by Amelia Judd
The right path? Sage swallowed hard. Following Pax through a tropical paradise along a romantic winding path was so not the right path for her.
•••
Pax tried to remain patient as Sage silently studied the villa he’d selected for her. Its location, only a few feet from the beach, made it the most sought-after and expensive guest quarters on the property.
To enhance the view, all eight villas were built a few feet off the ground, each one with a private wraparound wooden deck. The interior of the villas were all the same size and design. The main room was a luxurious living space with a sitting area and a dining table for two. The open hallway led first to the bedroom and then continued into the massive tiled bathroom. The bedroom featured a plush bed, an ocean-facing wall made mostly of a sliding glass door, and flowing white linens to appeal to the romantics of the world.
He needed her to be impressed by La Vida, or he could lose everything he’d spent the last twelve years building.
“Half of the wall is missing in my shower.” Sage broke her silence the moment she stepped into the bathroom at the end of the hall. “Is this villa under construction?”
Her look of dismay worried him.
“The shower is designed that way,” Pax quickly explained. “See, the wall is high enough to give complete privacy, and there’s a roof overhead. We simply left three feet of open air so the natural surroundings become part of the experience. You can hear the ocean, monkeys, birds, even the wind while you shower. It’s quite peaceful. Most guests love the feature.”
“But there are jungle creatures here. They could get in through the opening.”
“Theoretically, yes.” He shrugged.
“Yes!” She whipped around to face him, her beautiful green eyes wide.
He hadn’t thought it possible she could be more attractive than she’d been in college. He’d been wrong.
“Don’t worry. Odds are a few geckos will be the only thing to join you in the shower.”
She made a strangled sound. “Snakes with legs. Geckos are lizards, and lizards are snakes with legs.”
Her ramrod posture and pale expression triggered a memory. He grinned in relief. “I forgot. You’re afraid of snakes.”
“I’m cautious,” she huffed, “not afraid.”
Pax’s grin widened. He knew it would likely aggravate the situation, but he couldn’t seem to stop. “Wasn’t it a rat snake that sent you running into my arms? What were you, eighteen? And you’d never seen a snake.”
“I was nineteen, and I’d never seen a snake loose. I grew up in an apartment. I’d never seen any snake in the wild, let alone one large enough to swallow me whole! Besides, I apologized for assaulting you.”
“True, but you still made me carry you on my back the entire way home,” he said, remembering how much he’d once loved to tease her.
She shuddered. “I couldn’t stand the thought of putting my feet anywhere near the ground.”
He’d been visiting his family during the first summer Sage had lived in the guest house with his sister. Kat had wheedled him into taking a walk with them after dinner through the wooded trails they used to explore as kids. When they came across a five-foot-long rat snake stretched across the trail, soaking up the last of the day’s sunshine, Sage had leapt at Pax like a terrorized house cat. She’d proceeded to claw her way up his front until her arms were locked around his neck and her legs around his waist in a vice grip.
Sage had always avoided risks as adamantly as he embraced them. He would bet she never drank too much, always buckled her seatbelt, and threw deli meat away a few days before the expiration date.
He hoped her aversion to risk wouldn’t prove too big of a problem in her evaluation of La Vida.
“Fair warning,” Sage said, “I’m calling you the second any wildlife slithers over the wall while I’m showering.”
He raised his eyebrows and let her words hang in the air. Her eyes went wide, and then her cheeks flushed.
“Well. Not the exact second it slithers in, of course.” Her blush deepened as she gestured toward the towel bar. “I’ll dry off first. And put on a robe. And maybe even get dressed. But then I’m going to call you.” She pointed a finger at his chest. “And if that does happen, you are going to find me a shower with four intact walls.”
Damn. He loved how she rambled when she got flustered. Pax didn’t consider himself a grinner, but he felt another one tugging at the corners of his mouth.
“That sounds fair,” he said, fighting to keep the amusement from his voice. “I thought we could have dinner together at the hacienda tonight. I’ll provide you with more details on La Vida so you have a base of knowledge before heading out on your first excursion with Brick tomorrow.”
“I’d prefer to have dinner delivered to my villa. I’ve been out of touch with the bank most of the day, and I have a lot of work to keep up with while I’m here.”
So she planned to avoid him. That wasn’t really a surprise, considering what happened the last time they were together.
“I’ll leave you to get settled, then.” He’d concede tonight, but he couldn’t let her avoid him all week. He knew more about the resort than anyone, and he needed time alone with her to convince her of La Vida’s worth. Like it or not, Sage would be spending a lot of time with him this week.
He stepped out of the villa and turned to close the door behind him. “And, Sage…” He paused, waiting for her to meet his gaze. “If you’re willing to give La Vida a fair chance, despite any awkwardness between us, I really am glad you’re the one to decide her future.”
“Awkwardness?” She smiled coolly. “We kissed. Only once, if I remember correctly, and that was years ago. Not a big deal.”
Pax studied her a moment longer than comfortably allowed in polite conversation. The way he remembered the night, they’d been seconds from ripping each other’s clothes off. She’d damn near pushed him over the edge with wanting her.
Maybe she remembered things differently. The possibility should relieve him. Instead, for some inexplicable reason, he found it depressing.
“I’ll see you in the morning. Breakfast is in the lobby anytime after seven.”
She held his gaze for a moment, nodded briskly, then moved to gather her luggage, dismissing him with her demeanor rather than her words.
He left her villa and started up the small side trail to his private home. No matter what lingering attraction he felt for her, he had to keep all interaction with her this week platonic. He couldn’t afford to allow emotions to complicate, or even compromise, his loan request. He could ignore Sage’s pull for one damn week if it meant saving La Vida.
He didn’t have a choice.
Chapter 4
Sage woke the next morning to a room full of bright sunshine, fragrant ocean breezes, and the active chatter of the tropical birds and monkeys outside. She stretched her arms over her head, enjoying the silky slide of her skin along the luxurious sheets, and yawned. Blatantly postponing an eventual trip to her jungle bathroom, she thought about the week ahead of her.
Any hope that her attraction to Pax had faded seemed laughable after her reaction to him yesterday. That ridiculous, never-ceasing awareness of him still sent her body on high alert when he was close. Even more annoying, her thoughts kept circling back to him even when he wasn’t around. The harder she tried not to think about him, the more impossible not thinking about him became.
If she was going to make it through this week without making a fool of herself again, she would have to learn to control, or at least hide, her reaction to him. Considering that had proved impossible in the past, she should probably just avoid him as much as possible.
Thankfully, she didn’t need to be near him in order to evaluate the validity of his loan request. She could study the resort’s financial information, tour the facility, and even go on the excursions without him.
To fulfill his mother’s request, though, she’d have to spend some time with him. Even
then, how was she supposed to tell if he was happy with his life? How did you know if anyone was truly happy in life?
For Pete’s sake, she didn’t even know if she was happy with her own life.
Okay, she wasn’t unhappy, or anything like that. Everything was fine with her life. Her job, her apartment, her future, even her dating life—all fine. So why did being around Pax already seem to make her want more?
No. Scratch that. She needed to push him from her mind, do what she’d been sent here to do, and go home unscathed. After all, crushing on a guy, offering herself to that guy, and then getting rejected by him had been a painful mistake. Doing it twice would be an idiotic one.
Unable to avoid her bathroom any longer, she climbed from bed and focused on a more immediate worry. Who knew what creatures might have ventured into her shower in the middle of the night? To make matters worse, the glass door between her wildlife shower and the rest of her bathroom had a three-inch gap above and below it. Anything could slither through.
Her overactive mind pictured her bathroom overrun with snakes and lizards of varying sizes and sneakiness. There could be one waiting silently inside her bathroom door, ready to attack as soon as she opened it.
Sage tiptoed closer. For some reason, it seemed imperative she make a stealthy approach. She slid away the bath towel she’d ingeniously rolled up and shoved beneath the door the night before. At least no slithering visitors were getting into her bedroom.
“Here goes.” She took a deep breath, turned the doorknob silently, pushed the door open, and scanned the room for any reptilian invaders.
Empty.
Sage huffed out a relieved breath and slumped against the wall. If this didn’t get easier, she’d have to reduce her need for the bathroom by lowering her liquid intake to a dangerous level. She’d need to check the Internet on the dangers of dehydration, which right now seemed preferable to a venomous snake.
She darted into her bathroom and showered as quickly as possible—no sense pushing her luck.
In less than five minutes, she stood in front of her suitcase, considering her options. Desperate to prepare for any situation she might face this week, she had splurged on a shopping trip two days earlier. She’d spent a fortune on new clothes from a retailer that specialized in active wear for the adventurous sort. Its ads showed men and woman surfing monster waves, climbing impossible mountains, and hiking virgin jungle trails. All the while looking fabulous, of course.
In addition to the outfits purchased for adventures she had no intention of participating in, she’d bought new business wear and sundresses—all with coordinating accessories. Her bank account had taken a massive hit. She would consider it worth every penny, however, if the new clothes helped her get through the challenging week with Pax.
For today’s horseback-riding and hot-springs adventure, she chose a sporty-style bikini under slim-fitting, stretchy black pants and an equally stretchy cap-sleeved blue top with a quarter-zip. The top provided protection from the sun, and the saleswoman had assured her the entire outfit would work for hiking, climbing, or a day at the beach.
On the walk up the path to the hacienda, Sage braced herself for seeing Pax again. Even though she hadn’t spent much time with him yesterday, she’d seen no unappealing changes in him.
How freaking unfair was that?
She finished climbing the winding path and scanned the area—no Pax. Her nerves eased. If her luck held, she could head out with Brick for the day and not see Pax again until dinnertime.
At the open-aired eating area of the hacienda, three tables were filled with couples enjoying a meal before heading out on their own adventures for the day. All of the couples, who appeared to be anywhere in age from thirty to sixty-something, looked like the type to enjoy a fit, healthy lifestyle. It made sense that La Vida would appeal to active travelers. People interested in a lazy vacation likely wouldn’t choose to spend a week that featured adventures or volunteering in the local community.
Sage chose a light breakfast of fresh fruit, yogurt, and Costa Rican coffee from the buffet and moved to a table situated halfway between the hacienda and the pool. She closed her eyes to fully soak in the lovely morning sunshine. The gentle air caressing her skin reminded her of summer days at the Bennetts’ lakeside estate.
Unlike Pax, Sage had always been happy to spend time with his parents and three younger sisters in Silver Bay. Of course, Richard Bennett had never tried to control her life the way he had tried to dictate his son’s. Richard treated her like a beloved daughter whose well-thought-out decisions always made him proud.
Kat often joked that her father seemed to like Sage better than a few of his own children which was far from true. Sage knew Richard loved his kids, but he set high standards for them and could be disapproving when those standards weren’t met. Unfortunately, this characteristic had hurt his relationship with each of his kids at one point or another.
“Hey, little lady. Are you ready for some riding today?” Brick’s cheerful Southern drawl boomed through the breakfast area and broke into her thoughts. Although he was old enough to be her father, his smile was boy-like and so infectious it soothed her nerves about the ride.
“I’m ready to go anytime.” She smiled back at him. “Just enjoying the view while I eat.”
“You ain’t seen nothing yet. Go ahead and have your breakfast. I’ll chase down the picnic lunch Susanna packed for us and round up Pax while you finish.”
“Round up Pax?” The nerves returned. “I thought you were my guide today?”
“Course I am. I’m the best horseman at the resort, but Pax made it clear he wants to be included on each of your excursions.” Brick grinned so big the laugh lines around his eyes crinkled with sincerity. “I think he’s happy to finally show this place off to a friend from home. Nobody he knows up north has ever come to visit before.”
Sad, but not surprising, considering what Ann had admitted about Pax never inviting his family to the resort. Sage knew about the strained relations with his father, but she’d been so busy avoiding Pax for the last six years that she hadn’t realized he’d been doing some avoiding of his own. Before Sage caught her flight, Kat had even complained that the time kept growing between her brother’s trips back to Wisconsin.
“Plus, the way I hear it, you’re a VIP,” Brick announced in a voice loud enough to regain Sage’s attention.
She winced when some of the other guests in the breakfast area looked her way. She shot her new audience an uncomfortable, this-guy-is-crazy-don’t-listen-to-him look.
“Pax said if we don’t do a good job showing you La Vida, he won’t have enough money to buy her from Charlie.” Though Brick had moved closer to her table, his voice never lowered. It appeared he’d never mastered using his inside voice. “Which would be just horrible since Pax has done more for this place than LeBron did for Miami.”
Her heart squeezed at Brick’s earnest expression. If her bank denied the loan, odds were good everyone at La Vida would be out of a job. While it was her job to study the numbers and report on the facility, she didn’t have final say in granting a loan this large. She hoped everyone here understood that if Pax didn’t have enough money for a down payment, Pembrock could reject his loan request, regardless of what she had to say after her week at La Vida.
•••
Sage was surprised—and way relieved—when Pax didn’t join them at the car. Something must have come up, thank God. For the next hour, she sat next to Brick, listening to him point out the sights as he drove inland through rolling flatlands, areas thick with forest, and even numerous open fields with grazing cattle. A defined mountain range filled the beautiful sunlit horizon.
“Does it rain here much?” Sage asked.
“Not from November to April. This area of Costa Rica is considered a tropical dry forest rather than a rainforest. Most folks love to visit from the States in the winter when they can count on it being warm and dry here.”
“I can’t argue
that. This weather is a lot nicer than Wisconsin in January.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He grinned at her. “I’ve lived here over twenty years and never plan on moving anywhere again that gets colder than my favorite beer.” He turned onto a long drive leading into a tree-filled valley. “This is the ranch we use for our horseback tours. It sits at the foot of an active volcano. The main house is straight ahead, but we’re headed to the stables which are down the hill to the left.”
Sage felt her eyebrows hit her hairline. “Volcano?”
“Yep. But she hasn’t blown in a few years so we should be safe today.” Brick pulled to a stop.
“A few years sounds pretty recent to me,” Sage muttered. Great. Now she had to add active volcanos to her growing list of worries. What would be next? Fire? Maybe a little brimstone?
At least she didn’t have to worry about spending the day with Pax.
She reluctantly followed Brick down a small slope to the horse stables, which consisted of a haphazard collection of open-air structures with beams of wood supporting weathered metal roofs. Ranch hands hustled around the grounds, tending to the numerous horses corralled in the area.
“Let’s find you a horse, little lady.”
Sage sighed and followed Brick to the corral, eyeing the horses with skepticism. She wondered if they had a horse to fit her riding ability or, more accurately, her lack of riding ability.
“Hercules here is a nice fella.” Brick rubbed the nose of the huge brown horse in front of him with a meaty hand. “He’s a real gentleman and the biggest boy at the ranch. He’s quiet and calm. I think you’ll like him.”
Sage arched an eyebrow. Hercules seemed like some sort of genetically altered species of super-sized proportions. “He’s very handsome. I assume he’s part Clydesdale and part wooly mammoth?”
“No ma’am. He’s an American Quarter Horse.”