That sobered me up. "Go on."

"She was asking all sorts of questions about you and Mia. It was awkward."

"I can imagine. What did you tell her?"

"That I'd met Mia."

"You didn't mention..."

"Seeing her naked in your foyer? Of course not."

I caressed my forehead, recalling that evening. The memory would stay with me forever, not least because it was one of the most stunning visions I'd ever seen. Later that night had also been the first time I'd made love to her. She'd presented herself as my submissive, choosing the very evening my family had come to stay. Both my aunt and sister had caught the charade of Mia virtually naked upon her arrival.

My kinky brain had got a kick out of that.

Of course Aunt Rose knew full well she was witnessing a sub's surrender, though she had no idea about Chrysalis. Willow probably put it down to my bachelor ways.

"Honest," said Willow. "I know everything must be kept private. I know the rules."

"McKenzie reached out to you?"

"She told me she was in town and wanted to see me. I didn't see anything wrong with it."

"Thank you for understanding."

"She's still into you."

"She'll get over it."

"I'll delete her number."

"I appreciate that."

"She's not going to go all aFatal Attraction' on you, is she?"

"That movie was out before you were born."

"Still."

"Stay safe. Give Zander a break, Willow. It's his new year too."

"I know. I'll not make it hard on him."

"Promise?"

"Promise. Go have fun. You know it's that thing humans do that causes their faces to crinkle all funny."

"You too, Willow." My gaze drifted to the others and I saw Richard pulling a throw over Mia's legs. "I have to go."

"Love you, Cam."

"Love you, Will. Stay safe." I tucked my phone into my pocket and strolled over to rejoin them.

Richard stared down at Mia and when he saw me he said, "She was cold."

"I'm fine, really." Her stare jumped from him to me.

My smile seemed to reassure them both, despite it feeling forced.

Settling on the lounger near Mia's, I focused my scrutiny on Richard. A tilt of his head was his way of telling me everything was fine. Raw empathy raced through my veins and that dreadful guilt returned.

"I like seeing you happy, Cole." His arched brows proved his sincerity.

I gave him that happiness always has a price look we so often shared, our friendship so deep words were not needed.

The conversation ebbed and flowed from politics to the financial markets, of which Richard was an expert. Leo shared stories from his time as a marine and he really did have a captive audience. He was more my people than my family.

Richard and Leo verbally sparred over football, though I was only half listening. I was too full of love to really care about the merits of changing the colors of an NFL team's uniform.

Ten minutes ago, Mia had wandered off.

She now sat with her legs soaking in the heated swimming pool, her mind running off to a place I'd ask her about later. For now, I just wanted to look at her. Take in her beauty. Her calming presence.

Meeting McKenzie had rattled her and my thoughts ran rampant at the kind of conversation they'd had. I didn't want Zie to encroach on our time again. Digging up a painful past had no benefit for either of us.

I rose from the lounger and headed off toward her, rounding the pool.

I kicked off my shoes, removed my socks, and rolled up my pants before taking a seat beside Mia. It felt good to dip my feet in the water. This welcome warmth took the edge off the cool air.

I nudged her arm playfully. "I've turned on the Jacuzzi."

Her gaze settled on Richard. "I think I'll go home."

A jolt of uncertainty hit me like a fucking train wreck.

"No," she said, reaching for my arm and giving it a squeeze. "The beach house."

Relief flooded in and another wave of guilt settled low in my gut for what I'd done. Yet there was Richard, sipping champagne and seemingly happy enough. I had a lifetime of making it up to him.

"Mia, you're staying here tonight."

"You and Richard need alone time. I'll never forgive myself if I ever cause any friction between you."

"No," I said, "you hold no responsibility for how everything turned out. None whatsoever."

"I feel as though I do."

I let out a long sigh, refusing to relent.

"I'll take you up on the Jacuzzi offer another night, though," she said. "Sounds heavenly."

"This is your home now."

"When I moved in with Richard, things went wrong," she whispered.

"That was different."

Her gaze swept over the house.

"We'll hang out in the den," I said.

"It's like you're separate from all this. I want to be with you. I need you. But this-" She swept her hand through the air. "It's a lot to take in."

"You'll get used to it."

"I'll stay tonight," she said. "Tomorrow we'll talk about it, okay?"

It wasn't okay, but this conversation was best confronted after a good night's sleep. We were still reeling after this morning's reunion.

And that party had put a damper on tonight.

"Mia, what did McKenzie say to you?"

Her attention shifted to the water but she wasn't really looking at it.

"Hey Cam!" Richard called over. "I'm going to borrow one of your spare bedrooms."

"Of course," I said. "Put Leo in the gold suite."

Richard laughed. "I've got him a car home." He threw us a wave. "Night, Mia."

"Goodnight, Richard," she called over affectionately.

He gave a nod of reassurance and led Leo inside.

"That was nice of you to invite Leo," she said.

"Being around you is making me soft."

"Hardly. Is Richard all right?"

"I think so."

"Please spend time with him soon."

"We'll always be close." I turned to face her. "We were talking about McKenzie?"

"She told me you're a good man."

"And?"

Mia's stare met mine. "McKenzie told me you're not the marrying kind."

"Ah."

"You left her at the altar?"

I reached over and tipped her chin up. "Mia, it was three weeks before the wedding. Which I know is no better. It was hard on us both."

"She was your one true love. The one you told me about at Chrysalis."

"You're my one true love."

"Why wouldn't you say her name before?"

Because her name brings back that vision of Zie in the Harrington Suite...

Ruined.

All of it.

Love, decimated.

"It's still painful," I muttered. "I hurt her. That hurts me."

"She's very pretty. Sophisticated."

"So are you."

"I'm a southern belle with a smart mouth," she said. "No Ivy League in sight. I imagine your friends wonder what you see in me."

"Don't Mia, and for the record everyone adores you."

"You're super smart, Cameron. What if you get bored with me?"

I held back on a frown and put her insecurities down to her age. Mia's confidence was still shaky, her innocence enduring. "I could say the same about you, Mia. I'm a stern master."

"I love that about you."

I gave a crooked smile. "And I love that you love that about me."

"McKenzie's so...perfect."

No, she was not.

"It's no mystery why we didn't work out," I said "We didn't share the same vision for our future."

Of course the correct answer was Zie wasn't perfect, but the fact was other than my distaste of her debutant lifestyle we'd been happy. It wasn't like I'd given up the luxurious life I'd been born into. I too enjoyed the finer things in life so couldn't really accuse Zie of living decadently. I'd always struggled with privilege. McKenzie had been caught in the wake of my search for self-discovery. My need for meaning. Purpose. My eventual desire for purity.