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My mind went straight to Greyson, and I cursed myself for it. He’s a married man, I reminded myself. Lusting after him was pointless because I meant what I said when I told him I wasn’t that type of woman.

It didn’t matter how hot he was or how much I wanted to explore the chemistry between us.

I could admit that I initiated the flirting on the shuttle, but how could I have known that he was a married man? I didn’t see a ring on his finger. But making an assumption based on that was foolish. Not every man wore a ring, especially if he was an unfaithful dog.

My chest felt tight at that thought, and something that almost felt like guilt moved through me. I ignored it. It didn’t matter that Greyson seemed like a decent guy. I’d heard that woman call him her husband. He’d confirmed she was the mother of his child.

That meant he was a jerk for wanting to meet me for drinks, especially after my painfully obvious flirting that indicated I would be open to much more than that.

Leanne and Angela were prattling on about the wine tasting when a woman who I recognized as Leanne’s mother stopped in front of the cabana. She was heavily involved in the PTA back when we were teenagers, constantly volunteering to help with school parties or chaperone field trips.

“There you are, Leanne! Did you forget about meeting with the officiant? He’s in the lobby, waiting for us.”

Leanne winced. “Oops. Maybe the wine went to my head a bit. Sorry, Mom.”

Her mom smiled and shook her head. “It’s fine. I left your aunt with him, and you know she can talk anyone’s ear off. But let’s go. He just wants to have a quick discussion about the ceremony.”

“That’s a good idea,” Leanne said, rising from the lounge chair and pulling a sheer white cover-up over her one-piece swimsuit. “Because I’m not promising to obey Ryan. Love and honor, sure. But obey is just ridiculous…”

Her words faded as she walked off with her mom, and Angela laughed. “I had a feeling she would take issue with that.”

“Well, she’s a modern woman,” I said with a shrug. There was a small table with a bowl of fresh fruit in between our lounge chairs, and I grabbed a bunch of grapes. “And making a woman promise to obey while a man promises to cherish is some patriarchal bullshit.”

“Sure. Although it can be fun to obey at the right time.”

Angela waggled her eyebrows up and down, and I launched a grape at her face. She flinched like I threw a rock at her, and my resulting laugh filled the cabana.

But my mind drifted to Greyson again. Despite myself, I wondered if he’d be bossy in bed. I’d always liked a man taking charge during sex, and something about him made me think that he would easily step into that role.

No. He’s married.

“You thinking about work?” Angela asked when my laughter faded, and I scowled at my lingering desire for Greyson.

“Yeah.” I didn’t often lie to Angela, but it was too embarrassing to admit that I was lusting after a married man that I had a twenty-minute conversation with. Besides, now that she mentioned it, I was thinking about work. “I had to sit through a meeting with Xander yesterday to fill him in on my current projects before going on vacation.”

Angela shook her head. “I can’t believe they promoted that guy over you.”

“He has a doctorate.” My voice was bitter in a way that I hated, but that was what the job had reduced me to.

“But no experience on the job. And you’ve worked there for so long.”

I loved that Angela was outraged on my behalf, but I didn’t want to talk about this again. Eight weeks ago, when Xander was promoted over me despite my seniority at the aerospace firm where I’d worked for six years, the first person I’d called was Angela. She listened to my sob story.

Xander had been at the firm for less than a year, and in that time, his most significant contribution had been drafting a plan for an extreme-pressure valve that I was worried would fail. The higher-ups in the company liked the plan because it reduced weight in the current valve—my design—by nearly forty percent, but I was concerned that the thin internal walls that allowed for the reduced weight would crack. That could easily cause a fire in the commercial aircraft where it would be used.

But his design improved fuel efficiency on paper, and that was what they focused on, dismissing my thoughts on the matter.

In the end, it wasn’t just losing out on the promotion that bothered me. It was the realization that I wasn’t taken seriously, despite my years of hard work and proving myself over the course of multiple completed projects. I was an engineer with a master’s degree, but that wasn’t enough for them.

“When I get back to work next week, I’m giving notice,” I said.

It felt good to say it out loud. I’d made this decision right after I was passed over for the promotion, realizing that I needed to do something to be taken more seriously. It was difficult enough to work in such a male-dominated field, but it was even worse to be overlooked and underestimated because someone with no practical experience had a doctorate while I only had my master’s.

So, I was going back to school at twenty-nine years old, a daunting proposition. I’d done well in school and loved learning, but I thought those days were behind me. Now, I was considering three different colleges that had already accepted my application to attend starting in about six months. It was going to be a new year and a new life experience.

Hence, I desperately needed this vacation. A little stress relief was in order.

“We haven’t talked in a couple of days,” Angela said, leaning back on the lounge chair. “I don’t suppose you’ve made a decision about where to go to school?”