30

Maximilian

“I like her,” Dex says later as we walk down the beach to where the boat will meet us. “Even though I’m a little frightened of her.”
Cadence saw us to the door with a smile, promising to take care of the breakfast cleanup. I felt bad for leaving her, but she clearly had no intention of coming with us.
“You should never be scared of your woman,” Nick says heartily. “Except if they dress in black leather and want to paddle your ass. I can totally see Cadence with a whip, by the way.”
“She’s intense,” I say. The image of Cadence, red hair in a high ponytail, wearing skintight black leather and brandishing a whip, makes my balls tighten. Not that I’m into that, but anything to do with Cadence makes my balls tighten.
“She thought you brought her down for a foursome,” Nick guffaws. “I thought she was going to nail you one for sure.”
“I get why she thought that now,” Dex adds. “If that’s what she’s used to.”

“I bet she’s seen a lot,” Nick muses. “I bet she’s amazing in bed. If you’re not into her, bro—”
“He’s into her,” Dex cuts him off. “He’s more into her than I’ve seen him in a long time. Right?”
“Yeah,” I say softly.
“So what’s the deal? Why aren’t you going for it?”

I blow my breath out in a huff. “I literally just met her yesterday,” I admit. “The night before, but that wasn’t a good thing. I was wasted. I think I might have offended her.”
“You must have made it up to her, because she’s here.”
“She showed up when I was eating breakfast the next morning and wanted a favour.”
“A favour… like a sexual favour?” Nick’s eyes gleam.
“No. A favour.” I glance around, but no one on the beach is within earshot. “I shouldn’t tell you—”
“But you’re going to anyway.” Dexter grins ruefully.
“Cadence was with Novi Tate the night he died,” I say as quietly as possible. “She says she left before he passed and that nothing happened—”
“Jeez, I hope not, because that dude was old.”
“—But there would be problems if his family knew about it. She said that he was sort of a mentor to her, helped her get started.”
“With the escort business?”
“Apparently, she used to own Spider’s Den Gentlemen’s Club. Tate helped her buy it.”
“Was he like a client of hers?” Dexter asks.
I shrug. “I have no idea. She hasn’t said much about herself. Most of what I found out was because of Marco. And Haddington. She did some digging yesterday when we were flying down to the wedding.”
“What’s your dad say about her?”
I glance at Dexter. “About what you’d expect. He’s pissed that I came down for the wedding, hence the last-minute change of condos.” I smile ruefully, not wanting to get into the series of texts from my father waiting for me this morning when I finally checked my phone.
“So you’re dating a former escort,” Nick muses. “And most likely a stripper, if she had anything to do with the club. You’d think your dad would approve.”
I have to laugh at that, and Nick grins, pleased with himself. “Damn, I would have liked to see her back then. The Den had the best dancers.”
I wasn’t about to admit I saw her dance, and that she had been magnificent. “And you’ve seen your fair share.”
“Don’t give me shit about that, dude! I don’t see you complaining when you’ve got the titties in your face.”
Dexter groans. “And you wonder why you’re still single.”
“Hey, I’m single because that’s the way I like it.”
“I’m technically not dating her,” I say, ignoring their banter, and trying to forget that I did see Cadence dance. “She—in a roundabout way—asked if I could keep quiet about her being in Tate’s room. She kind of implied that she’d… compensate me for it…”
“We’re not talking financially compensating, are we?” Dexter asks carefully.
I shake my head.
“Dude!” Nick smacks me in the middle of my chest. “You could have been hitting that all last night. And on the flight down.” He tsks with a shake of his head. “Dude.”
“I asked her to come to the wedding with me instead,” I protest. “When me and Marco had dinner, he was all over me to meet someone. He’s so happy with Callie, and he wants us to be happy, and I didn’t want to deal with it all weekend, so I thought if I brought someone, he’d lay off.”

“And focus on us. Thanks so much,” Dexter says drily.
I shrug. “I found her first.”
“And now that you’ve found her, whatever will you do with her?” Nick gives me a wide-eyed smile.
I shrug. “I honestly have no idea. I don’t think she dates.”

“If you got her in bed, I think that would be a lot of pressure,” Nick says slowly. “Think about that. I’m not sure you’re up to it. You might crack.”
I flip him the bird. “I’m not about to crack,” I tell him. “But seriously, how do you get a woman like that? I mean, you see what she looks like.”
“You mean, she looks like she’s beautiful and way out of your league?”
This time, I flip the finger at Dexter. “I don’t know what to do around a woman like her.”
“Get out of your head,” Nick advises.
“Yeah, remember how you were with Marcy Whitman?” Dexter chimes in. “You got in your head and completely screwed that up.”
I remember that. “I don’t want to screw this up. If there is even a this.”
“Just be yourself,” Dexter says. “Not that you should listen to me, because I haven’t had a solid relationship since I was twelve and held hands with Amy McFadden in the library.”
“Ah, holding hands.” Nick grabs my hand and swings it between us. “The best way to show young love.”
I yank my hand out of his grip. “You think I should try and hold her hand tonight?”
“I’ve got a better idea: What are you doing here with us when you’ve left her alone in the condo?”
“I—” I stare at Nick.
“Why are you here?” Dexter seconds. “We can go snorkelling any time.”
Nick raises his hand. “Actually, I can’t. Hopefully, these obliques fix themselves so I can play for the rest of the season.”
“We can go almost any time,” Nick corrects. “You should spend today with Cadence. She’s alone with a book. How much fun would that be, unless it’s one of those spicy books where—”
I cut him off. “You might be right.”
“I’m always right. Get back there, and get that woman into a bikini,” Nick cries. “I guarantee you’ll enjoy it more than seeing this guy’s white ass when his trunks fall down again.”
“One time!” Dexter howls. He tugs at his swim shorts. “String.”
“Keep them up, then. I do not need to see that again.”
“You’re just jealous.”
“Jealous, my ass. I’m a major league baseball player, which means my bod—”
I stop walking and they continue for a few steps without realizing. “I’m going to hang with Cadence,” I tell them.
“Good. Go,” Nick says.
“Have fun,” Dexter adds with a grin. “See you when we get back.”
Nick turns and starts walking backward. “Stick to your room, dude. Do not defile the condo with your kinky fuckery.”
“Duly noted.” With a salute, I turn and start jogging back to the Moon.