Page 133 of Release Me

“You didn’t enjoy it?” I hold my breath and wait for her to lie. Iknowshe did.

“It’s not about enjoying it.” She falters. “I just … I don’t think we want the same things.”

We could.I wasn’t looking for anything, but now that I’ve met Sloane, she’s the one I keep gravitating back to, everything else be damned.

“Ronan! Come on!” Connor hollers.

Shit.“Coming.”

“Take care of yourself.” Sloane hops back onto the floating tiki, the weight of whatever fallout is to come squarely on her shoulders.

50.Sloane

“One more!” I force a smile as I aim the phone camera at Jeremy and his cruise girls. “There, got it. Make sure you tag us when you post. And thanks again for coming. Leave us a review!” All my standard parting lines.

“Oh, we will. Definitely.” French Braid waves at Jeremy before trotting away to join her friends.

“You’ve got a fan.”

“Yeah, Charlotte’s sweet.” He counts the fold of cash they must have tipped him, then tucks it in his pocket.

It reminds me that I didn’t get a tip. Then again, the cruise was cut short due to injury.

And I did get an orgasm.

I shake my head at myself and brush those dirty thoughts aside. “So, good shift?” I prod, bracing myself for the inevitable confrontation.

“Better than yours.” Jeremy crouches and sets to tying another rope to secure the float. “Have they gone to the hospital?”

“Probably, by now.” They left an hour ago. The right thing to do would be to text Ronan and ask. I know this, and yet I can’t bring myself to do it. Ronan is dangerous, like Frank said,but probably not in the way he meant. He’s dangerousfor mebecause I’m not myself when he’s around. I’m reckless. I allow crazy things to happen that I never dreamed of when I was eighteen and brash, let alone thirty-one.

It’s best that we cut ties completely. Best for both of us, from the sounds of it.

“You should probably follow up, seeing as they got hurt while on our tour.”

“Yeah, I have Ryan’s number in the booking. I’ll call her tomorrow and check in when she’s sober.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Jeremy stands, scratches the back of his head. “Hey, so what was all that back there, with Cody? What was he talking about?” He asks this, and yet by the displeasure etched across his face, he already has a pretty good idea.

So, I spill my guts. I tell Jeremyeverything, from the day Dave and Ted quit to the day I let Skye talk me into crashing the job fair. By the time I’m done, I feel both a hundred pounds lighter and like someone tied a cinder block to my ankle and is waiting to toss it into the deepest part of the Gulf.

Jeremy scratches his chin absently. “Why didn’t you come talk to me?”

“And say what? ‘You’re my best employee.Please, please, please,don’t abandon me?’”

“Well … yeah, that would have been a start.”

“I don’t know. Maybe I should have. I didn’t think I had the right to do that, though. Especially not after you asked for more hours.”

“Wait, so you didn’t have the right to ask me not to quit, but sabotaging my chances for a job at a great company?—”

“I know!” The urge to bury my face in my hands is overwhelming. “What I did was awful. I’m evil. I’m sorry.”

Jeremy studies me, as if weighing my sincerity. “Does Frank know about this?”

“After the fact, yeah, and don’t worry, he made me feel plenty guilty about it.”

Jeremy’s gaze flitters to the top of the stairs. “Will’s here to close up.”

---