“I didn’t notice,” I replied, then tugged her closer to me. Thad was headed our way with his two dates, one on each side. I wasn’t sure what his plan was, but I wasn’t letting him say or do anything to embarrass Reese.

He also needed to understand: she was mine.

Thad’s hair was tucked behind his ears, and his eyes weren’t glassy or bloodshot from too much drink. The girls at his side were already in their bikinis. They had forgone the cover-ups or dresses, unlike everyone else.

Reese’s hand tightened on my arm the second she noticed him. I tucked her against me and leveled a warning glare at Thad. He just grinned at me as if I was overreacting.

“Reese, Mase, hope you’re enjoying yourselves,” Thad said, as his stupid, dimpled grin flashed. I hoped Reese didn’t have a thing for dimples.

“Yes, thank you. It’s a beautiful spot for a hotel,” Reese said sincerely.

“I hadn’t planned on coming, but since my evening plans fell through, I figured I’d bring a couple of dates to entertain me,” he said, with a wink, then did something to the girl on the right to cause her to squeal and giggle.

“I can see you’re torn up about those failed plans. If you’ll excuse us, I want to introduce Reese to Blaire and Rush,” I said, placing a possessive hand on her lower back. I didn’t wait for him to say anything else. I had seen Rush and Blaire arrive a few minutes ago, and I knew Blaire would be a safe person to talk to; plus, she was part of my family, so to speak. Rush and I both had fathers in the rock band Slacker Demon. Although Rush grew up more in that life than I did, we understood what it was like to have fathers the rest of the world idolized.

Rush also wouldn’t look at Reese like he wanted a taste. Because I was going to throttle Thad if I had to watch him lust over Reese another second.

Reese

When Mase introduced Rush Finlay, it clicked into place. Manning and Finlay. Rush was Dean Finlay’s son. That’s how Mase knew him. Their fathers. Wow.

While Mase didn’t look like a rock god’s son, Rush definitely did. From his pierced tongue, which flashed when he spoke, to the tattoos on his arms and neck, to the all-around swagger he possessed, Rush Finlay screamed Slacker Demon offspring.

His wife, Blaire, was the kind of beautiful who left you speechless for a moment because you weren’t sure if she was real. The white-blond of her hair made her seem almost angelic. There was a kindness in her smile that made her seem even more heavenly, but then she opened her mouth, and a much thicker Southern twang than even Harlow’s came out. I couldn’t help but smile. She wasn’t a model or a movie star, though that was the type of girl I expected to see Rush Finlay’s arm wrapped around possessively. But then again, she was gorgeous enough to be both, so I didn’t question it. She fit him. More so than I think anyone else could.

I talked with Blaire about Harlow and Lila Kate. She also asked me about Jimmy, since he’d given me her number after her maid retired, but she never brought up me cleaning her house. In a way, I was glad, because that would only remind me of how much I didn’t fit in here. But then, it also made me wonder if she had hired someone else. I really could use the job.

One thing that was becoming more difficult to ignore was the women who flirted with Mase. He didn’t seem to notice, but even the servers gave him looks that were meant to let him know they were available.

If getting a woman was this easy for Mase . . . why was he with me?

Two hours later, the groundbreaking ceremony was complete, and the party had moved to the Kerrington Club. And unfortunately, now that the women were all walking around in their bikinis, they were even more flirty with Mase. Several had openly walked up to him and asked him to swim or dance. He had casually declined their offers, but it was as if I wasn’t even standing there. I hadn’t taken off my sundress yet, because I wasn’t comfortable wearing a swimsuit in front of all those people. But I started thinking I might need to if I wanted to keep Mase’s attention.

I spotted Blaire across the pool, and she was still wearing the blouse and short summery skirt she’d had on earlier. She wasn’t strutting around in her swimsuit. She also didn’t seemed bothered by the women who were looking at her husband with covetous glances.

But she was married to Rush.

I was on my first date with Mase.

“You want a drink?” Mase asked me. His hand slid around my waist as he bent down and whispered in my ear.

“Yes, please,” I said, needing something to distract me.

“Stay here. I’ll go brave the bar. More champagne? Or something else?”

I didn’t want to stay here. Couldn’t we wait for a server to walk around with one of those trays? But then I doubted he wanted the fruity drinks they were serving that way. “Champagne is fine,” I replied.

He squeezed my side. “I’ll be right back.”

Just as I’d feared, women seized the opportunity and approached him as he walked away from me. He was polite and didn’t seem interested, but it was still hard to watch. Because those girls wouldn’t be nervous when he touched them. They’d have sex with him behind a palm tree out here if he wanted them to. That was what I had to compete with.

Besides, I had a twisted darkness inside my past that I would never be able to fully tell Mase about. They didn’t have that kind of problem. They were free to enjoy their bodies and make men happy. I felt sick.

A blonde wrapped her arms around Mase and kissed his cheek. He gently pushed her away, but he continued to talk to her as he got our drinks. I couldn’t watch this. I moved my attention to anywhere else. Harlow and Grant had already left with Lila Kate; they hadn’t stayed at the party long. There was no one else I knew. Mase had introduced me to several people, but I didn’t really know them.