Elena thought a lot about what Simon had said. She thought about it while getting out of bed. She thought about it while deciding she needed a cold shower. She thought about it even when she told herself not to waste her time thinking about it.But no matter how much she told herself there was nothing to be done unless Simon and she reached some kind of understanding (which seemed almost impossible considering how they both wanted two different things and neither of them was ready to relent even a bit), her mind continued to obsess over what he said that morning.“I’m crazy for you,” she could still hear his words ringing in her head. “Crazy enough to do stupid things, crazy enough to bring my world to your feet.”Elena shook her head and tried to dispel the impact of his words. She tried really hard not to let them sink into her mind and plant seeds of hope and expectation. But no matter how hard she tried to think otherwise, to make her heart not beat the way it was, she simply could

Confused, she turned around and watched him walk over to the small mini bar he had in the corner of the room and poured a hefty glass of water.“Here,” he pushed the glass across the counter, as if inviting her to join him.Should she? Was it safe?She shook her head. Of course, it was safe. It was merely a glass of water, and he had poured it right in front of her eyes. Not to forget her throat did feel dry like a fucking desert.She took the water and gulped it down, wary of his presence still.To know that he was close did something to her skin. It prickled.“I should go now,” she started to leave when he reached for her wrist and held tight.“You were looking for me, weren’t you?”Strange, but he wasn’t wrong. She was looking for him. She had something to discuss.For the life of her, however, she couldn’t remember shit. Perhaps she was still a little shocked by the possibility of a fatal fall. She needed to moment, clearly, to be back herself again.“No?” she lied, but who cared?

“Auntie Elena, I’m all wet,” Caleb yelled from the shore as she watched him retreat from the approaching wave, narrowly avoiding another drenching.She shook her head. God, this boy! She thought to herself.“I told you not to go too far,” she said as she kicked off her shoes and jogged over to where he stood, grabbing his hand and pulling him back to the dry part of the beach.“But I wanted to see the wave up close,” he whined, as if it made all the difference in the world. “Auntie Elena, do you think our home is on the other side of the ocean? Can we reach it by boat?” Suddenly filled with excitement, she watched his eyes widen and he jumped. “No, wait. Can we build a boat? That would be so, so cool, Auntie Elena, wouldn’t it? Can we build one? Please, please, please?”Elena didn’t know what to say.Could they build a boat? No. Did she want him to build a boat? Not at all.“Maybe some other time, sweetie,” she said lovingly, hoping to buy some time and distract him enough before he mo

Betty Adams sat in the waiting room on the hospital’s top floor, juggling business calls as best she could while her boss remained elusive.But that wasn’t her only concern at the moment.Ever since the big boss—Mr. Josh Matthews—had shown signs of consciousness, doctors had been parading in and out of his room as if carrying secrets in their pockets. They wouldn’t talk to anyone but the butler, avoiding eye contact with anyone else in the room.Betty hadn’t realized just how much power the family’s butler held until this very moment. None of the doctors or nurses entered or left Mr. Matthews’ room without first consulting with the butler.But that wasn’t all. There were guards outside the hospital, around the hospital, and inside the hospital—even in the elevators—keeping an eye on everything that moved or occupied space. There was so much security in the entire building that Betty wondered if she would ever be able to go home without raising suspicion.Not that she had anything to hi

Elena could have sworn she saw red.How ruthless could this man be? And even at the innocent age of ten? And what the hell was wrong with his father? How could he take a child for a hunt? How careless could he be?There was so much she wanted to say, so much she wanted to let out, but before she could get another word out, Simon rendered her speechless by shoving the door wide open and making her stumble backwards a little.Her eyes widened when she realized what the hell he had done.“You—” but she couldn’t even call him out on his stupid, smug face when he pressed her against the cold-tiled wall and locked her hands over her head.“You lied,” she finally gritted out, hating him for making a fool out of her. She was stupid to think he was telling her the truth, stupid to believe literally anything that came out of his mouth. Why couldn’t she just imprint in her brain that Simon Walsh couldn’t be trusted? That this man—this terribly handsome man with eyes so beautiful he could easily