The Skipper & the Billionaire Playboy by Mia Caldwell

hands into fists, wincing as the cool mud squished between them. She couldn’t think like that, especially not about his family. This week was simply an illusion, and she couldn’t allow herself to grow attached to them.
    They were certainly making it difficult though, since they were welcoming her into their lives so openly and with such sincerity. They were too kind to her, and guilt ate at her.
    “When you two get married, will you have the ceremony here in the city, or will you get married on the yacht?”
    Nadia choked at the question, coughing to clear her throat. “Married?”
    “Mom, you’re terrifying her.” Kiersten sounded amused. “Mom’s just hoping for wedding bells in the near future.”
    “It’s okay if you don’t get married, dear. I’m perfectly fine with you living in sin as long as you’re making him happy.”
    Nadia’s mouth gaped open, but then she heard Kiersten giggle and realized Caitlin was teasing her. She laughed herself, even as her guilt grew. “I certainly don’t want to disappoint you, Caitlin, but I wouldn’t expect a wedding ceremony.” Abruptly, she realized she might be killing the pretense of the relationship, so she quickly interjected, “Sawyer and I haven’t even talked about the future really. We’re nowhere near that point yet.”
    The woman who wanted to be her mother-in-law sighed softly. “Oh I suppose you have all the time in the world, with you both being so young, but I’m anxious to see him settled and happy. He’s such a wanderer, and I fear he’ll never find exactly what he’s looking for.”
    Nadia sighed too. “That could be correct, but I can’t say.” She bit her tongue, realizing she’d almost blown the façade again. “As I said, we aren’t that serious yet.”
    Kiersten snorted. “You might think that, but it’s clear to me that when you two are together, there’s something special there. You can barely keep your hands off each other, and your eyes say it all. It might not be wedding bells, but you two will definitely be getting serious in the near future. Mom will be happy, and Grandfather can stop grousing about Sawyer traipsing the globe in his little boat and shirking his responsibilities.”
    Her mouth was abruptly dry, and she wanted to believe it was the detoxing effect of the mud bath, and not Kiersten’s words. Surely, his sister was seeing what she wanted to see? Sure, there was a slight spark between them, an attraction, but it was nothing more than that. They barely knew each other, so how could it be? She didn’t know how to refute Kiersten’s statement without revealing too much about the true nature of their relationship, so she remained quiet. When a spa attendant offered her a glass of champagne a few minutes later, she gulped it down to clear her dry mouth, even though she risked clouding her thoughts.
    “What would you like for Sawyer?” she asked Caitlin and his sister as she returned the glass.
    “I’d just like him to be happy,” said Caitlin. She sighed softly. “He certainly deserves that after everything...”
    “Yes, he does. I wish Grandfather would cut him a little more slack,” said Kiersten.
    Nadia remained quiet. They seemed to think she knew what they were talking about, that she had a greater depth of intimacy with Sawyer than she did, and if she probed too deeply or protested too much, she risked running the charade.
    The guilt leaned heavily on her to do just that—to confess and beg forgiveness. It hadn’t been that bad before she’d met them, but now she hated what she was helping him do to his family. It was awful to give them hope that there was a relationship between her and Sawyer, when there was nothing but dollars and zeros instead. Suddenly, she knew she couldn’t maintain this pretense for an entire week. As soon as they returned to the Sinclair residence, she was going to track down Sawyer and tell him she couldn’t go through with this.
    Her heart seized at the thought,