Page 81 of Sapphire Storm

Donnie’s words acted like a soothing balm across flamingskin.

“All right, Sex Socrates, tell me what today’s really aboutthen,” Ethan finally said.

“Something really weird happened at that hotel this morningbefore you woke up, and you don’t know what it is. And Rachel doesn’t either,it sounds like.”

Desperate to believe Donnie’s words, Ethan turned from thesink, forcing himself to stare into his sun-filled glass box of an apartment.Somethingreally weird. It sounded pretty accurate.

“And another thing,” Donnie added. “Faking it is mybusiness, Blake, and that guy couldn’t fake what he was feeling for you thisweek. Hell, he couldn’t fake being turned on in my studio for more than tenseconds.”

“Fine, then maybe he got upset about the past all overagain. Or he woke up and regretted everything. I don’t know.”

“That’s just it, Blake. You don’t know. Listen, I gotcontractors breathing down my neck, but I’m going to call you later, okay?”

“Sure.” They were about to hang up when Ethan said, “Donnie.Thank you.”

“Youcarriedme when Zach left. He broke my heart,and you carried me. I’ll carry you through this, whatever it turns out to be.We’re family, and we always will be.”

When he hung up, feeling comforted and encouraged, he felt astrange tickle on the back of his neck and reached up to rub the skin. Nothingwas there, and that’s when he realized the sensation wasn’t physical—it was amemory. A memory of a detail about that morning he’d forgotten.

A kiss, he realized.

Roman had kissed him early that morning. He’d figured theman had been on his way to the bathroom, but maybe he’d been on his way out thedoor. Had it been a taunt, a way to drive the knife in before his text arrived?

How did that work? Ethan had been half asleep and had barelystirred. It had been the kind of kiss you gave someone so thatyoucould remember it, not them.

He wasn’t scheduled to go into work until the next day, buthe wasn’t willing to sit at home, staring at the walls and checking his phoneevery ten seconds. And with Roman somewhere high above an ocean, what would hebe expecting anyway? He texted his team members who were on site and scheduleddebriefs for later in the day.

An hour later, he was back at Sapphire Cove, the change ofscenery and pace making his time in San Diego feel like it was a distant feverdream. But of course, the hotel was abuzz with talk of the Scott Bryant tapeand whether or not it would kill the Peyton wedding. He had emails from both Connorand Logan asking him if he’d heard anything from Roman. In the strictest oflegal terms, his response was truthful.I have not heard anything fromRoman at this time about the wedding.

The absence of a query from Jonas, however, was odd. As eventsdirector, the wedding was under his purview, and a cancellation would be hiscomplicated, headache-inducing matter to handle. He should have been the mosteager for an update.

Chloe cornered him, on fire for information, and he gave herthe same response he’d given the GM and director of security, then mollified herwith an hour of one-sided conversation where she downloaded about the squabblesshe and her wife were having about their home renovation. After that, he threwhimself into cake design on two different upcoming projects. By the time helooked up at his phone, it was eight o’clock, and most of the day was gone.

Good,he thought.

Then he noticed he had a visitor.

Jonas Jacobs was standing behind him, expression unreadable.“You’re working late. On your vacation.”

“Design is my favorite part of the process. I tend to losemyself in it.”

Jonas grunted and gave him a coy, half smile. “Follow me,please.”

Ethan complied.

Well, this is it,he thought, expecting to be ledinto a conference room with Connor, Logan, and possibly several managers of thebank trust that owned the hotel. To learn Donnie was wrong and Rachel was wrongand that Roman had smeared him to management in an attempt to get him fired.Maybe with a lie, maybe with the truth about Ethan’s past. But then they weremoving through the conference center and out the door toward the villas. It wasdark out, and the sky was clear and star-flecked, the cool winds rustling thepalm fronds overhead.

“So I understand you didn’t follow my advice,” Jonas said.

Ethan sighed. “What’s going on, Jonas?”

“We’re meeting your friend Donnie. We have some informationto share with you.”

“I see,” Ethan said, even though he didn’t and thought itbest to keep his confusion quiet.

When they stepped through the door to one of the villas,Donnie rose quickly to his feet from the cream-colored chaise lounge next tothe balcony doors. The honey-colored light inside made the scene seemironically romantic.

“I didn’t realize you two knew each other,” Ethan said.

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