Chapter 10

Chapter

Ten

Nick wishedhe could forget everything he was hiding from Darcy, talk through each of their pasts, plan a tentative future, and then kiss her for a very long time.

He could see that he'd hurt her by not kissing her and not explaining. That was the last thing he wanted to do, but he was backed into a corner. He couldn't tell her everything, putting the mission to take down Trattori at risk and her at risk, and he couldn't in good conscience pry details about her ex-husband out of her. He had no clue how to proceed. She'd shut him down last night, so he wasn't certain why he felt like it was all on him now. It was confusing just as he'd said.

Darcy acted upbeat and fun. They went back to the yacht, showered, and had a late lunch. The yacht started moving shortly after they returned. After lunch, she cajoled even Jagger into playing card games, but she didn't bring up sharing their stories again and she kept her distance from Nick.

After the games, she said she had a headache and went to lay down in her room. Nick was at a loss for what to do, since downtime wasn't something he had much of in his daily life. When Jagger suggested they work out, he was in. They had a good camaraderie and had fun teasing and pushing each other, but he and Jagger held back, not wanting to be too sore when they pummeled each other in two days.

After the workout, they showered and got ready for dinner. The lack of purpose or activity was killing him. Knowing he'd confused or possibly hurt Darcy was killing him worse.

He should keep his distance, not get more invested in a target's ex-wife, muddy the waters any further, or risk hurting her, but he found himself striding to her door and rapping softly.

Footsteps came and just her head, shoulder, and arm poked out of a slit in the door. "Hey." Her hair was piled on her head, and her arm and shoulder were bare. His pulse sped up.

"Hey. Can I walk you to dinner?"

She bit at her lip and considered him. Finally, she nodded. "Okay. I'll be a few minutes."

"I'm good at waiting. Remember?"

"I remember."

Her blue eyes were confused. He could relate. If they didn't have her stupid ex between them, he'd be pursuing her like nothing she'd ever seen. He curled his hand into a fist to restrain himself from reaching for her and stepped back.

She shut the door.

He leaned against the opposite wall, waiting, stewing. If he got her alone and somehow got the story of her marriage out, could he make the call on whether she was innocent? Most people hid any ugliness, and she had no reason to trust him with her life story. He'd never heard of any agency claiming without a doubt that she supported Trattori. She and Trattori were divorced, but most people he'd talked to as he researched the drug dealer speculated that Darcy Saint knew exactly what had given her an over eight-million-dollar divorce settlement. He couldn't picture Darcy being part of anything illegal and depraved, but how could anyone be na?ve enough to not know their husband was a drug lord?

Jagger and Hays came out of their respective rooms in short-sleeve button downs and slacks, similar to what he was wearing.

Jagger smirked. "Did Julie shop for you too?"

"Julie?"

"Mercedes's assistant," Hays supplied.

"Oh. Yeah. It's weird not to have my own clothes, but she did a great job with sizing, and the quality of the clothes is great."

"Sure, but you'd think she'd trust us to bring clothes suitable for her television show, but no." Jagger chuckled.

"Hey. Julie's an angel," Hays said. "I wouldn't trust you to pick out your own clothes either."

"I knew you were after Julie," Jagger taunted.

"I would never come between Shawn and Julie," Hays said quickly, then his face reddened.

"Shawn and Julie?" Nick had never been more confused. It was obvious to the entire world that Shawn Holister was the bodyguard and live-in boyfriend of Mercedes Belle. What inside scoop did these two have?

Hays's eyes flickered to the camera and his jaw tightened. He focused on Nick. "Waiting for Darcy?"

"Yes, sir."

"We'll meet you at dinner."

The men walked past him, but Jagger stopped and lowered his voice. "We'll act like we're all hot tubbing together to watch the sunset, but Hays and I won't show up." He winked and strode past.

"Thanks, man," Nick said.

They both tilted their chins up to him. Nick wished they were all fighting on the same team. Great guys.

Their footsteps retreated, and Darcy's door clicked open a few seconds later.

Nick stepped forward but faltered. Darcy was wearing the white dress with the red and blue lace trim they'd bought for her on Cozumel. Her tanned skin and dark hair were a beautiful contrast to the white material, and the dress fit her trim shape perfectly. The locket he'd seen her wear was hanging down the front of the dress.

She smiled, a little shyly, and twisted the skirt between her fingers. "It's pretty, isn't it?"

"Pretty?" He let out a heavy breath. "It's miles past pretty, Darcy. You are miles past pretty. You're exquisitely beautiful, breathtaking truly."

Her smile grew.

He wanted to have her to himself, kiss her, hold her, and talk for hours. Instead of moving in like he longed to, he offered his elbow. She stepped out into the hallway, slid her hand through to cup his bicep, and leaned against his side. Even that much connection threw him into a tailspin.

He had to force himself to consider if it was possible that Darcy had known before she came on the show that Aiden had the green light from Interpol to investigate and hopefully demolish her ex-husband's business. Maybe as soon as she'd heard who Nick was, she had started working an angle. What if she was playing him?

She smiled sweetly up at him. She smelled like fresh rainfall and spring flowers, and her sapphire eyes were lit up despite his rejection under the waterfall. No way could Darcy be deceiving him, or still be ‘in bed with Johnny' like he'd heard in some rumor mills.

That phrasing made his gut sour and his face distort in a scowl.

Blinking, she stopped at the bottom of the stairs and asked, "Are you all right?"

"Yes, sorry. I had an awful mental image."

"Of what?"

He looked her over. What to say? "Can I tell you later?" He couldn't tell her what he'd imagined, but he could come up with something. Maybe if the other two really did ditch them in the hot tub, they could talk with the bubbles going and the cameras wouldn't pick it up. If they got really close together, they could. But that might be playing with fire. The only other option for a conversation he didn't want recorded was going into one of their bedrooms. That could be even more dangerous.

Her brow wrinkled. "Sure."

He lowered his voice and leaned in. "I don't want the cameras recording everything I say."

"Oh." She nodded. "That makes sense."

They proceeded up the stairs.

Nick knew he'd confused her earlier by not going for a kiss behind the waterfall. There were so many things he wanted to ask her, but he had to be very careful. If he blew the op with Johnny Trattori because he fell for Darcy, spilled all his secrets, and she ratted him out … that would not only reflect badly on him and Aiden, but it would also mean drugs spilling into the streets and schools that could've been prevented.

His own mother had died of a drug overdose. He loathed drug dealers but especially ones like Trattori who could hide their filth and pretend to be an upstanding citizen.

This was more important than him and Darcy.

But as she gazed up at him with that sweet smile, he found himself wondering how he could let anything be more important than her.