soothing scent of the water was the first thing he noticed. Shelby had insisted that he keep the mask on and led him through the parking lot. He felt the wooden planks under his feet and stopped.
How had she known? This was one of his most closely guarded secrets.
“We’re at the lake,” he said, wondering how she knew about his recent obsession with boating. Not even his assistant knew about the boat he kept at Lake Mead. It was the one thing he’d kept to himself, kept for himself and shared with no one. But Shelby knew about it.
She paused next to him. “Are you surprised?”
“Yes. How did you know about this?”
“I can’t reveal my source. But it took a lot of time and energy to figure this out.”
He pushed the mask up and off, pocketing it for later. He was touched she’d dug deep enough to find this out. “Did you rent a boat?”
“Uh, my source said you had one.”
“I do. Follow me.”
He noticed she held a picnic basket loosely in her left hand and that large leather bag she called a purse was slung over her shoulder.
He led her to the Lady Luck, his thirty-foot yacht. She smiled as she read the name. “Has luck been a lady?”
“More times than not. I always treat her right,” he said.
“You do have a way with the ladies.”
He helped her on board. Her words echoed in his mind. His way with women had served him well. There had never been a lady he’d wanted that he hadn’t been able to date. But the women never stayed. What did that say about his way?
The only constant in his life was the Chimera. He’d spent his life betting on the roll of the dice or taking risks, but that meant that life was constantly changing.
He piloted them out of the marina toward the middle of the lake. The evening was nice and warm and a breeze stirred the short hair at the back of his neck. He glanced over at Shelby, still amazed that she’d taken the time to really find something that he liked to do this evening.
It hadn’t been a test for her. But if it had, she’d have passed. That scared him because there was so much he’d forgotten about Shelby. She made the world brighter and more exciting. Even when they were younger, it had been the same. She made him want to take bigger risks—and that was dangerous.
“Ever piloted a boat before?” he asked her. He needed her in his arms, closer to him.
“No. One time Paige and I catered a party for some suppliers that was on the lake.”
“Tell me about your business. To be honest, I was surprised when I realized you owned such a successful chain of lingerie stores.”
She bit her lower lip. He glimpsed a hint of sadness in her eyes before she turned away.
He scanned the area in front of them. No other sailors. He reached for her, pulling her around to face him. “I didn’t mean that as an insult. You just never seemed interested in anything like that when I knew you.”
“I know. I was only interested in you and having fun.”
“I think it’s safe to say we both shared those interests.”
She hugged her arms around her waist and stared up at him. “When I left with the money…I thought all my problems were solved. I couldn’t believe I had a million dollars. You can’t understand this, Hayden, but I never imagined I would see that much money. It felt almost unreal.”
“Just because I’ve always had money doesn’t mean I can’t understand that. What’d you do with the money?”
“I went on a shopping spree. Then about two days later I realized that everything I’d purchased would be gone eventually and I’d be back in the same boat and…”
He stopped the engine on the boat and dropped anchor. He couldn’t concentrate on Shelby and the boat simultaneously.
“What?”
“I couldn’t do that again, Hayden. Whatever else you believe about me, please know that leaving you was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”
He traced her jawline with his finger, realizing that in some ways, this strong independent woman was worlds too soft for him. Too innocent. Despite the fact that she’d left him, he knew that he and his father were to blame. When he’d started dating her to get at his father, he’d put her right in the middle of the power struggle they’d always engaged in.
“I know,” he said softly. “Tell me how you started your store.”
“Well, first I decided to go to college. Since I wasn’t going to be using my looks to make money, I figured I’d better use my brains.”
“It doesn’t have to be one or the other.”
“I know that now. But I was only twenty-two. You know, at the time I thought I was very mature. I mean, I knew things about life that other people didn’t. But there was still so much I didn’t know.”
Hayden nodded, realized what she was talking about. He, too, had felt he knew it all as a young man, and in retrospect he realized how little knowledge of life he’d really had.
She walked to the railing, glancing out at the deepening twilight. “I met Paige in college and we were both working in a chain lingerie store at the mall. We had this idea that kind of grew from that. Something more exclusive, more high end. Paige said we needed a French-sounding name because the French know everything about sex.”
Hayden laughed at that. Shelby did, too. “Paige is crazy sometimes with the things she says, but she was right. Since we’d both come into our money in unorthodox ways, I suggested calling the shop Bêcheur d’Or. Most consumers recognize the French word for gold and it gave us our brand. Those little gold bags set us apart from other shops, and the rest is history.”
“How did Paige come up with her share of the investment money?”
Shelby paused, eyeing him. “She was a wealthy man’s mistress for about a year. I don’t know the details.”
She stared as if she expected a cutting comment, but Hayden had heard it all, living in Vegas.
Hayden was impressed with what she’d made of her life. He was also a little leery of getting involved with Shelby again because she had vulnerabilities that he’d never really explored before. And he didn’t want to hurt her again.
Shelby hadn’t meant for the evening to get so serious. This night was supposed to be about him not her. They’d had a light dinner and now were sitting on the bow of the boat. She’d removed her shoes, dangling her feet over the water.
“What did you do today?” she asked.
“Meetings and the like.”
“Just casino business all day?” she asked, because it sounded as if he was hedging.
