Sade
I 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, it says boring,” Khloe said. “You only live once, and we are in a place where no one knows you, and there is like a ninety-nine percent chance you will never see any of these people again. No one is going to know you. You can cut loose and take on a whole new personality. Let’s give you a fake name, an alter ego.”
“No thanks.”
“Jade,” Julia said, clearly getting excited about the idea. “We’ll call you Jade. You’re a princess from some little island, and you’re looking for some fun.”
“Why don’t you be Jade?” I shot back.
“Because I have plenty of wild memories to fall back on when I’m eighty,” she answered easily. “You need to have one week of crazy that is going to make you smile when you’re old and gray.”
“I agree,” Khloe said, bobbing her head up and down.
“Come on.” Julia smiled and jumped up. “Let’s get dressed and get down there.”
We piled the breakfast dishes on the table and got into our swimsuits. Mine was far more conservative than what Julia and Khloe were wearing. I didn’t have their bodies.
They were thin and beautiful, and I was—well, thin was not a word that would ever be associated with me. I wrapped the black gossamer wrap around my hips, skillfully hiding the bulk of my butt and thighs.
The three of us made our way down to the pool. They stripped down to their bikinis and found three open chairs for us to lay out on. I piled my thick brown hair on top of my head before putting in a clip to keep it up. I stretched out, letting the sun bathe me in hot rays. It wasn’t long before the heat became a little too much for all of us.
Khloe and Julia dove in the water. I chose to grab one of the pool floats, carefully climbing aboard and using my hands to paddle to a nice resting place along the edge, away from the splashing swimmers.
I closed my eyes, and my feet dangled in the cold water. I was completely relaxed, feeling fabulous about life, when a shadow passed over me and stayed. I opened my eyes to see who was blocking my sunlight and nearly flipped off the float.
“Hi,” Trent, the tall, dark, crazy-handsome owner of the hotel, said in a husky voice.
“Hi,” I squeaked out the word.
He was grinning, the smile sexy as hell. “Enjoying yourself?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
I felt like a complete dipshit. I was brilliant, book smart, and intelligent, but whenever he came around, I turned into a blubbering idiot. I could feel my cheeks turning red. It was hard to be such a bumbling fool.
“I didn’t get your name yesterday,” he said, looking at me like he could see right through me.
“Sade,” I blurted out. “Sade Jones.” I wanted to slap my hand to my head for giving him my last name.
He squatted down, and a brief glimpse of pain crossed his face as he extended his hand. I leaned forward, doing my best not to dump myself out of the float as I shook his very firm, large, hot hand.
“It’s good to meet you, Sade,” he said, giving a brief shake before getting to his feet. I noticed he winced and then leaned his weight on the other leg. “Is everything to your liking?”
I grinned, nodding. “Absolutely.”
“It was nice to meet you, Sade Jones,” he said in that smooth voice. “I knew a Jones once. Great man.” He looked thoughtful.
Julia appeared out of nowhere, splashing her hand in the water. “Are you this nice to all of your guests?”
My eyes went wide. I wanted to slap my hand in the water and splash her in the face to make her shut up. She was so unpredictable.
“I’m not,” he replied.
“But you’ve sure been especially nice to us,” she cooed.
He gave her a funny look. “I’m always nice to the gorgeous ones.”
I was sure I was going to melt into the float. His easy grin reminded me of a precocious schoolboy. He had a hard edge about him, but when he smiled like that, he looked young and carefree. I could see the wrinkles around the corners of his eyes and guessed him to be in his thirties, too old for me I surmised.
“You’re a flirt,” Julia said with a laugh.
He shrugged a shoulder. “I’m not flirting. I’m only stating the facts. I see a beautiful woman, I’m going to tell her.”
His eyes went back to me.
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
TrentI made my way through the crowd of people hovering in the open living area that overlooked the back deck and the lake. Mira was giving me the look from the dining room. I knew she had something to say, and I was trying to get to her, but I kept getting stopped along the way by guests that wanted to chat about the weather, compliment my house, or ask about business.I excused myself and almost made a clean break for the kitchen where Mira had disappeared to when Richie grabbed my arm.“Where are you going?” he asked in a low voice.“I need to talk to Mira,” I said irritably. “She’s been trying to get my attention for the last fifteen minutes.” “You need to be nice to your guests,” he said quietly. “These are some of the major players in the area. You’ll want them on your good side. That guy over there owns one of the top ski resorts. We want him to send us his overflow.” I groaned. “That’s what you’re here for. I don’t do this whole schmoozing thing well. I need to check with M
Trent“Hi,” Julia said, looking up at me with a big smile.“Hi,” I said, startling Sade. Her head whipped around, looking up at me with surprise.“Hi,” she stammered, her cheeks blushing again.I liked how often she blushed. I kicked off my shoes, rolled up my pant legs, and sat down beside Sade. “Enjoying yourself?” I asked her.She nodded. “Yes, thank you.”I noticed her glass was empty. I pulled my feet out of the pool and stood up before waving at one of the waiters moving through the crowd with a tray filled with glasses of wine. I took the entire tray and carried it back to the edge of the pool.“Here you go.” I balanced the tray on one hand and handed her a glass before offering glasses to her friends.“Thank you,” Khloe said, grinning. “You are a full-service host.” “I try,” I said with a wink, taking one of the glasses and sitting back down beside Sade.“Have you lived here long?” Julia asked.I shrugged a shoulder. “About two years.”“Is that how long you’ve owned the hotel
Sade“He’s going to come back,” Julia said, sitting beside me at the table we had found near the edge of the patio.I took a bite of the pasta I had scooped on my plate at the buffet. “He has an entire house full of guests. He’s not coming back.”“Yes, he will,” Khloe said. “He’s into you.” “Why? Why would he be into me? Did you see the blonde? I’m positive she’s a model. I think I’ve seen her on billboards. That’s who he is going to want to hang out with. He’s just a nice guy.” I shrugged a shoulder.“Girl, you don’t see how pretty you are,” Julia said with a firm nod. “He does. I assure you. I saw the way he was looking at you. We both did. He is so into you, and I think he will absolutely find you.”I wasn’t sure I wanted him to find me. I felt like such a bumbling idiot whenever he was around. He was gorgeous, and I felt truly flattered he had talked to me at all, but I wasn’t foolish enough to believe he was going to choose me out of all the women roaming about.“What if he’s th
SadeI looked at Trent, smiled, and shook my head. “I don’t really dance. At least, not in public.”His deep chuckle vibrated around me. “Me either. I look like an octopus. On ice.”I burst into laughter, slapping my hand over my mouth. “Oh my god. That image.” I shook my head.“Sorry, but I have no coordination,” he said. “I can shoot straight and pack an eighty-pound ruck, but damn if I can get my feet to dance. Or my body.” “I know what you mean. I feel like a walrus when I’m out there.” I laughed.“No way. You would look hot. Is there any way I can convince you to get out there and shake your thang?” He waggled his brows.I shook my head. “Definitely not. That is never going to happen. Not when I’m sober at least.”“Hmm, that sounds like a challenge.”My eyes widened. “No. I’m not getting wasted enough to dance like I’m alone in my apartment.”He had a sparkle in his eye, a look of pure mischief. We talked and drank and talked some more. He showed no interest in anyone else. He m