“Answer a lot of questions about Wyatt. I know you’re asking because you care, but I really just need to be with you guys today and have fun. Wyatt told me that I wasn’t even supposed to utter the word McKendrick’s today. I was supposed to be totally lazy and decadent, and that’s what I want to be.”
“Great! Total decadence works for me,” Serena said with a grin.
“Sounds fantastic. So where should we start?” Molly asked.
“Let’s start with chocolate, and then double chocolate—maybe triple chocolate—and go from there,” Alex said.
“Chocolate what?” Jayne asked.
“Does it matter? It’s chocolate, Jayne,” Serena said.
“Excellent point,” Jayne agreed.
So they ate chocolate, and other things a bit higher up the food pyramid. They drank, shopped, and talked nonstop. They tried on clothes they would never wear in public, shoes too high to walk in. And Alex indulged in her secret weakness—wild earrings she bought but could never find a place to wear. They reminisced about incidents in their past and shared private jokes. And if there were moments when the conversation slowed, when Serena looked sad, Molly appeared worried, Jayne seemed heartbroken or Alex drifted away to thoughts of Wyatt, none of them discussed those things. They had this one no-worries-allowed day, and they didn’t intend to waste it.
But eventually the day ended. Teary goodbyes were said. Five minutes after all her friends left, Alex got into the limo and turned toward McKendrick’s.
As if on cue her thoughts turned to Wyatt. She remembered the sound of his voice, how he had tried to protect her from the view of Jenna and the tourists, how he had promised not to let anyone touch her, how she’d felt when he had kissed her.
Her lips began to tingle, and suddenly the limo seemed to be moving too slowly. She wanted to see Wyatt. She couldn’t wait to see Wyatt.
That couldn’t be a good thing, and yet when she caught her first glimpse of him, it felt like a very good thing. That tendency to salivate at the sight of him like some Pavlovian puppy was going to be a problem.
If she let it.
Woof, she thought, as she smiled and reached out to take his hands. “Thank you so much for today, Wyatt. It was exactly what I needed.”
She rose on her toes and kissed him on the cheek, her silly palm tree earrings dangling. Then she realized that they had an audience. Katrina, the restaurateur who obviously coveted Wyatt, was standing nearby.
Wyatt read Alex’s distress. She hadn’t considered the possibility of an audience…although they often had one. That was how she operated: straightforward, nothing held back. She would never consider not offering her thanks or her help if she felt either was needed. It was one of the most appealing things about her, and one that made him insane with worry for her. Someday someone would take advantage of her giving nature. Again. It had better not be him.
“My, aren’t we enthusiastic?” Katrina said, in that sultry, snotty way that had never bothered Wyatt before. Maybe because she usually reserved it for people who deserved it. Alex didn’t.
He shot Katrina a sheathe-your-claws look. She shrugged.
Then Alex did something he hadn’t seen her do before. She straightened her shoulders, emphasizing her full height. She was wearing silly but cute little dangling palm tree earrings that should have looked ridiculous but somehow didn’t. Alex was just an inch or so taller than Katrina, but it was enough to give her an edge.
She pulled her shoulders back. Then she looked down her pretty nose and smiled a truly feline smile. “Enthusiastic? I’m always enthusiastic, Katrina. You should try it. I hear it’s wonderful at preventing age lines.”
Ouch! How would Alex know that Katrina was touchy about nearing her thirtieth birthday? This was going to get ugly. He needed to step in before Katrina did some serious damage.
To his surprise, Katrina laughed. “So, the kitten has claws? Touché, Alex. I totally had that coming, but who knew you’d follow through? Interesting. I do appreciate a woman who doesn’t back down. Not that we’re going to be friends or anything.”
Alex blinked. Then she smiled. “Not that we are.”
“Nice earrings.” It wasn’t a compliment.
“I think so.” She shook her head, sending the little palm trees dancing.
“So…” Katrina went on. “Wyatt let you have a day off to play while he was here killing himself?”
“That’s enough, Katrina,” Wyatt cut in. “I don’t make my employees work seven days a week.”
“I don’t know why not. You do most of the time.”
“I own the place. I get to decide when I work. Now sounds good.”
“Is that a not so subtle hint for me to get back to Gendarmes?”
He smiled. “I appreciate the tip about the reviewer coming here tomorrow, Katrina. Thank you.”
She returned the smile and turned to Alex. “Since you’re going to be only a very temporary fixture here, I guess I can toss you a bone. I do like the earrings.” And she sauntered out, waving to Wyatt.
When she had gone, Wyatt looked at Alex. She was studying him, a frown line creasing her pretty brows. He was tempted, so very tempted, to gently trace a line right down that frown with his fingertip to get her to smile. The thought caught him off guard. He was not a man given to whimsy.
“What?” he asked.
“You do work all the time,” she said. “I know you want McKendrick’s to show well to the reviewers. I take it that Katrina’s got some hint that another one is on the way, and of course that means more hours for you. But do you ever take time off? Since I’ve been here you haven’t taken a break except for those couple of hours the other day. Weren’t you supposed to stay away all day?”
He had been. And he’d come back because she’d been invading his thoughts. “I had something to do,” he said.
“Wyatt,” she drawled.
“Alex,” he drawled back. “Don’t worry. I’ll take time off.”
“When? Don’t you ever need to just…kick back? What do you do then?”
Wyatt almost smiled. No one but Alex would ever ask him about “kicking back.” As for what he did…suddenly he had another burning desire to show her the Haven. That should have alarmed him. No one even knew he owned it. He’d never taken anyone there. And he never shared secrets with another person. Not Katrina. Not Randy. But…
“What do I do? Come on. I’ll take you there.”
“There?”
He shrugged, trying to look casual even though he felt anything but. “I have another hotel.”
She blinked. “No one ever told me that.”
He looked directly into her eyes. “That’s because I’ve never told anyone.”
Her eyes widened.
“You don’t have to come,” he said. And then he realized what this sounded like. A tryst. A man who might be planning on taking advantage of her. “If you’re worried, I can tell you that I’m not intending to jump you.”
She smiled and shook her head, those little earrings swinging wildly. “I’m not worried. I’m…I’m honored to be your first.”
Heat sizzled through him, even though he’d known she had meant that in a completely innocent way. She, however, had obviously finally realized how her words had sounded, and she blushed. Actually blushed. It was charming. She was charming. And he burned for