*Shelby*I woke to a soft breeze dancing across my face, the open windows letting the sunlight stream into the giant space of the bedroom. I lay there awhile, enjoying Michael’s warmth next to me and watching the curtains drift lightly, each gust of wind brought in the clean smell of the ocean air.Michael started to stir next to me, and eventually, he opened his eyes and greeted me with a sleepy smile.“Good morning, beautiful. I could get used to this,” he said.“Get used to what exactly,” I pushed, even though I knew what he was talking about.“Waking up next to you every morning,” he said as he brushed his hand up my exposed thigh.“I could get used to it, too,” I said, leaning down and letting our lips brush lightly together. “What is for breakfast?” I asked, my lips still touching his. “How about you go make yourself comfortable on the back deck, and I will call room service,” Michael said, kissing me again.I wrapped a satin robe ar
*Shelby*“Would you care for another drink, miss?” one of the maids asked.“I would love one, thank you,” I said and then turned my attention back to the book I was reading. I’d spent the last hour on the back deck next to the infinity pool, reading the book Michael gave me. The past few days, we’d spent our time exploring different hiking trails across the resort, swimming in the ocean, and relaxing by the pool. The heat was starting to get to me, so I set down my book, slipped off my coverup, and eased myself into the pool's refreshing water. I waded around for a few minutes, careful not to get my hair wet.Michael took me to a fancy restaurant every night, and I wouldn’t have time to get my hair dry again before it was time to leave.“I will just set your drink on the table. Oh, and miss? Your phone is ringing. Would you like me to bring it to you?” the maid said as she set a fruity drink down next to my things.“Oh, would you mind?” I asked wad
*Shelby*“Shelby, I didn’t hear you come in,” Micheal said softly.“Yeah, obviously,” I said in response, my eyebrows knitting together in concern.“Where would you like to go for dinner?” he asked, clearly trying to change the subject. “I have been wanting to try that barbeque place that is at the far end of the resort.”His phone started ringing in his pocket; he pulled it out, silenced it, and shoved it back into his pocket.“Who were you just talking to? It sounded pretty intense. Are they calling you again?” I asked, taking in Michael’s frustrated expression. I had heard him be stern over the phone before, usually with the higher-ups of his company, Express Air. However, I had never heard him so angry. He also never kept things from me. Usually, he would get off those phone calls and tell me exactly what was upsetting him. He would tell me the entire situation and ask for my opinion on how to respond to the situation. What was he hiding from me
*Shelby*“That is where we are having dinner,” Michael said, referring to the small island we were coming up on.Michael went back to the wheel and left me to watch as we got closer and closer to the island. A weathered dock floated on the water, and a pebbled pathway led further onto the island. Michael expertly docked the boat, and by the time we disembarked, the sunset had faded, and darkness was creeping into the sky. The pathway was lit by tiki torches on each side, illuminating our pathway.“How did you get this set up so fast?” I asked, awestruck.“Don’t ruin the magic,” Michael said and leaned down for a kiss. My fingers intertwined with his, and we walked side by side down the pathway. Within five minutes, the path gave way to a clearing with a wooden table set up in the center. A stream bubbled off to one side down a series of mini waterfalls. The entire clearing was illuminated by the light of tiki torches. “This is unreal,” I w
*Michael**Earlier that morning*“How long have you made it a habit of sleeping with my friends?” Lauren’s voice sounded on the other end of the phone.My heart sank, and I took a few steps back to make sure Shelby was still on the deck reading. Fortunately, she was out of earshot of my conversation. “What are you talking about, Lauren?” I asked, fishing for more information.“I know you were hooking up with Shelby on the yacht. Leave it to that slut to not only ruin my engagement but also to sleep with my father,” Lauren said with disgust.“Lauren, your engagement fell apart because he was a cheater. It had nothing to do with Shelby.”“It had everything to do with Shelby; if she weren’t there, his entire focus would have been on me,” she continued in a whiny voice that always grated on my nerves.I sighed loudly and rubbed my temple. Lauren had been sending me texts all morning asking for money. I was glad that Shelby had decided to spend the a
*Shelby* I heard the lock click to the main door of the cabana, and I knew that Michael really did leave for New York. I didn’t know why I was surprised that he did exactly what he said he needed to. There was a small part of me that thought he might have at least stayed until we had smoothed things over. “Two fights in one day. Great job Shelby,” I said to myself as I let myself out of the bathroom. Our room felt extremely empty even though Michael had only been gone a few minutes. I immediately got in bed, pulling the covers all the way up to my chin. After the tears finally stopped, I waited for sleep to come, but it never did.I just laid there alone in bed, watching the fan spin in the middle of the ceiling.I couldn’t take it any longer, so I slipped out of bed and marched straight out the front door. I didn’t know where I was going, anywhere, to take my mind off of the fights I had with Michael.I ended up at the resort’s swim-up tiki bar,
*Michael*I sat bleary-eyed in my office on the very top floor of the Express Air building, waiting for my daughter to show up for our early morning meeting. I should have known she wouldn’t be on time. My receptionist walked in the door and silently set a cup of coffee on my desk.“Thank you, Anisa. I can’t tell you just how much I need this right now.”She simply nodded with a knowing smile and headed out the door without a single word.I hired her shortly after firing my previous assistant for judging Shelby based on how she dressed. My assistant had hand-selected Anisa out of all of the resumes. Anisa was returning to work after being a stay-at-home mom, fully raising five children. I liked her immediately during our interview and hired her on the spot. I took a sip of the burning hot coffee and closed my eyes. It had been a rough night trying to sleep on the jet back from Hawaii. I was sick about the way I left things with Shelby. I only managed to get a
*Shelby*There was a car waiting for me as soon as I stepped off Michael’s private jet in New York. The driver took my suitcase from my hands as I stepped onto the asphalt.“Good day to you, miss. How was your flight?” the driver asked,“Great, thank you. Are we going straight to Mr. Astor’s office?” I asked, figuring Michael would be getting some work done before I arrived. I never asked what the emergency was that made him end our vacation early, but I had assumed it had something to do with his company.“Mr. Astor isn’t at the office today,” the driver said and then opened the back door for me. “Michael,” I gasped, surprised that he was in the back seat waiting for me. “I missed you too much to wait to see you,” he said, holding out his hand to help me into the car. He pulled me in for a deep kiss, sliding his hand around my waist and pulling me closer to him. I didn’t register that we had started driving until the driver was pulling out of