Did that mean she was a right fit for Zac?
Or was it simply because she’d hired him for the weekend that she had relaxed? She wished she could talk to Adler and tell her the truth about what was going on. But she didn’t want anyone to know she’d hired herself a man for the weekend.
Her phone pinged and she glanced at it. It was a text from Adler.
Hey, girl! Are you on the island?
Just got in. I have a photo shoot in about ten minutes but want to catch up after?
Yes. Where’s the photo shoot? I’ll come by and watch.
Private beach two houses down from your gran’s place.
See ya there. Is the new guy with you?
He had a few meetings this morning. He’ll be here this afternoon.
Perfect. Want to have dinner with Nick and me tonight?
Let me double-check with him.
Iris took a deep breath. This was what she needed to happen. She wanted people in her life to accept Zac as her real boyfriend. And he’d agreed to do whatever she asked for the weekend. She texted to ask if he’d be available around six for dinner. He responded with the thumbs-up. She let Adler know they’d both be there.
Should she mention to Adler that the man she was dating was her cousin? She wanted to tell her in person rather than over the phone. That kind of conversation was going to bring up all kinds of questions about Zac. She tossed her phone on the bed and fell back on the covers, staring at the pristine white ceiling as if she looked hard enough, she’d find some cosmic answer to the question.
There was a knock on her door and she hopped up to go and answer it. It was KT from her glam squad. KT always looked so boho and chic, with her long legs and straight brown hair that she’d styled in a side braid today. She wore a pair of tiny denim shorts with a flouncy top. It was a look that Iris envied but she had never been able to pull off. She was too intense for that kind of outfit. By contrast, she wore a broderie white sundress with wooden buttons and a pair of Hermès sandals.
“Parking is a bear near the beach,” KT said. “We should leave now. Stephan is already there and the photographer is setting up.”
“I hope the weather holds out,” Iris said, grabbing her phone and purse and leading the way out of the room. “There were storms yesterday.”
“It’s gorg out there today. As soon as your photo shoot is over, I’m going for a run on the beach.”
“Sounds like a plan. I shouldn’t need you until tomorrow for the clambake. I have the outfit you styled for me and know how to do my paddleboarding makeup... I really hope I don’t fall off the board. Did you see that can happen?”
Her assistant put her arm around Iris’s shoulders. Everyone in her inner circle knew she struggled with a fear of water. She was slowly getting over it but there were times when it became overwhelming.
“You’ll be fine. My sister says the key to paddleboarding is a strong core,” KT said.
“A strong core? I’m wearing Spanx 24/7. My core isn’t soft at all.”
“You’ll do fine,” KT said. “I’ve never known you to fail when you put your mind to something. Just remember that your followers are watching and want you to succeed. You’re living that hashtag best life.”
“I am, aren’t I? Also the camera crew will be shooting the paddleboarding so I have that as an added incentive to stay on.”
“Perfect. Plus, you’ll want to impress your new man,” KT said. “You’re usually all about keeping up the perfect image so I know you’ll do fine.”
The perfect image. Was that what she was all about? “Do you think that comes off as me trying too hard?”
“Girl, it’s your brand. I think it suits you.” KT followed her out of the resort to her car and they both got in.
Iris wanted to be chill about everything that KT had said but it was stirring up the thought that maybe she had been trying too hard for so long that even she didn’t know how to relax and just be herself. That brought her back to sex with Zac... Had it been Zac and his fabulously fit body and sensual moves that had been the difference or the fact that she hadn’t been trying to be who she thought he wanted her to be?
The answer wasn’t going to just show up. Plus, did it matter? He was only with her until Sunday and then for a few more dates and photos before he was out of her life for good. She’d be back to her usual self. Which was exactly what she wanted. Truly.
Now if only she could convince herself of that.
* * *
Zac left Boston late, got stuck in traffic, and when he finally arrived on Nantucket, he was ready for a beer or two. He and Dev had spent most of the day on the phone or on Skype calls talking to people that they wanted on their team. Most were excited at the prospect of a new team, but a few were skeptical that they would be able to pull off a winning run with only two years to get the team going.
Zac wasn’t interested in naysayers or nonbelievers, so even when Dev had argued to keep a few of the skeptics in the potential pool, Zac had cut them. If he’d learned one lesson from his father, it was to surround himself only with people who had the same goals. His dad had often said if a person was wishy-washy before you shook hands, they weren’t going to become more committed after the deal was done.
He rubbed the back of his neck as he followed the map to the hotel where he’d be staying with Iris for the next few days, which he realized was going to be awkward for everyone if he didn’t let his mom know. He thought about texting but she would only call him back so he used the hands-free voice command to dial her number.
“Hello, honey. Where are you?” his mom asked when she answered the phone.
“Just got off the ferry,” he answered her.
“That’s great. Shall we set a place for you at dinner?”
“Not tonight,” he said. “I’m not going to stay at Gran’s either.”
“Why not?” she asked.
All of the sweet chattiness was now gone from her voice. She’d sent all of them an itinerary for Adler’s wedding and she’d been very clear that she expected them to show up to all of the events on it.
“I met a woman in Boston, Mom. Turns out she’s a friend of Adler’s and I’m going to be staying with her.”
“Wow, that’s quick work,” his mom said. “Who is she?”
“Iris Collins.”
“Oh, I thought she was dating someone else. She’s really nice. How did you meet her?” she asked, chatty again now that she knew he was with Iris.
Zac had never realized what a difference dating a woman who was in his social circle would make. He’d pretty much always picked someone who was in the world of competitive yachting because those were the women he knew the best, so this was a new experience. He wondered if this was how Mari felt when she’d gotten engaged to Inigo Velasquez. The Formula One driver was definitely on Juliette Bisset’s approved list.
“We met in a bar,” he said.
“Oh,” his mom said.
“Oh? Don’t be judgy, Mom. You and Dad met at a weekend house party,” he said. “I’m sure there were drinks served there.”
“Did I sound judgy? I didn’t mean to be. I was just hoping that you would have a meet-cute story.”
“We don’t live in a rom-com,” he said.
“I know. I just always hope that all of my kids will have a big romance and Iris is definitely a step up—”
“Mom, I’m a second away from driving through a make-believe tunnel and losing my signal with you,” he warned her.
“Point taken. Bring her with you to lunch tomorrow. Your father wants us to host the Williamses. Did you see my text?”
“I did and I will. I love you, Mom. I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” he said.
“Bye, sweetie, love you too.”
She disconnected the call and he continued to make his way toward the hotel. His mom was not going
to be very happy with him when he and Iris broke up. But that was a problem for Future Zac to deal with. Right now his mom was pleased that he’d landed someone like Iris. He wondered if he could have done it if she hadn’t been desperate for a date. He liked to think so, but he wasn’t sure.
He didn’t know what kind of guy she usually went for but he was pretty sure she didn’t often go for athletes or, as his dad like to refer to him, sea bums.
That night together last week, though... If he’d really been dating her that would have changed things for real between them. Instead he had no clue what it had done. He wasn’t thinking of when he’d be able to walk away from her. In fact he’d been remembering how she’d felt in his arms all day at odd moments. Dev had accused him of losing focus, but Zac knew that his focus was fine.
It was just on Iris and not on the race or his yacht or the team he was building. Maybe there had been more of a reason to stay away from women in his own social set before this. After all, a sailor would know the score. A fellow sailor would know that he was only interested in having fun until the wind changed, and he was back on the ocean pitting himself against all the other crafts out there. Trying to be number one and conquer the sea.
He followed the signs to the hotel, pulling into line for the valet. As he did, he remembered that little sound that Iris had made when he’d entered her and the surprise on her face when she’d come long and hard. He wanted to see that look on her face again. He couldn’t wait to hold her again.
Damn.
He was screwed.
It was a good thing that they had a signed contract. Otherwise he’d be tempted into thinking that Iris was the kind of woman who could make him stay ashore.
He stepped outside into the humid summer afternoon, blaming his agitation on the heat instead of the woman who’d paid him to be her companion.
* * *
Adler Osborn stood on the widow’s walk and looked out at the storms brewing on the ocean. Only three more days until she’d be Mrs. Nicholas Williams and she couldn’t wait. She’d had a text from her fiancé that he was en route and would meet her at the Crab Shack in town in twenty minutes. She couldn’t wait to see Nick.
Growing up, her life had been unconventional to say the least. She’d never known her mother, who’d died when she was twenty-five and her father was a famous rock star who truly lived the sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll lifestyle, but also had oddly been a devoted parent. He wanted her with him on the road but her mother’s family had wanted her attending the right schools and getting the proper upbringing.
Her Aunt Juliette and Gran had been fierce negotiators with her father, and they’d worked out a deal where she’d split time between two vastly different worlds. Though she loved both halves of her family very much, she’d always longed to be part of one world. It was hard to go from boarding school and socializing with a lot of rules to life on the road and no rules.
Until college, when she’d met Iris Collins and the two had become best friends, Adler had felt torn in half by her two lives. But Iris had helped her sort herself out. One of the things that Adler had realized was that she wanted all those things she’d never had growing up. A proper home—not a boarding school or tour bus. A home that she came back to every single night. A family that was her own. She wanted a husband, kids and the whole suburban life. But she needed someone who could understand her. Really got her. Not a guy who wanted entrée into her father’s debauched world. Or who wanted to attend the jet-set parties her Aunt Juliette threw.
Nick Williams had been perfect. A borderline workaholic who was rich as Jay-Z and didn’t give a crap about what anyone thought. He was fun, had the prettiest blue eyes she’d ever seen and the sexiest ass. When she’d first met him, she’d been dazzled. And it was only when things got rough for her, with her father’s heart attack, and she found Nick standing by her side, putting work on the back burner to be there for her, that she realized that she’d found the man she wanted for the rest of her life.
She was no longer the illegitimate daughter of a debauched rock star and the runaway heiress who died of a drug overdose, but a respectable member of society. Someone who stayed out of the headlines and lived a normal life.
Gran had said that normal was overrated but then again Gran had been normal her entire life. Adler, not so much. And Iris was another one who lived and breathed for small-town suburbia...the dream, as far as Adler was concerned.
She texted Nick that Iris and her new man were meeting them. He rang back instead of texting.
“Hey, sexy!”
“Hey, gorgeous. Who’s the new guy? I thought she was dating Douchey the Third,” Nick said.
“I don’t have the deets but he arrived about thirty minutes ago and I invited them to join us for dinner. I want to meet him and thought it would be weird if I just showed up in her hotel suite alone.”
Nick laughed. “You might seem like a one-woman interrogation squad.”
“I know. So, I thought if we met them together, then you could help me make sure he’s nothing like Douchey.”
“Good plan. Am I picking you up?”
“Nah. Uncle Auggie has just arrived and I think I’ll spare us that,” she said. Her uncle didn’t like her fiancé, which didn’t bother Adler because she’d never been a big fan of her uncle. The fact that he’d cheated on her Aunt Juliette hadn’t made him Gran’s favorite either.
“Thanks for that. You can never doubt that I really love you, gorgeous, because there is no way I’d put up with August Bisset otherwise.”
“I know it,” she said, feeling her heart fill with joy. “See ya soon.”
“See ya,” he said, disconnecting the call.
Adler checked her makeup and then grabbed her clutch and headed downstairs. Michael was carrying his silver tray with two martinis and a bourbon neat to the sitting room.
“Will you be joining the others?”
“Nope. Heading out for the evening. I’ll probably stay over at Nick’s tonight,” she said. Since Nick wasn’t comfortable staying at her gran’s place, he’d purchased a cottage for them that was two streets over. That way she could see the family she loved, and he didn’t have to.
“Heading out, dear?” Gran called as Adler walked past the sitting room.
Her Uncle August was sitting in the large leather armchair and had his back to her. His hair was mostly gray now but at one time it had been black. He turned and smiled at her.
“Hello, Adler. Juliette was just telling me that you’re all set for the wedding,” he said.
“I’m getting there. Still a few last-minute things to take care of,” she said, coming over to give him a hug. The thing about Uncle Auggie was that he wasn’t a jerk. He was charming and fun. As her Aunt Juliette said, he was hard to stay mad at.
“If there’s anything I can do, let me know,” he said, then took a deep breath. “I know that there’s some tension because of the business dealings Logan and I have had with your fiancé and I want to put that behind us. We’d like to have Nick and his family to dinner tomorrow night. Just so we can all get to know each other. Put everyone’s mind’s at ease.”
Adler was surprised by the offer. “Let me speak to Nick tonight and let him know. That should work with our schedule since most people aren’t arriving until Thursday.”
“Great,” he said, sitting back down. “I’ll get Carter to make all the arrangements.”
“I’ll handle this, Auggie,” Aunt Juliette said. “Have fun tonight, Adler. See you tomorrow?”
“Yes,” she said, kissing her gran and aunt on the cheek before she turned and left the house.
Her uncle’s gesture was surprising and gave her hope that her wedding and marriage could mend the old rivalry between the Bisset and Williams families. Finally she was getting the life she wanted where her name was in the press for a positive reason and not because of scandal.
Nine
Iris wasn’t sure how to act when Zac arrived in the suite. She’d been dressed and ready for more than thirty minutes, in fact, since he’d texted her that he was getting close. Now she was hovering in the main living area while he was settling into the smaller room in the suite and getting dressed for dinner.
“I’m ready,” he said.
She swallowed hard when she saw him. He wore a pair of shorts, deck shoes and a button-down shirt. His blond hair was tousled as if he’d run his hands through it. Her own fingers tingled as she remembered how soft and thick his hair was and how it had felt to hold his head to her breast while they’d been making love.
She shook her head. Stop it. She needed to stay focused. This was the second test of her and Zac as a believable couple.
“Do I look okay?” he asked. “You’re kind of staring at me...”
“You look fine. I was just thinking about something else,” she said. Yeah, like how good he had looked naked. “So, Adler and Nick are two of my oldest friends. They will be subtle but they’re going to dig and try to find out when we started dating and everything.”
“So, it’s dinner with the family, part two,” he said with a chuckle. “Don’t worry, angel face, Adler’s my family as well so I know how to handle her.”
Angel face.
It was a sweet endearment. To be honest, she’d never had one in a relationship before unless babe counted. But she’d never felt it had.
“Crapola. I didn’t want to tell her in a text and we didn’t end up meeting in person this afternoon. She’s going to have all kinds of questions. This is a bad idea,” she said abruptly. She hadn’t really given much thought to the fact that Adler was Zac’s cousin. That might make things complicated down the road. As if sleeping with a guy she had hired wasn’t already a bad idea. This was what happened when she let Thea get in her head. She started making decisions from a place of panic instead of a place of reason.
Her One Night Proposal (One Night Book 4) Page 8