beach. No John. No threats. Nothing but water and peace.
But these weren’t her friends and she didn’t belong. In fact, she needed to remember her place. She was on the clock with Damon. She belonged here, working on his situation. Not galivanting on a private island with billionaires.
“You should go,” she told Damon. “Get away from the stress for a while.”
He narrowed his gaze. “And who’s going to watch out for you?”
“I am. And if you’re that concerned about the safety angle of my place, I can stay here. But you should get away with the guys.”
He shook his head. “I need to work out and be ready for when I can return.”
Asher turned to Damon. “I have a private gym and a trainer on call. You can work out there and not worry about slacking off. Get checked again by your team doctor when you get back. And Evie, you’re coming, too.”
Damon leaned back in his seat, his gaze steady on Evie’s. “I’ll go if you come with me.”
She closed her eyes and groaned. How was she going to keep her distance if he insisted on pulling her deeper and deeper into his life? First his mother, now his cousins?
When she didn’t answer fast enough, he jumped up, put his beer on the gorgeous rock-like table, strode over, and grabbed her hand.
“Come on. Let’s talk.” He pulled her to her feet.
She shook her head. “They’re your cousins,” she said quietly. “And they missed you. Go and—Ack!” she screamed as he knelt down and hefted her over his shoulder.
“We’re going to talk,” he insisted, striding out of the room to the sound of laughter from the guys.
* * *
Damon wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Asher wanted a trip to his vacation home? Damon had every intention of using the time to get closer to Evie. Yeah, he was still playing the we’re pretending to be a couple game, and he would until her asshole ex had been caught and locked up. He wanted her mind free and clear to focus on them. But that didn’t mean he’d lose this opportunity to be with her.
Not wanting to bicker like an old married couple in front of the guys, he did the only thing he could think of to stop her arguing that he should go by himself. Picked her up and carried her out of the room.
Reaching the kitchen, he slid her down his body and lowered her to her feet. Before she could steady herself, he braced his hands on her waist.
“What the hell was that for?” she asked, outraged.
He shrugged. “I got tired of listening to you insist I go alone. Tell me what I’m going to do by myself on an island when we could get away from the stresses here together?”
She pursed her lips, and it was all he could do not to lean forward and kiss that sweet pucker.
“Damon, I think you’re forgetting some important facts.”
“Tell me so I can dispute them.” He grinned but she didn’t smile back, ignoring his attempt to charm her.
“One, you hired me to do a job. And I need to be in Miami to accomplish it. Two,” she said before he could open his mouth to dispute her words, “I had a few phone messages that are about upcoming jobs.” She folded her arms across her chest, her expression smug and cute, sure she’d made her point. “And three …” She trailed off.
“Out of arguments, huh? Okay, look. I heard you and I respect all your points. But I have a reply for all of your objections. One”—he held up a finger—“I hired you and I can create the parameters of the job. I know you need to find the connection between Emerson’s parents and Doc, and you can do that from your laptop in the Bahamas.”
She frowned at him but remained silent.
“Two, return the job calls and set up appointments three days from now. And since there is no three, we’re going to the Bahamas.”
She narrowed her gaze, and he could almost see the steam building inside there. He needed to cut off her anger at his highhandedness. “Don’t you want a few days on the beach? Away from our problems?”
She paused at his question. “Well, if you put it that way… But—”
He leaned in and covered her lips with his, kissing her long, deep, and extremely thoroughly. Enough to give her a taste of what their island getaway could be like before raising