Sade
“Who’s coming?” Julia asked.
“Him,” I whispered, glancing up to see if he’d changed course.
He hadn’t. He was weaving around tables and shaking hands with guests as he made his way toward our table. I noticed he had a slight limp but didn’t get the chance to think much more about it. He stopped behind Julia and Khloe, a hand on the backs of each of their chairs and his eyes on me.
I was melting. I was absolutely melting into a mushy pile of goo under the gaze of the prettiest eyes I had ever seen. He smiled, and the perfectly straight white teeth practically blinded me, looking whiter against his tanned skin.
“Good afternoon, ladies,” he said in a voice as smooth as honey.
Yep. Died. Melted and died.
I couldn’t speak. I could only stare. I felt so ridiculous, but my brain and mouth had a total disconnect, and words failed me.
“Hi,” Julia said in her typical upbeat voice. She really worked the blonde thing and was almost always perky.
“Hello,” he said, his eyes still on mine.
“Hi,” I said, managing to form the word and push it out on a breath.
“I’m Trent Gilroy. I own the hotel. How’s everything so far?” He finally looked away from me and cast his gaze upon Khloe.
Everyone loved to look at Khloe. She was a beautiful woman—like supermodel gorgeous—but she was humble. We’d been roommates for years. I loved her like a sister and wasn’t jealous of her beauty at all. Well, not all the time. I was jealous in an envious, admiring kind of way.
I watched Trent look at her and felt the familiar disappointment. It was hard hanging out with two of the most beautiful women on campus.
“We’ve only just got here, but it’s been great thus far,” Julia said. “We plan on enjoying every minute of our stay.”
“We’ve got towels, chairs, and umbrellas for you to borrow if you want to spend some time on the beach,” he said in a friendly tone. “We’ve also got bottled water for you to grab.”
“Thank you, we’ll definitely be taking advantage of that,” Khloe replied.
“How long are you ladies staying with us?” he asked, looking at me.
“A week, not nearly long enough,” Khloe answered when I had suddenly gone mute and couldn’t form words.
He nodded, still looking at me with such intensity I actually squirmed in my seat. “Make the most of your time. Are you here on vacation?”
“Kind of,” Julia said with a laugh. “We’re celebrating our freedom from school.”
“School?” he asked, his demeanor changing.
“College,” I quickly clarified.
He smiled and nodded. “I see. Well, congratulations, and if you need anything, don’t hesitate to reach out to any one of our staff. We want our guests to be happy and will make sure all your needs are met.”
The way he said it while looking at me made me blush. “Thank you,” I said, trying to sound totally cool and nonchalant but having a feeling I was failing miserably.
He nodded and walked away, moving to another table and going through the same spiel. I stared at his backside, appreciating the way his tailored pants showed off his fine physique. Okay, his fine ass. He had a fine ass, what was visible of it under the suit jacket. I sighed, taking a sip of my drink and turning to face Julia and Khloe. They were both staring at me and grinning.
“What?” I asked.
“Someone has a crush,” Julia said in a sing-song voice.
I offered a dainty shrug. “He’s gorgeous. Don’t tell me you didn’t see how good looking he was.”
Khloe was still smiling. “Oh, we saw all right.”
“He was making some serious eyes at you,” Julia teased.
I rolled my eyes. “As if. He was probably wondering what the plump girl was doing hanging out with the two models.”
“You’re not plump,” Julia said. “You know you’re beautiful. Sofia Vergara could be your sister.”
Khloe slapped her arm. “More like Sophia Loren.”
“Yes!” Julia exclaimed. “Maybe you’re distant relatives.”
They were always trying to make me feel better about myself. I appreciated it and loved them for it, but it was hard to be a size-eight girl in a size-four world. “Thanks.”
“I think if all the men in Tahoe look like him, I’m moving here,” Julia announced.
“I’ll come with,” Khloe said wistfully. “We can all be roommates and chase around the hot guys all day.”
I pointed my finger at Khloe. “You’re going to be in LA where all the beautiful people live.”
“And me?” Julia asked.
I shrugged. “You’ll see lots of beautiful men, but I’m just not sure you’re on the right team for them.” I winked.
She giggled. “That is so cliché. Not everyone is gay in San Francisco.”
“But you have better odds of falling in love with a very handsome man who wants nothing to do with what you’re packing,” I teased.
We all burst into laughter. I was going to miss them, but I knew there would be lots of texting and skyping. We would never be more than a phone call away.
“Let’s finish eating,” Julia said. “I want to get my bikini on and lounge by that pool.”
I smiled, dreading the wearing of the bikini but looking forward to some serious relaxing next to the pool with a cold drink in my hand. I had been dreaming of this vacation for months. It was the only thing that had gotten me through finals week.
I kept telling myself it would all be worth it, and I would be sitting on a sunny beach, and the stressful weeks would all be a distant memory.
It was the first day of the rest of my life.
TrentI hadn’t been able to stop smiling since I’d first laid eyes on the beautiful young woman who’d been unable to stop staring at me. I had the same problem, except I had a little more self-awareness and realized I was openly staring at her, so I pulled my eyes away. Briefly, but away all the same.She was stunning. There was something about her that drew me in. It was like a magnetic pull that I was helpless to ignore.I found myself standing at her table, openly gazing at her before I remembered who I was and where I was. I couldn’t remember ever seeing a woman that I was that attracted to. Her friends were pretty in the traditional sense, but the woman who’d caught my eye was my kind of pretty.She had a natural beauty to her that matched the natural curves. She was radiant and glowing, and I wished like hell I could have seen her standing up. I was imagining round hips to go with the round breasts. I imagined she’d have the classic hourglass figure that men drooled over back in
TrentI held up my hand, stopping Richie’s boasting about his bedroom habits before he could get started. “Linens. Are they ordered?”“Yes.”“Good. Are we set for the happy hour tomorrow?”He nodded again. “Yes. We have extra servers on hand and a shitload of champagne. I hope this extra expense is worth it. You’ll see the invoice for the champagne in that stack. I suggest you be sitting down when you look at it.”“It’s okay,” I said. “You have to spend money to make money. I want people to feel like they are getting luxury treatment. I want them to feel like their hard-earned money is appreciated and we’re not only a reasonably priced hotel, but we also have all the little extras that the five-star places offer.”He didn’t look convinced. “We’re not exactly running a dive here. We’re right up there with the five-star places.”“Yes, but we’re not there. My goal is to be at the top. I want people waiting to get into this place. I want them settling for the others. Right now, we’re prob
SadeI rolled over in the bed that I swore was made from clouds, and I looked into the sleeping face of Julia. She and I had agreed to take the room with the two queen beds, giving Khloe the master bedroom in the suite.I didn’t feel like we had settled at all. The beds were comfortable and inviting. It kind of felt like a sleepover with my best gal pal. Julia and I had been friends since we were in third grade. Friends from a distance—a very long distance sometimes, with my family bouncing all over the world.She’d gone to a different school, but we had kept in touch. We had managed to make plenty of time to hang out on the weekends, and the three of us had all become the best of friends. They were my family. They were my real support system, and I didn’t think I could have ever made it through the grueling years without them pushing me and encouraging me to keep moving forward.“I don’t want to get out of bed,” Julia moaned.“Me either, but I think that would completely ruin the pur
SadeI rolled my eyes. “Easier said than done. I’m a dork. I sound like a dork, and I look like a dork. That man is way out of my league. He was only being nice. He probably dates Victoria’s Secret models.”“I don’t know,” Khloe commented. “He looked like he wanted to eat you for dinner. It was kind of awkward. The tension was thick.”“Stop. It was not. You guys are completely exaggerating.” I felt my cheeks flush.“Oh, she’s blushing!” Julia squealed.“Stop, I am not,” I argued, knowing I was.“I think we need to see if we can find him,” Khloe suggested. “He could be your summer fling.” I gasped in horror. “No! You’re crazy. I’m not going to have a fling.”“I think you should,” Julia said. “You need to let your hair down and get wild. You’ve been buttoned up for too long. Take a walk on the wild side.” I shook my head. “My wild side is buying a movie I haven’t seen.”Khloe nodded. “This is true.”“There’s something to be said for being a good girl,” I said, lifting my chin.“Yes, i
TrentShe looked nervous. I could tell I was flustering her. Her cheeks were a pretty shade of red, and it had nothing to do with the sun.I liked that she was shy. She had a very innocent quality about her, which was new to me. Since my recent rise in financial status, it wasn’t often I encountered a woman who truly intrigued me. They were usually very obvious in their attraction, and most were very skilled at the art of flirting. Not her.I wanted to talk to her more. I wanted to ask her to have a drink with me. My ringing phone pretty much destroyed that plan.I looked at the number on my phone and saw it was the front house manager. “I have to take this. I’m going to see you again.” I looked directly at her, letting her know I found her very attractive.“Okay,” she replied, her voice so low I barely heard her.I nodded, answering the call as I walked away. “Trent here.” “Sir, I’m sorry to bother you, but we’ve got a situation here, and you said to call if there were any problems,
Trent“You’re late,” he commented.“I had some issues to deal with,” I replied.“I like when you’re late—it gives me good reason to speed,” he said with a laugh.“You speed regardless,” I said.“But now I have a good reason to,” he answered.I arrived at the lawyer’s office about ten minutes late for my appointment. I’d be charged for those minutes, so I wasn’t all that worried about running behind. I was taken right in.“Trent, it’s good to see you!” Lance Avery said, extending one of his pudgy hands toward me.I shook his hand and took my seat. “Sorry, I’m late. Business.” “No problem. I’ve got the proposal drawn up and just need you to review it.” He picked up a file and slid it across the desk to me.“You spoke with him directly?” I asked.He nodded. “I did. Nice man.”“And why is he wanting to sell?” I asked, not trusting anyone at face value. “And if he does want to sell, why isn’t it more widely known? And why sell it to me?”“In a nutshell, he’s tired of the game. He’s ready
SadeBreakfast had been amazing. We had decided to actually get out of bed and join the living downstairs in the restaurant instead of dining on room service. It had been worth the hassle of getting dressed and presentable. I had never enjoyed such delicious crepes in all my life. I could have eaten so much more, but that would have been a little cliché—the big girl eating four helpings while her skinny friends stuck to one.We took a different path, wanting to check out the grounds of the hotel, and went out a side door. We walked along a path with both sides of it surrounded by a perfectly manicured lawn with rose bushes blooming and little benches placed under shade trees. It was a beautiful garden space that I planned to visit again soon.Out of nowhere, a slobbering, short-haired beast rubbed against my legs. I looked down, initially horrified until I saw the prettiest dog in the world, attempting to wrap its body around me, all while looking up at me with the biggest smile on it
Sade“You guys,” I protested again.“This is going to be fun,” Julia said. “We’re going to a house party—on the lake. The guy is mega rich. I can’t wait to see his house!” “I don’t think he was serious,” I said again.Julia picked up one of the flirty blouses I had packed for a night out. She held it up to me and cocked her head to the side before dropping it on the bed. She reached for another one, similar in style but black with large shoulder cutouts. “Yes, this one.”I snatched it from her and turned to look in the mirror, holding it up to me. “Jeans or shorts?” I asked, giving in to the fact I was going.“Shorts,” Khloe said. “Definitely shorts. Those ones with the fringes.” I groaned. “Those are kind of short.”“Exactly,” Julia said. “They make your legs look long. They’re perfect. You can wear the wedges with them and really make your legs look long.” I had to trust them. They were both far better dressers than I was. I never put a lot of thought into what I wore. I spent a