The Billionaire's Masquerade (The Friendship Series) (15 page)

He chuckled and started to reach for her second half but she smacked his hand away again, grabbing her donut bag and pulling it closer to her. “Not going to happen, macho man.”

Emerson only chuckled and pulled her up out of the chair. “We need to keep moving. There’s a lot to do today.”

She cringed, wishing they could just take a day to relax. She wanted to figure things out, consider the consequences of telling him that she didn’t want to do this anymore. But he never stopped, never slowed down. There was always something more to do, to analyze, to capitalize on.

She started to say something, not sure what might come out of her mouth. For the first time in several weeks, she spoke without thinking first. “Can’t we just…”

“No. Come on,” he said and took her hand to lead her out of the store. When he opened the Jeep’s door for her, he looked down into her eyes. “Trust me?” he asked her gently.

Rachel gasped, so surprised by the softness in his eyes that she wasn’t able to move for a long moment. It had been so long since she’d seen that look from him. And her heart sped up, beating rapidly just because of that look. Trust him? Did she dare?

She wasn’t able to give him a response since a horn beeped behind them. She jumped and looked around, realizing that another customer was impatiently waiting for their parking spot. She looked down, then slipped into the car before she could change her mind. Something was different about Emerson today. She couldn’t figure out what it was, but she felt compelled to follow him.

Not that she would trust him. She’d been made a fool once by his tricks; she wasn’t going to put herself into that position again.

He drove through the streets of Portland confidently, occasionally turning right or left. But it was a small city and, within only a few minutes, he was pulling into the parking garage down by the harbor. “What are we doing here?” she asked warily. But something told her he wasn’t going to give her a very good answer.

“We’re getting on that ferry if you’ll hurry up.” He walked quickly around the Jeep and opened her door, holding her hand to help her down.

“And why are we getting on the ferry?” she asked carefully. A month ago, she would have curled her fingers around his and reveled in his touch. Now, she stepped down onto the pavement and pulled her hand away, not wanting to touch him. It was a double whammy now because his touch still inspired so much desire in her that it made her knees weak, but she was too afraid of who he was. Too concerned with getting hurt again.

“The ferry is the fastest way to get over to the island.”

She sighed with fatigue and irritation. He wasn’t going to tell her anything. “Fine,” she practically snarled. “Lead the way.” She wanted to add on “oh Master” but she kept the snarky response to herself. He would only chuckle at her irritation and that would increase her irascibility. So why let him make her angrier than she already was?

He stepped ahead of her in the ferry terminal and purchased two tickets, then put a hand to the small of her back to lead her onto the ferry that was already half filled with other tourists. The ferry cast off moments after they stepped onto the deck. “Want to go up on top?” he asked, carefully surveying her? “It might be chilly this time of the year.”

“It isn’t too cold now,” she told him almost belligerently.

But did the man recognize her irritation? No! He only chuckled at her tone of voice. “Yes, it’s warmer on land, but once we get out into the harbor, it’s going to get chilly. Why don’t we just stay down here where the windows will protect us from the harbor breeze?”

“You go ahead and stay down here,” she replied, determined to get away from him. “I’ll go up on deck.”

She stepped out onto the upper deck and immediately breathed in the salty air of the harbor. The ferry wasn’t fast, but it efficiently plowed its way through the harbor waters. At first, she enjoyed looking out at the various fishing and lobster boats that were out this early in the morning or catching sight of a harbor seal poking its sleek, dark head out of the water. But once the ferry had moved out of the smaller cove where it had been docked, the temperature dropped about ten degrees. A part of her said to go back inside where it was warmer, and admit that Emerson had been right and it was too cold out here to stay. But another side of her, the side that didn’t want to give him anything, even the prestige of being right on something so minor, refused to admit that it was cold, and getting colder. Instead, she curled her arms around her legs and tucked her hands into the warm sleeves of the sweater he’d bought her. It was nice that the sweater also had a thick neckline so she could tuck her face into the warmth as well.

“You’re going to freeze out here,” Emerson said, putting his arms around her and bringing her close against his chest.

Rachel instantly felt warmer but she didn’t want to tell him that. She was being ridiculously stubborn, but she was too tired, too cold and too hurt to give in.

It was only a twenty minute ride before the ferry pulled into the dock of the island. “What’s out here?” she asked, squinting her eyes against the sunshine. It looked like just a bunch of very picturesque houses perched above the relatively large dock.

“It’s an island.”

She continued to stare, waiting for him to explain further. But when she only received silence, she turned to look up at him. “And the island has…?” she prompted, her eyes daring him to be evasive again.

He smiled ever so slightly, enchanted by her challenge. He’d missed how cute she could be when miffed. “Pretty houses, great views, a restaurant that serves awesome seafood and great beer.” He walked forward off of the ferry, leaving Rachel staring at his broad shoulders with deepening confusion.

She slumped as she contemplated staying right here on the ferry. It wouldn’t be a horrible fate to simply ride back and forth across the harbor for the rest of the day. But in the end, the allure of being with Emerson, even though she didn’t really want to “be” with him, was too strong.

“Great. More beer,” she muttered under her breath, but started following him. She didn’t get it. What was going on? This was such a complete diversion from their normal days, she couldn’t figure anything out.

He turned left at the top of the hill and Rachel hurried to catch up to him. “Emerson, what’s going on? Why are we here? Is there some company you’re interviewing? Is there a startup that needs investment money?”

He stopped at a shop that had probably a hundred bikes all lined up as well as helmets hanging on the back of a wide, barn-like door. The sunshine felt good, paired with the cooler breeze that came up off the water. She squinted her eyes at him, trying to understand what he was doing here today.

“Two bikes,” he said to the guy who stepped forward. While Emerson dealt with the paperwork and paid for the bike rentals, Rachel shifted from one foot to the other, irritated that he wouldn’t answer her questions. She wanted to throw something at those impossibly broad shoulders but she didn’t have anything handy.

When he came up to her, he plunked a bike helmet on her head. “Choose whatever bike you’d like,” he said, then moved off to select one for himself.

Rachel sighed and took off the helmet. “Emerson, what’s going on?” she demanded angrily.

He stepped onto one of the larger bikes and pedaled over to her. “This is called Pine Island. There isn’t much on it but houses and a few restaurants. As for what we’re going to do? We’re going for a bike ride. It isn’t a big mystery, Rachel. We’re going to take a tour of the island, then stop at that little restaurant about a block away,” he said, pointing to a shop that looked closed at the moment. “We’re going to drink a beer, stare out at the harbor, watch the other ships pass by, eat flounder and calamari, maybe drink a few more beers. Then a surprise.”

Rachel wasn’t sure she liked surprises anymore. Not when Emerson was around. He had a knack for knowing things she didn’t and it always surprised her. She didn’t like that anymore. “So we’re just going for a bike ride?”

“That’s all. Why don’t you get that red one there?” he suggested, still hiding behind his sunglasses.

She looked over at the red bike and shrugged her shoulders, resigned to going along with whatever his plan was until he decided to reveal his next lesson. “I suppose it’s the same as any other bike around.”

She stepped onto the bike and strapped her helmet underneath her chin. “Aren’t you going to wear a helmet?” she asked.

She saw the dark eyebrow pop up over his sunglasses. “It might emasculate me,” he told her and then shot off down the road.

Rachel stared at him for a moment before she burst out laughing. “Probably not,” she grumbled with a smile, and then shot forward, following behind him. She didn’t have to pedal hard to catch up to him and since it was such a lovely day, she decided to stop trying to figure out what he was doing or why they were here. If he wasn’t going to elaborate, she would simply enjoy the morning. It was just slightly cool, a little chillier as they pedaled, but the sky was a bright blue with only a few fluffy clouds to get in the way of the sunshine. And Emerson hadn’t lied about the pretty island. The views were incredible, the gingerbread houses were tucked back into the wild, natural vegetation, the craggy, rocky shore was sometimes covered with the seaweed and she could even see another lighthouse in the distance.

They wound their way through the streets of Pine Island and she took in deep breaths of the cool, sea filled air. It was a lovely morning, made only slightly harder since she hadn’t had a healthy breakfast. But as she pedaled up and down the almost vacant streets, a smile starting to form on her face. This was incredibly relaxing. She’d missed this kind of activity so much in New York.

By the time they had meandered their way around the island, the restaurant Emerson had pointed out earlier was open. And Rachel was starving! She couldn’t believe such a leisurely ride could increase her appetite so dramatically even after devouring one and a half donuts.

“Hungry?” he asked.

Instead of just admitting it, she shrugged her shoulders. “If you are,” she said, not daring to look at him. Surely he would see the lie in her face. He always seemed to know what she was feeling and it was disconcerting.

He chuckled and put his arm around her shoulders, leading her towards the brown building that housed the restaurant. “You’re hungry,” he told her and she wanted to punch him in the side for being so observant. Couldn’t he miss something once in a while?

They were the first customers to the restaurant so they had their pick of tables. “We’ll sit outside,” Emerson told the hostess. Rachel was irritated with the starry eyed look the woman gave him and shoved away from his side to find her way out onto the deck. It was very pretty, but she was miffed that the woman had tried to entice Emerson. He’d had his arm around her shoulder! What was she thinking?

“I didn’t encourage her,” he said, taking the chair opposite her.

“You didn’t discourage her either,” she told him, picking up the menu and hiding her face behind the paper.

“Are you jealous?”

“Absolutely not!” she snapped, the menu falling onto the table. “If you want to hit on every woman we come across, go for it. It’s none of my business. We finished as soon as I found out you weren’t who you portrayed yourself to be.”

“And is that the only issue you have with our relationship?”

She shifted in her chair, still so angry and hurt she could barely keep the tears at bay. “You made a fool of me,” she said softly, hating the fact that her chin started to quiver.

He leaned back in his chair and shook his head. “I didn’t make a fool of you. I’m known as Jack in this area. Everyone calls me that.”

It was a valid point, but she’d been very clear about her intentions from the first moment they’d met. Okay, well, not from the very first moment. She’d been too obsessed with his magnificent chest to state her objective clearly. Any woman would be excused from that issue if they’d been in the same situation. Her chin went up a notch defensively. “But you knew from the very first moment we met that I was looking for Emerson Watson!” she hissed.

The waitress arrived at that moment and Rachel was doubly irritated that it was the same woman who had been acting as the hostess. Apparently, they cut back on staff until more customers arrived and everyone pulled double duty.

Emerson seemed completely oblivious to Rachel’s irritation. He was looking at the menu and giving his order to the young, blond woman. “We’ll have the sampler platter and two beers.” He named some brand of beer she’d never heard of, nor did she even care about. Though somewhat mollified because he completely ignored the waitress’ come hither glance, she was still too hurt that he was oblivious to why she was angry with him. Even after all this time, he still didn’t get it.

Thankfully, the waitress didn’t have any reason to linger and flirt, so she quickly left the sun-filled deck area. There were no other customers around them, although Rachel saw the ferry making its way back across the harbor, probably bringing more guests to the island.

When they were alone again, he leaned back against the black, metal chairs and surveyed her in the sunshine, finally answering her question. “You wanted the experience. You got the experience. What more do you want from me?”

She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Nothing. Just tell me what to do as your latest trainee and I’ll be happy to oblige. If the training is finished, then I’ll go on my merry way and we’ll never see each other again.”

There was no way in hell he was going to let that happen. Not without a fight at least. “We’re not finished,” he growled. “You have so much more to learn.”

Their beers arrived at that point and the waitress heard, and obviously felt, the tension at the table. She quickly put the drinks down in front of each of them and moved back into the main restaurant.

Rachel ignored her beer and glared across the table at him. She’d put her confusion aside during the bike ride, but she simply wasn’t the kind of person who could go around without a purpose. “You never explained why we’re here.”