“Yeah, but apparently someone stole her notes, so it wasn’t her fault.”
“She should have protected you guys better,” Roux said. “And if she can’t protect your secrets, why would she protect mine?”
“You want me to be a secret?”
She shook her head. “No. I want the fact that I’m the ‘red one’ in Baroquen to be a secret. And my name isn’t exactly common, so if I introduced myself as Roux, she’d put two and two together.”
“She’ll put two and two together as soon as she sees you on tour in Europe.” Especially since Logan had already figured it out and could keep a secret almost as long as a typical five-year-old.
“Not if she never sees me out of makeup and costume.”
Steve flipped a burger, decided he should let the others cook a bit longer before flipping them, and offered Roux a contemplative stare. “What are you cooking up, angel?”
“A way to have my cake and eat him too.”
She winked at him, and his heart stumbled over a beat.
“So you better get used to calling me Katie. It’s my real first name, by the way. Roux is my middle name. I switched to using it after . . .” Her fingers moved to the center of her chest and caressed the scar there. “Well, just call me Katie in public when I’m not in costume.”
Roux didn’t look that different when she was all dolled up as the “red one” in Baroquen. Surely Toni would recognize her. But he wouldn’t argue. Not if she got to have her cake and eat him too.
Nineteen
Roux’s jaw dropped when she stepped over the threshold and into the island’s main house. The structure appeared rather sterile from the outside—all sharp angles and glass—but the interior was both inviting and opulent, with abundant natural light and views from every angle. It was almost like being out on the beach, but with air conditioning.
“Wow,” Roux said. “Is Dare loaded, or what?”
Steve bit his lip. “Do you like this kind of thing? I thought you’d prefer the cottage.”
“I love the cottage,” she said, patting his arm and venturing into the stunning foyer that spired several stories high. “But who wouldn’t love this? Wow!” She couldn’t even imagine how much it had cost to build a house like this on an island where all the building materials and construction equipment would have to be brought in from the mainland.
“Dare came from money, so he knows how to invest it and is not ashamed to spend it.”
“He doesn’t seem like a rich boy,” Roux said, but even the furniture and artwork screamed affluence. “He’s so quiet and kind.”
“So because he’s quiet and kind, he can’t be rich?”
“No, I just didn’t expect this. Not from Dare. Max maybe.” She slapped her lips with the tips of her fingers. “Do you hear me? I sound so judgmental. Tell me to shut up.”
“Shut up, Roux, and enjoy Dare’s only vice.” He laughed. “We all do.”
“You are not making me leave early, are you?” Jordan asked in an exasperated tone. She wore a postage-stamp-sized yellow string bikini which looked stunning against her bronze skin and held a bright, fruity cocktail in her hand. “I don’t think I’m fit to fly.” She took a long sip of her drink. “And if I am now, I won’t be when this third mai tai kicks in.” She giggled.
“No plans to leave early. I figured you were getting lonely without me,” Steve said. “So Roux and I are spending tonight and tomorrow here.”
“Plenty of room,” she said, her voice slightly slurred. “Lee and I are all settled on this side of the house.” She pointed a finger behind her. “So if you want company, the smallest bedroom is still available. Or if you want privacy, the entire second floor is yours.”
Roux hoped Steve opted for the second floor and privacy. Not that she didn’t like Jordan and Lee, but if she’d wanted to spend time with other people, they could have stayed at the beach house with Logan—who was an absolute doll—and Toni—who thought Roux was Steve’s slutty groupie entertainment for the weekend. Roux had not bothered to correct the misconception. It made the other woman leery of Roux’s intentions toward Logan, but also kept her from getting too friendly and made it more likely that Toni wouldn’t recognize who Roux really was. And keeping her identity secret from journalist-types was Roux’s ultimate goal.
“Would your rather—”
“Upstairs,” she blurted.
He grinned and said to Jordan, “We’ll sleep upstairs, but we want private time access to the hot tub and pool for a few hours tomorrow night. Let Lee know he’s not invited.”
“Good luck getting him out of the hot tub, Aimes,” Jordan said. “I think his bare ass has taken root.”
“That’s twenty-four hours’ notice, plenty of time to dislodge his ass from the seat.”
“You’re the boss.” Jordan smirked and saluted him with one hand before tipping her drink into her mouth with the other. “If you’re hungry, there’s food in the fridge.”
“We had fish,” Steve said.
“You had fish,” Roux reminded him. “I could eat.” If there was anything in Dare’s kitchen she felt comfortable consuming. She hadn’t even been able to stomach much of the grilled fruit with everyone else’s dinner staring at her.
“You’re probably starving.” Steve rubbed her back through her airy tank top. “I was so preoccupied with the thought of finishing what we started on the beach hours ago that I can’t think straight.”
The tendency of her hands to stray while she clung to him on the back of the quad might have had a little something to do with that as well.
“Like anyone is surprised you’re thinking with your dick again, Aimes.” Jordan tutted and shook her head. “I’m heading back to the pool. I’ll warn Lee that one of the boss men is around and he should be on his best behavior.”
Steve laughed. “Lee’s best behavior is still pretty bad.”
“Look who’s talking.” Jordan waved farewell as she carried her drink toward an open lanai door.
Roux could just see the sparkling blue water of the swimming pool beyond. She also noted the thong bikini bottom Jordan was wearing. If Steve noticed the woman’s perfect bare backside, he hid it well.
“Let’s go find you something to eat,” he said. “I thought maybe you just weren’t very hungry today. You hardly touched dinner.”
“Because your fish was staring at me. I thought I was going to puke.”
“Why didn’t you say something?”
“Because I promised myself I would never be one of those vegetarians. The ones who preach ethics and try to sway everyone to their way of life.”
“You won’t ever convince me to stop eating meat. I love the stuff. But if it bothers you to look at my fish’s head, I can hack it off before I eat it.”
She appreciated him trying to make her more comfortable, but eww. “If I cooked you a vegetarian meal, would you try it?”
“You cook?”
She nodded. “I’m pretty good at it. I had to learn how to make food that you omnivores would actually eat since my sisters and I rotate cooking duties each night. I’m usually Thursday.”
“Do you think you can handle cooking on a Saturday?”
“I’m not sure.”
She followed him toward the back of the house, where they stepped into a chef’s dream kitchen. She was glad that Dare’s vice was living in abundance. She didn’t need a six-burner stove or a refrigerator the size of a minivan, but she had to admit both were marvelous. She found the refrigerator mostly empty, but the freezer was packed full of frozen veggies of all sorts. The texture wouldn’t be as good as if she had fresh vegetables to work with, but there was a little bit of everything. The pantry was well stocked with canned goods and other nonperishables. She could eat well there for months.