“That’s why I was so hurt when I saw that video.” He shook his head. “And Chad said it was shot Friday afternoon. It was like being punched in the face, Jordy. It was a horrible feeling. I just wanted to hide out here and avoid the world.”

“I’m not going to lie to you,” I went on. “I did have sex with someone else on Friday night.”

“Okay.” He looked at me, and I winced when I saw the hurt in his eyes. “How could you do that, after Thursday night?”

“I’m not a saint, Dante, like I said, and if that’s what you’re looking for, then I’m not the guy for you.” I took a deep breath. “I like you, I like you a lot. I think I could fall in love with you—and not just because you have one of the most flawless bodies I’ve ever seen.” He grinned at this. “You’re a nice guy.” I gestured around the backyard. “I mean, this tells me so much about you. Only someone truly special would create this much magic in one space. All day today, all I could think about was how badly I wanted to escape over here and hide. It’s so peaceful and serene, and that’s what I need in my life. But we barely know each other. I’m not opposed to getting to know you better.”

“I’d like that, too,” he said softly.

“But if we’re going to do this, we have to do it right.” I took another drink of the wine. “We have to be honest with each other. And I don’t ever want to have to lie to you. I want to know that I can tell you the truth without you deciding to give up.”

He nodded. “As long as we’re honest with each other, I can deal with it.” He touched my hand. “That was the problem with my ex. He cheated on me.” He shrugged, his eyes getting wet. “After it was all over, I realized it wasn’t so much the cheating that bothered me, it was the lying. He never told me—I had to find out from someone else.” He sighed. “I guess that’s why I reacted the way I did to the video. It was like I was going through the same thing all over again, and it was a horrible feeling, one I don’t ever want to go through again.”

“I’ll never lie to you, Dante.” I closed my eyes. “And please don’t ever lie to me. I think I can deal with anything else, but I can’t deal with lying. Lying breaks trust, and it’s hard to trust again when someone has broken that trust.”

“I agree.” He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it.

“I slept with Brandon Friday night,” I said softly. “He came over because I was supposed to help him with his term paper, remember? But he didn’t want my help, really—he wanted me to give him a paper on the same subject I’d written in high school. And I guess he decided if he seduced me I’d give it to him.” I shook my head. “And I fell for it, of course. I’m not used to having hot guys want me. He used me to get my paper.”

“And you wanted to come over here and be with me after?”

“Being with Brandon made me understand how special what we have is, Dante,” I insisted. “When I was with him, I realized what was missing from all of my sexual experiences. It was just sex—like it was with everyone else. And I don’t want just sex. It’s not enough for me anymore.”

“Well.” He sighed, and my heart skipped a beat. “I know what you mean, Jordy. When you texted me about coming over, I was on my way to Fusions. I’d seen the video, and I was hurt and angry . . . but the later it got, the angrier I got. I decided to go to Fusions, and I met someone and went home with him. And it wasn’t the same. It was—unsatisfying. And when I came back home, I cried.” He laughed. “I actually cried. Because I thought what we had was lost, and I didn’t want it to be over. But I couldn’t . . . couldn’t forget what Cade had done to me, and I couldn’t go through it again.”

He touched my hand again. “Jordy, if we’re going to try to make this work, I don’t want either of us to see anyone else. Not if we’re going to make a go of this. I know that’s a lot to ask, but do you think you can do it?”

I nodded. “Yes, I think I can. I can’t promise I won’t fuck up, but I promise I’ll try. And if I do fuck up, I promise to tell you about it. You won’t ever have to hear about it from someone else. And you have to promise me if you fuck up, you’ll tell me.”

“I can do that.” Once again he lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed it. “You want to go sit in the hot tub?”

“I don’t have a suit.”

“You don’t need one.” He winked at me, standing up.

I took my glass and followed him over to where the hot tub was bubbling. Strands of steam rose from the water as the sun began setting in the west behind the mountains. I put my glass down and slid my underwear off before stepping into the hot water. I gasped at first, and then slowly settled down onto the ledge. I looked up to see Dante smiling at me. The sun was behind him, and he looked like a muscular giant blocking it out. He slid his shorts and underwear off and slipped into the water, sliding along the ledge next to me until our legs were touching. He refilled my wineglass and set the bottle down. He slid his arm around me, and I nestled my head down on his muscular shoulder.

“I also need to tell you what’s going on,” I said. His arm felt wonderful around me. I felt safe there, and I never wanted that feeling to end. “Chad sent that video to everyone at the house. The guy in the steam room with me was my personal trainer, and that was the steam room at my gym. My trainer was fired.”

“Holy shit!” he exclaimed. “What a shitty thing to do!”

“Oh, it’s all okay.” I laughed. “I had my financial adviser buy the gym today. I went in and fired the bitch manager, and I’m actually going to hire Jay to run the place. Jay’s my trainer.”

“You bought the gym?”

“Yeah. I mean, it was the least I could do,” I explained. “It was my fault. Chad was trying to get to me, and poor Jay got caught in the crossfire.”

He kissed the top of my head. “That was really sweet of you, and I get why you did it, but that’s not what I was asking. Where did you get the money to buy a gym?”

I pushed away from him and stared into his eyes. “You honestly don’t know? Chad didn’t tell you?” I started laughing. He didn’t know. He liked me for me. I felt my eyes filling with tears. My breath caught in a sob.

“Hey, hey, I’m sorry!” He grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. “I’m sorry, what did I say? Don’t cry, baby.” He kissed the tears falling down my cheek.

“I’m crying because I’m happy.” I started laughing, and almost choked. “Seriously, you don’t know?”

“Don’t know what?” He smiled at me. “What’s the big secret?”

I put my head down on his chest. “I’m rich, Dante—filthy, stinking rich.” I wiped at my eyes. “I’m so used to being judged for it . . . people either like me for it or hate me for it. I have a trust fund worth, oh, I don’t know, a hundred or so million dollars. My parents are worth close to seven hundred million dollars, give or take.”

“Wow.” He grinned at me. “You mean I’ve landed an heiress?”

“Yeah, you’ve landed an heiress.” I grinned back.

“Well, I don’t care about the money.” He kissed my forehead. “All I care about is you.”

I struggled to keep from crying again.

This was what I’d been missing my entire life. Sure, my parents loved me. Maybe their staff did, too. But never had someone else, outside of my family and the people on their payroll, cared about me and loved me. I could feel my heart swelling until it felt like it was ready to burst. I threw my arms around him and kissed him.

“Hey now, hey now!” Dante whispered. “Shhh, baby.”

I wiped at my eyes again and smiled at him. “Anyway, some of the brothers filed a complaint about my ‘conduct’ with the Executive Council and demanded a hearing on whether or not I should be expelled from the brotherhood.”

“Seriously?” He shook his head. “That’s nuts.”

“I think that was what Chad was after all along.” I shrugged. “He pretended to be my friend, but he’s always hated me. I don’t know why—”