‘Oh baby, I wish it was just us too,’ said Adam, kissing her on the neck. ‘But The Pledge is officially the company yacht … and you know what it’s like: when it’s your own business, you can’t switch off.’
‘So who’s the blonde?’ asked Karin, pulling away from his embrace and moving over to top up her glass, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.
‘Just a banker baby,’ smiled Adam. ‘Don’t give me a hard time’
‘I’m not, I’m just curious. She’s definitely not your typical banker.’
‘She’s called Claudia Falcon,’ said Adam, unbuttoning his shirt. ‘Heads up Hudson Capital. She’s helping us with an acquisition.’
‘Oh yes?’ asked Karin, her business sense kicking in. ‘Of what?’
Adam smiled and tipped his head back to drink his champagne.
‘I thought you didn’t want this to be a business trip.’
Karin moved back to his side and ran her fingers through his chest hair. ‘I’m just interested in your company, honey.’
Adam slid his hand around the thin curve of her waist. ‘You know, I’ve never had a girlfriend who gave two shits about my company – other than for the parties.’
‘I’m not like other girlfriends,’ she smiled.
‘No. You’re tougher. Cleverer. Sexier, and I adore that about you.’ He came towards her and planted a soft kiss on her neck. Her nipples immediately stood to attention. She moaned.
‘You don’t mind us having the party on the yacht, do you?’ he mumbled into her hair.
She stepped back and looked at him, puzzled. ‘No. Why would I mind?’
Adam looked into her eyes, a serious expression on his face. ‘I just thought … about what happened with your husband last year.’
It was the first time she and Adam had ever discussed the night of Sebastian’s death. She hadn’t wanted Adam to see her as a widow, which she did not consider to be particularly sexy. Moreover, she didn’t want him to think she was an unlucky charm. Men like Adam wanted to be surrounded by beautiful, blessed people; money men were some of the most superstitious people on earth.
‘It was a terrible, horrible accident, but it doesn’t mean I won’t ever step foot on a yacht again,’ said Karin coolly, turning away from him and walking over to the wardrobe, where she started flipping through the rail of clothes, her hand stroking the acres of silk, chiffon and tulle. She felt his presence behind her and then a hand on her bare shoulder.
‘Karin, you can talk about this, you know,’ he soothed. ‘Why do you always have to behave like some robot, as if you have no feelings?’
‘Oh yes, and what about you?’ she snapped, pulling away from him. ‘It’s not like you’ve got where you are today without being tough.’
He laughed. ‘Tough and emotionless are not the same thing, honey. There’s nothing clever about admitting to yourself, to me, how hard things have been. Losing Seb, that must have been hard, but then having people talking afterwards, well …’
Karin felt a sudden chill. ‘What do you mean, “people were talking”?’ she said. ‘What were they saying exactly?’
Adam flushed slightly, uncharacteristically embarrassed. He cleared his throat. ‘They were saying … that it wasn’t an accident,’ he said solemnly.
Karin dropped the red silk Cavalli dress she had been holding to the floor. Her face had drained of colour. ‘They’ve been saying that?’ she said quietly, her voice trembling slightly. ‘Do they think that I had something to do with it? Who has been saying it?’
Adam went over to her and put his arm around her shoulder, but she shrugged it off violently. She looked at his face, desperately trying to read it. What had he been told? What did he believe? What was he thinking about her?
‘Molly told me you’d had a tough time after Sebastian’s death because there had been a whispering campaign against you.’
‘She’s a liar,’ said Karin angrily. ‘How can anyone have been talking about me? I didn’t do anything. I loved my husband.’
‘I know,’ said Adam softly, ‘I know, but if other people have been talking, then we have to face it …’ She caught a look in his eye. Was it pity or suspicion? Either way it scared her. She felt fury wash over her. She could see exactly what Molly was doing and loathed her for it, because she knew that it might work. She lifted another dress from the rail, but then threw it down in frustration, tears finally welling under her eyes.
‘Seb was drunk and high and he fell off the boat,’ she whispered, staring down at the dress on the floor as she spoke. ‘His business was failing, he was on self-destruct. I was at the nightclub on shore with about twenty-five other people. Dozens of witnesses know that. But I wish I had been there; God, I wish I had, but he was alone.’ A tear dropped onto the carpet and she looked up at Adam. ‘Molly is trying to poison your mind against me. Can’t you see that?’
Adam let out a small, low laugh. ‘Honey, stop overreacting. She didn’t tell me out of spite.’
‘Oh please! Can’t you see why she told you?’ shouted Karin, losing all control, her grief turning to anger. ‘The woman is a troublemaker. You’re her next victim and she doesn’t want me in the way to stop it.’