“Don’t you think so, Jade?”

I jerked my head up, forced out of my thoughts. My mother had spoken to me, but I had no idea what she’d said.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“I was just saying that if Nico plays his cards right, within a few years he could be a candidate for president.”

I looked over at my mother’s new love interest. Nico Kostas was a good-looking man. A dark Mediterranean type, he had black hair, olive skin, dark-brown eyes, rugged features, and a stocky, muscular build. He was graying at his temples and had laugh lines around his eyes. I guessed him to be in his early fifties.

He had been perfectly polite to me all evening, and he treated my mother like a queen. But something was off about him. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but something about him rattled my nerves a little, made my skin crawl.

“I don’t pretend to know much about politics,” I said. “But I wish you the best of luck if those are your aspirations.”

Nico smiled. “Oh, I think every politician dreams at one time or another of getting to the White House. But right now, I’ll settle for just being one of the two senators from Iowa.”

I nodded. Maybe that was the weird vibe that I was getting from him. Merely that he was a politician. So many of them were crooked. No…something else wasn’t right, and even though there was no love lost between my mother and me, I didn’t really want him near her.

I let out a sigh. None of this made sense. I took a sip of my merlot, which Nico had ordered. It was boring and a little sour. I had learned so much from Ryan at the winery. I could’ve chosen a better wine.

My mother picked at her striped bass, leaving most of it on her plate and scraping all the creamy sauce to the side. Still a supermodel, still afraid to eat.

I, of course, had cleaned my plate of my chicken piccata.

No doubt about it, my mother was a gorgeous woman. She was taller than I easily by three inches and probably weighed about twenty pounds less. Of course, she had no boobs. Mine had come from my father’s side.

She hung on Nico’s every word, never letting an opportunity to touch him pass by.

The waiter came and cleared the table, asked if we wanted dessert.

“Oh, heavens, no,” Brooke said. “I absolutely couldn’t swallow another bite.”

She hadn’t swallowed too many bites yet anyway.

“Just coffee for me,” I said.

“Excellent idea, Jade,” Nico said. “Make that three coffees, please. And I’ll have a Courvoisier also.”

“What a wonderful idea, Nico,” Brooke bubbled. “Make that two on the cognac. Jade?”

I shook my head.

When the waiter had left, Nico said, “This will give our stomachs a chance to settle before we go on our evening swim.”

Yes, the evening swim. I’d skip that.

But when the time came, Brooke would hear nothing of it.

“Of course, darling, you must come along. Nico looks amazing in his Speedo.”

Oh, God. Just what I didn’t need—to get a good look at my mother’s boyfriend’s package.

But what the hell? The fleabag I was staying at didn’t have a pool, and even if it did, I wouldn’t set foot in it for fear of contracting some kind of disease.

I accompanied them to their suite on the top floor. My mother ushered me to a lush bathroom.

“You can change in here, darling.”

I hurriedly changed and took a look at my reflection in the mirror. Not too bad, after that huge meal I had just eaten. I might not be waif thin, but no one could call me fat. I smiled to myself. Talon had certainly liked what he’d seen.

I walked out of the bathroom and tried to ignore Nico’s lascivious gaze. The man made me squeamish.

But then a flash of color caught my eye. A tattoo on his forearm.

“Oh, you have a tattoo,” I said. Tattoos fascinated me. I hadn’t gotten one myself yet because I hadn’t found the perfect image.

“Oh, yes, isn’t it beautiful?” my mother said.

I walked closer to get a better look. It was indeed beautiful—a bird enveloped in colors of fuchsia, purple, orange, and teal. Its wings were flames, and it rose from ashes.

It was a phoenix.