Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 71034 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71034 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
He smiled, then looked away. “Let’s return to the subject of you and how you’re not happy.”
“I do have great friends, but they all have partners now, ones they’re truly in love with. I’m happy for them, but I never thought I wanted that for myself.”
“And now?”
I made the mistake of letting our eyes meet. “Now I’m not sure about anything except that my friends don’t have the time they used to, and everything has changed. It’s all great for them, so I should be happy for them.”
“But it’s not great for you.”
Laurie laid a hand on my arm. Heat raced through my body at his touch, but I felt comfort along with desire. I could see the concern in his eyes. How could anyone want to hurt this beautiful man?
When I met his gaze, he jerked his hand away as if he hadn’t realized he was touching me.
“Thank you. For understanding. I’ll be fine though. I’m sure Beck has told you I can find my share of companionship when I want it.”
“Is it companionship, though, really? If it was, would you be lonely?”
That was the last thing I needed to think about standing here with Laurie. I might not have had many men tempt me to more than an extended night that spilled over into the next day, but Laurie did. And he was off-limits. “I’ll figure it out.”
“If you want to talk more about it, I’m here. Apparently, we’re kind of stuck here together. Not that you need to be my babysitter or anything. I was fine on my own before you got here.”
“And you’ll be even more fine with me.” I didn’t want to let him out of my sight. The thought of what other men and women would want to do with him made anger rush through my body, hot and vicious. I felt that way about protecting my friends, but never about someone I’d slept with.
“Worth—”
I held up a hand. “Don’t argue with me. You just said this isn’t a familiar environment. It is for me, and I’m going to show you all the ways you can enjoy yourself here.” A knock on the door interrupted our conversation. “First, I’m going to show you how wonderful the food is.”
I answered the door and several room service attendants wheeled in carts covered with domed platters. I showed them into our dining area, and they laid out a white linen tablecloth on the round dining table, then filled it with all the dishes I’d ordered.
Laurie watched wide-eyed, and he audibly gasped when a young woman set a bottle of champagne and several bottles of white wine in a bucket of ice on a stand by the table, then added a few reds next to our entrées.
“Would you like me to open one of these?” she asked, indicating the bottles of wine.
“No, I’ll take care of it.”
She set a wine opener next to the bottles then retreated. “Is there anything else you need?”
“No, thank you.” I handed the attendants their tips, and they left. Laurie stayed right where he was, still in awe of the situation.
“Come sit down.”
He frowned. “This is too much.”
“Hardly. I could have ordered more.”
“You could have ordered me one dinner.”
“What’s the fun in that?” I opened one of the bottles of white wine and poured some into each of our glasses.
“I don’t usually drink wine,” Laurie said.
“We have other options here.” I indicated the fridge. “But I’d like you to try it. It’s going to go so well with the first dishes we’re going to sample.”
9
LAURIE
Worth lifted the cover from a dish. My mouth watered when I saw a small portion of risotto topped with scallops. It tasted as good as it looked. More dishes followed, including a lightly battered stuffed grouper and a simply prepared lobster tail.
As I contemplated licking the butter off the plate of lobster, Worth said, “Do you really want me to move out of the villa?”
I considered his question. It would be for the best, but… “No.”
“Good.”
We continued sampling until, finally, Worth lifted the lid on the last of the dishes. I started to protest that there was no way I could eat another bite. Then I saw the filet mignon. I could tell how juicy it was. The steak was lying atop mashed potatoes along with spears of asparagus. The presentation was as elegant as all the other entrées had been. I wondered if ordering this much food cost extra. It had too. No way could all-inclusive mean unlimited, but to Worth cost was nothing. Would I ever really grasp how wealthy Beck’s family was?
Worth cut off a bite. I expected him to try it first. Instead, he held the bite out to me. “Go on. Try it.”
It was too much. Too intimate. If we kept up like this, there’s no way we could keep our hands off each other for two whole weeks. I should tell him to stop. I should tell him I was full, that I was going to my room.