The Ultimate Proposition

He wasn’t supposed to be here.

Tessa blinked and gave her head a quick shake to make sure her treacherous mind wasn’t playing some kind of trick on her. But when she opened her eyes again there was no denying the reality.

Jason Robahi was indeed no less than fifteen or so feet in front of her in the crowded cabana bar.

What was he doing here? She’d checked and double-checked with her good friend Rita Paul that he hadn’t been invited to Rita and Clint’s wedding. But his presence here couldn’t have been a coincidence.

And what a presence he had. Even now, despite her strong desire to turn and flee, she couldn’t seem to tear her gaze away. Jason stood at least two or three inches taller than every other man in the bar. His wide shoulders and toned physique was attracting the attention of every pair of female eyes within a twenty-foot radius. He’d grown a close-cropped goatee since she’d seen him, which only lent an extra layer of mystery to his middle-eastern-heritage-borne looks. His bronze toned skin was touched by a hint of tan.

She happened to be familiar with every inch of that skin.

Don’t go there.

The mystery remained—why exactly was Jason back in Maui now of all times? She vaguely recalled reading about a charity his company had donated to, where an auction had been held to bid on exotic destinations with all proceeds going to a substance abuse clinic in New England. The article mentioned he’d donated a trip to Maui. Could his presence here have anything to do with that auction? But that made no sense. He wouldn’t visit the destination personally.

Then it dawned on her, a much more logical explanation. And she wanted to kick herself for not foreseeing the disastrous turn of events. He knew most of the wedding party. After all, the current groom was the brother of the woman who’d gotten married in this very spot a little over a year ago. He must have been asked by one of the invitees to come as their plus one. Something twisted in the pit of her stomach. Jason had to be here to accompany another woman. He was someone else’s date. She would have to spend close to a week watching another woman draped on his arm, dancing with him, holding him.

They’d probably kiss in the middle of the dance floor during one of the dances at the celebration. The same way he’d kissed Tessa all those months ago.

Afterward, Jason and the unknown woman would spend the night together.

Tears stung her eyes and she couldn’t even be sure if they were tears of anger or jealousy or disappointment. Most likely, it was all of the above. How could he do this to her? He had to know she would be in attendance. He had to know what seeing him with someone else would do to her. Yet, he’d accepted the invite. She wouldn’t have guessed he could be so cruel. Then again, how often had she given him the benefit of the doubt only to have the harsh open palm of reality slap her back to her senses? Yep, she’d lost count of the number of times she’d made a fool of herself when it came to this one man.

But Tessa knew she was right. The only explanation that made sense and explained why Jason was now on the island was that he was here with his latest conquest. How many had there been after her? After he’d torn her heart to shreds and walked away without a glance behind?