want to be the same. Visiting my galleries. Overseeing the acquisitions of new pieces. Discovering artists.” Preston lost his grin. “Depends on how much time I have outside of running the company.”
“The Desai Dynasty.”
“That’s the one.”
“I get the feeling you’re interested in only half of your legacy.”
Polishing off the rest of his sandwich delayed his reply. “We don’t get to be half of who we are,” he finally said. “Not in our world. If we want to hang on to the lives we have, one way or another, we shut up and take what our parents give us.”
I opened my mouth to disagree and then I thought of Carter marrying to hang on to his lifestyle. Nathan entering into a business arrangement to escape his grandfather. And me, staying on the island I swore I wouldn’t set foot on so I wouldn’t be stripped of everything.
What could I argue about? Preston painted the truest picture of our lives.
In our world, there is no real rebellion.
We always end up doing what we’re told.
“Let’s not go there,” I said. “Do you have a private living room as well as the private dining area?”
“Yeah.”
“I had watch Hot Fuzz on my list of things to do tonight.”
“Love that movie.”
I pushed back my chair. “Then you can join me. Promise to keep your hands to yourself?”
“Only if I have to.”
I grinned. “Maybe you do, maybe you don’t.”
His eyes bugged, then he shot out of the chair. I took off squealing.
Preston caught me in the hall and swallowed my laughs with a kiss that curled my toes.
I controlled little in my own life. But I could have this.
For one night, I could have Preston.
“I’VE HUNTED DOWN THE coolest decorations,” Kelli gushed. “Queen of Hearts without going too cheesy. Red roses for the centerpieces, of course, with black tablecloths and playing cards as name cards. What do you think?”
Kelli flipped around the tablet, showing off the folder of collected photos that would become our party. Our group took up space next to the pool, sipping lemonade and lounging in our bathing suits.
“Love it.”
“So pretty.”
“It’ll be great,” I chimed in.
“You don’t have to take on this much,” Ivy said. “Sourcing all the decorations is a big job. I assumed you’d hook up with a party planner.”
“I don’t mind,” Kelli replied. “I actually love this stuff. I help my mom plan our Christmas parties. We do a different theme every year.”
My first week was drawing to a close and the routine of this place was settling in.
Breakfast first. Then an hour working on our special projects. Event planning for the ladies and budget planning for the guys.
Turns out young, rich, brash pretty boys who don’t meet with consequences, tend to blow through their trust funds faster than I finish a carton of chocolate peanut butter swirl.
Who knew?
Hendrix had them researching rent prices, the costs of employing a household staff, and the price of replacing your wardrobe every season.
If I have a million dollars in my trust fund and I buy two private jets and an island, how many days until I’m begging Daddy for new credit cards?
Special projects wrapped up and we either moved on to discussing our hopes and fears for marriage with a counselor that came in from town, or we had what I called “lady lessons” with Rosalie.
Then we had lunch and prepped ourselves for the group activity that ended in one-on-one time.
The day before, we took the boats and went snorkeling. Rosalie paired us off and set us loose on the ocean. Asher and I didn’t get much talking in, but we did have a good time pointing out colorful fish and testing how far down we could go.
We finished our days on our own terms. Swimming. Hanging out. Catching alone time with the guy or girl that caught our attention. Or in my case, wrangling with the decision to marry Nathan.
It may not have been my responsibility to save them, but that reminder wasn’t moving me. I imagined Vanessa trapped in that mansion and it squeezed the breath out of me.
Plus, Carter hadn’t called joke. If Carter was going to propose to me whether I like it or not, this was my chance to turn the marriage I didn’t want into something good. Funding Vanessa’s new life was infinitely better than funding Carter’s apartment in Seoul or a French chateau.
“It’ll look amazing, Kelli,” Delilah said. “What about you, Belle? Who’d you get to do the music?”
The question roused me. “Huh? Oh, I haven’t looked