He straightened his shoulders and headed to his table. It wasn’t fair to the associates who’d earned this incredible getaway to have to deal with a moody boss, but when he heard Rachel laugh throatily at something Preston said, he thought this dinner might be worse torture than serving time for the woman who’d betrayed him.
* * *
Though Preston was charming, funny, handsome, and attentive, Rachel couldn’t keep her eyes from straying to Abe throughout dinner. He’d said she was exquisite and beautiful. Though she’d teased him about it, he truly didn’t seem like the type to throw around empty compliments. Could he be sincere and believe she was exquisite and beautiful? She could easily say the same about him. There was something about him that just appealed to her, far above any of the men she’d dated before her accident. Powerful, confident, handsome, all those described Abe, but it was something else. He’d been through something that had changed him from steel to titanium. She wanted to get to know him, find out about the detours in his life.
Maybe he’d lost someone close to him, that might be it, that depth of character, yet pain in his eyes. It reminded her of Isaac. Her brother had done and seen things in the military that had changed him, and she thought Abe shared that same almost haunted look sometimes. Maybe he’d been burned by someone he loved or, she thought bitterly, burned in an explosion. She pulled her hair tighter around her neck, hoping Abe hadn’t been through pain like she’d known. She’d been knocked out initially and then kept heavily sedated, but the recovery had been horrific.
“Is it Abe that’s got you so distracted?” Preston asked from far too close.
Rachel whirled and then leaned back against the padded chair, eating a bite of salmon and giving Preston time to move back into his own space before she answered. He kept looking at her as if waiting for her answer meant everything to him. He was great with people and attentive, which she thought were important qualities for a manager, but she didn’t need him to be quite so attentive to her.
Rachel dabbed her mouth with her napkin. “He’s an interesting man.”
“That he is.” There was a hint of something in Preston’s gaze that made her uneasy, but then it was gone and his deep-blue eyes was full of easy humor again.
“You’ve been friends a long time?” she asked.
“Oh yeah. Met on a national FCA lacrosse team our junior year of high school and then ended up roommates and teammates at Syracuse.”
“FCA?”
“Fellowship of the Christian Athletes.”
So, Abe was a Christian. She liked that, but what was that underlying hardness and grit about? He wore it like a second skin. “Did he serve in the military?” she asked abruptly.
“No.” Preston’s gaze was intent on her. “Why would you ask that?”
She took a sip of her water and shrugged. “I don’t know. Just trying to get a bead on him. There’s something in his eyes …” She trailed off, realizing nothing could come of her obsessing over a man. Her first entry into life or society or whatever you wanted to call it since the accident, she definitely didn’t need to be rushing to date the second man she’d seen. He’d asked her to go on a walk on the beach.Maybe I will take him up on that. A smile played on her lips at the thought.
“He’s the dark, mysterious type, right?” Preston smiled easily and lifted his wine glass as if saluting her. “Maybe you’ll get through to him … no other woman has been able to since …”
Rachel’s heart thumped a little faster. She risked a glance at Abe. He was focused her way. When he caught her gaze, he lifted his chin and gave her a secretive smile then refocused on the conversation at his table. What had happened to him? The puzzle of it was enough to make her forget her own troubles and insecurities, which she liked almost as much as she liked flirting with him.
“Since?”
Preston shook his head. “Sorry. Please forget I said anything. So, what do you think of your brother’s investment so far?” He spread his arms to indicate the fancy dining room but she knew he meant the entire island.
“It’s singularly impressive. The perfect vacation retreat in my mind. Luke will be thrilled with how well-kept everything is and how fabulously the staff treats the guests.”
“Thank you.” Preston bowed his head slightly as if he deserved all the praise for the lush island retreat.
“I especially like how the guests don’t even need to carry a key card or wallet as everything is included.” Since most of her clothing didn’t have pockets and she loved leaving her cell phone in the room and being disconnected, it was wonderful to not be hiding a keycard or money in her bra.
“I think a lot of guests like that, and who could complain about drinking daquiris until you’re sick or spending an entire day in a state-of-the-art spa if you want to?”
“Good point, or if you’re a teenager all the ziplines, adventure course, or scuba diving you can take?” She looked squarely at him and asked, “Do the staff complain about not getting extra tips?”
His mouth and eyes tightened but he shook his head easily. “They’re well compensated and the guests often leave generous tips at the end of their week’s stay.”
Rachel studied him. He was hiding something, but what? Luke thought Preston might be skimming from the employee funds, but he didn’t know. The former owner had trusted Preston implicitly and bragged about how smart and competent he was. Preston did payroll and minor accounting because the resort wasn’t that large. Luke and his wife, Mar, had given a couple of friends a week at the resort shortly after they bought it in January. Their friends had overheard some employees complaining that the pay was lower than they’d originally been promised and the tips weren’t always enough to make up for the lack. The employees left their families for six to nine months then returned home for six to eight weeks, depending on their job and status with the company, similar to a cruise ship. Luke wanted to make sure they were well-compensated so he would not only be good to his people but have faithful, happy employees who pampered his high-dollar clients like they would expect at a unique and impressive resort such as this.
“Do you think Luke and his lovely wife will come stay soon?” Preston asked as the waiter took their dinner plates and immediately served Rachel’s cheesecake and Preston’s tiramisu.
“I don’t know.” Rachel replied stiffly as she took a bite of cheesecake. The cake was creamy, rich, and delectable and the thinly sliced ripe mango, passionfruit, and pineapple were sweet with a creamy coconut sauce that seemed to melt on her tongue. She forgot about her quest to figure out what Preston was up to, and even to sneak glances at Abe, as she savored every bite.
Preston smiled secretively at her as she put her fork down and declared, “That was the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten.”
“I’ll know what to bring if I ever need to bribe you.”
She should’ve laughed. She thought he’d said it as a tease, but there was something instantly uncomfortable about him saying he would need to bribe her. You didn’t care to bribe somebody unless you had something to hide.
At least enough time had passed that she felt she could thank him for the pleasant conversation and excuse herself. As she walked out of the restaurant, she felt eyes on her. She glanced over and saw Abe staring at her. “Beach?” he mouthed.
She smiled and nodded, unable to resist the chance to meet up with him again. Their last conversation was far too short. As she strode from the restaurant, she realized she wasn’t even worrying if her hair was in place. Abe had glimpsed her scars the first time he saw her, and he didn’t seem bothered by them at all. In fact, he seemed as interested in her as the many men who flocked to her before the accident. It made her wonder: were those female professors at Harvard right and she was going to terrify people, especially children, or were her brothers and Eve right and the scars didn’t make her repulsive? The real question was—was Abe an anomaly, something special, or could there be others who would react so kindly to her scars?