Date?Brooke didn’t miss the look Dena shot her, but thankfully she didn’t verbalize it. Oh, this is going to bite me in the ass. “I can’t . . .”
Gareth turned toward Dena. “Please tell him I’ll call him later this evening.”
“Yes sir,” Dena replied and scurried away.
“Gareth, this is your business. What if he was ready to give you a huge contract and you just blew it?”
He looked down at her and said, “Then it was his loss. Now, what do you want to eat? I’m thinking mango chicken over wild rice.”
Brooke shook her head. “You are so hard to figure out.”
Gareth laughed. “If you do, you’ll be the first. My brothers have been trying for years.”
I’ll be shocked if I even learn your favorite color.Her expectations were set very low. Not because she didn’t think they weren’t attracted to each other, but he was here on vacation or business, and she was here to work. It wasn’t like they met on some singles cruise or dating site. That didn’t mean she wasn’t going to enjoy their afternoon together.
Gareth never thought he’d find her lounging on the beach. His intention was to get a feel for the right location for their dinner date. He’d still like to know why she appeared to know nothing about his note. The woman had said she’d get it delivered right away. Had she tossed it instead? Anything was possible. It didn’t please him, but since it all seemed to have worked out, he’d let it slip. Besides, that wasn’t what he wanted to talk to Alex about tonight. They had much more important things to discuss.
Right now there was something else he wanted to focus on, and that was the beauty sitting beside him. Although the sandy beach wasn’t the ideal place to sit and eat, it was at least . . . private. The only intrusion was when the waiter brought their food. Brooke couldn’t even look at the man as he laid everything out. He got it, she felt guilty, although she shouldn’t. From what he gathered, she’d been working a lot. One afternoon off with a bit of pampering, wasn’t much to ask for. So why did she look so . . . uncomfortable sitting there?
“You don’t seem to be enjoying yourself,” he said.
“I am. It’s just weird.”
“Being here with me?”
Brooke shrugged. “I guess that too. But mostly breaking the rules and knowing that everyone knows about it.”
“Do you really care what anyone thinks?”
Brooke nodded. “I want to leave here with a spotless employment record.”
He laughed. “Do you think one lunch with me will do harm? Because I can talk to Alex and let him know this was all my idea. That I gave you no choice and you were forced to spend the afternoon with me.”
Her eyes widened. “Don’t you dare!”
“Afraid he’ll be angry with me?”
Brooke shook her head. “I don’t want him to think I’m that weak. If I didn’t want to be here, I wouldn’t be.”
Good to know.He didn’t try to hide his grin. “So, you do enjoy my company. I knew it.”
She wrinkled her nose and curled her lips. “Don’t get an inflated ego. It’s better than the book I was reading.”
That was funny, because he knew exactly who the author was. He wasn’t sure if Brooke knew that was Alex’s pen name. “Not a fan?”
“No. If I keep reading it, I might not be able to sleep for a month. He is very . . . descriptive.”
“I thought that was a good thing in a book.”
“Maybe a romance, but not a book like this.” He saw her shiver before she continued. “It’s so real that when I closed my eyes it felt like I was there. That scared the crap out of me.”
“It’s only a story,” he clarified.
“A very scary one. But you’re right, it’s ridiculous.”
“No. Actually it’s a compliment to the author. I’m sure he’d love to hear your feedback.” He didn’t expect her to follow through with that suggestion, but it hopefully provided her with a different way of looking at the book.
“I never thought of it like that. I’ll have to make sure I leave him a good review.” She smiled up at him. “Who would’ve thought you were so thoughtful?”