“Dressed as such?” Pierre gestured at Rob’s clothing.
He was still in his swimming trunks and the tattered T-shirt he’d pulled on just before opening the door to Shelly and the disaster she represented. No wonder Tara and Shelly had looked so shocked when he’d first opened the door. He never dressed in anything less than height of fashion. He’d toned down his appearance over the past couple of days so Meg would feel more at ease. It occurred to him, however, he was the one who’d been more at ease in the comfortable clothing.
“Damn.” He walked back to his bedroom. Pierre followed. Reaching into his closet, Rob pulled out his Etro Cargo pants and black silk shirt. Buttoning it, he turned to find Pierre standing in the doorway. “Go ahead. Tell me what an ass I’ve been. I should have told her the truth. Say I told you so because, by God, you did.”
“I don’t think you were wrong.”
“I’ve been lucky to get away with such an idiotic lie this long. I don’t know what possessed me to think I could—what did you say?”
“I don’t think you were wrong to lie to Ms. Williams,” Pierre repeated.
“You said no good ever came from a lie.”
“I’ve been thinking about it and I don’t think you’ve ever known a real friend or even true love. Someone who saw you as you were, not merely as an image displayed for public consumption. Very few people have ever seen through the mask you wear to hide the true person inside. But Meg, she’s seen inside you?”
Rob nodded. “Yes.”
“And I assume she liked what she saw?”
“Amazingly, yes,” Rob answered.
“Then you weren’t wrong to lie to her. However, you would be sincerely remiss in letting someone else, perhaps someone less careful, reveal your true identity.”
“I would, but Pierre, I’ve waited too long. How could I ever ask her to trust me when the whole basis of our relationship, short as it’s been, has been built on a lie?”
“Actually,” Pierre replied. “I would say, for the first time in your life, this is the only relationship not based on a lie.”
Meg knew the true Rob Madison, the man underneath the money and power, the man who liked corn dogs and horror movies, the man who hated vanilla and who read mystery novels voraciously. She knew his secret fondness for reality shows and folk music. She knew all of this because she listened to him. She cared enough to get to know him—as a person of worth, not ‘net worth.’
“I have to go.” Rob was suddenly desperate to declare his love and his lie, desperate to stake the one claim that meant anything to him. He was a man known for never losing, never giving up. He would be that man now because if it took him until the day he died, he would marry Meg Williams. He wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of his life, spoiling her rotten and introducing her to everything she’d missed—snow skiing, Italy, art museums and rock concerts. He’d give her the entire world.
“So you’re a teacher,” Shelly asked for the third time. Meg suspected she was merely repeating the fact until she was able to believe it. “Special education?”
“Yes.” Meg glanced toward the door for the hundredth time, wishing Rob would save her from the interminable company of these intolerable people. How on earth could he actually be friends with such a lazy, snooty, viperous lot?
“Retards, you mean?” Tara joined the conversation for the first time.
“No.” The hair on Meg’s arms stood straight up at the woman’s heartless words. “I teach children who are mentally handicapped.”
“Same difference.”
“Not the same,” Meg added hotly. “Although, I would say to someone with your limited education and level of compassion it might seem so.”
“Excuse me?” Tara leaned forward. “I attended one of the finest finishing schools in the country. No doubt, you’re a product of public education.”
“And proud of it.”
Tara smirked at her response as Shelly shot her an appraising glance. Apparently, the older sister felt a threat the younger sibling didn’t. Shelly was clearly the one of Rob’s friends she should be most wary of. Tara didn’t have two brain cells in her entire head, too wrapped up in her own self-importance to notice anyone around her and Seth appeared to be an alcoholic. Meg watched his polish off his fourth martini in ten minutes without batting an eye. He covertly caught the eye of the waiter who immediately brought his fifth.
“I think teaching is an admirable profession.” Shelly shocked Meg with the sincerity of her words. “I must confess I’m curious how a teacher from Virginia managed to end up sharing a suite on a resort island with one of the most eligible billionaires in the world.”
Meg felt the breath leave her body. Billionaire? Aware the others at the table were waiting for her response, Meg struggled to clear the lump that had formed in her throat.