“It’s been recently renovated, and we’ve been at max capacity ever since. Wilder London needs an assistant manager for the location. I think you’d be an excellent candidate for the job,” Alex says.
My mind is spinning with the possibilities. “What about the Vegas location?”
“Same position. Neither of them have been posted yet. Both employees gave their notice first thing this morning. I’m sorry to lose them in those positions, but they’re both remaining with the company in a different capacity.” He sends me a look, one I can’t quite decipher. “When I received the emails letting me know, I immediately thought of you.”
“I’m flattered.” I rest my hand against my chest, hoping I can calm my racing heart.
“You deserve it. You’re a hard worker, Kelsey.” He flips open a file I didn’t even notice was sitting in front of him. “But you have no college experience, which is usually a requirement for an executive position.”
My heart starts to sink. Why’d he get my hopes up if that’s the case? “I’ve had to work multiple jobs since I lost my mom. I never got a chance to go to college.”
“I know.” He sends me a sympathetic look. I told him a little bit about my life during our initial interview. A brief summary. He doesn’t bring it up, which I prefer. He knows how to keep things strictly business, unlike other bosses I’ve had in the past. “As I just mentioned, we require a bachelor’s degree for executive positions, especially here at the corporate office. Or we require experience within the chain. This is why I’m telling you about these positions. I wanted to see if you’re interested in interviewing for either of them.”
“I’m interested,” I tell him eagerly, making him chuckle.
“Good. I’d hoped you would be. If you want to stay with Wilder, it would be a smart move to take a position at one of our hotels. A management position would be a big responsibility,” he says.
“I know,” I say, fighting the nerves that suddenly want to take over me.
“One I think you’re capable of, or else I wouldn’t make this suggestion.” He smiles faintly. “You can work at one of the hotels for a year or two. Maybe a couple of them, and then eventually, if you want, you can come back here and work for me.”
I could leave here. Try something new, live somewhere new. “When are the interviews supposed to happen?”
“Soon. We’ll want to fill both positions ASAP so training can start.” He tilts his head. “So you are interested, correct?”
“Definitely,” I say, my voice firm.
“In which hotel?”
“Both of them.”
He laughs. “That’s what I was hoping. Well then, I’ll let Celeste know you’d like to interview and she can start putting everything together for you.”
“Will I have to go to Vegas and London for the interview?” Shit, I can’t. I don’t have a passport.
“We can video chat or Zoom or whatever. But I would recommend you start the application for your passport today.” He rises to his feet and I do too, in a daze as he reaches out to shake my hand. “I’m glad to hear you’re interested, Kelsey. I know you’re going to make a great manager someday.”
“I appreciate the compliment, but I don’t have the job yet,” I tell him.
He winks. “I have all the faith in you.”
“Well, Kelsey, looks like you’ve finally turned into one of us,” Stella says as she settles into the chair next to mine.
We’re at Tuscany, the restaurant Stella’s older brothers own in downtown Carmel, at one of the bigger tables in the back. I got here at five-fifteen and immediately ordered a bottle of wine.
“What do you mean?” I ask as I pour Stella a glass.
“You’re calling emergency meetings like the rest of us. It must be something serious.” She glances around the empty table, her fingers curled around her glass. “Am I the first to arrive?”
“Considering you work pretty much across the street, yes.” I’m practically bouncing in my seat, I’m so eager to tell her about my new job prospects. But I’d rather wait until everyone else arrives and I can explain everything all at once.
“Who else is coming?”
“Sarah, Caroline, Amelia and Candice.” I miss Eleanor so much. I wish she were here. I’m tempted to FaceTime her right before I tell everyone my news.
Though maybe they won’t be as excited for me as I am for myself. I don’t know, I still feel a little unsure about my friendship with this group of women. And I know that’s my own insecurities shining through, since they’ve never given me any reason to doubt them. It’s more like I doubt myself.
“The whole gang, huh? This must be big.” Stella’s eyes go wide. “Please tell me you’ve finally started banging sweet, sexy Theo on the side.”
I was taking a drink at the exact moment she says banging sweet, sexy Theo and I nearly do a spit take. Instead, I choke on my wine and start coughing. Stella watches me patiently, reaching out and patting me on the back until the coughing finally subsides.
“I’m guessing it’s true,” Stella says.
I don’t want to lie to her, so I try to divert instead. “He’s just a friend.”
“A very bangable friend. Seriously, he’s getting hotter as every day passes. I saw him jogging on the beach yesterday. In shorts. That’s it.” Stella waves her hand at her face as if she needs to cool off. “Had to act like it was no big deal since I was with Carter, but you know. Your ‘friend’ is smokin’.”
I think of his naked chest. His naked everything. His rather impressive penis. I cannot reveal my secret to Stella, no matter how tempting. No way. “He’s been working out a lot,” I say nonchalantly.
“And it shows. Seriously, Kelsey, why wouldn’t you bang him? You two spend enough time together as it is. It only makes sense you two will eventually end up together. I was surprised you weren’t with him yesterday,” Stella says.
I’m surprised too. We like to go for runs together, especially on the beach. “Where did you see him?” I keep my tone as neutral as possible.
“At Carmel Beach. Carter and I were taking a walk yesterday afternoon and we recognized him. Had to yell at him to get his attention since his AirPods were in his ears, but we chatted for a while.” Stella inherited her grandmother’s gorgeous little house that sits right by that beach, while her grandmother moved into a condo. Now her nonna has a better social life than all of us put together.
“Oh. Nice.” I take a big gulp of wine, dying to ask what they talked about. But it’s none of my business.
“He mentioned you.”
I go completely still. “What did he say?”
“That you two are bangin’.” Stella grins.
My mouth drops open. “He did not.”
Now Stella starts laughing. “You’re right. He didn’t. But the guilty look on your face just gave you away. I need all the dirty details.”
My face goes hot. Holy shit, I’m blushing. And I don’t blush over anything. “You tricked me.”
“I sure as hell did.” Stella looks very pleased with herself. “Come on, K. You can’t keep all that inside of you. You need to confess your darkest secret.”
I glance around, ready to spot one of our friends approaching the table, but no one’s here yet. Not even Caroline or Sarah, and they both work nearby. “Fine.” I scoot my chair closer to Stella’s and lower my voice. “We might’ve—fooled around.”
“Fucking finally!” Stella exclaims.
I rest my hand on her arm. “I don’t want anyone else to find out, though.”
Stella’s expression turns bewildered. “Why not? We are the perfect friend group to help you out with this. Everyone has advice to offer. We’ve all gone through some crazy starts to our most recent relationships, trust me.”
“Right. I know.” I nod, contemplating what Stella said. Why am I so scared to tell them the truth? Am I afraid they’ll judge me? These ladies are the most non-judgey people I know. They’ll probably high-five me for finally hav
ing sex with Theo. And they wouldn’t make me feel guilty for not wanting to take our relationship further either. They’d support me no matter what.
But I’m not big on opening myself up to anyone. Certainly not my family. Never really to any of my friends. The men in my life? Nope. I keep that as casual as possible. So having this group of friends I hang out with regularly, along with Theo…
Is completely out of my norm.
“Think about it.” Stella pats my arm in a motherly gesture. “Once the girls get here and the wine is flowing and we’re all fat and happy and full of carbs, drop your Theo bomb and ask for advice, if you want. We will all have something to say.”
That’s what I’m afraid of.
“And it will all be positive,” Stella adds, as if she’s had a glimpse into my doubtful mind.
I smile at her. “Okay. I’ll think about it.”
“Good. But in the meantime, if you want to share any sexual details about Theo in the sack, I’m all ears,” Stella says with a laugh.
“We never actually made it to a bed,” I say, trying to suppress my smile.
Stella’s laughter dies, though her eyes still gleam. “Do tell.”
So I do. I share most of the details, though not all. It feels good to get it out, to confess to someone what Theo and I have done. What I still want to do with him, despite knowing it’s a huge mistake.
“But is it?” Stella asks when I finish my story.
I frown. “Is it what?”
“A mistake. You and Theo. Why can’t you be in a relationship,” Stella explains.
I shrug. “I don’t know.” Because he’s still in love with Jessica? God, I can’t say those words out loud. Then it makes my worry—and his potential feelings—all too real.
“He probably doesn’t see me like that,” I say when Stella still hasn’t said anything. I look around the restaurant yet again. Where are our friends? I need them to save me from this conversation.
“Please.” Stella scoffs. “He fingered you in his parents’ guesthouse like he has no control around you. He definitely sees you like that.”
I am not one to get embarrassed over my sexual experiences, but when Stella puts it like that, it’s a little mortifying.
“It would be a mistake if we became involved,” I continue.
“For who? Not you guys. You seem totally into each other.”
I send her a mean look. “You make it very hard for me to justify my not wanting to be with him.”
“Because I think it’s a mistake. You two make total sense together.”
“I don’t do serious.”
“Well, now you do. Look.” She reaches out and settles her hand on my forearm, her touch light. Calming, even. “I used to be you, so I have no room to judge. I slept around. I experimented with drugs. I was a wild child, rebelling against my parents in every way possible. I didn’t believe in relationships, even though my parents have been married forever and I come from a loving family. I thought that was all a bunch of bullshit.”
I nod solemnly, taking in her words. “It is a bunch of bullshit.”
“Right.” She smiles. “But then Carter came back into my life. He rocked my world. Not only sexually, but just…in general. I realized I didn’t want to lose him. And now I’m with a man who loves me for me, who respects me, and who makes me laugh. We’re going to get married, I just know it.”
I’m happy for her. That sounds blissful.
And impossible.
“You deserve love and happiness, even though you think you don’t.” She leans forward, her gaze never straying from mine. “I see you, Kelsey. I know what you’re thinking, and you’re wrong. About all of it.”
I smile and give her a hug, because she’s so kind to say that. But really?
I don’t believe her.
At all.
Fifteen
Theo
I show up at the restaurant fifteen minutes late, which pisses me off to no end, but I can’t control the shitty traffic around downtown Carmel. It doesn’t matter what time of year or day it is, this place is always packed with cars and parking is impossible to find. I hate it.
Of course, I could’ve left the office a little earlier, but I got caught up in work, as usual, and it took my sister texting me if I was going to make it to dinner tonight to remind me that I needed to get a move on.
She sent me that text because she knows my habits . Good thing she did, too.
Tonight’s meeting wasn’t originally on my schedule. Cam called me earlier, asking if I was busy and if I would meet with him for dinner so we could discuss a few things. He was vague when I asked him what he wanted to talk about, and then mentioned that Ali would also be there.
Kind of odd, but I agreed.
I enter Tuscany and approach the hostess stand, glancing around the interior of the restaurant to see if I can spot either Cam or Ali, but they’re nowhere to be found.
“Can I help you?” asks the pretty blonde hostess with an eager smile.
“I’m meeting someone here. The reservation should be under Crawford, I think. For three?” My gaze snags on the long table at the very back of the restaurant, where a group of women are sitting. There’s one woman in particular who looks familiar, but all I can see is the back of her head.
She reminds me of Kelsey.
But I’m probably just hoping it’s her, because since Saturday night, it’s like I can feel her everywhere. I can’t get what happened in my car out of my mind. The woman owns her sexuality like no one else I’ve ever been with, and it is seriously the hottest thing alive. She goes after what she wants, and she takes it.
Makes me feel like I can do the same thing. Like I did in my parents’ guesthouse, which had also been pretty hot.
We haven’t spoken since Saturday night, when I drove her back to the Safeway parking lot in a sexual daze, my thoughts scattered, my entire body buzzing. I’d just come all over her hand not ten minutes prior and already I was thinking about how I would get her naked again. She slipped her dress back on during the drive, and by the time I pulled up next to her car, ready to make my pitch on convincing her to stay the night with me, she was already exiting the vehicle, thanking me for a fun time and flashing her bare ass when she swung around and her skirt flew up. She slammed the passenger door, hopped into her own vehicle and waved at me.
Then took off.
I sat there for a couple more minutes, still in a daze. Stunned she would ditch me so easily after what happened. She left her panties crumpled on the floorboard. Her bra on my backseat. I kept them both. Does that make me a complete perv?
Probably, but I don’t give a shit.
No texts from Kelsey. No phone calls. Not even a FaceTime. I suppose I could call or text her, but every time I try, I get nervous and don’t know what to say, so I give up. Maybe she feels the same way. It’s weird, that I haven’t seen her at all, and I’m starting to wonder if what we shared over the weekend ever actually happened.
Maybe it was all in my head.
I went for a jog on the beach Sunday afternoon to ease the tension. There’s only so much jacking off a man can do in a shower or in a bed, and I couldn’t even manage to get through two minutes of one of my favorite porn star’s clips before I shut it off with a groan.
Now that I’ve had real live Kelsey, a porn star Kelsey lookalike doesn’t cut it.
While out running, I bumped into Stella Ricci and her boyfriend, Carter Abbott. We talked for a while, and Stella asked about Kelsey, which I thought was a little odd. But I blew it off and made casual conversation with both of them, secretly wondering if they could somehow figure out that Kelsey and I have now had sex. Am I giving off some kind of vibe? Do all of Kelsey’s friends know that we’ve taken our friendship to the next level? Or am I her dirty little secret?
I don’t know what’s worse.
“Yes, they’re already here,” the hostess says, and I jerk my gaze back to her, noting her frown. I wonder if she had to repeat herself.
I was pretty lost in my thoughts just now. “Shall I show you to the table?”
“Please.”
I follow after the woman, searching for my brother and sister. I spot them at a table tucked into the back left corner of the restaurant, on the complete opposite side of the room from that large table of attractive women.
Pretty sure that table is full of Kelsey’s friends—and Kelsey.
“There you are,” Ali says with a smile when she spots me. She rises to her feet and I go to her, kissing her cheek before I settle in beside her, Camden sitting before us.
I grimace at my brother once the hostess leaves us alone. “Sorry I’m late.”
“Traffic?” Ali asks.
“As usual.” I flip open the menu.
“Stayed a little too long at the office?” Cam asks knowingly.
I send him a quick look. “Always.”
They both laugh. Our server appears quickly, taking my drink order. Cam orders a few appetizers as well, and once our server’s gone, he leans across the table, his gaze intense. “I have a proposition for both of you.”
Nothing like getting right to it. Though beating around the bush has never been my brother’s style.
Ali and I glance at each other before I warily ask, “What is it?”
“Why aren’t Mason and Max here?” Ali asks.
“They already know about my proposition, and they’re fully on board.” He leans back in his seat and rubs his hands together eagerly, a little smile curling his lips. “I’m sure your immediate answer is going to be no, but hear me out first, okay?”
“No,” I tell him, making him laugh.
“The reason I didn’t go to Mom and Dad’s this weekend is because I was in San Francisco, making an offer on a business. The owners flew in from Vermont, which is where they live now, so we could discuss everything. They had some valid concerns, and I shared my plans with them, which they approved of. They took my offer. The property is mine. Ours, if you want in on it.” Cam leans back in his chair with a pleased grin.
Wedding Date (Dating Series Book 6) Page 12