“Never better.” She turns her gaze up to look me in the eyes and smiles. “He cares about you a lot. It’s really clicking why the two of you are such good friends because I’ll admit, I didn’t understand your relationship at first. The two of you are very different.”

“I don’t know how our friendship works, but it just does.”

“Sometimes people have a way of worming themselves into your heart whether you want them to or not.”

I continue to gaze into her eyes, and I can’t help but feel a little hopeful that she means me even though I shouldn’t. It’s wrong of me to want her to feel something for me because I know that I’m about to break her heart. But I’m a selfish bastard and I’ll hope for it anyway.

I lean in and press my lips to hers. “I’m glad we’re here together.”

“Me, too,” an all too familiar voice purrs from behind me.

I whip around just in time to see a blast from my past standing there in nothing but a black string bikini.

“What are you doing here?” Even I can hear the shock in my voice as I drop my hands from around Margo’s waist and pull away from her.

“I had to come and see for myself if the Naughty King is married.” Jess tilts her head, swinging her long, blond ponytail. She looks just the same as the last time I saw her—drop-dead gorgeous. But that wicked smile of hers doesn’t fool me. This woman broke my heart—she taught me that no woman could be trusted.

Her presence reminds me that I’ve been allowing Margo inside my heart too much. I have to get back to being an asshole. I’ve already lowered my guard too much around her, and it’s caused me a lot of fucking trouble.

My back stiffens. “So you’ve seen it. Now, fucking leave.”

Jess smirks. “Oh, I’m not going anywhere. Not until I’m convinced the two of you are in love and it’s not some fucking charade. Daddy says that he and the rest of the board could take full control if they can prove you were out making careless decisions with your personal life.”

“Fuck your father,” I snarl. “I’ll fuck Margo right here in front of you to prove that we’re married for real.”

Jess shakes her head. “Fucking her won’t prove anything. I need to be convinced you love her. Who better to judge if Alexander King is in love than the last woman he asked to marry him?”

Margo gasps next to me and then turns to storm off. I snatch her wrist, halting her in place. “Now is not the time for a temper tantrum.”

She jerks out of my grasp. “Don’t tell me what to do, King.”

“Margo. Come back here.”

She doesn’t look back as she storms away.

I scrub my hand down my face. I don’t know what in the hell she’s mad about, but I decide not to chase her down and cause a scene, especially not in front of Jess.

“Looks like trouble in paradise,” Jess says in a singsong voice beside me.

My nostrils flare as I turn my heated gaze on her. “Shut the fuck up, Jess. I don’t know why you feel the need to interfere with my life. You left me, remember? Leave me the hell alone.”

Jess steps up to me and grins. “I can’t leave you alone. This time, it’s not personal, baby. It’s business. My daddy needs me to expose your little lie, and I need to prove to everyone that it’s me who you still really love, not that uptight feisty princess.”

“Stay. Away. From. Me,” I say my words slowly with enough intensity so she knows how fucking serious I am.

She lifts one eyebrow and then walks away.

When she’s out of sight, I set out to find Yamada. It doesn’t take long to find him by the pool with a girl on his lap and one on each side of him.

I storm over to him, seething. “What in the fuck is Jess doing here?”

“Calm down, King. I told you everyone was here. Besides, Jess knows you with Dime Piece now. She’s just here to party with Yamada like old times and help break in Yamada’s new island.”

I rake my fingers through my hair. I love Yamada, but sometimes he can be so blind to the ulterior motives people have. He’s too quick to believe the good in people even when they don’t deserve it.

“That’s not why she’s here. She’s here to spy on me for her father who sits on the fucking board of my company. She’s trying to prove that my marriage is a sham so the board can overthrow my power.”

“Then just show her that you in love with Dime Piece. Everything fixed.”

“It’s not that simple, and you know it.”

Yamada pushes the girl off his lap, and he stands. “Course it is, King. You are in love. Yamada knows it and so do you. You just won’t admit it to yourself.”

I flinch. “I don’t—”

“Okay then, Yamada is going to go in there and try to get into Dime Piece’s panties.”

I throw my hands up, palms out. “Whoa. Let’s not get crazy.”

“See!” he exclaims. “You only get jealous when you care. You. Are. In. Love.”

My lips pull into a tight line. No. That can’t be right. Can it? Me? In love? That’s preposterous. I don’t do love, or at least I thought I didn’t. But I do know that I care about Margo. A lot. I care about hurting her, which is why I’m wrestling with the plan I have to betray her when it comes to the deal I made with her.

Yamada gives my shoulder a firm pat. “Go talk to Margo. Tell her you love her. It make things better. You see.”