Page 37 of Must Have Been Love

I swallow hard, watching as Ayda smiles up at the woman I can’t stop fucking thinking about, the two of them swinging around. She takes Ayda’s hand and twirls her and my girl cracks up as she almost ends up on the floor.

For a fleeting second, Skyler’s eyes meet mine and her mouth parts.

“Skyler Brown,” I grunt.

He blinks. “Who is she?”

“She’s Wayne’s kid. He left her The Salty Dog when he died.”

His eyes widen. “Oh that’s where I recognize the name. You didn’t say she was hot as fuck.” He watches her lift her arms up and roll her hips in time to the music. Ayda does the same.

“Because I didn’t notice,” I lie.

He laughs. “You’re a dad, you’re not fucking dead. Of course you noticed. Every hot blooded male around here is staring at her right now.”

I frown, taking a look at the men milling around the party. Business acquaintances, locals, a few investors that wanted to come here and experience the island and hotel for themselves.

They’re all watching her. A shot of hot jealousy rushes through me.

“She’s not my type,” I remind him. And that’s not a lie. “Anyway, apparently you’re in charge of my love life at the moment.” Yeah, I’m still pissed at that. Twice I’ve caught Sylvie staring at me. I’m going to have to let her down gently. Especially since I do business with her father.

“Have you persuaded her to sell the bar?” West asks, smoothly changing the subject.

My jaw hardens. “No. She has this idea that she wants to run it herself. She’s applied for a liquor licence.”

He starts to laugh. “Oh shit, she’s pretty and she plays hardball.” He looks over at the dance floor again. “She has the most magnificent tits.”

“And she’s completely off limits.”

He looks amused at my warning. And yeah, it does sound like a warning. “You sound very interested for a man who says she’s not his type.”

“I want her to sell me the bar and get the hell off the island,” I tell him. “I don’t need complications.”

I can’t keep being distracted this way.

“You should probably get in a better mood,” West murmurs. “I spy old man Harrison walking this way.”

Stanley Harrison. A legend on Wall Street. One of our biggest investors.

I paint a smile on my face and pull my gaze away from Xena fucking Warrior Princess.

“Stanley,” I say, holding my hand out for the older man to shake. “Thank you for coming. And I love your outfit. Let me guess, Good King Wenceslas?”

And as I talk to him, my eyes are on her the whole time. She’s fucking mesmerizing.

twelve

SKYLER

The afternoon passes in a blur of appetizers and new faces, along with a glass or two of champagne. Every now and then my gaze catches Hudson’s and the two of us have a little staring battle. It’s weirdly sexy.

By the time evening arrives, the party slowly morphs into a more-adult focused event, complete with non-Disney music and the disappearance of the paid Disney princesses who depart on their boat. And I’m feeling a little intoxicated.

Jesse comes over and tells me he has to leave, too. He starts work at six in the morning and there’s a strict sobriety rule, so I walk him to his car and hug him tight.

“Maybe I should go home too.”

“Don’t be boring. I need you to report back later about the debauchery,” he tells me. “Who ends up kissing who on the dance floor, who throws up in the lawn. Whether Mylene and Eileen come to blows.”

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