When they arrived at the poolside bar, Evelyn was there waiting on them with a fruity drink in hand.
“Patrick darling, I was beginning to wonder if you forgot about me.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Nobody could ever forget about you,” Patrick said as he leaned down to kiss Evelyn on her cheek.
Evelyn put her hand out for Braden to kiss. The massive diamond ring was nearly blinding as it sat atop her bony fingers.
“Evelyn,” Braden said formally as he bent down to kiss her hand. “It’s lovely to see you again. I hope you’ve been well.”
Jemma moved forward a little and Evelyn’s gaze hardened, positively turned to stone as she caught Jemma by his side. Her mouth was smiling, but her glare was icy, reproachful as she acknowledged her.
“And I suppose this is the bombshell everyone has been talking about?” Evelyn inquired bluntly.
Evelyn’s gaze, barely repressing its animosity, swept up and down Jemma’s body scrutinizing her as she did so.
“Jemma dear, this is Patrick’s fiancé, Evelyn Warren.”
Jemma offered a smile, brimming with forced civility. “It’s nice to meet you, Evelyn.”
Evelyn didn’t return the greeting. Instead, she turned to flag down the waiter, who all but fell over himself to rush to Evelyn’s side.
“I’ll have another one of these,” Evelyn said, pointing to the fruity concoction in her hand, “and my fiancé will have a Scotch Neat.”
“Of course, Madame, and for you sir?” The waiter asked Braden.
“I’ll take a Jameson on the rocks and Jemma will have a …” Braden waited for Jemma to respond.
“I’ll have a cosmopolitan.”
The waiter nodded and scampered off to fill their order.
Evelyn flashed Jemma a soulless smile. “A cosmopolitan? Do people really drink those anymore? Isn’t that just adorable.”
Braden tensed, and Jemma wanted nothing more than to escape.
“So, tell me, Jenny, is it? I hear you are a model or actress of some sort. You must tell me all about it.”
Jemma scooted forward just a bit, resting a hand on Braden’s arm. “It’s Jemma, and yes, I’m an actress. I just wrapped filming a movie the other day.”
“How simply adorable. I don’t think I’ve ever actually met a working-class actress before.”
“Evelyn!” Braden warned sharply.
“What? I’m just saying that it sounds like it would be interesting.” Evelyn was still smiling as if all this were friendly repartee.
“That’s quite enough,” Braden admonished.
Evelyn’s line of sight shifted to Patrick. “Don’t you simply look adorable in that color? Blue is most definitely your best hue.”
Jemma rolled her eyes inwardly. How in the hell could one tiny person have so much evil in them?
When the waiter arrived with their drinks, Jemma quickly downed hers and ordered another. It wasn’t even noon yet, but she didn’t care. There was no way in hell she was going to be able to tolerate Braden’s family sober.
While Jemma sat back and sipped her second cosmopolitan, Braden and Patrick fell into an easy conversation about life, work, and Patrick’s upcoming marriage, while Evelyn entertained herself with her phone, ignoring everyone else at the table.
After Jemma and Braden walked back to their room hand and hand.
Braden was subdued during the walk, thoughtful. Jemma studied him, concern in her eyes. He seemed unhappy.
“Are you okay?” Jemma finally asked him.
“I’m fine. It’s you I’m worried about. I’m sorry Evelyn was such a bitch to you.”
Jemma shrugged her shoulders faintly. “It happens. It’s not like it’s the end of the world.”
As they arrived back at their room, Jemma stepped through the door first, tailed closely by Braden. She could feel the gentle guidance of his hand at the small of her back.
“I’m sorry,” Braden groaned.
“Don’t you dare apologize, none of that was your fault. We knew going into this your family was going to be problematic. This is why you hired me to be here with you in the first place, remember?”
Braden blew out a frustrated breath. “Yes, but I expected them to be problematic with me. I didn’t want them turning on you. At least not like that. Evelyn was harsh. It was uncalled for.”
Jemma smiled up at him. “Braden I would rather them turn their attention on me than you. It means I’m doing my job, helping you have some peace.”
“You are incredible; you know that, don’t you?” Braden asked as he leaned down and kissed her forehead.
“I know, right?” Jemma teased.
Braden let out a loud belly laugh.
“What’s the plan for the rest of the day boss?”
Braden picked up the laminated paper on the kitchen table and glanced down at it.
“We have lunch with the family, then drinks on the Solar Eclipse for the rest of the day.”
“What exactly is the Solar Eclipse? You don’t mean the astronomical event, right?”
“It’s a boat, and of course by boat I mean a luxury yacht where everyone stands around getting plastered.”
“Now you’re talking,” Jemma giggled. “But what do I wear for something like that?”
Braden just stared back at her. Not sure how to answer her question. He had no clue about women’s fashion. He tried to remember what he had seen other females wear in previous years, but he was drawing a blank.
Jemma pulled him by the hand to the bedroom. “Just show me what you are wearing, and I’ll try and match my outfit to yours.”
In the end, Jemma decided on a chiffon, white and tan sundress. It was tasteful and matched what Braden was wearing perfectly. And in case they would be swimming, she also brought a small bag with a swimsuit, a lightweight cover-up, and some sunscreen. She wanted to be prepared, just in case.
“You know,” Jemma mused as they made their way to the restaurant for lunch, “one good thing about your brother catching us in the act, is that it makes our story more believable.”
Braden chuckled. “I guess it does.”
When they arrived, they took their seat at Mikayla’s table. Jemma was distracted, looking around for Candy.
“You okay?” Braden whispered.
“Yeah, just trying to figure out where Nick and Candy are sitting.”
Braden pointed to the two empty chairs at their table then laughed. “Don’t think they are going to make it out of their room much this trip.”
Mikayla winced at his words and Jemma smacked Braden in the arm for it.
“Braden! Don’t be so crude.”
“It’s alright,” Mikayla said. The girls aren’t going to be joining us today. They are off on a special kid’s only excursion.
“What? I’m just saying,” Braden asked cluelessly. “Nick and Candy can’t seem to keep their hands off of each other.”
Jemma sighed. She really needed to remember to talk to Braden next time they were alone about his sister, who clearly had feelings for Nick.
“That sounds fun,” Jemma said to Mikayla, ignoring Braden’s comments altogether. “What are they doing?”
“It’s some sort of pirate adventure where they’ll hear about legends of pirates, discover clues and dig for treasure.”
“They should have something like that for adults, but with liquor, lots and lots of liquor,” Jemma said jokingly.
“Speaking of which,” Braden said as he flagged down the waiter and ordered drinks for everyone.
“I heard you met Evelyn today. How was it?”
Jemma rolled her eyes.
“It was the most fabulous experience of my life. After getting my name wrong, and glaring at me like I was quite possibly the devil incarnate, she spent the next two hours ignoring us, playing on her phone. It was just a delight.”
“Did you get a look at the ring?”
“Oh, yes I did, and all I can say is wow. It was h-u-g-e, and on her bony little fingers, it stuck out even more.”
Mikayla choked back a laugh. “She does have some oddly thin fingers, doesn’t she? That was the first thing I noticed about her.”
The waiter returned to their table with their drink order and right after, with their lunch. It was an unusually heavy meal to have so early in the day, but Jemma didn’t complain. She figured as much as she’d been drinking already, she could probably use a good meal.
They dined on herb-crusted halibut, with a side of rice pilaf. Jemma thought about declining dessert until they brought it to the table and she couldn’t resist. It was a sunshine-sweet lemon layer cake, dotted with juicy blueberries and topped with a lush cream cheese frosting.
“It’s official,” Jemma said while devouring her dessert.
“What’s that?” Braden asked.
“I’m going to gain like a hundred pounds while I’m here in Fiji with you. This food is just too delicious.”
“Oh please,” Mikayla said as she rolled her eyes playfully. “You have a perfect body. I think you could stand to gain a few pounds.”
Jemma turned to Braden. “I absolutely love your sister. Why can’t you be more like her?”
Braden wiggled an eyebrow. “If I was more like my sister that might be an unusual dynamic in the bedroom don’t you think?”
“Braden!” Jemma chided, as her face turned bright red. “I know you did not just say that.”
He shrugged. “Just something to think about,” Braden teased as he grabbed her hand and placed it over the slight bulge in his pants.
Jemma quickly looked around the room, making sure that nobody saw what he had done.
He leaned into her. “What do you say we ditch the boat outing today and spend some time alone in our room?”
“I don’t think so Braden,” Mikayla interrupted. “You aren’t getting out of family time that easily.”
Braden sat back up in his seat and groaned. “Thanks, Buzz Killington.”
Mikayla beamed back at him. “My sincere pleasure.”
After lunch, everyone made their way to the dock and boarded the luxury yacht.
The one hundred and ten-foot superyacht was owned by an Austrian Prince, a close personal friend of the Washington family who loaned them the boat each year. It boasted two swimming pools, a private cinema, multiple private suites and required a crew of sixty to run it.
Once on board the ship, Braden escorted his sister and Jemma towards the back, to one of the swimming pools that had been covered and converted into a dance floor. That seemed to be where most of the younger members of the family ended up while the rest of the guests, the older crowd, found their way to one of the bars inside of the ship.
They took their seats at a table in the corner, far enough out of the way as to not draw attention, but still close enough to be able to see all the action.
As their first round of drinks arrived Nick and Candy came around the corner. “There you are. Was worried we wouldn’t find you. This boat is fucking huge,” Nick said as he flopped down in the chair next to Braden.
Candy took the seat next to Jemma. “I missed you,” she whispered and kissed Jemma on the cheek.
“What in the world are you wearing?”
Candy jumped up to twirl around and show off her outfit. “Isn’t it adorbs?”
“That’s not the word that came to mind,” Jemma said cautiously. “But yeah, it’s nice. A little revealing, but nice.”
The sexy all-white v-nick mini dress shimmered in the sunlight and barely covered any of her breasts. If she moved just the right way, Jemma was quite sure a nipple would pop out.
“Where in the world did you even find a dress like that?”
Candy giggled but didn’t answer.
Jemma didn’t know what the heck was going on but one thing was for sure, something was up. She’d known Candy for a while now, and she didn’t normally act like this. Sure, Candy was a stripper, but she wasn’t the blonde bimbo she was pretending to be on this trip.
The group downed several drinks while watching the action on the dance floor. Every once in a while, Jemma caught Nick staring at Mikayla, while Candy seemed to be fixated on a stranger who was dancing with several ladies around him.
“Who is that?” Candy finally asked. She couldn’t seem to take her eyes off him.
Braden glanced over his shoulder to see who it was Candy was talking about. “Oh, that’s the owner of this boat, Prince of something or another. I don’t know. He’s friends with my father.”
Candy licked her lips. “Isn’t he just delicious,” she said under her breath.
Nick either didn’t notice or didn’t care. His attention was still on Mikayla who was downing as many drinks as she could get her hands on.
“Is that Jemma James? I thought that was you,” Jemma heard someone say with a distinctly British accent. She turned her head to see a tall, gangly looking man approach their table.
“You probably don’t remember me, but we met years ago, at a party. I’m Maxwell,” the man said.
Jemma smiled up at him, having no clue who he was when the female who accompanied him to Jemma’s table spoke up. “He’s the Baron of Bryn. I’m sure you’ve heard of him?”
“Of course,” Jemma said politely.
“I’m a big fan of your work. We must get together sometime and catch up,” the man said with a sneer on his face.
It was then Jemma realized the man who was still standing over her, hadn’t looked at her face the entire time. His gaze was laser locked on her breasts. She inwardly sighed and knew that meant this guy wasn’t a fan of her movies; he was a punter. He knew her when she was a model back in the UK, and that meant now Braden’s family would now find out about that too, if they didn’t know already.
Jemma put on her best smile, not wanting to alert Braden that anything was wrong. “Of course, it was wonderful seeing you again Maxwell. We’ll have to sit down sometime later in the week for a proper hello.”
Jemma turned her attention back to Braden.
She knew this was probably her last night of peace and harmony with Braden’s family and she was going to make the best of it, so she downed her drink and drug Braden on to the dance floor.
“Come on babe, your cousins can’t be the ones having all the fun.”
Braden hadn’t danced in a long time, yet when it came to Jemma, he found himself unable to say no, so he went out on the dance floor and made a fool of himself, just for her and he didn’t regret a single second of it.
Around six o’clock all the guests were called into the dining hall where an elegant dinner was served. Afterward, the older crowd departed while the younger ones stayed on board the luxury yacht and partied well into the night.
