“Hey, you all right?”

Hearing Loren’s voice, I hadn’t realized he’d been watching me as he stood in front of me now with his hands on my hips. I didn’t want to explain, so I offered him a smile that he saw right through. After taking a seat in the recliner across from Rich, Loren immediately pulled me into his lap. Xavier and Danielle were sitting together on the bench a few feet behind us as they discussed the arrangement for tonight’s show.

“You know I can’t stay in your lap, Loren. You might as well let me go.”

Burying his face in my neck, he growled, “Not yet.”

I stayed put until it was time for takeoff, and he reluctantly let me go so I could take my seat next to him, which also faced Houston. Jericho was seated diagonally from me, and my gaze couldn’t help but linger as he stared out the window and brooded.

It’s been seventeen days.

Two weeks and three days of climbing the mountain he’d put between us. And every day, it became more apparent that Rich had grown bored with me.

I’d expected that possibility from Houston, maybe even Loren, but not Jericho. I couldn’t ignore that he only seemed interested in me whenever I practically threw myself at him. I was beginning to wonder if he only gave me even that small mercy out of pity. He’d been enthusiastic each time, if not a little troubled, but he was a guy, so that didn’t mean shit.

The reason nagged at me because his interest hadn’t slowly waned.

It’d been abrupt.

The morning after our show in Connecticut, he’d been distant, and the only logical explanation was that he’d considered my terms and decided I wasn’t enough. I knew I’d been unfair, so I didn’t want to blame him, and yet…I absolutely did. Houston, Loren, and Jericho had all driven me to the edge, but it was his hand that shoved me over.

I almost felt like I didn’t deserve Oni’s praise, not that I ever wanted it. “Not quite the apple on your head, but effective nonetheless.” Before returning to Los Angeles, it had been all she’d said about the task she’d given me when she chose me to replace Calvin. Knowing this, I wasn’t as convinced as the guys that Carl had been the one to send her in the first place.

The short flight to Vancouver was over quickly.

The moment we were shown to our suite at one of the waterfront hotels, Loren proposed we hit the jet skis. Two hours later, after sending Dani out to get a bathing suit for me, three swim trunks, and four wetsuits since germophobic Loren was too prissy to use a loaner, we were back in the disguises we’d used in New York and standing on a dock in Granville Island.

After checking the straps on my lifejacket for the third time, I regarded the guys who were already mounted on the jet skis while I still stood on the dock. “So which of my doting boyfriends am I doubling up with?”

No way in hell was I riding one of those things alone. I barely trusted myself not to drown in the shallow end of a pool even though I knew how to swim.

I’d posed the question to all three of them, but my attention was steadfast on Rich as I waited for him to offer. I needed to know if I was reading too much into the distance he kept.

Noticing my gaze, he immediately looked away, and I sucked in a quiet breath as my heart cracked in two.

“You’re riding with me,” Houston said as if it had already been established.

He might be my boyfriend now, but he was still bossy and controlling as hell, and the perverted demoness squatting inside of me liked it.

I couldn’t even count on the pompadour wig and cheap, gold shades to detract from his appeal.

Even though I was disappointed in Rich, I didn’t hesitate to go to Houston. I slipped my hand in his when he held it out for me, and with his assistance, I climbed on behind him.

I didn’t allow myself to look too long at Rich and the muscle in his cheek, jumping as if he was restraining himself. Instead, I held onto Houston’s waist and pressed my cheek to his strong back. Despite the summer sun and the wetsuits we wore, my face was still at the mercy of the ocean’s breeze. It was cool, almost chilling, but no match for the heat Houston’s body generated. I was in awe, considering how cold he’d been when we met. Nevertheless, he was a furnace, and he warmed me right up.

Whooping, Loren was the first to take off, shooting forward on his red and blue jet ski. Rich, straddling a black and gray watercraft, was right behind him. As soon as Houston’s green and white Sea-Doo lurched forward, I tightened my grip so hard I was surprised he hadn’t complained. The brine attacking my senses was stronger than ever with the water’s natural scent mixing with my uneasiness.

Gradually, Houston accelerated, giving me time to get used to the motion each time we crested a wave. The moment we hit English Bay, the three of them opened up, and we were soon flying up the coastline.

I had no idea where we were going and no idea if they did either.

None of that mattered once I was brave enough to lift my head. The creamy sweetness of chocolate melted on my tongue as I watched the three of them enjoy the journey without a destination in mind. My heart swelled, and it was the first time I’d tasted true happiness in a while. The last time I’d been too young to realize that it would always be temporary.

Birds flew by closer than I would have given them credit, but as we raced past swimmers, groups on guided tours, and other rogues like us, I surmised they had no reason to be afraid.

Loren and Rich raced each other past Horseshoe Bay and Bowen Island and all the way up the Howe Sound while Houston and I followed closely behind but much slower. It wasn’t until they were done with their pissing contest that they slowed down, allowing us to catch up.

It didn’t occur to me they’d have a motive until they began to circle.

“So what do you say?” Loren shouted since they had to keep enough of their speed to turn their vessels. Houston and I were idle in the water now as they continued to circle and taunt. “Did you bring your big girl panties?”

“I’m not wearing any!” I reminded him—not unless I counted my bikini.

It seemed to have the desired effect on Loren either way because he was staring at me now like he wanted me to read his mind and every filthy thought inside it.

And I didn’t even care how utterly ridiculous he looked wearing that black, eighties mullet on his head, which had drawn more attention than it diverted. Luckily, he’d kept his disguise authentic with a pair of dark shades and a beard he’d glued onto the lower half of his face.

“How about a race then?”

“I don’t know,” I shouted at the top of my voice. “What do Houston and I get when we win?”

Loren pretended to mull it over even though we both knew he’d had his prize in mind long before he posed the challenge. “First one back chooses a dare for the loser to do. No exceptions. No excuses.”

I nodded as I thought it over.

“What will it be, baby fawn?”

“It’s not really up to me since I won’t be driving, is it?” I pretended to lean forward as if I was gauging Houston’s interest and whispered, “When I pinch you, punch it.”

The only indication I got that he’d heard and was on board was the subtle quirk of his lips as he waited for my signal.

“Hey, Loren?”

He was grinning already as he anticipated my answer. “Yeah?”

“We’re in!” Before I was even fully done speaking, I pinched the hell out of Houston, who immediately pushed on the throttle, shooting us forward and narrowly clipping Rich as we raced through the closing gap.

I heard Loren shouting obscenities, and one look behind me confirmed that they were hot on our tail. I smiled as Houston pushed the Sea-Doo to the max and laughed as Rich and Loren desperately fought to catch up. Since we’d had the element of surprise, we’d gained enough of a head start that it would take an act of God for us to lose.

It came just as Houston made a sharp turn around a bend I didn’t know to brace for because I’d twisted in my seat to watch our opponents.

Slipping off the side of the Sea-Doo, my scream was cut short when I fell into the cold water and plunged beneath the surface. Fear of drowning had me grappling to reach the top again, even as my life jacket brought me back up. I broke the water with a gasp, and then I looked around for my rescue.

Rich was the first to reach me since he’d been in last place. He twisted around in his seat as I boarded from behind and offered me a hand that I didn’t need but was all too eager to accept.

I missed him touching me because he wanted it too.

I might have preferred not taking an unintentional dip in the ocean and losing my wig to learn that he still cared, but I wouldn’t turn my nose up at the knowledge either.

Once I got him alone, I’d make him explain.