“Yes.”
His nonchalant answer has me sharpening my gaze on him. “I think I would’ve remembered if you’d mentioned that detail.”
Dane shrugs like it’s no big deal when it’s a very big deal. “It wasn’t relevant.”
It wasn’t relevant. Seriously?
“She sounds a little overqualified to be answering your phones.”
He shakes his head. “Her job is more complicated than that. Actually, I’ve been wanting to tell you—”
His words are cut off when Eduardo returns to our table with another round of drinks. I look down at the Purple Rain I’ve been sipping, and surprise trickles through me when I realize it’s empty.
“I know you were enjoying having the place all to yourselves, but it appears we do have another couple joining us shortly. It seems their delay was resolved.”
Dane tips back the remainder of his beer and hands the empty bottle to Eduardo. “Thanks for letting us know.”
He looks at the mostly full bowl of ceviche in front of me. “Is it not to your liking, ma’am?”
“Oh, definitely not that. I’m sorry. We just got to talking, and I was so caught up in the conversation, I didn’t even remember to take a bite.”
“Good. Good. I just wanted to make sure there was nothing wrong with the food.” He turns to Dane. “Are you sure I can’t get you an appetizer, sir? You know this is an all-inclusive, so there’s no additional cost.”
Of course Dane would know, because he’s the one who booked the trip based on Arianna’s suggestion.
“Do you have guacamole?”
Eduardo nods enthusiastically. “Of course. I’ll get some for you. It comes with plantain chips. Is that acceptable?”
“Fine.”
Eduardo backs away again with our empty glasses and returns to the bar to hand them off to Andreas before disappearing into the kitchen.
“Anything else you haven’t mentioned?” I ask, wondering if I’m going to be able to handle the answer.
Dane’s thumb brushes the label of the bottle where it’s beginning to peel off. “A few things.”
His dark brown gaze meets mine, and he’s quiet for several moments while he assesses me. It’s like he’s not sure I can handle whatever he’s going to tell me.
None of the possibilities flipping through my head are ones I want to be real. Until he mentioned the name of another woman, it never even occurred to me that there could be someone else. That there could be another reason for him saying we have ten days to figure this out.
“Does this Arianna have anything to do with why you’re considering ending our marriage? Do you have feelings for her?”
Chapter 13
Dane
Kat drops the question on the table like a bomb, and the fact that she’s even asking it pisses me off.
My eyes narrow on her. “Is that what you want to hear? That there’s some reason other than the ones we’ve already discussed that got us to the point where we sat next to each other on a plane today and talked less than perfect strangers would?”
Hurt flashes across Kat’s features. “No. But if you’ve crossed the line—”
I hold up my hand and silence her with the absolute truth. “No, I haven’t crossed the line. I haven’t even fucking thought about crossing the line. The only woman I want is sitting in front of me, looking for a reason to blame anyone but ourselves for how we screwed this up. This is on us, Kat. Both of us. No one else.”
My voice rises. I’m ready to lay it all out when a giggle precedes the entry of another couple into the restaurant, and I go silent.
A tall man with dark blond hair and tanned skin leads a dark-haired woman into the dining area. She’s wearing heels more fit for a runway than the wooden walkways outside, and her dress looks like it’s meant for clubbing rather than chilling on an island in Belize.
Kat’s attention shifts to them, and she shrinks back into her chair. She’s the most confident woman I know when it comes to business and work, but that self-confidence has never extended beyond that. She doesn’t realize how fucking beautiful she is, and it’s maddening to me.
I never would have thought the Arianna thing would wring that kind of reaction from Kat. Maybe if she had paid attention to anything I said, it wouldn’t be an issue right now.
The couple takes a table about ten feet from us, which annoys the shit out of me. There’s an entire restaurant available, and we could both have relatively private dinners if they’d chosen one on the other side of the room, but they don’t. There’s no reason for them to sit by the windows either, because it’s full dark now and there’s nothing to see except the tiki torches stuck in the sand on the beach between the palm trees.
Kat drops her attention to her drink and polishes off the second one.
I have a suspicion I know exactly where tonight is headed if she keeps drinking—she’ll be passed out within ten minutes of getting back to the room. She can handle her wine and martinis, but anytime there’s a tropical mixed drink, the sugar combined with the alcohol puts her in a coma.
Eduardo returns with the guacamole and plantain chips, and Kat lifts her glass into the air. “Can I have another?”
Called that one.
“Of course, ma’am. I’ll also have your dinner out shortly.”
He returns to the bar with her glass while Andreas settles in the other couple. The man is seated facing me, but his eyes have been on Kat since he sat down.
A deep burn starts in the pit of my gut. Maybe my wife isn’t the only one with jealousy issues while she’s feeling less than confident in where we stand.