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Cait still liked me… perhaps even loved me, even if she wouldn’t admit it to me, or to herself.
But what did that change? Unless I was planning on sticking around to be my father’s right hand, it didn’t matter how she saw me.
Unless…
Cait travelled as much as I did, if not more. Perhaps we could bethatcouple. She had a successful business with this blogging stuff… okay, I admit it, I stalked her as well. Once. Okay, it was twice. She could earn wherever she was in the world, and I would pick up jobs in any country… I could fix cars, gather fruit, fish… anything.
But we’d have no protection. Being with me would put her in danger when my father’s enemies came after me to try and get to him.
If I wanted her, I had to stay.
And I wasn’t sure I could do that.
I hauled my ass off the couch and wandered to the bathroom, casually scrolling through Cait’s photos. When they started to pop up, I could barely breathe. She had thousands of followers, verging on celebrity status, although I wasn’t so pleased to see that almost half her followers were private accounts belonging to pervy men.
I didn’t blame them though. Her pictures were stunning.
Dear Lord.
All that tanned, gorgeous skin and sun-bleached hair. The curves encased in barely there swimsuits. Pictures of her shapely legs stretched out on sunbeds. White painted toes wriggling as she captured a beach view.
I could barely stand it.
There was a picture of her in tiny shorts on a dock in the Maldives, her blonde hair hanging down her back in beachy waves. She had her arms thrown up in the air, highlighting her gorgeous shape as she grinned at the sky. Then there she was leaning over the edge of an infinity pool while the sun set behind her, the curve of her ass appearing just above the water to create a valley in her back for the sun to set into.
Artistic.
She wore a pretty floral sundress beneath the Eiffel tower, her lips painted bright red. She looked incredible on the back of a camel, riding through the desert. She looked even better with a big goofy grin on her face as she prepared to explore Machu Picchu… my heart hurt when I realized I’d only been there a few weeks after her.
We could have explored the world together, instead, we’d done it apart.
I could have made love to her on every continent, instead, some other guy had probably gotten that pleasure.
I’d wasted years of firsts. Years of being at her side as she conquered the world.
As I scrolled further and further, absorbing her smiles and her skin, I knew that it didn’t matter if I wanted to be my father’s heir or not, I had to stay and fix things here.
If I left, and Dad was allowed to continue this mad quest, she could be the next victim. She could be the next one shot and gutted by those animals…
I remembered what had happened to her parents. I remembered my poor baby sister and the future she’d been denied.
Cait was close to us, everyone knew it, and even if she wasn’t deliberately targeted to get back at my Dad, she could be caught in the cross hairs because of Bree. If anyone tried to hurt Bree, Cait would try and stop it. She’d sacrifice herself for her best friend… and I couldn’t have that.
She needed to get out of this city. I needed to stay.
If I stayed, I could fix things to make it safe for Bree and Dad, but more importantly, if I stayed, Cait would leave.
She’d been so angry, so emotional every time I’d seen her. She might be stalking my social media, but that didn’t mean she had forgiven me… I didn’t think she ever would.
It was for the best.
I would stay. I’d give up travelling and help my family. Cait would get on a plane and never come back. She would be safe.
Yes.
I had no choice but to stay. I had to protect Cait.
I dropped my phone on my bed and stripped out of yesterday’s outfit. I needed to find a way to win this fucking war.
