“Some of the older members, those with clout, aren’t taking me seriously. They see me as a single man who is a notorious playboy, and since I work in the entertainment field, they also see me as someone not suited to lead the business council.”

Brandon stared over at Adam. Unfortunately, he could imagine the older, more conservative members saying such a thing to Adam. “So what are you going to do?”

“One of the things that someone suggested that I do is easy.”

“Which is?”

Adam smiled. “Work on expanding the club’s clientele beyond the young, rich and famous. But the other suggestion won’t be so easy.”

“And what was that suggestion?” Brandon asked, hearing a hint of despair in his best friend’s voice.

“To clean up my playboy image it was suggested that I find a wife.”

Brandon blinked. “A wife?”

Adam nodded. “Yes, a wife. So what do you think?”

Brandon frowned. “I think you should tell whoever told you that to go to hell.”

“Be serious, Brandon.”

Brandon’s frown deepened. “I am serious.” He then sighed as he leaned back in his chair. “Okay, what if you did consider doing something like that? What woman will marry you just to help you advance your career that way?”

Then before Adam could respond, Brandon said, “Don’t bother answering that. For a split second I forgot your last name is Garrison. You’ll have all kind of greedy-minded, money-hungry women lining up at your door in droves. Is that the type of woman you’d want to be strapped to for the rest of your life?”

“It won’t be for the rest of my life. I’m only looking at one year, possibly two. I want a woman who’ll agree to my terms. We can get a divorce at the end of that time.”

Brandon took a sip of his wine and asked, “And where do you intend to find such a woman?”

Adam shrugged. “I don’t know. Do you have any ideas?”

Brandon chuckled and said the first name that came to his mind. “What about Paula Franklin?”

Adam glared at him. “Don’t even think it.”

Paula had first made a play for Parker a few years ago and when Parker hadn’t shown her any interest, she had moved on to Stephen. Stephen had avoided her worse than Parker had, and she’d finally turned her sights on Adam, determined to hook up with a Garrison.

Adam had been forewarned about Paula from Parker and Stephen and hadn’t been surprised when she had shown up at the club one night, ready to make a play for him and willing to do just about anything to succeed. When he had refused her advances, she had all but stalked him for a few weeks until he had threatened her with possible harassment charges.

Brandon gazed at him thoughtfully for a minute and then smiled and said, “Okay then, what about Lauryn Lowes?”

Adam gave Brandon a look that said he’d lost his mind. “Straight-laced Lauryn Lowes?”

Brandon ignored the look and said, “Yes, that’s the one. You have to admit she’s a picture of propriety, something those older, conservative members would want in a wife for you, so consider it a plus. And she’s not bad-looking, either.”

Brandon’s words got Adam to thinking. “Lauryn Lowes.”

Brandon stood and clapped Adam on the shoulder. “Yes, Lauryn Lowes. And while you’re giving that some thought, I’m going to steal my girl from Stephen for a dance.”

“Umm, that’s interesting,” Adam said, looking at him.

Brandon paused. “What is?”

“That you consider Cassie your girl. If she’s your girl then why is she leaving town tomorrow to return to the Bahamas?”

Brandon frowned. “She said she needed to go. What was I supposed to do? Hold her hostage? The Bahamas is her home, Adam, and she doesn’t want to live anywhere else. She told me that a few days after we met.”

“Have you given her a reason to change her mind?” Adam asked. “Maybe it’s all been for show and you really don’t care about her as much as I assumed you did. But if I cared for a woman, I mean really cared for one-although mind you, I don’t-I would do whatever it took to make sure we were together, and nothing, not even the Atlantic Ocean, would be able to keep us apart.” Before Brandon could say anything, Adam got out the chair and walked away.

Brandon took that same chair and sat, thinking about what Adam had said and his mind began racing. Although Cassie never said she loved him, a part of him had always felt that she did whenever they made love. She would always give herself to him, totally and completely.

And although he had never told her how he felt, he knew in his heart that he loved her, as well. He loved her and he wanted her, but he didn’t want her to be with him in Miami if she wasn’t going to be happy. Besides, her hotel was in the islands. It wasn’t like she could fly over there every day for work.

He suddenly rolled his eyes when a thought flickered through his mind and he wondered why he hadn’t thought of it before. He took a few moments to consider the idea, evaluate the possibility and then decided he would make it work. He laughed out loud, pretty pleased with himself.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Brandon looked into Stephen’s concerned face. Instead of answering he glanced around and asked, “Where’s Cassie?”

“She’s still out there dancing,” Stephen responded, sitting down at the table. “Another song came on and this guy asked her to dance.”

“And you let her?” Brandon asked, actually feeling a muscle tick in his jaw.

The sharp tone of his voice actually surprised Stephen. “Was I supposed to stop her or something?” When Brandon didn’t respond, Stephen asked, “What’s going on, Brandon?”

Brandon searched the dance crowd for a glimpse of Cassie. He saw her dancing to a slow song in another man’s arms.

“Brandon?”

He glanced across the table at Stephen. “What?”

“I asked what’s wrong with you?”

Brandon stood again. “Nothing’s wrong with me. In fact at this moment everything is right with me. I think I’ll go dance with Cassie.”

Stephen shook his head, hiding his grin. “She’s already dancing with someone.”

“Too bad.”

Like a man on a mission, Brandon crossed the room and tapped the man dancing with Cassie on the shoulder. The man turned and glared at Brandon, but instead of saying anything, he graciously moved away. As soon as he did so, Brandon took hold of Cassie’s hand and pulled her into his arms.

She glanced up at him and smiled. “The song is almost over so you didn’t have to cut in, Brandon.”

“Yes, I did.”

“Why?”

“Because I didn’t like the thought of another man touching you.”

This was the first time she’d ever witnessed Brandon in a possessive mood and she made a halfhearted attempt at a chuckle. “And why would that bother you?”

“Because it does.”

“Why?”

The song had ended and when others began returning to their tables, he took a firm hold of Cassie’s hand and said, “Come on, let’s take a walk.”

They went outside and moments later they walked down a group of steps that led to the beach. Cassie paused long enough to remove her sandals. Her heart was beating fast and furious within her chest. Why had Brandon gotten all possessive and jealous all of a sudden? Could it mean that he cared for her more than she’d thought? A degree of hope stirred within her chest.

She decided to break the silence surrounding them. The only sound was the waves hitting the shoreline. “Estate is a very nice club.”

Brandon stopped walking and she did likewise. She looked up at him and the bright lights from all the businesses on the beach lit his features. He was staring at her, his dark gaze intense. “I didn’t bring you out here to talk about Adam’s club,” he said.

She looked away for a moment, across the span of the Atlantic Ocean, trying to maintain her composure. When she turned back to him, glancing up at him through her lashes, she asked, “Then what did you bring me out here to talk about, Brandon?”

For a brief moment Brandon couldn’t speak. All he could do was stare at Cassie while his throat was constricted. Slowly expelling a deep breath, he said, “Our feelings for each other.”

She met his gaze. “Our feelings for each other?” she repeated.

“Yes. I want to know where do you see our relationship going after you leave here tomorrow?”

As far as Cassie was concerned, the question he asked wasn’t a difficult one to answer. “Nowhere.”

Brandon tried to ignore the sharp pain that touched his chest. “And why do you think that?”

“Why would I not think that?” she responded in an irritated tone. “You’ve never said anything about continuing a relationship with me.”

She was right. He hadn’t. “I was afraid to,” he said honestly.

She met his gaze. “Afraid? Why?”

“I knew what you told me weeks ago about how much you loved your homeland and not ever wanting to leave the island again to live anywhere else. I knew I could never take you away from that so I couldn’t see a future for us. I was giving in to our demise too easily. But now I know what my heart is saying.”

She studied his intense features before asking in a soft voice. “And what is your heart saying, Brandon?”

He took hold of her hand and brought her closer to him and then placed that same hand on his chest and over his heart. “Listen.”

She felt the gentle, timely thump beneath her hand and then heard him when he said, “It’s a continuous beat that’s saying over and over again, I, Brandon Jarrett Washington, love Cassie Sinclair-Garrison, with all my heart, soul and mind. Don’t you hear it, sweetheart?”

Cassie fought back the tears that threatened to fall. “Yes, I can hear it now.”

He smiled. “And do you also hear the beats that are saying that I want to marry you, make you my wife and give you my babies.”

She chuckled. “No, I don’t hear those ones.”