Page 78 of The Billionaire's Teacher

“You’ll come home with me.”

It wasn’t a question, but still I shook my head. “Thanks, Zee. Really. But no. I’m fine for a night on my boat. There’s no need for you to be here that early and you and I both know it.”

She sighed. “I had to try. You’ll at least come have dinner with me?”

“Depends.” I held up a finger. “Are you going to grill me about Wes?”

Zee wouldn’t meet my gaze.

“That’s what I thought. I’m going to pass. I know you mean well, but right now? Email is working for me. I still don’t know what I want. Or even what’s possible. Maybe we just develop a good friendship out of this and call it a day. I’ll be okay with that.”

“Will you?” Zee searched my face, then nodded slowly. “I guess you will. All right. But I can’t promise I’m going to leave it alone.”

“I wouldn’t expect any differently.” I smiled. “I’m going to go look over the paperwork for this charter in the office, grab a bite, and call it a night. It’s been a long day.”

“All right.” Zee checked the time on the clock that ticked quietly on the wall. “I guess I’ll lock up and get on home. Check in with me while you’re out.”

“I will.” I patted Zee’s shoulder and moved through the lobby to the little office area. Zee had left out a folder with information for my charter and I sat down with it, one leg tucked under me, and read.

The next morning, I was up at five and on board the sailboat that I’d be in charge of for the next two weeks. I brewed coffee in the galley and checked that the sleeping berths below were ready for guests. Zee had stocked the fridge and pantry, and had done a thorough job of it. The girls who made the booking said they were happy to make their own meals, so at least I didn’t have to do that. I could be invisible on this trip and stick to getting them from point A to B.

It was just what I needed.

The girls wanted to stay in the Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands area, which made it even easier. They could get hotel rooms ashore if they wanted. There wasn’t a requirement to sleep on board, none of the trips between islands were long enough for that. Given that they’d scheduled several days on each island, I didn’t understand why they wanted a charter. Whatever. Not my business.

At ten until seven, I made my way up to the charter offices and waited just outside the door. No reason to unlock it and let them in. But it was where Zee had told them to come. I guessed they weren’t comfortable meeting at the boat.

A taxi pulled up and four women exited. The driver got out of the van and opened the back to unload their luggage. Each woman took the handle of a rolling bag, chattering with each other and the driver. I couldn’t quite catch what they said, but their tone and cadence were friendly. That was a good start.

With a wave down the sidewalk to me, the taxi driver closed the trunk and made his way back around to the driver’s seat. The women all looked my direction at once. I straightened and shifted my smile into professional and welcoming.

Their chatter quieted as they neared. The tallest one, and wow, she was tall, studied me to the point that I wanted to squirm. Finally, she spoke. “You’re Sunshine?”

My eyebrows lifted. Zee usually told everyone I was Sunny. “I am. You ladies ready to sail?”

They exchanged looks. The tall one cleared her throat. “Before we go, we decided we ought to put our cards on the table.”

“Not we. You.” The blonde smiled apologetically, but crossed her arms. “I still think it’s the wrong move.”

“Noted.” The tall woman rolled her eyes. “I’m Jenna. That’s Whitney. This is Kayla. And in the back is Megan.”

I shook hands with each woman as they were introduced. Something about the group of names was familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Probably just the paperwork I’d read over last night. “Nice to meet you all. I hope you have a great time on your island vacation. The boat’s down this way.”

“Wait.” Jenna reached out and put her hand on my arm. “We’re all friends with Wes.”

I froze. Then blinked. That was why the names were familiar. Wes had mentioned the wives and girlfriends of his pals. “I see. Well. I’m glad he gave a good recommendation even after the storm. We shouldn’t have any weather problems this trip.”

“Oh. He doesn’t know we’re here.” One of the brunettes, Kayla I thought, interjected. She bit her lip. “I had to do a lot of tap dancing with Austin to get him to agree to keep this quiet.”

“Me, too. Well, with Scott.” Whitney nodded and uncrossed her arms. “And I kind of think we should have waited until we were sailing so you couldn’t run screaming.”

I laughed, although I was confused. “I don’t plan to run screaming. I guess I’m not sure what’s going on though.”

“Wes has mentioned you about six hundred—”

“Million. Six hundred million.” Kayla cut Jenna off with an elbow jab.

Jenna shrugged. “A lot. But then he clams up. It’s not like Wes. He’s usually the guy who can’t stop talking about the woman he’s seeing. So we got curious. I had some vacation I needed to use or lose. Megan was able to get coverage for the bookstore. The guys have a plane.”

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