it’s a guy thing. We learn to read other guys so we don’t step on any toes.”
“And you think my brothers picked up on those male signals?”
“I know so,” he said confidently.
It felt awkward to know that my brothers might know just where Eli’s mind was going when he looked at me.
It felt even stranger that they might have noticed that I felt the same way.
I relaxed back into the plush seat of Eli’s vehicle, wondering whether my face was as red as it felt.
CHAPTER 11
JADE
“Are you kidding me?” I squealed happily when we finally arrived at our destination. “What is all this?”
Eli looked smug as he leaned against the door of our lodgings. “We’re going to be glamping here in Montana for the next four days,” he informed me. “You’re a genetic conservationist who hasn’t really had much of a chance to do anything except study animal genetics and all the lab data that involves. Now you can really explore the wilderness, since I know you love doing that, too. You mentioned that you like to hike. This is probably one of the most beautiful areas to do it.”
