Miller was settled at the family table that sat over in the back corner of the kitchen, poring over the morning paper. The “big house” where Drea had grown up, and where the brothers still lived, had a decent-sized kitchen and small living room that was the central part of the home, that all three of the separate apartments connected into. Although, other than drinks and some basic snacks, Drea had no recollection of the kitchen ever really being used. Every big family meal, and even most regular everyday meals were eaten at the table in the resort kitchen. This was the table where she had done a good portion of her homework while Miller worked, and this was the kitchen where he taught her to cook. Drea slid into a chair at the table, leaving an open spot to her right and in between her and her uncle. She reached for the carafe in the middle of the table and one of the mugs Miller had set out, pouring herself some coffee and taking a nice long sip.
“Morning, baby girl,” her uncle said, looking up from his paper. “You disappeared early last night. Where’d you get off to?”
Oh shit, Drea thought. She had not been prepared to answer any questions about last night. She didn’t realize anyone but Dalton and Leona knew that she had left the bonfire early and didn’t return. Leona had texted her late last night to tell her that Dalton did spend a good portion of the night with “Candy” and her friends, so she knew she was in the clear on her bet. Besides, Grayson had a point—Simone called out chair throwing, so unless that went down, she was going to lose.
“I wasn’t feeling good, so I just went to bed early,” she said quickly. It wasn’t a complete lie.
“Oh no, is it something you ate? Are you coming down with something?” he asked, reaching over to try and feel her forehead.
“No, it’s just, I was…”
“Miller, leave the girl be!” Simone chastised, walking into the kitchen. She grabbed a mug and poured herself some coffee before sitting down to Drea’s left. “She’s a girl, we have girl things to deal with. Girl things we don’t want to talk to our uncles about. Not to mention, she’s twenty-six. Even if she was out having hot, wild, monkey sex, she does not owe you an answer.”
Miller just stared at her for a moment before saying “forgive me for being concerned,” with his hands raised in surrender. He turned back to his paper, avoiding eye contact with either woman.
“She better not have been out having hot, wild, monkey sex! Someone puts his hands on her, I’ll kill him,” Vaughn injected, as he swept into the room.
“Uncle Vaughn, I’m—” Drea began, before being cut off by Simone.
“I repeat, she’s twenty-six. She can do what she wants! Including hot, wild, monkey sex.”
“Who’s having hot, wild, monkey sex?” came Grayson’s voice.
“Apparently Drea,” answered Vaughn.
“No, I forbid it. There will be no hot, wild, monkey sex.”
“OK!” Drea exclaimed. “Can we please stop saying ‘hot, wild, monkey sex’? Not that I’m having any, but even if I were, not the conversation I want to have over family breakfast. Or at any point with any of you.”
“So, moving on,” Miller said, folding up his paper, looking exceptionally uncomfortable at all the sex talk. “Dalton held court with quite the blonde audience last night from what I saw, so, Drea is all clear.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Prage were not the last ones standing, by the way,” Vaughn interjected.
“Damn it,” Miller cursed. He got up from the table and walked over to the oven, pulling out the French toast he’d been keeping warm in there. He brought it back over and set it on the table.
“But they were second to last, so I say we give it to you,” he continued. Murmurs around the table agreed. “They were second to none other than that weird redhead couple. In fact, I think the Prages would have stayed longer, but they were trying to give them privacy for their argument.”
“But did chairs fly?” Grayson asked. He grabbed a plate as he glared at Simone. He grabbed a few slices of the French toast and started eating.
“YES!” Simone hollered, raising her arms in victory.
“Well, slow down, babe. It depends on your definition of chair.”
“Excuse you, no, it does not. Furniture flew, that is what matters!”
“What?!” Grayson said with his mouth full.
“She picked up a chaise lounge and tossed it in his direction. Since it’s so much bigger than her she had some trouble getting any air.” Vaughn grabbed two plates and served himself and Simone, before passing the serving utensils to Drea.
“Damn, I missed some good stuff,” Drea said, plating some food. “I think a chaise lounge counts, Uncle Gray. Sorry.”
“Yeah, so unless you can prove a staff hookup, you’re wearing the shirt!” Simone teased, pointing her finger straight at Grayson.
“Um, hello, am I the only one who remembers that we totally skipped over Vaughn here?”
“Well, the one blonde gave up on Dalton pretty quick and headed over to the group of gym rats, so I think that one is pretty much a given,” Miller stated. “Sorry man, you’re wearing the shirt.”
Just as Grayson was exhaling a sigh of resignation, Kyle walked into the kitchen. His head was down, like he was trying to keep a low profile, but Drea’s heart skipped a beat anyway. He looked up at the table as he neared, making eye contact with her right away. Her heart started to speed up. He was wearing his usual work attire, so he at least made a stop at home, she noticed. Maybe they didn’t hook up? She stopped eating and tried to catch her breath as he opened his mouth to say something.
“Sorry to interrupt family breakfast—”
He was cut off by Grayson. “Dude, you didn’t happen to hook up with anyone last night, did you?”
“What? No! No, no. I slept in my own bed, promise!” Kyle said, waving his hands back and forth, looking mortified. Drea let out a sigh of relief she hoped no one heard.
“Fuck,” Grayson said. “Where’s Dalton, he won’t let me down.”
“Um, no idea.”
“Sorry, son, Gray’s just upset he’s gonna have to wear the shirt,” Miller explained. “Please, sit, have some breakfast.”
“No, no, I don’t want to intrude.”
“You’re not intruding, you’re part of this family,” Vaughn added. “We should really get you in on the bets.”
Kyle stood there for another moment, awkwardly, not sure how to proceed. “Um, yeah, sure, sounds like fun. Anyway, I just wanted to grab Drea for a moment after you guys finish up.”
“Kyle, just sit,” Drea said, smiling. “If you don’t eat, you know Uncle Miller will hunt you down.”
“She’s right, son. Sit.”
He did as he was told, and took the plate that Drea made up for him. They all ate in companionable silence for awhile, and then made their way to do whatever it was that their mornings held for them.
“Got a sec?” Kyle asked as they moved their plates over to the dishwashing area.
“Sure,” Drea answered. “We can go hang in Leona’s office.”
Drea walked into the housekeeping office without bothering to check to see if it was occupied. At this time of morning she knew Leona would be down in the laundry catching up with the staff down there. She collapsed down onto the couch and pulled her legs up underneath her, wishing there was some kind of throw pillow to hold close to her body as a shield. Kyle followed her in and closed the door behind himself quietly. He sat down on the other end of the couch, sitting up ramrod straight for a second, before leaning back and twisting himself so one knee rested on the couch, his body facing her and his arm draped across the back.
“Hey,” he said, breaking the silence.
“Hey back.”
“You okay? I didn’t see you at the bonfire last night,” he said, trying to leave it open for her to share what she wanted. He didn’t want to come at her right away that he saw what went down with Dalton and how upset he could tell she was.
“I called it a night early. I wasn’t feeling a hundred p
ercent,” she lied. He could tell it wasn’t the whole truth, not only by the look in her eyes, but by the slight little shrug in her left shoulder. He’d never told her that she had the tell, but every time she wasn’t being fully honest she made the slight movement.
“Something happen?” he tried to prompt her.
“Nope.”
“You sure? Drea, this is me. Your favorite person. If something happened, tell me so I can fix it.”
She let out a little laugh. “Kyle, there are just some things a girl needs to deal with herself. Am I making sense here?”
Kyle nodded, understanding exactly what she was trying to imply, but still knowing it wasn’t the truth. His Drea had never been coy about telling him she was “hanging out with Aunt Flo,” as she had so often put it. He started to do that math in his head, but stopped himself. He thought he’d gotten pretty good with her schedule, but he wasn’t about to admit he tried to know her cycle so that he could be ready with a hug, or chocolate, or whatever need her PMS brought on.
“So, nothing I need to know about?” he prodded.
“Is there something I need to know?” she lobbed back.
“No, I just wanna make sure my best girl is okay. I missed hanging with you last night. The bonfire is kinda our thing.” He reached out and took her hand from her lap. He squeezed it softly and she smiled in return.
“Well, you have nothing to worry about,” she told him. There was no missing the sadness in her eyes, though. Clouds seemed to hang there, where there was normally a sparkle, one that lit up Kyle’s insides. He wished he could see into that pretty little head of hers and understand exactly what was going on in there. He saw her and Dalton last night, knew that something had gone down. He couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t just let him in.
“Good.” He squeezed her hand and let go.
“Since we have that settled,” she said, pushing herself up off the couch. “I’m still sticky from my run, so I need to go home and shower and then get all the morning paperwork done before this afternoon’s excursion. Shipwreck day, right?”
He nodded. “Yup, shipwreck day.”
“Great, then I'll see you at the pier.”
She walked out of the office without looking back, and it made Kyle feel sick to his stomach. He slouched back against the couch and sighed, not having the slightest idea what just happened, and he couldn’t help but feel like the conversation he was so convinced was going to fix things had actually made them worse.
Chapter Seven
Walking back to her cottage, Drea kept replaying the conversation in her head. His best girl? Do people really say that anymore? He knew she was hurt and she knew she’d never be able to hide that part from him, but he made it pretty clear in how he approached that hurt how she ranked in his life. She wasn’t worth running after in the moment—a check-in the next morning after he got laid was perfectly sufficient. Of course she wasn’t totally sure that he and “Candy” had hooked up. After all, it’s not like he shared any details about what he had been up to last night, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to put two and two together from watching them.
She wasn’t sure if she wanted to cry or scream. Everything inside her just wanted to bust through her skin, and it was taking everything she had to not lose it. More than anything, she just wanted to feel less...stupid. Less like a stupid girl who let her feelings get in the way, like a stupid little girl who fell for someone who would never, ever return her affections. She knew she wasn’t completely unfortunate looking—she got hit on. Just look at Brig yesterday morning. There had to be something about her that resonated on some level if he was willing to sign up for the excursion just because she said she might go. Sure, she had the tomboy thing going on, but her lack of makeup on a daily basis was an occupational hazard more than anything else—all that work prettying herself up would just be wasted the second the wind and the water took over.
Drea slowed down as she approached her front door, suspiciously eyeing the little brown bag oddly hanging from her doorknob. Who would have left her something? Her uncles would have just brought whatever it was to breakfast, and other than them, only the staff knew that she lived in the little cottage that had been the home of the original resort caretaker. Had Brig asked one of the staff members where she lived? Would they have told him? The cottage, as well as the “big house” next to it, was set back on the property behind some trees, down a little trail that steered you away from the main part of the resort. The only real guest spaces over this way were the Villas, but even they ended on the other side of the trees before you reached the trailhead. Unless you knew that the trail led to those houses, then you’d never think to wander there. Even though the staff knew this is where the family lived, none of them ever ventured back this way. Leona, Kyle, and Dalton had come to hang out, but the staff dorm—which was originally a short tower of guest suites that were renovated a bunch of years back to include a kitchenette along with the bed, desk, couch, and en suite bathroom—was on the other side of the trees and could be seen from the guest beach if one looked in this direction. She looked over at the “big house” and it didn’t seem like her uncles or Simone had come back this way since breakfast. Cautiously taking the bag off the door handle, she saw a note poking out the top.
Drea~
Morning Sugar! Take off that one-piece and put this baby on. Today is the first day of the rest of your life...or some shit like that :) See you on the Run!
-D
Drea just shook her head as she reached into the bag and pulled out a royal-purple bikini. She shoved it back into the bag and quickly opened her door and scooted in. Once fully inside, she dumped the bag on her couch, picking up the bikini top again, turning it around in her hands. So many questions ran through her mind. Where did Dalton get it? How did he know her size? Just how exactly was she going to be able to function with only this little flimsy thing holding in her boobs?
After a quick shower, Drea towel dried her hair and went to get dressed for the day. She grabbed her usual one-piece that was hanging from the rack in the bathroom and stared at it. After a moment, she hung it back up and grabbed the bikini from the couch and shimmied into it. It took her a moment to properly adjust her breasts, but she finally got herself situated fully. Looking in the mirror, she was shocked to see just how well it fit her. The top was, thankfully, not just two small triangles like the one she wore out on her deck when she and Leona would sun themselves, but shaped more like an actual bra, complete with a little bit of underwire or something to give her at least some support while working the boat. She’d still have to be careful how she moved to not give any of the guests too much of an eyeful, but she couldn’t deny that she felt good in this suit. No, scratch that—she felt sexy.
Making her way down the pier toward the Runnin’ Down A Dream, Drea saw Kyle and Dalton standing at the front of the boat with her Uncle Gray. She hurried her steps, holding on to all the papers she had brought with her from the concierge desk, trying to not have any go flying into the water. As she approached, Dalton pulled away from the group to help her aboard.
“Morning, sugar,” he greeted her, reaching out a hand. “Find what I left you?”
“Sure did,” she answered as she stepped up into the boat. “And I am very confused on many levels. I mean, I have a lot of questions.”
“No questions, just trust the magic!”
She eyed him skeptically as they made their way back toward Kyle and her uncle. Just trust the magic? She had no idea what Dalton’s plan was or why she was going along with it, but since she was standing here with the swimsuit he gave her on underneath her tank and shorts, she guessed she was going along with it.
“Hey doll, how’s the day lookin’?” Grayson asked as she came to stand next to him.
“Good, we’re all sold out for this afternoon, so should be a busy day.”
“I like the sound of that. Guess that decides if I’m tagging along.” He clapped his hands together. “You set
out at noon?”
“We can fit you on. If we’re gonna have a full boat, having an extra set of hands wouldn’t be a bad thing. Besides, when was the last time you and Drea went out?” Kyle interjected.
“Come on, Uncle Gray, it’ll be fun. Kyle’s right, we haven’t been out in forever. Plus, I recognize some names on today’s list from yesterday’s tour, some female names, so if nothing else, we can sit back and watch Dalton make a fool of himself with all the attention,” Drea added in.
“Whatever,” Dalton scoffed. “What you will witness is me at my best! My prowess knows no bounds!” He raised his hands in triumph as he backed away from the group. They all laughed as he turned stylishly and headed toward the front of the boat to check equipment.
“Well then, maybe I will.” Grayson put an arm around Drea’s shoulder and kissed her on the top of her head. “Let me see how the morning goes. But you’re right, it’d be a good time. Until then, look after my girl here, Kyle. I’m trusting you with her life.” He kissed the top of her head again and turned to disembark the boat.
“You got it, sir!” Kyle called after him, as Drea simply rolled her eyes.
“I can be trusted with my own life!” she added. Grayson simply held a thumbs-up high over his head as he headed down the pier.
“I know you can,” Kyle said, turning to face her head-on. “Dalton, on the other hand…”
“Drea’s life can be trusted with me. I’d never let anything happen to our princess,” Dalton hollered from the front of the boat.
Drea cut her eyes to Dalton. Princess? What was he getting at? She slid her eyes to Kyle, trying to see what his reaction had been to the new nickname, but his face didn’t seem to change. Okay, then.
Can't Fight This Feeling (Indigo Royal Resort Book 1) Page 5