It was getting more difficult to hide the details of his life from her, but he bit back the response anyway. It would raise too many questions, and if he was having trouble stepping around the subject of their career conflict, he had to assume Alexa felt the same way.
“It’s an investment,” he said, reaching for the door.
He took her hand and led her up a short walkway to the teak front door. He took in the small front yard behind high stone walls, making mental notes about renovations he would need to have done to the house to bring it up to par.
The key was tight in the lock, and it took him a few seconds to get it to turn. He opened the door and stepped back to let Alexa pass, hoping the place wasn’t too big of a mess. He’d considered a hotel, but Havana wasn’t known for its luxury accommodations and he’d ultimately decided privacy and control over their environment was more important than the potentially rough condition of the house.
Besides, he’s been paying a property management company to keep the place clean and secure since he’d bought it. He’d decided he might as well make use of their services to prepare the house for his visit with Alexa.
He closed the door behind them and looked around, taking in the high-ceilinged living room that opened directly onto the kitchen. It wasn’t bad — a bit small, but most houses in Cuba were, and this one had white tile floors and crisp white walls.
The blank slate was appealing, but not nearly as appealing as the stretch of blue that shimmered beyond the glass doors leading to the patio at the rear of the house. The water stretched as far as the eye could see, the beach hidden by the infinity pool that hung over the edge of the patio.
“Wow…” Alexa said, walking toward the glass doors. She opened them and Nick got a whiff of briny air that immediately made him feel more awake. He walked to the wall and flipped switches until the bamboo ceiling fan started to turn, then joined her on the patio. “This is incredible.”
He nodded. “It’s got potential.”
She laughed. “Potential?”
He couldn’t tell her that he’d done this before, that he owned half a dozen houses around the world — that Ronan and Declan owned just as many investment properties — and that he’d become practiced at hiring local designers to make the places shine even when he rarely visited them.
“It could use an upgrade.” He was already thinking about the cabinets and the appliances, about having someone lay pavers over the concrete patio, install new patio furniture and heaters for when the evenings got cold.
“If you say so,” she said.
He followed her to the edge of the patio where the pool seemed to disappear, making the house feel like it was floating over the ocean. She looked out over the water, her shoulders bare under a sundress with slim straps, the skirt blowing around her legs.
She was so beautiful it hurt to look at her, her dark hair pulled back into a ponytail that swung halfway down her back, tendrils escaping from the front and blowing in the ocean breeze. Her eyes were hidden behind her sunglasses, but they couldn’t hide her delicate cheekbones, the full lips he never stopped wanting to kiss.
“Will you be comfortable here for the next couple days?” he asked.
She smiled. “I think I’ll manage.”
“We should probably go to the market, pick up a few things for the house,” he said. “Then we can go for a swim if you want.”
“Sounds perfect,” she said. “When will you see Allen Clatcher?”
“Tomorrow.” He hesitated, bracing himself for a fight. “And Lex, you can’t come.”
“I know,” she said.
“You do?” It wasn’t what he’d expected.
She slipped her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his. He had to tamp down the desire that flooded his body when he felt every curve through the thin fabric of her dress.
It still surprised him how much he wanted her, how he never didn’t want her.
“I know it’s not safe for me to go,” she said. “I just wanted to be here when you talked to him.” Her brow furrowed as she searched for words. “It’s not rational, I know, but it’s… personal.”
“Because of Samantha,” he said.
“Because of Samantha, and because of what the accident took from her, from her family.”
“And from you,” he said.
Pain flickered across her features before it disappeared. “And from me.” She sighed. “Anyway, I don’t want to be a distraction. I’ll wait here while you go.”
He pulled her closer and touched his lips to hers. He looked down into her blue eyes, almost the same shade as the crystalline water rushing onto the beach below. “Thank you. I won’t be able to think about anything unless I know you’re safe.”