Page 10 of Bound to You

I smile to myself as I think of the way she was cautious of me—as she should’ve been—but there was no way I was letting them go anywhere but here. My impulses decided that before my better judgment could catch up and disagree, but I needed to learn more about that girl.

I arrived in Ruby Cove not much different from them, with nowhere to live, and no one I knew. So something told me I should pass on the generosity that this town gave me back then.

I walk out of the bathroom with my towel around my waist to see Stefan standing in the doorway of my bedroom.

“Merda!” My hand jumps to my chest. “Stefan! What are you doing here?” Stefan is the only other person who has keycard access to this level for emergencies. Unfortunately, he believes any minor inconvenience is an emergency.

“No need to have a heart attack.” He rolls his eyes. “Did you not hear me calling from the living room?”

No, I was too busy daydreaming about a beautiful stranger.

“Ugh, no matter, but why are you not ready? The decorators are done in the ballroom. We need your final approval. Like now.” He clicks his fingers in a get-your-ass-moving kind of way. Stefan has the attitude of a chihuahua, but that’s why I hired him as my assistant—the guy knows how to get shit done.

“Okay, give me five minutes to get this on and I’ll be down there,” I say, gesturing to the suit laid out on the bed. He sighs as he leaves the room.

I quickly get ready, and with my dress shoes on and my tie knotted, I head out. When I’m halfway to the ballroom, I feel my pocket vibrate. I pull out my phone to a message from Stefan:

Stefan

What is your cousin up to?

There is a photo attached of Marina walking through the lobby with a rack on wheels containing numerous hanging garment bags, and a suitcase rolling behind her.

I can’t help but let out a chuckle as I pocket my phone, grateful my cousin is prepared when it comes to a wardrobe emergency. Her words, not mine. I just hope they’re all readyin time because if I know my cousin, those girls will be her best friends by the time they walk into that ballroom tonight.

chapter four

ISLA

“Okay,look, I’m sorry, but this situation could have turned out far worse than this, don’t you think?” May says from her position on the plush bed where she collapsed as soon as we got to our room. “I mean, look at where we are,” she gestures around the room.

I can’t argue with her—it is beautiful. Lush all around, with two generous bedrooms off the main room that hosts a sitting area and an entire kitchen. Not that we will be using it. May and I are both professionals at ordering in.

I’ve really tried to be a good cook. I had a phase in school where I wanted to own a bakery, so I tried it out. I was baking up a storm every night after school and took cupcakes to all my friends the next day to show off my skills. Let’s just say there were a lot of ingredients wasted during that period.

I sigh as I look out the giant kitchen window that overlooks the lawn and the gorgeous view of Ruby Cove. It’s not that this isn’t great. It is—better than great even—but I don’t want to rely on a stranger. I’ve learned that blindly relying on people isn’t always the right move. I’ve been burnt one too many times by people I thought I could trust, let alone complete strangers.

“You needed a way to pay him back, and I just thought this would be a fun way to do it.” She brings her shoulders up to her ears and back down again as I turn around to face her.

I roll my eyes, but I can’t complain too much. She’s right—we’ve ended up in a pretty good position. But we can’t stay here long term without figuring out a better way to pay Caio back, or finding somewhere else to stay, even if it would crack a little part of my soul to leave this place. It’s honestly like something from one of my childhood dream boards.

A knock at the door interrupts my planning. May sits up from her sprawled-out position. “Housekeeping maybe?”

I walk over to the door and step up on my tippy toes to look through the peephole. “It’s a lady with some luggage?”

“Maybe she’s got the wrong room or something?” May offers, sounding just as confused as I am.

I open the door to tell her she might be in the wrong place, but I don’t get a chance before she barges in, pulling an entire garment rack and suitcase behind her into our new living room.

“I heard you were in need of some dresses?” she says.

“Shit,” May laughs. “I don’t know what I was expecting when Caio said he’d take care of it, but this was not it.”

The woman laughs, and it’s almost melodic. “I’m Marina, Caio’s cousin,” she explains with a bright smile. She’s absolutely stunning in a black knit jumper that hangs off her shoulder, paired with dark jeans and a pair of boots that add a couple extra of inches to her height.

She looks like the kind of woman you don’t want to mess with, yet still soft around the edges.

Her hair is slung over her shoulder in a loose braid, and it’s dark like Caio’s. So dark it’s almost black against her tanned skin, but that’s where the family resemblance ends. Her eyes are a gorgeous hazel shade, and not like when people say they have hazel eyes but they’re really just light brown. Hers are a meltingpot of warm tones with a thick green ring around her pupils that fades into brown around the edge of her irises. Irises that are currently flicking between May and me waiting for a response.

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