The Risk: A Billionaire Romance (Wagered Hearts Series, Book 2) (26 page)

“This weekend just keeps getting more and more interesting,” she said.

“I’m so glad you find everything so amusing,” I said dryly.

“What do you say to a swim on the beach?” she suggested.

I had half a mind to say no, but I figured Lily might have mentioned something to her about Mel. Besides, I was sure she was dying to tell me something. She just had that look about her. I nodded my head and told her I’d meet her at the beach in half an hour. When she went off to change, I looked up to find Mel looking at me with an inscrutable expression on her face. She quickly colored at being caught staring and turned her attention back to the actor she’d been talking with at lunch. They left soon afterward, walking arm in arm towards the direction of the tennis courts.

Before I even knew what I was doing, I found myself following them. I knew of Bradley by reputation and knew he didn’t have a good one. He was a notorious womanizer and I was more than a little upset that Helen or Emilia or whoever it was invited him this weekend. He didn’t seem to have any redeeming qualities except for being famous and starring in crappy movies that happened to make a ton of money. If I stopped and thought about it, I’d probably find it funny since most people probably saw me the same way, but I was past the point of thinking things through. All I wanted was to get Mel away from him, but Helen stopped my progress with another tantrum.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she hissed.

“I’m walking towards the tennis courts,” I said.

“Don’t be slick Ryan. You know what I mean. How could you humiliate me like that in front of all our guests?” she asked sounding genuinely hurt.

I fought hard not to roll my eyes at her dramatic speech and instead placed my hands on her shoulders. “Helen, listen to me. This is supposed to be a fun weekend for our friends, not summer camp. Nobody wants an itinerary of activities when they’re trying to relax,” I said calmly.

She scoffed and looked at me defiantly. “That’s ridiculous. This isn’t some free for all where people are just left to their own devices. What’s the point of having a house party if you’re just going to let your guests do whatever they want, whenever they want. You might as well have told them to stay at a hotel.”

I didn’t bother to argue against her point as I didn’t exactly know what point she was trying to make. All I knew was that she was keeping me from Mel and the sooner I ended this conversation, the sooner I could go and find her.

“Helen, if you want to go play tennis, then play. No one is stopping you,” I said impatiently.

“That’s not my point at all,” she whined.

“I don’t have time for this right now,” I said. “Just do whatever you want.”

I walked away without waiting for her to reply and started towards the courts. Mel and Bradley were already out of sight by now and I sighed in frustration at Helen’s untimely interruption. When I arrived at the tennis courts, they weren’t there. Only Stella and some of the other guests had taken up the offer of a game of tennis. I waved to them when they spotted me but quickly turned back around before they could rope me into a game.

I fought the urge to scour the whole estate tracking them down. I wasn’t a stalker after all, and I did tell Emilia that I’d meet her for a swim. Swallowing the bitter disappointment, I turned back and headed towards the house to change.

Emilia was waiting for me on the beach, a short walk from the main house. It was a picture perfect day with the sun shining over head and a cool breeze blowing off the water. Emilia wore one of those bathing suits that looked like it had pieces of it cut out haphazardly, showing bits of skin. She walked toward me once she spotted me.

“There you are! I’ve been waiting here forever,” she said. Before I could even get a word in edgewise, she continued on. “This is a nice property. Even for the Hamptons it’s extravagant. I could get used to this place and this view,” she said, stretching her arms wide in front of her.

“Um, thanks, but I hope you’re not getting any ideas.”

She gave me a cheeky smile. “No, I’ve already been turned down once. I don’t think my fragile ego can take the rejection again. Besides, it’s obvious you’ve still got it bad for Mel. You couldn’t keep your eyes off her. I thought you were going to drop to your knees right there at lunch and profess your undying love to her.”

“It wasn’t as bad as that,” I said, somewhat self consciously.

“It was pretty bad,” she said.

We strolled along the beach in silence after that. I was lost in my own thoughts wondering if I was only so obvious to Emilia because she knew, or if Mel had sensed it too.

“What are you going to do?” she asked.

I looked up at her blankly. “Do?”

“About Mel? Are you going to try to win her back?”

“I don’t know. What were you and Lily talking about at lunch today? You two seemed awfully friendly.”

“Lily is a doll,” she said. “She was a little standoffish at first but I think she came around eventually. We were just talking about her wedding and flowers and things like that.”

“What did she mean about Mel going through hard times?” I asked. I’d been curious about it ever since lunch, and I figured I’d ask Emilia. Maybe Lily had mentioned something about it to her.

“Beats me.” she said shrugging her shoulders. “She didn’t really explain it and I thought it’d be rude to pry.”

I blew out a frustrated breath. I had thought Emilia would have some answers, but she knew about as much as I did. It was feeling like this whole stroll on the beach would be a waste of time—time I could have used to try to track down Mel and Bradley or even talk to Lily. Instead here I was on the beach having this meaningless conversation with Emilia.

“Was there a purpose in you asking me to come to the beach with you today?” I snapped.

“There’s no need to be so cross,” she said frowning at me.

“I wasn’t being cross.”

“You were,” she stated. “I realize I’m not your Mel, but believe me, I’m doing you a favor.”

She grabbed my arm and suddenly leaned into me, looking up at me adoringly before bursting out into giggles.

“What the hell are you doing?” I asked, looking down in horror.

“Just smile back,” she said through gritted teeth. “She’s watching us.”

“Who’s watching us?” I asked. I swiveled my head to look around and I froze when I saw Mel sitting on top of a beach blanket ten yards away watching us. She quickly turned away again when she saw me looking at her. I felt a rush of excitement at finally seeing her again, but that was tempered by my annoyance at Emilia for her little maneuver.

“What are you playing at?” I hissed to Emilia, keeping my voice low so Mel couldn’t hear.

“Like I said, I’m doing you a favor. She’s burning up with jealousy right now,” Emilia said triumphantly. As she spoke, she kept the flirtatious smile fixed firmly to her lips, and her eyes wide with adoration as she looked at me.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked.

“Just be grateful and play along,” she said. “It’s all going according to plan. She couldn’t keep her eyes off you at lunch even though I sat her next to Bradley, and he’s never had any problems being the center of every girl’s attention.”

“Wait, what do you mean you sat her?” I asked.

She shot me an impatient glare as if she were explaining things to a child. “Please keep up Ryan. I set up the seating for lunch because I wanted to watch her reaction to you and me. Every time you looked at or spoke to me, she’d go out of her way to flirt with Brad. It’s obvious she’s still got a thing for you.”

“She does?” I asked.

Emilia swatted my arm playfully. “Of course,” she laughed lightly.

I snuck a peek at Mel and saw she was studiously avoiding looking in our direction. She kept her eyes cast down, fidgeting with the hem of the beach towel she was sitting on top.

“Why are we trying to make her jealous?” I asked.

Emilia huffed out another exasperated sigh. “Because then she’ll realize how much she wants you. Every woman needs a little competition. If she thinks a guy is just going to sit by and wait for her to decide to have him, she’s never going to make a move. But if she sees there are other women who want you, she’s going to make a move. I guarantee it.”

“Is that so?” I asked.

“I’m surprised you don’t know how the female mind works, what with your reputation and all.”

“Perhaps my reputation has been overblown.”

“It’s nature. You just wait and see,” she said with a self-satisfied smile. “I’m going for a swim in the water. Go over to her and talk to her and you’ll see what I mean.”

Emilia traipsed off and ran into the water before diving underneath. She came up a few seconds later and splashed her arms out before lying on her back and floating. I watched her for a moment, thinking over her words. Could it be true that Mel was jealous? She did seem a little upset, but I didn’t want to read too much into it. I decided to test Emilia’s theory.

I turned and walked towards Mel. She kept her eyes averted until I was standing right in front of her. Finally she lifted her gaze up at me. The light from the sun caused her to squint her eyes and she held her hand over her brow to block out the glare. I took a seat next to her on the blanket so she wouldn’t have to strain and sat with my legs stretched out before me.

We remained silent for a moment, just sitting there and watching the waves roll in. I could feel the tension in her body as she sat next to me, even though she tried to seem unconcerned. Her hands were balled into fists in her lap and she sat up straight and stiff with her legs crossed in front of her. I could hear her shallow breaths almost as if she was afraid to breathe too loudly or deeply around me and disturb our tenuous peace. I turned to look at her then and watched as a bead of sweat trickled down the side of her face. My fingers itched to brush it away, but I held steady. Instead I cleared my throat.

“How have you been, Mel?” I asked.

She turned to me suddenly, looking like I’d startled her, but then turned back to watch the water. “I’m fine. How have you been?”

“I’ve been better,” I said.

We lapsed into another bout of silence. I’d never remembered our conversations or silences being this excruciating. It was as if some invisible barrier had been erected between us and all that comfort and intimacy had been replaced by nervousness, doubt, and apprehension. Before I could say anything else, Mel took a deep breath and turned her whole body to face me. Her eyes held a gleam of determination and there was a stubborn tilt about her chin as if she’d come to some decision.

“There’s something I want to say to you,” she began. “First, I want to apologize.”

“For what?” I asked.

“For my mother,” she said.

I sat in stunned silence, never expecting those words to come out of her mouth. She took a deep breath and barreled on as if she were being prodded against her will by some invisible force.

“I know she said some things to you about Chad and me that might have been hurtful. I had no idea she was so cruel and vindictive and anyways, she was trying to hurt you and I regret that I might have played a part in it unwittingly.”

After she finished her speech, she looked up at me expectantly. I didn’t know what to say. There were so many questions swirling through my head but I blurted out, “What are you talking about?”

“I guess I’ve got to explain it all,” she said a little sheepishly.

“Please do.”

She took another deep breath and began. “I’m sure you heard about Chad and I getting back together?” I nodded my head. “He came back shortly after we went out on our date. The morning after you left, he called me and asked me to meet him. When I did, he begged me for another chance. I should have refused him right then, but I was stupid and confused and I didn’t have the heart to hurt him. We did have a lot of history together,” she said wearily. “Anyway, my mother found out about that and she advised me to give him another chance. She really put herself in his corner and I hate to admit it, but I was convinced by her to give it another go,” she added a little ruefully. Mel turned to me then, her eyes wide and almost pleading. “I wouldn’t have done it if I’d thought there was any chance for us, but my mother convinced me you were a playboy and womanizer and would never settle down with one person. And after our night together when you didn’t call or anything, I thought she was telling me the truth.”

I was about to interrupt her and defend myself, but she held up her hand to stop me. “I know now that she was lying,” she said bitterly. “I found out she was only using me and my relationship with Chad to hurt you. I think she thought you had a thing for me and wanted to rub our relationship in your face.”

“How did you find out about all that?” I asked after another stunned silence.

“She confessed it all to me,” she said. Her lips twisted into grimace as she recounted her confrontation with her mother. “It was after I had turned down Chad’s proposal. The next day, my mother somehow found out and went ballistic. Then she mentioned how you were planning to oust her as editor of Chère and…oh…a whole bunch of other crazy nonsense,” she said. “The point was that she hated you and wanted to make you pay and she thought the best way was through me.”

“So, you and Chad are no longer together?” I asked.

She smiled at me shyly and shook her head. “No. I realized I could never be happy with him again. My…feelings had changed.”

I sat back and tried to process everything she’d told me but it was overwhelming. I didn’t even know where to start. She was no longer with Chad, but her mother was still a psycho. Cora had orchestrated the whole thing and I stupidly fell for it. She used her daughter’s vulnerability and desire for a closer relationship with her for her own purposes, not caring who she hurt along the way.

It made me angry to think about how Mel had been treated by her own mother. I clenched my fists at my side. I’d never been a violent person, especially around women, but Cora Abelgard wasn’t even human. I resolved then that I’d do everything in my power to strip Cora of the thing she most treasured, which was her position at Chère. It wasn’t the magazine that she loved, but the power it gave her over people.