Page 28 of Fake Dark Vows

“Honey, it doesn’t give you an advantage.” Mom smiles at her, and everyone here but Rose will understand that the matter has already been decided. “You still have to complete the tasks in the fastest time.”

“But…” Rose swallows and peers around the group as if someone might come to her rescue, her eyes finally settling on mine. “What about the children?”

“I’ll take Rose.” Damon joins in.

“Damon,” Kelly says softly. Her mouth opens and closes as if choosing her words to create the least fuss in front of the guests. “Brandon can’t go with Jennifer. It’s against the rules.”

“Rules are made to be broken, right, brother?” Damon aims a sly grin my way.

“Not in this instance.” I walk to the nearest boat and look at Rose who straightens, watching the conversation pan out like she has already relinquished control. “Coming?” I demand against my better judgment.

“You can refuse,” Damon says to her. “Your choice, Rose. Me or my brother.”

“Damon!” Kelly’s voice splits the air. “Why do you always do this?”

“Okay, everyone into their boats,” my mom says coolly. “You all have your instructions. The first couple to complete the final task, with timed proof on their cellphones, wins.”

Damon doesn’t miss a beat. He is the first to climb into his speedboat—no doubt to avoid his wife—and Jennifer isn’t far behind him. He already lost the first round this morning when I claimed Rose—he isn’t about to lose the treasure hunt too.

I clamber into a boat and take my position near the engine. The boat rocks slightly as Rose climbs in behind me, and I start up the engine, the roar vibrating inside my chest. Damon’s boat is already speeding away, leaving a foamy white trail across the water’s surface.

It rocks again, and I growl, “Sit still, or you’ll tip it over.”

“No, Brandon, wait.”

I’m not listening. I loosen the rope securing our vessel to the wooden post and steer us in the direction of the first clue, in the wake of Damon’s boat.

“No, Brandon, wait!” Rose yells.

Too late, I turn around and spot my niece in Rose’s arms, her thumb in her mouth as she watches me with Kelly’s eyes.

CHAPTER 10

Rose

“We need to turn around.”

I hug the child close to me, and she curls up in my arms, her plump body pressed up against mine. I can feel the engine vibrating through the boat as we pick up speed, and the spray on my face and in my hair. In any other circumstances, I’d sit back and close my eyes, enjoy the contrast of warm breeze and cool water on my skin, but everything about this situation is wrong, and I feel as if it’s all my fault.

Even if I’m not directly to blame, I’m the outsider. I’m being paid to look after the guests and the children, not to go gallivanting around on treasure hunts with Ruby Weiss’s eldest son and youngest granddaughter. Ruby will blame me for not keeping an eye on Georgie; Brandon will obviously blame me because the alternative is accepting some of the responsibility himself.

But worst of all, I blame myself. I allowed him to distract me for a moment, and this is the result.

“Not a chance.” Brandon doesn’t even look at me when he speaks and, even though he’s facing the other way, I can see it in the set of his shoulders that he’s in full-on game mode. He’s here to win.

“Brandon, please.” I raise my voice to be heard above the purr of the engine.

“Rose…” Georgie raises her head and peers into my eyes. “Where are we going?”

“It’s okay, sweetie,” I say. “Uncle Brandon is going to turn the boat around and take you back to Mommy.”

“Uncle Brandon is going to do no such thing.” He glares at me over his shoulder then, the wind whipping his hair into his eyes, and I force myself to concentrate on what he’s saying. Those eyes though…

I mentally shake myself. “You can’t prioritize a silly treasure hunt over a child’s welfare.”

“Watch me.” I don’t need to follow the direction of his gaze to know that he’s watching Damon and Jennifer’s speedboat in the distance. “There are life vests in the storage unit.”

“Seriously?” Anger wells inside my chest, threatening to spill out as red-hot lava. “That’s your answer to the child’s welfare?”