Page 69 of Cross Point

It took a few seconds, then Trinity remembered meeting Noah as she and Jackson had been leaving the Siren’s Cove during their first date. The man who had spoken tapped Jackson on the shoulder in greeting before sitting down at the table next to him. He leaned forward and smiled at Trinity. He was a good-looking man with black hair and intense dark eyes, and Jackson immediately leaned forward so she could no longer see him.

“Jesus, Stone,” the man muttered. “Territorial much?”

“Stop looking at my date and focus on your own.”

“Since this animal hasn’t introduced me, my name is Carlos Sanchez. I’m Jackson’s best friend, and I’ve been dying to meet the amazing woman who has him twisted into knots.” He grunted as Jackson’s elbow made contact with his ribs. “Damn it, Lieutenant. That hurt.”

“Good. Carlos and I were in the army together,” Jackson explained. “When I came back here, I couldn’t get rid of him.”

“Ah, I can feel the love,” Carlos quipped.

Trinity laughed. “It’s nice to meet you, Carlos. You and I are going to have to talk later so you can tell me all the fun stories he won’t tell me about himself.”

“You can bet on it. That is Noah Diaz, my partner.” Carlos took Elodie’s hand in his and raised it to place a kiss on her knuckles. “And I believe you’ve met our girlfriend, Elodie.”

“Oh, we’ve met,” Trinity confirmed with a grin. “You could say our first encounter was pretty memorable.”

Elodie slapped a hand over her mouth to hold back her laughter as Jackson choked on the sip of champagne he just drank. Maxwell introduced himself to the table as a host of waiters appeared through the doors on either side of the ballroom and made their way to the tables with the first course. Trinity glanced down at the grilled tiger prawns that had been served along with a small mountain of leafy greens that had a light dressing drizzled over it with glee.

Some women didn’t eat at events like this, but she wasn’t one of them.

Rosie Abbas bustled out onto the stage that had been set up and politely cleared her throat to gain everyone’s attention.

“Hello, everyone, it’s so lovely to see you all here tonight supporting such a wonderful cause. It’s always hard to see the children of this community go off to seek their fortunes on the mainland, but this scholarship fund makes sure that they can get the best education possible. It is important to invest in education, and many who succeed will also bring those skills back here to the island where they are needed the most. No matter where their future may lead them, it is our chance to help them along the way.”

Everyone applauded politely as she smiled and toyed with one of the many rings on her fingers for a moment, waiting for the applause to die down before continuing.

“Tonight, we’ll be changing things up a little and starting the auction with one of our most popular items instead of leaving them for last, when all your pocketbooks are already feeling lighter. The first item up for bid is a romantic cruise on board the Blue Horizon Marina’s vessel, The Triple Deck.”

Trinity stopped eating and applauded with the rest of the audience as a young woman named Dana was called up to the stage. She felt sympathy for the woman, who looked like she had just been shocked with a Taser when Rosie mentioned a date with the new owner of the marina had been included in the romantic cruise package.

Her skin seemed to pale against the dark blue of her flowing dress as the bidding began. Trinity watched as the creepy manager from the marina went head to head with two other men who looked damned determined to win the young woman.

When the hot duo won her, Trinity was concerned when Dana bolted from the stage until Jackson leaned in and said, “That’s Harris and Casten. I work with them. They’re damn good cops and good men. She’ll be fine.”

Trinity picked up her fork but set it down again when her name was called from the stage. She smiled at her men as she rose from her seat. Just for the hell of it, she put a little more swagger into her walk as she made her way up to the stage. If looks could kill, she’d be six feet under if Jackson and Maxwell had anything to do with it.

“Katrina Cross is new to our island. I know it’s hard to believe, but this lovely young woman is a security expert working with the prestigious Mac Securities company based out of Chicago. She has graciously agreed to donate private lessons in self-defense to one lucky winner. Now, who would like to—”

“One thousand!” Jackson shouted before Rosie could finish.

“Damn it, Stone. Why can’t you at least give the rest of us the appearance of having a chance?” a man called out from the back.

The audience laughed as Rosie beamed a smile at the crowd. “Are there any other—”

“Ten thousand,” Maxwell called out, making everyone in the room gasp.

Rosie fanned herself with her hand. “Well, isn’t this exciting! Mr. King has already been so generous this evening, but it seems he and Mr. Stone are determined to keep any private lessons with their lady to themselves. I don’t suppose there are any other bids? No? Congratulations, Mr. King. You have the winning bid!”

Jackson and Maxwell both stood up and stalked toward the stage. Each of them held out a hand to her, and Trinity took them, allowing them to help her down the stairs. Maxwell swept her into a slight dip as he kissed her like a scene from an old Hollywood movie, making the crowd laugh. When he released her, Jackson gripped her neck and dragged her in for a searing kiss, making the crowd break out into a round of applause.

Pulling away from them, Trinity flashed the room a saucy grin and took a bow.

“Come on, I can’t wait anymore.” Jackson grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room.

She let out a breathless laugh as he dragged her down the hallway. He hurried out the back doors of the resort leading to the beach with Maxwell at their side.

“Jesus, Jackson—”

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