I shiver at the thought right as a fist knocks gently on the villa door.
It’s the attendant with our bags.“HOW’S THE HOTEL?”
“Amazing. I’m standing in my room right now and the ocean is like ten feet from my fingertips. All I have to do is slide this glass door open and walk out into the sand.”
Natalie groans. “You’re supposed to lie and tell me it’s not all that great. I’m suffering over here.”
“Oh, right. Sorry. Ugh, it’s horrible. So many palm trees.”
She laughs. “Nice try.”
“I wish you were here,” I admit with a glum tone. “We got your note, by the way.”
“Oh? And the chocolates?”
“Yes, thanks for those. Noah already opened them.”
“I’m not surprised. He has such a sweet tooth. Make sure he doesn’t eat them all!”
I have no plans to go back out into the living right now to stop him. Her brother can have every single one of the chocolates for all I care. I need to stay in here, behind the safety of my door. I never addressed his theory earlier. I used the hotel’s attendant as a scapegoat and hightailed it into my room under the guise of unpacking.
“How is it, anyway? Just the two of you?”
“Fine.”
She hums. “Are you mad I abandoned you?”
“How can I be mad? You’re taking care of your sick child.”
“Yeah…I still feel bad though.”
“Don’t.”
“Are you sad Von’s not there? I told Noah he had to be extra nice to you.”
I nearly drop the phone. “You told Noah we broke up?”
“Yeah…well…I just thought—”
“Natalie.”
“What’s the big deal?!”
The big deal is that if Natalie told her brother about my breakup, that means he KNEW Von wasn’t coming. He knew it would just be the two of us shacked up in paradise and he still came!
Is that a big deal or am I reading too much into it?
If not for the stupid theory he issued a few minutes ago, I would assume Noah was only here for a little rest and relaxation, but this all but proves where his intentions lie.
“You still came because you want to be here with me. Alone.”
Do I? And more importantly, does he?
HOLY SHIT.
This can’t be happening.
I’ve been so careful with my feelings for him over the years. Yes, Noah is ridiculously gorgeous. Yes, he’s a talented surgeon. And yes, I’ve heard through the grapevine that he’s a generous…uh…lover, but I kept all that information locked down deep in the recesses of my mind. I can’t entertain errant feelings for Noah. He and I have never been an option. He’s Natalie’s brother! He and I work at the same hospital! And most importantly, he’s so out of my league I doubt he even registers me as a willing female. To him, I’m probably just his kid sister’s friend, a shapeless blob he has to be nice to.
I look down at my petite figure hiding under my sundress. I’m not shapeless and I’m not a blob, I remind myself, angry that my breakup with Von left my ego so bruised.
“Lindsey,” Noah says from the other side of my bedroom door.
Natalie hears her brother and tells me she’ll talk to me later. I hang up and walk over to answer the door.
Noah’s standing on the other side, shirtless.
My brain is so slow on the uptake that I’ve stared at his broad tan chest for a solid thirty years before I finally realize he’s asking me a question.
“You want to come?”
I gulp.
Come.
Like…SEXUALLY?
I blink rapidly and he narrows his eyes, studying my weird reaction.
“Down to the beach,” he says, nodding his head in the direction of the water.
Ah.
Right.
“To the beach?! Sure!” I say, not because I actually want to go but because I feel like it’ll be more awkward if I turn him down. Why would I not want to go to the beach right now? It’s not like I flew down to Mexico to lock myself away in my room all week.
“I’ll wait for you to change,” he says, throwing a glance down my dress before I take a step back and quickly shut the door in his face. I pivot on my heels and press my back to it, squeezing my eyes shut.
This is not going according to plan.
I’ve been in paradise for like an hour and I’m already crumbling.
I imagine what Natalie would tell me if she were here and if the man in question wasn’t her flesh and blood.
Don’t take everything so seriously. Have fun! Be flirty! Enjoy your vacation!
I listen to the fictional advice generated by my own psyche and pull out the skimpiest bikini from my luggage, the one I threw into my suitcase in a brazen you-go-girl, power moment. I didn’t think it’d see the light of day, but here I am tying the red strings around my neck and back and adjusting my cleavage in front of the mirror.