Page 15 of Grand Escape
“It’s not a big deal,” I lied. It was, but I wasn’t letting on about that.
Becca would have given me a hard time for not being honest. I could imagine her side-eyeing me, challenging my crappy thinking, and making sure not to mince her words when telling me so. Becca was always harping on me. Power was found in the truth, she believed, except when it came to her ... but I didn’t want to think about that right now.
My current raw truth was I felt a rush of relief flooding my veins over learning Tony wasn’t Rylan’s guy. Even though she’d hinted she wasn’t interested in anything with me or anyone, I wanted to chase that dream. It had been a while since I’d been in lust, and I felt almost superhuman around this particular woman.
Rylan sat up taller and finally looked straight at me. “He shouldn’t have talked to you that way.”
“It’s no problem.”
“Thanks.”
She leaned back into the chair, stretched her legs out in front of her, and closed her eyes.
We sat silently for a while until I said, “It really is different here. In the Caymans. It’s like a peaceful quiet has fallen over the world, and everything is untouched.”
“Mmm.” She nodded and her eyes popped open. If she was offended by my obvious staring at her, she didn’t mention it. “Except when the cruise ships dock and the passengers flood the island. Ugh, that’s always a mess. Tuesdays, we have the least ships, usually, which is why I like it for my day off. You’ll see later this week. There will be lots of people trying to encroach here. We don’t allow it, but they show up anyway, trying to steal chairs.”
“I may sleep in this chair, so no worries when it comes to me.”
“That’s a good tactic. Although, housekeeping may call security.”
I closed my eyes, relaxing in the sunlight. “You know, this is the best I’ve felt in a year.”
“That’s why I make the big tips. People come here and feel freaking fantastic, and pay me to make it even better,” Rylan murmured next to me.
We sat in more silence for a while, the waves crashing in the distance, until I broke the quiet with some more frivolous shit.
“A long time ago, someone told me we take a pregnant pause every two minutes. I thought they were bullshitting, but it seems to be true here.”
“Um-hmm. The air, the ocean, it all gets to you. It’s why I think better here,” she said. Apparently, she didn’t think it was a bad follow-up.
“So, today’s your day off?” I asked.
“Yep.”
I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the chair. “I know you’re a very busy woman who doesn’t like to get involved, but I’m just a guy on vacation who doesn’t want to eat alone. Think you can help me out?”
She sat up and mirrored my position, staring straight into my eyes. “I don’t know what bit you in the last year, but I can see you’re hurting. As long as you promise to leave that hurt somewhere else, allow yourself to just go and have fun, I’ll meet you in the lobby at seven.”
“Um, of course.” I loved her directness. This was a woman who didn’t try to be abstract.
I made a mental note to do some sit-ups and push-ups before we left to knock the sadness from my soul, and maybe lay off the vodka. I wanted to be a better version of myself. At least, a better version than I’d been lately.
Rylan stood. “Casual. None of those khaki slacks.”
Without waiting for me to respond, she jogged down to the water. There, she dipped her body in, water sluicing down her back, her hair wet and falling around her face. Her back was to me, and her suit formed a perfect V on her ass, exposing just enough cheek. She dipped in a second time, and then was off and running again.
I followed her down the beach until she veered back up the sand line to what I presumed was where she lived. Trying to strike the location from my brain, I went for a swim too.
Unfortunately, the water wasn’t cool enough to tamp down the fire raging in my belly. And other parts.
Rylan
“Dummy,” I muttered to myself, walking to the lobby in what I thought was the most non-date outfit I owned.
Brianna spotted me walking by the boutique. “Oh, Ry, you’re going out?”
Shit.