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Why had she been crying? He knew even before he asked that she wouldn’t open up to him. Why would she? He’d certainly never asked about her private life before. Up until the other night, he’d never socialized with her outside work—and traveling on business didn’t count.
Traveling on business.
Why had he insisted she assist him as if this were any other business trip? Because it was, he told himself. Checking for honeymoon destinations was just as much business as the wedding.
The merging of two real estate moguls like the Stones and Tremanes was beyond perfect. Once their contracts and the wedding were behind them, he and Mona would start to build the next phase of real estate in numerous countries. Who said marriage had to be built on love? This was just another business deal.
Even though Brady didn’t know about the nuptials yet, Cade knew his brother would be completely behind the merging of companies.
Brady would agree to nearly anything right now because he was still floating in the clouds. Only eight short months ago Brady had gone to Kauai determined to steal back their family’s resort. But Brady’s plans had been rearranged when he fell in love with the current owner.
But now that Brady and his new wife, Sam, were expecting twins, Cade was pretty much in charge of the San Francisco office while the newlyweds and parents-to-be were renovating the Kauai resort.
Cade, however, knew love wasn’t going to happen to him. Besides, his reasons for marriage far outranked love. Money and power were two very compelling motivations.
His office door flew open, followed by his once even-tempered assistant. No sign of tears now. Her eyes held a bit more fire than moments ago. As if she needed to look sexier.
“I will be staying here while you go look for a honeymoon destination.”
She stood in his doorway with her hands on her hips. Because she’d shed her baby-blue jacket that matched her knee-length skirt, her white button-up shirt pulled against her chest. He had to keep his eyes focused on her vibrant green eyes and not the simple outline of her plain white bra.
Damn. He wouldn’t be looking at or even thinking of her undergarments if he could get that damn image of her riding that bull out of his head.
“You will go and you will do your job as you always have.” He paused, daring her to say a word. “End of discussion.”
“What I have to say doesn’t matter?”
Her slightly raised tone shocked him. “That’s not what I said. What I said was you will do the job I am paying you to do.”
“And what will you tell Mona?”
“There’s nothing to tell.” Because he didn’t want the control to slip from his grasp, Cade came to his feet and rounded his desk. “We’re going on a business trip. I’ll be working, as will you. Surely you’ve assisted previous clients with their honeymoon getaways?”
“Of course, but this is different.”
“Why? You work for me, in not one but two settings now. I will need your input on real estate business and honeymoon planning. If you can’t handle the pressure, just say so.”
She opened her mouth and then closed it. The tension in the room mounted and Cade wondered what she was thinking. He knew that bit about her not handling the pressure would get her. She hated to be thought of as incapable—not that he’d ever thought of her that way.
He crossed his arms, leaned against his mahogany desk and waited her out. Not that he minded staring at her, but he hoped she said something soon before he made a fool of himself and crossed the line of professionalism, doing something completely insane. Like grabbing her and kissing her.
“We’re leaving Friday morning,” she said through clenched teeth. “Seven sharp.”
She spun on her heel and slammed his door behind her.
Cade didn’t know whether to laugh or groan. He wasn’t sure if he was going to make it to the aisle. First he had to survive this trip.
Three
Abby settled into her plush, leather seat aboard Cade’s private jet and buckled her seat belt. Under normal circumstances she would be ecstatic to be flying off to Jamaica, Cozumel and Cancún, but these were far from normal circumstances. And in just a few hours, they’d be on the pristine, sandy beaches of Cancún.
As Cade came through from the cockpit, Abby booted up her laptop and set her file folder in the vacant seat next to her. Might as well work on the wedding planning. The sooner she got all the details perfected, the sooner she could get on with her life…alone.
“What are you working on?” Cade plucked the folders from the seat, tucked them in the side pocket of his chair and eased in beside her.
“Wedding plans.”
