Page 75 of The Billionaire's Fake Fiancée

“‘You’re wrong.’ Thatwouldbe your apology.” I turn and head down the steps.

It’s a lovely afternoon, and the guests are all out, massed around the pool and the bar area, with a good dozen of them at the croquet area beyond, waiting for us on the bright green AstroTurf in their yacht clothes and hats, croquet mallets in their hands.

He catches up. “Hate isn’t at all an accurate description of my feelings—”

“We don’t have to actually talk until we’re with people,” I say, speeding up.

He catches up to me. “I’ll double your bonus.”

“Oh, great. More money. That’ll fixeverything.”

“Consider it hazard pay,” he says.

“Don’t flatter yourself. You’re hardly a hazard. And this is just a business relationship.”

“Tabitha—”

I give him a hot glare and round a potted palm, heart secretly breaking.

How could I have been so stupid? Guys always put themselves first—you never want to depend on them, and you nevereverput your heart in their hands.

Putting your heart in the hands of any guy is the recipe for ruin, and what did I do? Exactly that.

I paste on a smile and wave energetically.

And then I think,have I lost my mind?I link my arm in his. “I changed my mind. Double the bonus. Yes, please.”

He says nothing, and then we’re in the thick of it. “We’re ready to rumble!” I say, grabbing a mallet.

Nala high-fives me. Serena watches me coldly, but I’m already chilled to the bone.

I make the game count, laughing and trying to get into it, doing a good job. I don’t need him to see he picked right, I just need to last.

And somehow, forget how hard I was falling for him.

Chapter 12

Tabitha

One thing Rexis right about when it comes to yachts—it sucks to have nowhere to go.

Especially when you want to be away from everybody.

After a game of croquet that felt like five hours, but was probably just one, Rex and Clark go back to work. I retreat wordlessly to my room, but I really, really want to not be there. I want to be away from Rex and Clark, and away from all of these nice people we have to fool and the not-nice people like Marvin and Serena.

I change into dark clothes and head through the main area. “I’m going for a walk,” I say. “Don’t worry, I won’t talk to anyone. I don’t plan on seeing anybody.”

Rex doesn’t try to stop me.

I get out of there and I walk around the edge of the ship and toward the back, pretending I’m on my phone, waving when I have to. I climb down some random steps and cross through the dining room, empty aside from a pair of stewardesses setting up the tables.

I finally work my way to the back of the ship where fewer people seem to hang out. I discover a small spiderweb of staircases apparently leading along the outside of the decks like scaffolding, probably used to serve when things are going on.

They’re empty now.

I climb up, discovering a small sunny landing, and then I climb up and there’s another landing. I reach a small landing just above the fifth deck, the very top of the staircase, and that’s where I stop. I’m away from them all as much as I can be. It’s just me and the sky and my phone.

I place a call to Jada, willing her to pick up, but she doesn’t. It’s yoga time, dammit.

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