Page 111 of Mr. Monroe

I sighed, taking in the PI’s words. I didn’t blame him for his concern because I felt the same. And once I had the chance to look things over with Shane, I knew there was more to the story than I could uncover on my own.

“Well, whatever you’ve found, I need it, and tonight if possible. There’s double what I’ve already paid you if you can send it to me within a half-hour because I need to figure out the best way to tell my girl.”

“Ah,” he said. “Okay, I’m on it. I’ll send you the file now.”

I had to know facts and didn’t have time to waste with Heidi slinking around. Heidi had never had inside information about anything in my life, but when she showed up with security codes to my home tonight, I was reminded that I’d better get on top of shit.

I was never more grateful than now for hiring a PI to look further into Nat’s father; I was hoping it would be a source of closure and healing for Nat and Shane. They needed it, especially if Heidi was armed with any harmful knowledge.

If Heidi wasn’t, I was concerned about nothing, but I wouldn’t assume she didn’t have an ace up her sleeve. I was smarter than that, and Nat didn’t deserve to be ambushed and hurt further by this bitch, all because I used her as my fake wife.

Chapter Thirty-Five

NAT

After Spencer disappeared into the yacht to handle matters with his brother, I returned to find the fakest and most disgusting version of his mother. Swear to God, this woman was a chameleon.

I stood there, listening to Heidi regale us with tales of when she was our age and how Spencer’s dad swept her off her feet. Of course, her stories included all the other ultra-wealthy, desirable men she turned down and how she was the single-most sought-after debutant of her time. She name-dropped the royals and movie stars who’d attended her wedding and gushed about how she was the talk of the town. And after an hour of this vapid bullshit, I was ready to vomit.

Fortunately, Bree knew enough about Heidi to let the ladies know what they were dealing with ahead of time. Although, I’m not sure it was necessary. Bree, Avery, Ash, Jessa, and Elena were nothing like the pretentious, wealthy women Heidi was accustomed to rubbing elbows with, so it made her self-aggrandizing monologue somewhat entertaining because she was embarrassing herself, and she didn’t know it.

The girls cast me and each other glances now again, probably trying to assess if this weirdo woman was for real. I couldn’t blame them; I’d never seen anyone try so hard to be impressive, and these stories were the peak of ridiculousness.

When Spence returned, I decided I would let him take over babysitting his mother. I needed a normal conversation with the ladies and a stiff drink.

Sadly, it wouldn’t work out that way because just then, the pastry chefs walked out with a giant birthday cake for Jim, which was a replica of the Tower of London. I had no fucking clue why, but I was confident the most desirable debutant of 1976 would ask.

In a way, I felt sorry for Spencer. This woman was an embarrassment, but she also served as a great lesson in understanding why Spence was the strong, bullshit-sniffing businessman he was. No wonder a billion-dollar empire trusted him with their secrets, sniffing out their thieves. It was apparent he’d developed keen skills in sensing deceit as a defense mechanism of growing up with the looney-toon who was one dry gin martini ahead of the rest of us.

“It’s where they first met,” Spencer said in a low voice while Avery teased her husband about the cake she’d surprised him with.

“Well, that cake would be more appropriate for an anniversary—a prank, of course—but not for a birthday. How very odd,” Heidi whispered back to Spencer.

“Does it fucking matter, Heidi?” Spencer’s voice rose loud enough that the laughter from whatever Avery had said to a blushing Jim had stopped, and everyone’s eyes focused on where Spencer and I stood near his mother, away from the group. “It’s a small group of friends celebrating a birthday; that’s fucking it.”

“There is no need to get hysterical and cause a scene. It was merely a statement of fact,” she snapped back.

We’d barely joined everyone on this yacht, and I’d already seen three or four of Heidi’s rotating personalities. I couldn’t believe how draining she was or how I would manage another minute near her, let alone multiple days.

* * *

“I can’t believe we made it three days on this damn yacht without throwing ourselves overboard,” Spencer said, turning on his side to pull my ass into him as I was rousing awake. “Good morning, sweetheart.”

I smiled when his lips went to my neck. This had turned into my favorite thing…when we were just waking up, and Spencer—who was always awake before me—would surround my entire body with all his strength and muscle. I felt safe, loved, warm, and protected in his arms.

“Me neither. Remind me to thank Jake later for paying his pilots to stay aboard just in case we need to emergency airlift your mother off the yacht.”

I felt Spencer chuckle, “I have to wonder if he did pay them to stay on board after tying down that chopper because we were bringing the Wicked Witch of the West with us. However, I think it’s on standby because the real mothers on this yacht want instant access to shore in case any of the children come into trouble.”

“True, and regarding your mother, she’s not the wicked witch,” I said, turning to face him, “she’s the devil’s concubine.”

He chuckled and kissed the tip of my nose, “Oh, I don’t think Lucifer would ever allow that. He’s probably terrified of her.”

I couldn’t hold back my laughter. He was probably right.

Once Spencer and I enjoyed our usual wild morning sex, burning enough calories to replace a workout, we were showered and headed to breakfast ten minutes late.

Of course, I was sure Heidi would have something to say about that, but I couldn’t care less. Tomorrow was our last day on the yacht, and I didn’t want any of the weirdness from the previous night to ruin what little time we had left to enjoy ourselves. So, the plan was to visit Catalina today, and I eagerly looked forward to it since I’d never been.

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