26

“I have a few women that subscribe, but most are just one-offs. Women who are looking to get their mojo back. I have a—we call it the stable. The boys who I recruit are wonderful and… energetic. Again, I know them all personally. They’re all very generous with their time and attention to the women.”
“So you hire guys to pleasure women,” Nick demands.
“Technically, I’m just the middle person, providing a safe and reliable service.”
“Reliable? You can guarantee that these guys will get a woman off?”

“If that’s what she wants. It’s the same with escorts. It’s all about the client’s pleasure and desires.”
“But some women…”
“All women have the ability to feel pleasure,” I say sharply. “It’s men who don’t take the time and effort, and who blame their lack of skills and compassion on the women. It’s been like that for generations.”
Cadence looks over her shoulder, with a smile at my outburst.
“Enough about me. What would Google say about you?” she asks Nick.
“Me?” He puts a hand on his chest, feigning modesty he doesn’t have. “I’m nothing more than Nick Klaussen, three-time All-Star, catcher for the Cincinnati Reds, and owner of the best butt in baseball.” He looks over at her with a straight face. “It says that online. I didn’t make it up.”
Cadence stops suddenly, causing me to grasp her hips so I don’t run into her. “Go ahead,” she instructs. “Let’s check it out.”
With a guffaw, Nick struts ahead of us.
I don’t know what Cadence was worried about. She’s got both Nick and Dexter eating out of her hand even before we get to the restaurant.
She had me at hello.

Cadence
Iexcuse myself as soon as we’re back in the condo after dinner. It’s a strange sensation not to have my phone or my laptop, like I’ve walked out of the house without my shoes.
But it’s somewhat freeing. It’s been years since I haven’t felt the need to be connected to work, to have my finger constantly on the pulse of things. To be ready to make decisions at a moment’s notice.
The only decision I have to make here is what cocktail I’ll try from the list.
I leave a lamp on for Max and burrow into my side of the bed. The bed is insanely comfortable, with cool, soft sheets and the mattress just the way I like it. The pillows are perfect, and the temperature is cool, with the fan spinning gently overhead.
I can hear the boys talking and laughing, the odd clink of glasses.
They may be older than me, but I think of them as boys. I’m sharing a bed with a boy and I have no idea what to expect.
I tell myself it’s the noises that keep me from sleeping, not the way the room seems to close in on me.
I don’t want to be alone.
I don’t want to be with anyone, but I’m… lonely. I am alone. I’m here in a beautiful place and I’ve barricaded myself in my room instead of having fun.
Not only my room—our room. Max will be in here with me soon.
I throw off the blanket and stalk to the balcony door, stepping out into the night air, the warmth kissing my skin after the cool air conditioning.
I can see the moon hanging low in the east, out of the corner of my eye. Sunsets are beautiful but there’s something about watching the moon rise to take its place in the sky. For six or seven hours, the moon reigns supreme in the sky as the sun sleeps, missing out on so much.
I’ve always been a night person.
I’ve shared beds with men before, but I’ve always known what to expect.

If it was a client, I would know upfront what he expected—sex, or like Novi, physical closeness. There were a lot of clients who only wanted someone to feel close to.
Those made me lonely, for them and me.
Not as lonely as I feel now.
“So, Cadence,” Nick says. “What’s going on there?”

I suck in my breath. The boys must have moved to the balcony overlooking the beach, only a few feet from where I’m standing.
Close enough that I can overhear their conversation.
“I have no clue. Nothing. I don’t know.” There’s a pause and I can picture Max rubbing the back of his neck. “She makes my head spin.”
“That’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Dexter asks.
“Maybe?”
“It’s good if you’re ready to move on from Caroline.”
“It’s about time you move on from her.” There’s a harshness in Nick’s voice that I’ve never heard before, and there’s a stab of anger toward the mysterious Caroline.
And then guilt, because I shouldn’t be hearing this. I’ve always considered information to be the most precious of commodities, but it’s not business with Max. It’s…
I don’t know what it is.
If I make his head spin, he makes me feel like I’m on a roller coaster—the highs racing into the lows, leaving me sick to my stomach.
Maybe that’s the tequila in that last cocktail.
Who is Caroline?
And why do I care?
If I had my phone, all it would take would be a quick text to Travis, and he’d find out whatever there was to find out about her. But Tatiana made me leave it at home and I agreed, which is so unlike me. Maybe I like the freedom of being suddenly unconnected, but this is frustrating, this wanting to know something.
Telling myself I don’t, why should I care about a woman Max used to love—maybe is still in love with—I back quietly into the room.
She makes my head spin.
I hope Caroline isn’t still in the picture.
Despite the thoughts and questions racing in my mind, I managed to fall asleep. Max is quiet enough that I don’t stir until he slides in beside me.
As far away as possible.
“Goodnight, Max,” I whisper when he switches off the lamp.
“Sorry I woke you.”
“It’s fine.”
“Everything okay?”
“I like the bed.”
A low chuckle. “I like it too. Goodnight, Cadence.”
I drift off again.