Since they had suitcases with them, it seemed like a silly question, but Tory saw no reason to be rude. “Yes. How long have you been here?”
“We got here on Friday afternoon. We come here every year on a family vacation, although we usually come in January.” She gestured toward the teens as she continued. “The boys made the ski team this year, so a January vacation is out.”
If the woman and her family came that often, they’d probably visited much of the island. Even if they hadn’t, they might have some favorite places to visit. “Are there any places you think we should visit while we’re here?”
“I recommend the rain forest. The Arenales Caves are great too. And if you like seafood, you need to go to La Parrilla.”
“Last year, we went on trails using ATVs. It was a lot of fun,” the taller of the two teens said.
“That’s right. We did. We used a company called Tropical Adventures. You can book everything through their website.”
Ivy had penciled in some free time. There wouldn’t be enough to fit all that, but it gave her a place to start. “Thank you for the suggestions.”
The elevator doors opened to a colorful lobby with hallways extending in two directions. According to the sign, suites 1401 through 1409 were down on the left.
“Our suite is this way,” Tory said.
Photos depicting various spots in and around the hotel, as well as El Yunque National Rain Forest, decorated the hallway walls.
Duncan gestured toward one photo hung near the door when they reached their suite. “That's the fort I told you I could see from my hotel room the last time I was here.”
Before opening the door, she glanced at the photo. “It’s called San Gerónimo. After you told me about it, I looked it up. Depending on when it's open, I'm planning to visit it.” Since it was so close, a quick visit should be easy, and its size meant it wouldn't take all day to explore.
Colorful furniture filled the living room area when they walked inside, and a small kitchen, a half bathroom, and stairs to the second level were located off to their right. Additional chairs and a small table were on the balcony, and Tory pictured herself sitting out there in the morning while enjoying her coffee. Or maybe even later tonight, when they returned from dinner with some tea.
“I'm more than happy to go with you if you want company.” Duncan followed her up the stairs to the second level and stopped on the landing. “Which room do you want?”
Both rooms had their own bathroom and access to the second-level balcony. The only difference between them was that one had a king-size bed while the other contained two queen-sized ones. Of course, since she'd be sleeping alone, the bed size made little difference to her.
“Doesn't matter to me.”
“You pick,” Duncan replied.
“I'll take this one.” She gestured toward the door on her right, since it was closer to her. “It shouldn't take me long to unpack.” Some people lived out of their suitcases while on vacation. Not her. She liked everything in its place. Tory even needed her toiletries and makeup put away before she did anything else while away from home.
“Yeah, it won't take me long either. I know you don't want to meet your friends at the pool when we're done, but is there anything you want to do before dinner?”
“Wait a minute. I never said I didn't want to join everyone at the pool.”
“That's true. You said maybe, but I knew what you were thinking.”
She hated when people made comments like that, even though in this case, Duncan was right. When she’d told Ivy maybe, she'd had no intentions of meeting everyone after they unpacked.
But how had he known what she was thinking? Had he developed mind-reading abilities? If so, Tory was in big trouble, because she didn't need Duncan knowing how much she thought about him. Especially since some of those thoughts had him wearing far less clothing than he was now.
“I'll think about it while I put my things away.”
* * *
Duncan openedthe sliding glass door and stepped outside rather than grab something to eat from the kitchen, which his stomach was urging him to do. When Tory told him she'd arranged to have food delivered to their suite, she hadn't been kidding. The fridge contained fresh fruits, milk, juice, and water. A loaf of bread, a package of bagels, and bananas were on the counter. Two kinds of cereal, peanut butter, and various snacks were in the two cupboards. He hadn't looked, but it wouldn’t surprise him if more food were in the freezer. And if they weren't heading down to dinner soon, he'd pour himself a bowl of cereal and eat it with some fresh strawberries. But dinner was in less than twenty minutes, and unfortunately, Mom had drilled into him not to ruin his appetite before a meal.
Resting his forearms on the balcony railing, he looked down at the old fort while he enjoyed the tropical breeze. Earlier, when they finished unpacking, they'd walked over to San Gerónimo. Unfortunately, they'd arrived ten minutes late, and it'd already closed for the day. So rather than return to their suite, they'd visited the hotel's tropical garden and bird sanctuary before stopping at Caribe Water Adventures to see what they offered. He had booked nothing because, honestly, he'd been unable to decide between the scuba lessons and the sea trekking. Tory had made no reservations either but told him she was interested in the sea trekking or the snorkeling. Afterward, they'd gone to the hotel's patio café for coffee, but neither had ordered food, even though the display case had some delicious-looking baked goods—something he was kicking himself for now.
“I wouldn't mind having this view every day.”
At the sound of Tory's voice, Duncan turned his head. “Yeah, I know what you mean,” he agreed, although right now they were referring to very different views.
Whenever he saw Tory, she looked great. Tonight wasn't any different. Her white sundress was held up by thin spaghetti straps and ended two or three inches above the knee. She'd taken down her hair since he'd last seen her, and it hung loose, cascading over her shoulders. And now, like the last time she'd worn her hair down while with him, he wanted to run his fingers through it and see if it was as soft as it looked.