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I stare down at my hand. What a fool I've been. Here I am thinking I’m wearing some fake ring for a fake marriage, yet my new husband has a receipt in his wallet for3.2 million freakin’ dollars!
I try to remind myself that he's a billionaire and this doesn't matter. Or maybe that receipt doesn't have anything to do with my… ohyes,it most certainlydoes. There's a line item right there that states “diamond ring.”
Holy shit balls… I could take this ring, I could disappear, I could…
Give up everything that ever mattered to me.
No, I can't do that. The old me would’ve done it in a New York minute. But for the first time in my life, I have… friends.
Adriano doesn't love me, and God knows I don't want him to because that's just way too complicated, but I do know one thing—he’ll take care of me, at least during the six-month commitment.
And that's something.
The need to run consumes me so badly I tap my foot frantically. Running is what I do. It’s the most comfortable. Toss everything in a bag and hit the next bus and find a place where I can become another person, where nobody knows who I am.
But I can’t do that now. Not only does he have a crew of men watching me, I promised, and I may not be the most reliable person in the world, but I do keep my promises.
Sigh.
I look out the window and there's a full moon over the harbor. It is stunning.
“You didn’t say I couldn’t go out,” I whisper to myself. “You just said I couldn’t go outalone.”
Easy.
I very quietly exit the room, carefully checking over my shoulder to make sure Adriano is still sleeping. He needs his rest, I tell myself. I need some explanations. If I were at Bella Notte right now, the night would still be in full throttle. Who can blame a girl for a little adventure?
I gently shut the door behind me and realize I'm in a hallway. They have cute, whitewashed boats on the side tables, and nautical-themed framed prints—a dune, a sandy beach dotted with sand dollars, wispy clouds on a beach at sunset. Cute.
"Hey," I hiss into the hallway. "Anyone there? I know you guys are around. He said there were like twelve guards here or something and I'm not supposed to leave without any.
"I just need three of you guys, the rest of you guys can stay wherever you're hiding."
I look around the hall, and there are two huge guys in suits peering at me. I have no idea where they even came from. "Well done," I say approvingly. "Hey, I wanna go down to the beach, and Adriano's asleep. He said that I can go out. I just need to have three of you guys with me, OK?" When they don’t respond right away, I rephrase my question. I am their boss’s wife, after all. “Walk me down to the beach,capiche?”
One of them looks away. The other looks at the floor. That's when I remember I'm still wearing Adriano's T-shirt.
"Oh myGod… Don't get the wrong idea, boys. We didn't have sex or anything." And now one of them is blushing.
"He said there’s a private beach, right? So, like, do I have to go get changed to make you idiots move?"
A third guy, tall, blond, and who looks like he has Russian in his blood, joins us and stares at me with a twitch of a smile on his face.
"You should at least get a sweatshirt or maybe a sweater," he says. "I'm not Adriano, but I can say with confidence that he's not alright with you walking around without being fully clothed." His face takes on a pained expression. "You might say he's a little… uh, protective."
Right. I remember that I have joggers and a hoodie by the door, so I trot down the stairs, grab them and put them on. I’ll go out barefoot though, because barefoot goes with sand. I grab a bottle of water from the fridge, and we all head down to the beach.
The sand is still warm under my feet. The moon shines on the water like a spotlight and there's a little bit of a breeze that smells like salt air. A pier overlooks the beach, vacant and welcoming. I pretend I don't have three lunkheads watching me, but that I'm just walking on the beach alone, looking for shells. God, it's gorgeous here. When I look behind me, I notice a string of vacant, gorgeous cabanas, like mini huts. It's secluded, private, and tranquil.
I didn't know there were beaches like this in Maine. I bend down and pick up a shell. Placing it in the palm of my hand, I’m tracing the edge of it, caught up in its pattern and texture, when a voice startles me.
"I told you to get some sleep."
I squeal and drop the shell. I turn back toward the cabanas. The moonlight hits my eyes, and all I can see is a large frame leaning up against the side of one of the cabanas, his hands in his pockets. I step out of the light so I can see him better.
"I couldn't sleep."
"At least you took three men with you, so I can't punish you for that."
