Page 48 of One Night in Hawaii

“You’re a smart man, Archer Ryatt. You can get out of this.”

“It’ll cost me a lot of money to get out of this,” I said. “I’m in deep. Not to mention our parents. Dad is pushing me to marry her. I think they’re worried about the humiliation.”

“Screw that,” she said, snorting. “They’ll get over it. Archer, your whole life has been by the book. You don’t break the rules. You don’t do anything fun or exciting. You show up to family dinners on time wearing a good suit. You say all the right things at dinner parties. You started your own company and made it hugely successful. You have everything except happiness. I think you need to start living for you. So what if you have to pay Ashley off? It’s not like it’s going to make you go broke.”

“I don’t know. It’s a huge amount of money.”

“So is the reward if you get out of it,” she said. I could tell by the look in her eyes she was getting frustrated with me. “Just do it. You’re not going to be happy being forced to marry someone you don’t love. It’s a mistake and we both know it.”

“I can’t have her on my board,” I said.

“Buy her out,” she said, shrugging. “That’s all she wants.”

“I thought that, but I think she’s trying to fuck with me. I think she likes the idea of controlling me through my company. It gives her power.”

“I don’t want to see you unhappy,” she said. “That’s why I hired Shiloh. For both of us. I wasn’t trying to create a love connection. I had lunch with her and she was so easy to talk to. You have to believe me when I tell you I never asked her to be your friend. I just wanted us to have a good two weeks. You’re reading into this way too much. Shiloh is a nice lady. I liked her. I’m bummed she’s not talking to me. I hoped we could be friends.”

“Yeah, me too,” I muttered.

“I’m going to lay down,” she said. “Maybe I’ll just call it a night. I don’t feel like going out.”

“You’re sure?” I asked.

We planned on going out to a nice dinner for our last night in Hawaii. We were cutting our trip short. I needed to handle the shit with Ashley sooner rather than later before it got any messier.

“I’m sure. I’m exhausted. I didn’t get much sleep last night and I need to have my game face on when we get home.”

“Okay. Goodnight.”

“Night,” she murmured and walked to her bedroom.

I poured myself a drink and pulled out my phone. I wanted to check my calendar to make sure I had the right dates concerning Ashley’s sudden trip to LA. I kept everything in my calendar. There was a bonus to being obsessive compulsive. I scanned my calendar and noted other weekends she was away. I would be very interested to know if they lined up with Matthew’s absences.

I sipped my drink and did a very slow, thorough mental crawl through the last few months. There had been a noticeable change in Ashley, but I chalked it up to wedding jitters. I assumed she was busy with dress fittings and making sure everything was perfect.

But what if she was having an affair? Matthew and Ashley knew each other. The four of us often attended events together and went out to dinner all the time. They always got along very well. The day of the wedding, Matthew was the one to talk to Ashley and explain she was gone.

Matthew and Ashley could be working together. She pulled out of the wedding at the last minute knowing I would never marry her when she changed her mind again. She would get my money and a share of the company, which meant Matthew would get the windfall of cash he wanted and needed. They were playing a game they expected to win. Once Ashley got my money, Matthew would break it off with Penelope. He wouldn’t need her. If Ashley married the asshole, he would end up on my board if she gave him her shares.

It was a wild story, but there were just enough little details that made it plausible. Before I did anything, I would do a little more investigating. I would string Ashley along and hire a private investigator to follow her every move. I couldn’t help but smile thinking of the satisfaction I would get if I could blow up their little scheme. The look on her face would be worth ten million dollars.

I finished my drink and leaned back in my chair. I couldn’t believe that I had been so blind all this time. How could I have missed the signs? The late-night phone calls, the secret emails, the way Ashley had been acting strange lately, it all made sense now. I felt stupid for not seeing it sooner.

I wasn’t jealous. I wasn’t even all that upset she was cheating on me. It was a way out. That’s what was important. I thought about calling an investigator to get the ball rolling but held back. I needed to do my own investigation. If it looked like it was going that way, I would get the evidence. I had to consider Penelope. It would devastate her to know her suspicions were right. If it wasn’t true, I didn’t want to worry her with it. She loved Matthew for some stupid reason. She could do better. In a way, I hoped it was true. Once I exposed Ashley and Matthew, there was no way our parents would allow Penelope to marry the prick. It was two birds with one stone.

After musing about how good it would feel to blow up Ashley’s little plan, I decided to call it a night as well. I locked up and was on my way downstairs to the room I was using when there was a knock on the front door.

When I opened the door, I was stunned to see Shiloh standing there looking very nervous. I couldn’t explain what happened in that moment. I grabbed her and pulled her inside, shutting the door behind her.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

I honestly didn’t know what I was doing. For the first time in my life, I didn’t have a plan.

20

SHILOH

Ididn’t know what he was doing. He dragged me downstairs. “Archer, what are you doing?”

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