“I found that magazine in your office this morning, Pierce. The one with the whole article about the Mills family and the Mission Mansion. You can’t tell me you don’t know anything about that.”

“Are you talking about the Moorehead Review? Because I generally don’t read or believe whatever bullshit is spewed in there.”

Her eyes narrow. “So you read the article.”

“Sure. I’m still not understanding where you’re going with this.”

“That magazine is weeks old.”

“I read it this morning. I told you, I don’t generally put much stock in the content.”

“But you were in Manhattan a few weeks ago when that magazine came out.”

“Is there an accusation in here somewhere? Because that’s how it’s starting to sound.”

“You keep buying all these properties on the beach. Are you holding onto them so you can sell to the Mills family?”

“I’m sorry, what?”

She plants her fist on her hip. “You knew how I felt about the mansion. I told you weeks ago, and now you’re trying to play it off like you had no idea any of this is going on.” She motions between us. “Why all of a sudden are you calling me your girlfriend? Why take me to Manhattan? To get me out of the Hamptons so your brother is free to hatch some scheme?” Her eyes are wild, hands flailing as she paces around the living room.

Incredulous isn’t a strong enough word for my current state. “How the hell do you make such a wild leap? I don’t get how you can believe I’d do something like that.”

Rian throws her hands up in the air. “It makes sense, doesn’t it? Get close, be a distraction so you can get what you want and get laid in the process.”

I scrub a hand over my face. None of this is making sense. “This is what you think of me? You know, maybe I could understand if all we were doing was fucking each other, but come on, Rian, what’s going on between us is a lot bigger than that.”

“You’re going back to Manhattan in a month. How is this supposed to be anything more than a summer fling? You can’t tell me I don’t have a reason to question this, Pierce. I mean, look at me and look at you.” She gestures between us, eyes darting around, her panic rising. “Your situation and mine aren’t exactly the same. You live in a penthouse and I live in a crappy duplex. You wear two-hundred-dollar pairs of jeans to mow the lawn, and your sunglasses are worth more than my car.”

“That’s what you want to make this about? My financial situation versus yours? Do you really think I’m that much of a shallow prick?” Her silence is like a nail-gun shot to the chest. My jaw tics and I take a step closer. Rian, being Rian, doesn’t back down at all. She tips her head up, eyes flashing with defiance and under that, fear and devastation. “Let me tell you something. I grew up in a two-bedroom apartment in Long Island for the first seven years of my life. Then we had to rent a three-bedroom house when my sister came along. I know what it’s like to eat peanut-butter sandwiches for dinner when money’s tight, so don’t box me into some shitty stereotype that doesn’t fit me, Rian. I’m not that guy. I’ve never been that guy, even if you want me to be, even if it makes this, us, easier for you to dismiss.”

She swallows thickly, seeming vulnerable and small. She blinks a few times, eyes clearing, determination winning out. She stalks across the room, grabs a sheet of paper from the island, and holds it up in front of my face. “Look at this.”

It’s a black-and-white printout of an aerial view of Mission Mansion and the surrounding properties, several of which are circled in red. “What is this?”

“You and Lawson own all of these.” She pokes viciously at the red circles.

I take the sheet, inspecting it.

“What does that look like to you?” Rian demands.

I take in the strategic locations in which Lawson has pushed to buy properties. We have beach houses flanking all sides of the Mission Mansion. He’s been talking to Lex a lot on the phone lately; I’ve seen his contact lighting up his phone. I didn’t think anything of it because he’s going to be our brother-in-law.

“Look at how many of the properties you own close to the mansion, Pierce.” Her jaw is tight, eyes hard and yet they appear glassy, as if she’s fighting tears. “I told you weeks ago how I feel about that place, and two of these properties have been purchased in the last month. Why wouldn’t you tell me if you were making plans? Why would you keep that from me knowing how important the mansion is to me? You call me your girlfriend and then you do this? Tell me I don’t have a reason to be paranoid.”

“I can’t believe this.” And honestly I can’t, and then again, maybe I can. I’ve been so caught up in Rian, in spending time with her, and enjoying the fact that I don’t have to deal with bullshit patents and paperwork, or snobby assholes who think the sun rises and sets on them, that I’ve missed all the goddamn signs. Fucking Lawson.

“I’m right, aren’t I? You stopped with the big renovations and started the quick cosmetic updates because renting makes more sense if you’re planning to sell them off to the Millses.”

I exhale a frustrated breath. “Whatever Lawson’s plans are, he sure as hell hasn’t shared them with me.” Clearly I need to talk to him, because now that I’m holding this piece of paper, I have to wonder how long this has been his plan, and why he kept it from me. “I wouldn’t have kept it from you if I’d known the Mission Mansion was actually coming up for sale and more than just a rumor. Moorehead is good at feeding rumors, not truths. You should’ve talked to me before assuming the worst.”

Rian chews on her thumbnail for a second before shoving her hands into her pockets. “What was I supposed to think when I found that magazine in your office? Lex’s face is all over it and you’re connected to his family!”

“So at no point did you even stop to consider that maybe you could be the slightest bit off base? That in all this time we’ve been spending time together—”

“—giving each other orgasms,” she supplies.

“You’re un-fucking-believable.” I bark out a humorless laugh. “You could’ve walked away instead of trying to make me into the villain.” I turn and head for the door.

She grabs my arm. “Pierce, wait.”

I shake her off. “For what? You to accuse me of something else? For you to decide I’m worth more than just a fuck? No, thanks.”

I grit my teeth, the pain in my chest growing as I realize two very important things. One, I’m totally, hopelessly in love with Rian, and two, based on her reaction, it’s completely one-sided.

* * *

I’m in a foul mood by the time I reach my brother’s house. I sit in the car for a good twenty-five minutes, scouring recent articles on the Mills family. They’re often in the news because they’re constantly expanding. While some of the articles are based solely on speculation, there’s enough of a common thread for me to believe they want to invest in property in the Hamptons. I’d be more likely to assume that Lex wants to either build or buy Amalie a house, not bulldoze a bunch of beach houses to put up a monster resort. Besides the city council probably would have a lot to say about that. I wonder if Lawson even thought about that when scheming up his master plan, if he even has one.