Deirdra motioned toward the car and said, “Get in.”
“Where are we going?”
“Back to the house to talk this shit out. Then I have a week’s worth of work to do in two days, so we need to figure out how I can get it all done while guzzling a bottle of wine.”
CHAPTER THREE
“WHAT ARE YOU planning to check off your list today?” Aiden’s sister, Remi, asked over the phone Thursday morning.
The dreaded list.
He adored his sister, who was twelve years his junior and whom he’d raised after they’d lost their parents in a tragic car accident. Remi had grown up and become an A-list actress, but ever since she’d fallen in love last year and taken a step back from acting to marry her onetime bodyguard Mason Swift and they began fostering two girls—or as Remi said, ever since she’d gotten a life—she’d been on a mission to force him into getting one, too. It wasn’t like he didn’t have a life. He had a good one, which he enjoyed, even if it was consumed with work. He owned and invested in businesses and real estate all over the world. But he’d do anything for Remi, which was why he was on Silver Island in the first place. She’d swindled him into taking his first nonworking vacation, and he’d let her pick the location.
The truth was, he’d been ready for a brief vacation. A day or two without work, which was about how long he’d lasted before researching the Bistro and putting in an offer to purchase it. It was too good of an investment to pass up, not that he’d clue Remi into his business dealings. He hadn’t even told his business partner, because Remi had ears everywhere, and she’d somehow managed to get him to agree to a four-week work-free vacation. She’d also given him a list of things she wanted him to do while he was on his work-free vacation, and she wanted him to provide proof in the form of pictures.
He had no idea what the hell he’d been thinking when he’d agreed to her cockamamie plan.
“I don’t know yet,” he said as he opened the bag from the Sweet Barista and began setting out breakfast on the patio of the Bistro. Yesterday he’d met the owners of the Silver House, Alexander and Margot Silver and their son Fitz, and last night he’d joined them for dinner. The Silvers had been happy to lend him a few things for his breakfast with Abby—a white linen tablecloth, a vase for the rose he’d bought, a sugar bowl and creamer pitcher, and two elegant place settings. He’d made it clear that he wanted to avoid island gossip and would appreciate their keeping his request under their hats. They’d been more than happy to comply.
Remi huffed out a breath. “You’d better get on that, don’t you think? If you think there are no ramifications for not completing the list, you’re wrong, Mister.”
“Remi,” he warned in his best older-brother voice, which hardly ever worked anymore.
“Don’t Remi me. I want you to be happy. You gave up your whole life for me. You were just starting out when Mom and Dad died, and I appreciate everything you’ve done. But I’m married now, Aiden, and I’ve got my own family to take care of. You’re finally free. You can have a real life now.”
“I have a real life, and I don’t regret a second of how I’ve lived it.” That was true, but her words brought a moment of discomfort. After years of managing Remi’s acting career, watching her every move, and protecting her, he had struggled with handing over the reins to her and her husband.
Remi sighed. “You’re so frustrating. You don’t regret it because you’ve never done anything to regret. Don’t you see how that’s a problem, Aiden? You’re pushing forty and you’ve never messed up. You’ve never thrown caution to the wind and done something stupid.”
“Like ditching my bodyguards?” he challenged.
Remi had driven him crazy with her acts of rebellion, ditching several bodyguards before he’d hired Mason to watch over her. But Mason had done more than watch over her. He’d shown her how to experience life in all the ways she’d wanted, but in a safe and protected manner. It was no wonder they’d fallen in love.
“Yes, exactly like that!” Remi said excitedly. “Sometimes you have to break the rules. Look at me. I found the man of my dreams, and maybe you’ll find the woman of your dreams if you step outside your comfort zone.”
“I am out of my comfort zone,” he reminded her.
“No, you’re standing on the edge of your comfort zone doing everything you can to figure out how to cross the boundaries I’ve set up. Now you know how I felt for all those years. But I’m not trying to keep you safe. I want you to go out and be a regular guy. Not Aiden the father figure or Aiden the older brother. Not Aiden the manager of my acting career, and not Aiden the investor and billionaire. Just be Aiden, the amazing guy who gave up his life for me at twenty-four and never got a chance to have a social life or chill out.”
Aiden wasn’t a chill-out type of guy. He was a take-charge, make-shit-happen businessman who had built an empire while raising Remi and managed to pull it off without it ever being at her expense or compromising his business.
“Can you please do that for me?” Remi pleaded.
“Sure, Rem,” he said distractedly, pacing the patio of the Bistro, hoping Abby would show up. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the intriguing brunette with flyaway hair, a smile that brightened everything around her, and mesmerizing green eyes that were so big and beautiful, it was hard to look away.
“Good, but if you pull what you did yesterday, I swear I’ll come there and force you to relax. I know those weren’t your hairy feet in the sand. I bet you’re still wearing your loafers and a button-down shirt instead of the casual clothes and flip-flops I bought you.”
He looked down at his short-sleeve navy button-down, khaki pants, and loafers and said, “Hey, now, you stop right there. I’m wearing the shirt you gave me.”
“I guess miracles do happen. But I bet your feet haven’t touched sand yet, have they? How much did you have to pay that guy to get him to let you take a picture of his ugly feet?”
He chuckled and looked out over the water, the cool breeze kissing his cheeks. He had to hand it to her. She had picked an extraordinary spot for his vacation.
“I can’t believe you’re laughing. This is serious, Aiden. You need to learn to relax. Isn’t that the whole reason you and Ben groomed Garth and Miller to take over?”
Garth Anziano and Miller Crenshaw were two of the best directors Aiden and his business partner, Ben Dalton, employed. About two years ago, when Aiden and Ben had been on the cusp of taking over an international hotel chain, Remi had a stalker situation that needed to be dealt with. At the same time, Ben had found out he had a daughter and finally confessed his feelings for his best friend, Aurelia. Aiden and Ben had promoted Garth and Miller, and they’d taken several of their larger portfolios, alleviating much of their travel and time-consuming oversight. Though Ben had done a fine job of stepping back to spend more time with his new family, once the stalker situation was handled and Remi had taken a break from acting to get married, Aiden had jumped back in with two feet, filling his every second with work.
“I bet Garth would like to slap you upside your head for stepping on his toes,” Remi said sharply. “And don’t think Carrie didn’t call me two seconds after you called her asking for your messages yesterday.”