Page 26 of Exposed

“Please excuse me,” he said, nodding to the strangers at his table. He slid around Olga’s chair, and her gaze lifted as he passed. Her large blue eyes lined in dark mascara focused on his. Her pink lips folded into a luscious pout and she winked at him.

Good grief. Her husband sat inches from her, in deep discussion with Ashley about other excursions in the area. Ivan leaned across the chair Nate had vacated, bringing him closer to Ashley. He stroked her hand and Ashley’s eyes sharpened.

Swingers. He stifled a laugh with a cough, and nodded at Olga as he moved past their table. He would have to inform Ashley later.

His gaze landed on Maddie’s table as he headed for the restroom. Carlos sat with his back to Nate, and the chair next to him was empty. She couldn’t have gone to the restroom; he would have seen her. Where the hell had she gone?

A flash of gold moved on the other side of the ballroom. His eye caught her round, lush ass as she exited the room. Heclenched his hands into fists as he entered the men’s room. The urge to slip out the other exit near the restrooms rippled through him. He quickly relieved himself, then squirted a pile of soap in his hands and scrubbed, then dried his hands. He couldn’t follow her, dammit. It would be too risky if someone saw them alone together.

A line of waiters flowed from the kitchen with the next course as he made his way back to the table. Keeping his face turned toward his table, he moved his eyes to Carlos’s table. Carlos pushed back in his seat as a waiter placed a new plate in front of him. He rubbed his hands together as the waiter opened the lid.

She was still gone. He reached his table and movement at the back of the room made him snap his head up. Tony’s tall, dark form moved to the exit.

Nate’s senses prickled.

Sonofabitch.

CHAPTER 8

Maddie’s dress flappedopen in the breeze. The cool, salty wind swirled under the high slit and sent a chill up her spine. The stars shone brightly in the black sky and the moon reflected off the ebony water. She pressed her back tighter against the wall of the ship. It was so… dark. The soft lapping of waves at the side of the boat sounded, but there was no way she’d inch closer to look over the side.

She pulled her phone out of her clutch and dialed Ethan’s number. For God’s sake, he’d acted like a jealous husband blowing her phone up. Carlos’s annoyed glares had finally forced her to excuse herself. She’d exuded a certain degree of concern and explained it was a family member. Now she had to fabricate an explanation to him.

She bit her teeth into her tongue as the line rang.

“What the hell is going on?” Ethan barked after the second ring.

Irritation swelled in her throat and she swallowed before carefully choosing her words. Every fiber of her being wanted to tear into him.

“This had better be an emergency,” she said slowly. Her voice shook on the last word.

Ethan guffawed. “Are you kidding me? You’ve been avoiding me for weeks, Maddie. Dammit, what is going on with you?”

She pursed her lips and kept her gaze on the bright, twinkling stars above. God, she’d never seen anything like it. If it weren’t for the calm around her, she’d have lost her shit. She closed her eyes on a breath. The angrier she got with Ethan, the longer thiswould take. All she had to do was brush him off and placate him for the time being.

“Nothing is going on with me. I’m sorry, okay? I’ve been busy. Is everything all right?”

He cursed through the phone. The line crackled with poor reception before clearing. “Don’t give me that shit. I know when something’s up with you. You can at least be honest with me. That’s not too much to ask.” The last part he said softly, his voice pleading.

Part of her wanted to tell him everything. For as long as she could remember, he’d always treated her like a child. For once, she wanted him to be proud of her, for him to cheer her on and treat her as an equal. Because he couldn’t accept that she wasn’t a baby, she couldn’t trust him.

“I see you’ve thoroughly poked your nose in my business—”

“I wouldn’t have. Christ, Maddie. All you had to do was talk to me. But no, you’re so secretive that you can’t even open up to those around you.” His voice teetered on hysteria, and her finger twitched with the urge to hang up the phone.

She forced it away. As much as she wanted to shut him down, she couldn’t do that. Ethan was ranting because he cared. A stab of regret sank into her chest.

“Do you realize Mom and Dad are worried sick? Or have you forgotten about them too? Hell, if you don’t want to talk to me, fine. At least call your parents and give them peace of mind. Though honest to God, what have I done for you to act like this?”

She focused her attention on her breath.

One… two… three… she wouldn’t let him make her crazy.

She hadn’t wanted to avoid her family, and her distance this past month had not been easy on her. She’d sent her parents an email two days ago, so he needed to check his facts.

Avoiding Ethan had almost been more difficult than avoiding the rest of her family. He’d always been so keen on what she wasup to. Her parents were easy to appease. Ethan, on the other hand, was like a damn dog with a bone. But it wasn’t like him to act irrational or to get to this level of angst. But for heaven’s sake, he’d left her with no choice but to dodge him. Silence hung between them and she tried to form a response, but her brain was already trying to figure out a story to tell Carlos.

“Are you even listening to me?” Ethan growled in her ear.

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