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“Yeah.” He raked a hand into his hair. “Thanks.”
“We will need more than the fifty thousand.”
Of course.
After breakfast, he’d taken Hope back to the cottage and left the golf cart there in case she wanted to go to the spa, so he asked a valet for a ride back. When he arrived, Hope was in the living room, purse clutched in her hands. Her luggage was packed, waiting near the door.
Breath whooshed from his lungs.
“You’re leaving?”
“I thought you were the bellman. The concierge arranged a ride for me to the airport.” Her eyes were swollen, but her chin was set in a resolved line.
His whole life, he’d been in control, and now everything sifted through his grip. He couldn’t draw a deep breath. “Without telling me?”
“There’s nothing more to discuss.”
He strode toward her, only to have her take a step back. He froze. “Fuck. Hope?”
“We shouldn’t have gotten involved. I knew that. This was a mistake from the very beginning. It ends now.”
She deserved his full attention. They needed time, and that was the one luxury he didn’t have. “Hope…” He yanked the knot from his tie. “I need to go to Florida.”
“So? Go. You don’t owe me an explanation.”
“You’re my lover, for Christ’s sake. You matter.”
“Do I?”
Her words hung, doubting, challenging. “It’s my dad…” He needed her to understand. “Lillibet is missing.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
Damn her and her chilled, distant words. Rafe hadn’t realized how much he was counting on her feedback to sort through the mess that was his family. “I should be back tomorrow. Let’s have dinner. We can sort through this.”
She shook her head. Destroying him, a tear fell from the corner of her eye. His gaze was riveted on the emotional path it traveled. “If you want another mixer, you can contact Skyler.”
“Fuck that, Hope,” he snapped. “Stop it.”
She took another step away.
What the hell was happening between them? Last night had been perfect. And now…?
A knock on the door shattered the tense silence. “Bell service, Ms. Malloy!”
Rafe snarled, then shouted, “Go away!”
She walked around him to open the door.
“Don’t. Don’t do this.”
Instead of responding, she informed the man which bags belonged to her. She followed him out to the golf cart and left without a backward glance.
Rafe picked up a vase filled with beautiful fresh flowers and threw it against the wall, shattering it and his heart into a million shards.
“Rafe?”
Exhausted, he glanced over at Travers, one of Celeste’s most trusted operatives. Rafe had met the man a couple of times, and each time he’d been dressed the same. Black T-shirt, pants, shoes, jacket, glasses. His stealth was legendary, and until he’d made his presence known, Rafe hadn’t even known Travers had boarded the Lunar Sea. According to Celeste, he’d come by dinghy in order to surveil the harbor.
Hoping Travers had found something, anything, Rafe excused himself from his father. In the past ten hours, Rafe had learned little. This morning, Theodore had played a round of golf. Rather than be bored with a bunch of men, Lillibet preferred to stay aboard the boat, sunbathing and drinking champagne.
When his father had returned, Lillibet couldn’t be found. That wasn’t all that unusual. She could have gone to the marina or a nearby restaurant, or even be visiting another boat. He’d called her cell phone and received no answer. He’d strolled to the marina and asked around, but no one had reported seeing her. Nor had any of their friends. When he’d returned to the boat, he’d observed that a couple of her drawers were ajar. A cursory search revealed that her clothing was there, but her jewelry was missing. Then he’d discovered that his money was gone. Convinced that something horrible had happened to her, he’d contacted Celeste, then Rafe.
Given what they knew about Lillibet not being who she appeared to be, Rafe was willing to bet she had absconded with the goods herself. Compassion had stopped him from saying so to his dad. For the first time, Rafe understood how caring about a woman could screw with a man’s brain.
