“Lucky for you, I like to sit with handsome guys on the beach, too.”
“Looks like we’re both in luck.” He stretches out on his lounge chair, looking up. “I’m not going to lie. I think Jasmine arranged this whole couple’s dinner just to get the two of us alone.”
“You do?”
“Yeah.”
“What makes you think that?”
He looks at me. “She’s been talking about you for a long time. I probably know more about you than you think.”
My face feels warm. “Like what?”
“Let’s see. Your eyes are baby blue, which Jasmine is jealous of because she thinks she would be unstoppable with blue eyes. You two met in boarding school and you’re the sister she always wished she had. You’re not a fan of Jafar, but I can’t blame you for that.”
“She said that?”
He grins. “No, that’s just something I’ve observed. I get it. He’s intimidating and a dick.”
I mean, he’s not wrong. I’m just glad he didn’t observe how much I’m lusting after Jafar. Maybe love and hate really are different sides of the same coin. Both feelings certainly feel maddening.
“How long have you worked for him?”
“Since I turned eighteen, so ten years.”
“Is he a good boss?”
“I can’t complain. Things have been different since our roles have changed. We have more power, and there are a lot of things that come with it that I didn’t expect.”
“Like what?”
“Like getting to sit on a beach with Jasmine’s best friend.”
I’m the one laughing. “Come on. There have to be other things.”
He thinks. “I didn’t expect people to change toward me. I’m a nobody, but now that Jafar has power, everyone under him has a bit of power, too.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
“In our line of work, it can be.” He gets a mischievous look on his face. “Enough serious talk. Want to play a game?”
I’m reminded of being on the phone with Jafar the other night, and I get warm all over. No! I shouldn’t be thinking about him. In fact, what I need to do is finally get a life of my own so I can stop lusting over him.
“What kind of game?”
He wiggles his eyebrows. “A drinking game.”
“Sure.”
I mean, why the hell not?
He holds out his hand and I take it. I wait to feel the spark as we touch, but there’s nothing. Not even a tiny one. Maybe it just takes time? Hand in hand, we walk back to the house. He explains the rules of the game, which has me laughing.
“We’re really going to watchTwilightand take a shot every time Bella bites her lip?”
“You’re laughing now, but we’re going to be so drunk.”
In the house, he produces a bottle of cinnamon whisky from the kitchen.