Page 1 of Rule Number One

CHAPTER ONE

IVY

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The warm tropical breezeblew into the open-air bar and lifted my cocktail napkin before the bartender could set my margarita on it.

“Whoops!” I slapped it back down and held it firmly as he slid my drink onto it.

“One margarita, extra salt.” A charming grin split his face as he stepped back. “Anything else?”

“No, thank you,” I responded, my taste buds tingling in anticipation.

“Thank you. Just put it on our hotel tab,” my boyfriend, Jimmy, answered.

“Of course, sir.” The bartender nodded, and his shaggy brown hair fell in front of his eyes for a moment.

As the bartender walked away to help another patron, I lifted my glass and turned to Jimmy. “Cheers. To another perfect night in paradise.”

“Anything for you, Ivy. I’m just glad you’re having fun here.” Crinkles formed in the corners of his brown eyes as he smiled at me.

“Fun?” I lifted my eyebrows. “This is more than fun. The Paradise Isles really live up to their name. I’ve never been on vacation, much less to someplace so fancy. And it’s even better because I get to be here in paradise with you.”

I clinked my glass against his and then took a long swig of my margarita, making sure to get a healthy taste of the salt clinging to the rim.

Ahhh.

Perfect. The perfect drink at the perfect bar on the perfect island with my perfect boyfriend.

Life. Was. Perfect.

Just six months ago, I’d hightailed it from my hometown in Iowa and accepted a job in Chicago. The move had been terrifying for someone like me who didn’t take big chances or do crazy things, but I needed a fresh start after a nasty breakup with my boyfriend. I’d spent months researching places to move and companies I wanted to work for and finally settled on the Windy City. After a few internet searches and online applications, I landed a job at a major insurance agency as an entry-level risk management associate. It wasn’t some high-powered dream job, and I spent more time doing basic account reviews than making coverage decisions, but it got me in on the ground floor of a huge company with plenty of opportunities for growth. Me, living and working in a big city, was more than this small-town girl could have ever imagined.

And to add a little cherry on top of my new life, my new job had one very handsome and charming man that oversaw the Claims department ... one very handsome and charming man who’d asked me on a date four months ago—the same very handsome and charming man seated next to me at the bar.

Jimmy Hawkins.

“How’s your drink, darling? Enough salt?” Jimmy asked.

I smacked my lips together. “Yep. Perfect.”

Perfect. Everything was just perfect.

I sighed and inhaled the salty air, then reached over and slid my hand onto Jimmy’s. For a moment, I almost pulled it away but then remembered, here in Paradise Isles, we didn’t have to hide. There were no coworkers around to catch us.

It went against my better judgment to get involved in an office romance, but when I’d met Jimmy, it had been at a coffee shop across from the office building shortly after I started. Since he ran a different division from my new position, I didn’t even know we worked for the same company until we’d had our first date. When I’d found out during our dinner, I’d wanted to call it off, but he’d assured me that since he wasn’t my direct superior, interoffice dating was completely fine as long as we cleared it with HR if things got serious. All the blaring alarms about getting involved with someone in the workplace quieted when he flashed me his perfect smile ... the perfect smile from the blond-haired, brown-eyed, dashing man who checked every box in the potential future spouse column.

One dinner had turned into two, and then three and four, and soon we were spending lots of time indulging in long lunches. No one around the office knew we were dating, and Jimmy had asked me to keep it a secret until we were a little more serious before we reported it to HR and let the rest of the office know. Especially with his recent divorce, he thought it best to keep our little romance to ourselves and take some time to see where things went. I understood completely. I didn’t want to risk people around the office knowing my romantic business unless I was sure we were going somewhere. Starring in office gossip was no way to start my new career.

When Jimmy had to travel for a big insurance conference on Paradise Isles and asked me to accompany him, I could barely believe my luck. I’d never been on a vacation, and for the first time since we’d started dating, we’d finally get to spend some time together not hiding out from prying eyes.

I closed my hand around his, and my sigh deepened when he wound his fingers into mine. The crippling anxiety about flying I’d overcome to get here was worth it to finally get to be out in the open holding hands with Jimmy.

“You look so beautiful, Ivy. Island life suits you.”

“Yeah?” I tucked a piece of my blonde hair behind my ear.

“Yeah,” he answered. “Really suits you.”

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