I was feeling immensely proud of myself with each step I took away from them, but also increasingly self-conscious with each step I took toward Adam. He was once again alone with the chesty swimsuit model. She now had her hand on his arm and he didn’t move it away. So as with the two idiot interns, I pushed through my self-consciousness, fueled by my anger.

I came up next to Adam on the opposite side of Ms. Tight Dress and bumped his arm with mine. “Hey,” I said quietly.

His head jerked in my direction, his eyes widening and his even, white teeth gleaming from the huge smile on his handsome face. He pulled me into a hug and kissed me on the cheek. I took the opportunity to throw a curious glance at Jordan’s model friend over his shoulder. She was regarding me with equal curiosity. Adam whispered in my ear. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

I turned and kissed him on his cheek and Adam straightened, turning to make introductions. “This is Carisa. We were just talking about you. Carisa, this is Mia.”

Her mouth curved into a half smile. She looked like one of those people standing on the podium at the Olympics with a bronze medal around their neck, trying to look gracious while masking their disappointment and not quite succeeding. “Hey, Mia, nice to meet you.”

“It’s good to meet you, too,” I lied. “So you came with Jordan?”

“Yes, yes, I did. He’s been seeing my roommate for a while.” She and Adam exchanged a look and then she glanced away with a smile that made my blood boil. I nestled myself closer into Adam’s side and he tightened his arm around me.

I decided the best recourse was to ignore it because making a scene would just make everything worse. I turned to Adam. “How’s the tour going so far?”

“Good. Better now.” He smiled.

I grinned back at him. “Well, I’m glad I came down, then.”

Carisa excused herself a few minutes later, claiming she was thirsty. I let out a breath of relief. Adam watched me watch her go. “So I take it Jordan told you,” he said in a flat voice.

I shrugged. “I guess I needed some motivation to come down.”

He smiled. “That was very brave of you.”

“I was getting sick of being a coward.”

He kissed me on the temple. “That’s my girl.”

I turned to him, gripping the lapels of his blazer in each hand. “I was thinking… you know it’s been over twenty-four hours since I’ve been declared NED. Do you think we can… cross a bridge tonight?”

He immediately understood my meaning. With that delicious dimple that sometimes appeared at the side of his mouth when he smiled, and a gleam in his eye, he looked out over the lawn and said, “I think that could be—very enthusiastically—arranged.”

I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “Good.”

“Do you want something to eat or drink?”

“I was going to wander over and say hi to the friends. They were at a table, last I saw.”

“Actually, I think they are hanging out on the yacht. I saw them go that way just before you came up.”

I looked over at the boat. There were people on the deck. “Oh, really? Maybe I’ll take a look there, then.”

“I think they’d be very happy to see you. The tour organizer wanted to speak with me briefly, but I’ll come over in a few.”

I turned and planted a long kiss on his mouth and he pulled me tight against him. I sighed. It felt good. I’d wanted it. And a little public display of affection never hurt when there were hungry little interns or a swimsuit model waiting in the wings, ready to pounce. If I were a dog, I’d be peeing all over my tree to mark my territory.

With that less-than-sexy image, I turned from him, a smile on my lips. It felt freeing to have fought my way through the fear of exposing myself because of my looks. The way that Adam looked at me, held me, kissed me in the middle of the crowd at his house party made me feel like the most beautiful, desired woman in the universe. And on the back of that triumph, I grinned and strutted my way over to the slip where Adam’s yacht was moored.

We hadn’t been out on it in a long time because we’d feared that my nausea would only worsen out on the ocean. But I was looking forward to when we could go again. Maybe even take a long trip down to Cabo or over to Hawaii. The thought of it made my blood sing with joy. Weeks alone on a boat with Adam. I could go for that any day of the week and twice on Tuesdays.

I found my crowd of friends all huddled around a board game at a table in the lounge. They were in the middle of a heated discussion over the rules when I slipped through the doorway. “I’m here to take your drink order.”