Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 362 Madeline's POV I had been wrapped in a robe on the deck, holding a glass of wine I'd barely touched, when I heard the bungalow door open. The weight of my conversation with Olivia still pressed against my chest like a knot that refused to loosen, and no matter how paradisiacal this place was, nothing seemed capable of easing the feeling that I was wing inside a bubble about to burst. That was when I heard familiar footsteps approaching. Apollo walked into the bungalow with a different energy-almost radiant.

He was wearing a light white linen shirt that only emphasized the tan he'd gotten under the Maldivian sun that day, and there was a satisfied smile on his face that told me his meeting had gone well. "Aphrodite!" he called, heading toward me. "You won't believe what I saw when I-" He stopped short when he really looked at me. "Hey. What happened?" I tried to smile, but I knew I hadn't managed to hide my mood completely. "Nothing," I said with a shrug. "I was just out here watching the sunset." He studied me for a moment, clearly not buying my evasive answer.

"Did you lose your sparkle while I was gone?" he teased, stopping beside my chair. "Want me to promise I'll never leave your side again?" "Don't be ridiculous," I replied, though I couldn't stop a small smile from slipping through. "I was just a little tired." "Tired?" He raised an eyebrow. "From what? Lying in the most comfortable bed in the world, staring at the most beautiful ocean on Earth?" "People can be tired even in paradise, Apollo." "Not in my paradise," he declared with exaggerated confidence. "This is a fatigue-free zone. No melancholy allowed. Only pure happiness and...

in the next ten seconds, I'll be forced to use...extreme measures." "Extreme measures?" I repeated, fighting the urge to laugh at the overly serious look on his face. "Nine seconds." "You're being ridiculous." Eight." "Stop it." "Seven. Six.

his arms. Warm water swallowed us whole,

been hit by a hurricane. But I was laughing. Really laughing-from deep in my chest, in a way I couldn't remember doing in a long time. The contrast was striking. Just minutes ago, I'd been sinking into heavy thoughts about my family, my future,

impossible you are, "Good impossible or bad impossible?" "I'm still deciding." we climbed out of the pool, laughing at our clothes clinging to our bodies and our tangled har two soft towels and wrapped one around me with a care that was the complete opposite of the madness moments earlier. We settled onto the loungers side by side, still slightly