Caught Up In You (Indigo Royal Resort Book 2)

by Claire Hastings

  “No, she’s not,” he growled.

  “Mr. Cruz,” Jonah jumped in, looking at Felicity like he couldn't believe he had to rescue her in this conversation. “Who you choose to…warm your bed, so to speak, while you are on vacation is not any of our business. I apologize if you feel that my colleague's tactics were rude. If you want to take up with the help—”

  “The help?” Cullen cut him off. He’d had enough of this passive-aggressive bullshit. “She might not understand how to be a human being, but you, mate, you have crossed a line,” he shouted, pointing first at Felicity and then at Jonah. “Do not ever refer to those members of your team who are keeping this place running as ‘the help.’ Do you understand me?”

  He stood up and turned to face the older Dalton Sutherland, not bothering to watch the reactions of the two across the table from him. “Mr. Sutherland, my sincerest apologies for wasting your time, but I cannot accept this position.”

  “Now, now, Mr. Cruz. No need to be hasty,” the older man said, remaining in his seat. “I know these two…knuckleheads…come across a little overeager and unable to control their mouths, but I promise you this is not a reflection of my company. They will be dealt with, I can assure you.”

  “They are only confirming something I knew in my gut, that my brain refused to listen to. My heart isn’t in this. I’m sure I could manage just fine, but I’d be miserable. And I have had enough miserable managers in my time as a player to know that doesn’t translate well on the pitch. I can give you the name of someone else who might be a good fit. In fact, he’s another former teammate of mine and Callahan’s. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got somewhere I need to get to.”

  He walked out of the office and past Sutherland’s assistant without another word. Once he was in the elevator, he pulled out his cell phone and pulled up Oliver’s contact info. He started to type out a text message and then thought better of it and hit the call button. Oliver picked up just as the elevator doors opened to the massive lobby on the ground floor.

  “Oliver, new plan. About those contracts...”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  The hum of the fan on Leona’s computer was just loud enough to drown out the music coming from the speakers. As tempted as she was to turn up her music, she knew that if she wasn’t careful she’d keep turning it up until it was loud enough to be heard in the lobby. That would only bring visitors to her door, which was exactly what she was trying to avoid right now. With the door fully closed, she was able to be as melancholy as she wanted and avoid answering questions about her sour mood. She’d at least been able to channel some of that sour mood into her work, getting caught up on all the little things she had allowed to slip over the last couple of weeks.

  But even through all that productivity, she wasn’t able to completely take her mind off of him. No matter what she did, every so often her mind would slip into thoughts of his arms around her and the taste of his kisses. The memory of how his hands felt on her skin as they ran up her thighs that night in the town car and how he knew exactly how to touch her to make her fall apart. If she closed her eyes long enough, she could still feel the cool tile from the shower against her back or the bubbles from the hot tub surrounding her as he lavished her breasts with openmouthed kisses.

  Maybe it’s not just the green ones that make you horny, she thought, pushing the bowl of M&Ms away from her immediate reach.

  In this moment she might have been craving an orgasm of his making—after all, he was the bringer of some serious, earth-shattering orgasms—but there was more to it. She missed his presence. She missed how he made her feel—important, smart, loved. How she was able to be her complete, real self with him, and no matter what, he still wanted to be there with her. It had been a long time since she’d met someone who understood her on such a level. Actually, now that she thought about it, maybe she hadn’t ever actually met someone who got her like he did. All those around her who knew her like that were her family and Drea, who had been around her entire life. Cullen was the first person she had purposely allowed in.

  The office door opened without there being a knock first, causing Leona to startle a little in her seat. She expected to see Vaughn or Grayson due to the lack of knocking, so she was a little bit surprised when Dalton walked through the door.

  “How about a walk, sugar?” he drawled.

  “Hello to you too! Thank you for knocking. Please, come in,” she remarked sarcastically.

  “If I had knocked, you would have just pretended not to be here,” he pointed out.

  “What if I was busy? On the phone?” she asked, a little annoyed that he knew her so well. “What if I had been naked?”

  “I’ve seen you naked, Lee,” he responded as if it was no big deal.

  "Bite me,” she snarked, trying to turn back to her computer.

  “Been there, done that, too, sugar,” he said with a wink.

  “What do you want?” She knew she was being meaner than she should—this was just Dalton after all. He was here to check up on her, like the good friend he was. Even if his ways were often a little annoying.

  “Take a walk with me,” he said. It was more of a statement than a question.

  “I’m working.”

  “Take a break.” His voice was a little sterner now, but there was still a smile on his face that most women would find incredibly hard to resist. Except Leona wasn’t most women, and she had no problem resisting his charm.

  “No.”

  “C’mon, fresh air will do you some good,” he said, letting his accent get a little thicker, making him sound like a parent trying to encourage their child to stop watching TV or playing video games. “You've been locked in this office for two days. It’s Friday night, and Drea and Kyle have family dinner, so let’s you and I take a walk on the beach. Leave your shoes.”

  “Fine,” she said, annoyed at his insistence.

  She locked her computer and shoved her phone in her pocket as she stood up. Rethinking it, she pulled her phone from her pocket and shoved it in her desk drawer. Her shift was technically over and anyone who would be calling her could leave a voicemail. Coming around her desk to follow Dalton, she made her way with him through the lobby and out past the pool toward the beach. The pool deck and the beach were full of guests who were trying to hang on to the last little bit of their vacation before leaving in the next couple of days and heading back to their everyday routines. It was always a little weird for her to think about how this was a place where people came to escape, since it was her everyday routine. Not that she didn’t love the resort—she did—but it was still work.

  When they got to the beach, they walked to right where the waves met the sand, letting the cool water lap against their feet. The sand was still warm from the sun and she couldn’t help but let her toes sink into it as they walked. Neither of them spoke for a while, letting the sounds of the surf form the background noise to their thoughts.

  “Not that you asked my opinion or anything, but if you love him, you need to tell him,” Dalton said, when they were far enough down the beach that most of the remaining guests were out of earshot.

  “Lots of people seem to share that opinion.”

  “Mmmhmm, great minds and all that. He deserves to know how you feel. Right now he’s up in Georgia with my wretch of a sister for company, probably wondering what the fuck just happened.”

  “I can’t believe she’s your sister. She was so…” Leona trailed off looking for the right word to describe the tall blonde tornado that had blown into, and then out of, her life so quickly. “So… tempestuous.”

  “‘Heinous bitch’ is the term used most often,” he replied, completely straight-faced.

  Leona giggled at his response, and when she turned to look at him, she could see that a small smile formed across his face at her reaction.

  “I love that movie,” she said.

  Dalton’s smile grew wider, and he got a far-off look in his eye like he was recalling a happy memory.
He looked out over the water as he said, “It is one of the better ones I have been forced to sit through.”

  “Who hurt you, Dalton?”

  “Never you mind, darlin’. This is about you.”

  “What if I don’t want it to be about me?” she asked.

  Dalton simply shrugged as they continued to walk along the beach in silence. Once they reached a large formation of boulders that was generally considered the end of the resort’s beach, they stopped and just stood there, neither one wanting to push the other into action. After a moment or so, Leona went and climbed up onto one of the smaller rocks and sat down facing Dalton, who had walked a couple of steps into the receding tide.

  “I can’t tell him,” she said, just loud enough to be heard over the waves.

  “Why not?”

  “Because I wasn’t supposed to fall,” she sighed.

  “Did y'all have a pact or something?”

  “No, but we went into this knowing there was a timeline. He was a guest. Guests leave. There was never any promise that he would stay or that this would continue after he left. Does it suck? Yup, sure does. But I knew what I was getting into.”

  “How do you know that the same thing didn’t happen to him? That he’s not out there feeling the exact same way?”

  “I just do,” she replied.

  “I doubt that. But, regardless of what you think,” he said, turning in the water to face her, “he still deserves to know how you feel.”

  “Why? Why does he deserve that? So he can break my heart?” She threw up her arms in exasperation. It was bad enough he hadn’t fought her when she told him to take the job. She couldn’t give him the opportunity to reach into her and straight-up rip out her heart.

  “Lee, I adore you, and I like to think we’re pretty good friends, so you’ll forgive me here when I tell you that you are being really fucking selfish right now.”

  “What?” she squawked, pushing up off the rock she’d been sitting on. “How am I being selfish?”

  “Because you won’t even give him a chance. You shut him down before he even had the opportunity to fight for you!” He walked out of the water and up the beach until he was right in front of her. He had a full foot of height on her, so he had to look down to meet her gaze. “Talk to him, listen to his side of things. It might not be what you think.”

  “Where is funny, comic relief Dalton?” she asked, sidestepping around him and taking a few steps down the beach. “That's what Drea got when she got dumped. Why can’t I have him?”

  “Because Drea is sweet and adorable. She was also actually dumped. You, on the other hand, are spicy and full of fire, and while I wasn't actually there for the conversation, I’m starting to get the impression you actually did the dumping,” he said, spinning around to look at her. He sighed. “I’m not saying he isn’t stupid for getting on a plane with my sister. Just that you are equally stupid for not giving the man a chance to at least tell you how he felt before putting the castle walls back up and pushing him from the tower window.”

  Leona crossed her arms and glared at him. He had a point. She hated that, but her hating it didn’t make it less true. She had put her walls back up almost immediately after her interaction with Felicity. Granted, the bitch had said some pretty horrible things, but that wasn’t Cullen saying them. The more she thought about it, the more she questioned whether he even knew the things Felicity had said. But none of that changed the things he didn’t say that afternoon on Big House Beach.

  “What do you suggest I do? Just call him up and ambush him with ‘I love you’?”

  “I would suggest an ‘I’m sorry’ in there as well, but however you want to word it, sugar,” he smirked. “I can walk you through it.”

  “Even if I wanted to, I left my phone in my office,” she said, happy for the excuse.

  He reached into his back pocket and pulled his out, unlocked it with his fingerprint, and handed it to her. “Use mine.”

  “I don’t have his number memorized!” she snarked.

  “It’s in there,” he replied, jutting his chin in the direction of his phone.

  “Why do you have Cullen Cruz’s number?” she asked skeptically. “Are you in cahoots with your sister?”

  “I am nothing of the sort,” he said emphatically. “Prior to her showing up here the other day, I have not spoken a word to Felicity in years.”

  “Oh,” she said, not hiding her amazement. Years? How did someone go years without speaking to their family?

  “As for his number, Drea aided me in obtaining it. Do I need to dial it for you?”

  “No, I got it,” she said, clicking the phone icon on the screen and lifting the device to her ear.

  Her heart skipped a beat as it started to ring. What on earth was she going to say to him? Maybe she should have worked out a script with Dalton. By the third ring, the butterflies had fully formed in her stomach and were now causing her mind to race. Deep breath, Lee, she thought to herself. You got this.

  The ringing flipped over to voicemail, and Leona heard his cool, steady British accent tell her to “leave a message and I’ll call you back.” The sound of the message was like a punch to the gut and made her freeze in place. Should she leave a message? For as unprepared as she was for him to answer, she hadn’t even thought about what to do if he didn’t answer. The little automated beep snapped her out of her stupor and she quickly ended the call.

  “Voicemail,” she said, her voice sounding defeated.

  “We can try again later,” he said, taking his phone from her and sticking it back in his pocket. He grabbed her hand and pulled her into him for a hug. Dipping down, he lightly kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry your heart is breaking, Lee. I know it’s a horrible place to be.”

  She leaned back in his embrace and looked up at him. There were dark clouds in his eyes she’d never seen before, and it made her curious. Dalton had always played everything so close to the vest. Even when he was in a sharing mood, the tidbits he dropped were always just vague enough to leave more questions than answers.

  “How about we head back to your suite and get a head start on that bottle of tequila before Kyle and Drea are done with family dinner?” Dalton suggested after another moment of silence. “Maybe I’ll even entertain you with a story from my youth.”

  “We might need a second bottle of tequila then,” she remarked as she broke away from him and headed back toward the resort.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Leona walked through the open-air lobby as quickly as her legs would move without drawing any attention to herself. She’d been up on the seventh floor of the Barracuda Tower responding to a call from Carmella regarding some left behind “personal effects” of the guests who had checked out early that morning. Though she would never admit it to anyone other than Drea, Leona secretly loved these kinds of calls. At this point, she almost felt like nothing would surprise her, she’d found so many weird items left behind over the years. Her favorite was easily what she and Drea had termed “the duck pond.” Shortly after their high school graduation, Leona had walked into a suite to find the bathtub filled with water and seven ducklings swimming around. Too stunned to do much else, she’d called Drea, who came running to see for herself. It had taken a call to the Department of Wildlife and three of their animal handlers to get that mess sorted out. Not to mention close to a gallon of bleach to properly disinfect the tub afterwards. That incident had sat at the number one spot on their top ten list ever since, and Leona could not imagine a situation that would top that one.

  Walking into room 758, she’d found Carmella standing in front of the bureau that sat opposite the two queen beds in the room.

  “Alright, let’s see it,” she’d said, bracing herself for whatever might be in there.

  Carmella pulled open the drawer and they both peered in to find four pairs of socks.

  “Just socks?”

  “Yup. But policy states…” Carmella said.

  Leona sighed. Ca
rmella was right. Policy stated that the Head of Housekeeping, or another manager on duty if she wasn't there, was to be called to make the official judgment on items left behind by guests. The four pairs of socks, while nice, were well under the hundred-dollar value limit set by the hotel as the point at which they contacted the customer. There was a large cache of power cords and other miscellaneous electronic items locked in her office that they had saved, just in case someone realized it and came back, or should anyone need one in the future. More often than not, things were simply tossed, since tracking down a guest and then shipping the item back internationally weren’t easy or cheap.

  The beep of a text message as she had walked out resulted in a not-so-internal groan escaping her lips. What now? she’d thought. Saturdays were exhausting, no matter which way you looked at them, and after the emotional roller coaster she’d been on this week and all the tequila she and Dalton had consumed last night, she didn’t have much wiggle room in her mood today. She had told herself this morning when she woke up, thankfully without a hangover, that she wasn’t going to let herself think of Cullen at all today, that she was going to focus solely on whatever this changeover day threw at her. Unfortunately, the first thing it threw at her was a reminder that La Isla Bonita needed to be changed over for new guests arriving tomorrow. She officially couldn’t put it off any longer.

  She pulled her phone from her back pocket to find a text from Grayson.

  Grayson: Need help. Meet me in Vaughn’s office?

  The lobby was thankfully mostly clear at the moment, with only a few guests standing at the check-in area. She slipped behind the desk, trying not to disturb Julie and the other front desk clerks as she rounded the little corner that led to Vaughn’s office door. The door was open, so she walked right in to find Grayson sitting at the desk typing away on his phone.

  “What’s up, Uncle Gray?” she asked.

  He looked up from his phone and breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of her.