The Billion Dollar Pact: Waking Up with the Boss (Billionaire Brothers Club) / Single Mom, Billionaire Boss / Paper Wedding, Best-Friend Bride

“Some of them are probably hungover from the party.” She cut into her eggs. She’d chosen poached, topped with cheese, tomatoes and pesto. “And the rest of them might just be lazing around like we are.”

“Yeah.” He was eating a sausage and egg scramble. “We haven’t even gotten dressed yet.”

She nodded. Both of them were in their robes, and her towel-dried hair was still slightly damp. She’d combed it straight down, though. He’d only run his fingers through his, barely taming his thick dark locks. But his unkempt look was a part of who he was.

“So,” she said, still curious to know about his youthful rebellions, “what did you get caught doing when you were young?”

He made a face. “I stole things. Mostly video games and DVDs and stuff like that. Sometimes I would nab a bottle of booze, just for the hell of it.” He frowned at his food. “But my biggest thrill was lifting trinkets for the girls I liked. I’d have them show me what they wanted, then I’d go back on my own to steal it. That’s what I got popped for. Taking this little diamond necklace from a department store.”

She studied him in the balcony light, the way the shade played over his face. “The store pressed charges?”

“Yep. I was arrested for shoplifting.”

“And now you buy women pricey gifts to make amends for what you did?”

He glanced up from his plate. “I never really thought about it that way, but I suppose I do.” He paused, fork in hand. “Or maybe it just makes me feel good, being able to afford to give them pretty things.”

Like the jewelry he’d given her, she thought.

“I started stealing about six months after my family died,” he said. “I was so freaked out in foster care I could barely stand it. I needed something that made me feel alive. That gave me a sense of purpose, even if I knew it was wrong. I was fifteen when I got busted, so it had been going on for a while before I got caught.”

Carol questioned him further, piecing his past together in her mind. “Did Garrett and Max know what you were doing?”

“Yes, but they didn’t say anything to me about it. They had enough problems of their own.”

“What happened after you got arrested?”

“I was put on probation. But I stopped stealing. Not because I got busted, but because my caseworker said that if I didn’t get my act together, I would be moved to a group home, where the setting would be much more restrictive. And I didn’t want to go someplace where I would be separated from Garrett and Max.”

She sipped her orange juice. “So in a sense, they saved you? Just by being there?”

“They definitely did. We had our heritage in common, too, which also helped us stay together. We were placed in Native American foster homes, and there weren’t all that many, compared to nonnative ones. The only way we were likely to be separated or never see each other again was if I screwed up and went to a group home.” Jake had a thoughtful expression. “Soon after that, Max came up with the idea for us to band together. To work toward becoming megarich someday.”

Carol considered the situation. “Max came from a really poor environment, didn’t he?”

“Poor. Abusive. The works. He had all kinds of motivation to want to be rich and respected. So did Garrett, with how badly he wanted to keep a roof over his mother’s head and keep her well. But me...? There was nothing I wanted, except my family back. But then I figured there was nothing wrong with having fancy houses and fast cars.” He looked directly across the table at her, flirtation alive in his eyes. “And beautiful women, of course.”

Heat unfurled in her loins. “Yes, of course.”

“Sex was always an outlet for me. I was fifteen the first time it happened.”

“The same year you got caught shoplifting?”

He nodded. “I was already sleeping with the girl I nabbed the necklace for. She was my first. What a rush that was, having a girl want me like that.”

Carol wasn’t surprised that he was having sex at such a young age. She had waited until college, with her first serious boyfriend. “And you’ve had lots of lovers since.”

“Being rich helps.”

“Your money doesn’t matter to me,” she told him. “That’s not why I’m here with you.”

“I know. But mostly women want to date me because I’m rich, even the ones who are trying to heal me. But you won’t try to do that because you’re already broken, too.”

She didn’t know whether to be offended by his assessment of her or impressed that he knew enough to call himself broken. To combat her uncertainty, she said, “You and I aren’t going to be together long enough for me to try to do anything, except get through this weekend without those condoms running out.”

He grinned and topped off his orange juice. “Touché, Miss Lawrence.” When she furrowed her brow, he stopped smiling, the abrupt change hardening his handsome features. “Come on, Carol. Don’t be upset because I said you were messed up, too.”

“Did I say I was upset?”

“No, but I can tell it bothered you.”

She gazed out at the pool. It was still vacant, the water rippling on its own, the chaise longues and chairs empty. Suddenly the entire island seemed lonely, even the parts she couldn’t see. “Your opinion of me is confusing.”

“Why? Because you think that you’re handling being orphaned better than I am? No one gets by unscathed. No one,” he reiterated softy. “Not even you.”

Seven (#udcea36ee-578b-5f8c-aeff-5caf22f1d965)

Later that day, Carol and Jake gathered on the beach with Lena and Mark and a slew of other couples. Lena had suggested that everyone pitch in to build a sandcastle, which had morphed into a whimsical fortress, surrounded by sculptures of dragons and dolphins and mermaids. So far, the results were spectacular, but this was a creative crowd. Some of the attendees were set designers and special effects artists, and they were spearheading the project, offering help where it was needed.

Jake and Carol were on one of the mermaid teams, sitting off by themselves, shaping the sand. Their mermaid wasn’t half-bad. In fact, she was rather pretty, with her curvy figure and flowing hair.

Jake glanced up at Carol, but she averted her gaze. He was molding the mermaid’s breasts, and she was working on the tail, giving it texture. She was also thinking about what he’d said about her being broken. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t seem to forget his unsettling opinion of her.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she replied.

“You seem preoccupied.”

“I’m just trying to focus on this.”

“Are you sure that’s all it is?”

She decided to come clean. Otherwise, it would keep affecting her mood. “Do you really think I’m messed up?”

He stopped molding the mermaid and sat back on his haunches. “I didn’t mean it in an offensive way, Carol.”

“Then how did you mean it?”

“I was just saying how losing your family was as traumatic for you as it was for me.” He squinted at her, the sun shining in his eyes. “It’s unfortunate, too, that neither of us had any extended family who could take us in. Or I assume that you didn’t or you wouldn’t have been placed in the system.”

“You’re right. There was no one. Both of my parents were raised by single moms, and they were gone by then. Well, actually, my dad’s mom was still around, but she had cancer and was too sick to step in and help. She died about a year later.” Carol sighed, pushing away the tightness in her chest. “I also had an uncle on my dad’s side, but he was a young man in the military, so he couldn’t raise me. He used to write me letters after my parents died, keeping a connection going, but then he was killed in Iraq.” Another death that had destroyed her all over again. “But I managed to get through it, just as I got through losing everyone else.”

“How? By being overly good and proper? How is that any better than me running wild?”

Irked by the comparison, she defended herself. “I’m not being overly good and proper now. I’m here with you, on this island, sharing your damned bed.”

“My damned bed, huh?” he mimicked her, a slow and sexy smile spreading across his face. “Is this our first fight?”