She sent him a meaningful smile. “Well, not quite everything…but cheers.”
At her response he looked away and took a sip of champagne. A shadow of disappointment passed over his features. She peered at him above the rim of her glass as she drank to their toast.
No, it wasn’t disappointment, she thought. It was hesitation. Was there something he wasn’t telling her? Whatever it was, something didn’t feel right. She couldn’t pinpoint the source of her wariness, but her instincts triggered warning bells in her mind.
Champagne bubbles tickled her nose and the carbonation made her eyes water as the liquid slid down her throat. She set her glass down. “Carter—”
His cell phone buzzed. “Hang on a sec.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and held it up. “My broker. Probably telling me the funds transferred.”
As he thumb-typed a text in reply, her shoulders sank with the recognition that Carter had gone to so much trouble to pull his bid together at the last minute. All for nothing.
True, he was toasting to her win, but if she knew anything about Carter, he was not the type to accept second place. When he pressed send, his phone went back to its home display. The screen had a blue background, and written across the center in bright yellow letters read, Beachfront Properties, Inc.
Ellie sat up straight. Where had she seen that name before?
Carter hit the lock button. The screen went black. He shoved his phone back in his pocket and reached for his champagne.
Suddenly, the truth smacked her upside the head. Oh, my God. The fax from Neville, her broker—the funds had transferred from an account belonging to Beachfront Properties, Inc.
Reeling, she set her glass down in disbelief. “Carter, that’s your company. Beachfront Properties.”
He nodded. “For the past ten years.”
As the connections started falling into place she experienced a whirlwind of emotional fallout that left her disoriented, baffled. “That’s where my funds transferred from. Neville faxed me the confirmation this morning, and your company’s name was at the bottom.”
Carter froze with the glass halfway to his mouth. His pupils dilated a fraction. “Must be a mistake.”
Ellie scooted her stool back and stood. “A mistake? That’s a load of crap, Carter, and you know it. You were behind this,” she hissed, emotions writhing inside her.
“Honey, take a step back for a minute—”
“You manipulated everything from the start.”
Gripping the edge of the bar he pivoted to face her. “It’s not what you’re thinking. I didn’t plan for things to go down like this.”
“I’m right.” Disgust built at the back of her throat. “You had an agenda the second you set foot on the island. You still do, despite everything we’ve been through this week.”
A muscle rippled in his jaw. “And you didn’t have an agenda when we were screwing each other’s brains out in the lighthouse? You went from frigid to on-fire in less than a day. You’re saying you were innocent that whole time?”
“I was acting out of self-preservation. You were motivated by...what, Carter?” She ticked off his sins on her fingers. “Lust? Revenge? Getting me back for how I shut you out years ago?”
“Something like that,” he retorted. Then, rubbing his forehead, he lightened his tone. “Look, maybe I didn’t have the best of intentions at first. I admit that. I’m sorry, Ellie. Okay? I realized my mistake and I tried to make it right.”
“By treating me like a possession you wanted to own? And then handing me money secretly like some pathetic charity case?”
He reached for her arm. “Ellie, calm down.”
“I have every right to be furious!” She knocked his hand from her shoulder. “I’m sick of you—and every other man I’ve known—thinking you can bulldoze through my life. You tear down whatever stands in your way and then leave me to deal with the wreckage.”
He vowed, “I want to make it right.”
“How?” Her cheeks burned with rage. “How did you think you could make all your manipulations disappear? I would’ve found out, Carter. Sooner or later.”
Anger glittered in his gaze. “At least I came back. That’s more than you ever did for me.”
“Now we’re stuck in the past again.” Her hands flew to her hips. “What you didn’t know, back then, was that my father threatened to revoke my inheritance if I went with you.”
“Would that have been the worst thing in the world? Obviously, I succeeded. Here I am, handing you millionaires. But you didn’t trust me to take care of you.”