“He didn’t need it,” Sunny countered. “Like Mr. Drake said, he shouldn’t be running around and making a menace of himself.” She shot Ian a frustrated look.
Was she trying to get herself fired? Finley was going out on a ledge here, and he could use a little help. He gave her a questioning look. “Wouldn’t it be wise for you to keep your job and give your son another chance?” Please say yes! Crazy that he even cared, but there it was—he did.
She let out a long sigh. “I suppose.” She gave him a challenging look, and all he could think about was how he could get lost in the depth of her deep chocolate eyes. His gaze took in her lips, perfect for kissing. There it was again … the strong feeling that they’d met before. “If you think it’s wise,” she finally said.
He chuckled inwardly. Man, she had moxie. Somehow, she’d turned this thing around to make it seem like she was doing him a favor by staying. “Yes, I think it’s wise.” He looked at Ian. “Will you promise me and your mom that you’ll stay out of trouble?”
“Yes, sir,” he said heartily.
“All right.” He reached in his short’s pocket, pulled out the ten-dollar bill and handed it to Ian. “That should cover plenty of drinks. No need to steal.” The spur-of-the-moment gesture was meant to smooth things over. He was surprised to see the displeasure on Sunny’s face. “What?”
She snatched the money from Ian and placed it in Finley’s hand. A jolt went through him when their skin touched. “You don’t reward deviant behavior,” she snipped.
Drake looked mortified like he couldn’t believe Sunny would have the audacity to act this way to the hotel owner. Truthfully, it was refreshing that Sunny didn’t seem to care who he was. Before Drake could collect his voice to speak, Finley piped in, “Thanks for your help, Drake, but I think I can handle it from here. There’ll be no more talk of Sunny leaving,” he added so there’d be no question.
Drake looked back and forth between him and Sunny. The open confusion on his ruddy face was almost comical. “Um, are you sure?”
“Absolutely,” Finley responded firmly. He stole a glance at Sunny to get her reaction, but her expression was guarded. She was holding her cards close.
“All right. Good day,” Drake said crisply as he turned on his heel and strode out.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Sunny said when Drake got out of earshot.
“Do what?” Finley tightened the towel around his waist, wishing that he’d put on his pants instead of worrying about Ian escaping.
“Stand up for me.” She jutted out her chin and raked her hair out of her eyes. “I’m perfectly capable of fighting my own battles.”
Déjà vu wafted over Finley. Where did he know her from? Sunny Day. The name didn’t ring a bell. Was Day her married name? He searched her face. “How do we know each other?” His pulse increased when he caught the flicker of something in her eyes. Yes, they’d met before. He was sure of it.
“I don’t know what you mean,” she countered.
He locked eyes with her. “You recognized me when you first came in—called me Fin.”
She let out a shaky laugh. “Of course, I recognized you. You own The Belmont. Your name and picture are all over the orientation material I read when I was first hired.”
Was that true? Even as he pondered the question, he knew it wasn’t. His name and face weren’t on anything. His dad’s, maybe, but not his. “I don’t believe you.”
Her eyes rounded in surprise, her nostrils flared as she tipped her head back. “Are you calling me a liar?”
Wow, it didn’t take much to get her riled. He chuckled, a smile easing over his lips. “You know, with a name like Sunny, I would expect you to have a cheerier disposition. Maybe you should’ve been named Stormy.”
Chortles burst from Ian’s throat, then he clamped his lips together, both hands going over his mouth to stifle the laughter when he saw Sunny’s furious expression. She grunted, eyes narrowing. “That’ll be enough from you, Taz,” she muttered, shooting him a death glare. “You’ve caused enough trouble already.”
“Taz?” Finley frowned. “I thought his name was Ian.”
She made a face. “It is, but I call him Taz for the cartoon character Tasmanian Devil.”
“Yes, it fits.” Finley chuckled, waving a hand. “Oh, don’t be too hard on Ian. Boys will be boys, after all.”
Her eyebrow shot up. “You certainly didn’t seem to think so earlier when you got Drake to drag me in here.”
Finley couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this stimulated by a conversation. After the disaster with Emerson, he’d begun to ask himself if he’d ever be attracted to anyone else. A few minutes in the presence of this sharp-tongued beauty and the question was answered with a resounding Yes! He couldn’t stop a mile-wide grin from spilling over his lips.
Sparks shot from her eyes. “Are you laughing at me?”
“No.” He held up his hands in defeat, a laugh rumbling in his throat. “I promise,” he added when he realized that she didn’t believe him. Ian was looking at him with an expression that said, You’re about to get chewed up and spit out, man. “First of all, I didn’t ask Drake to come in here. He happened to be walking by when he heard me call out to Ian. He took it upon himself to go and get you.”
Her eyes softened a smidgen. “Oh,” she said, a hint of apology in her tone. She straightened her shoulders. “I’m sorry for any trouble we caused.” Her gaze went to the towel, and he caught a flash of amusement in her dark eyes. “I’ll leave you to whatever it was you were doing before your day got interrupted. Let’s go, Ian,” she ordered, grabbing his hand and pulling him forward.
Finley couldn’t seem to take his eyes off hers as she strode across the room with the carriage of a queen. His fingers itched to tug on her ponytail holder to release her thick, dark hair so it would tumble freely over her slender, proud shoulders. “Sunny.”
She stopped, glancing back. “Yeah?”
It was on the tip of his tongue to ask her on a date, but he suspected she’d turn him down flat. “It’s nice to meet you.” The space between them shrank as electricity shot through his veins.
She blinked a couple of times. “Thanks.”
“I’ll see you around.” It was more of a question than a statement. He held his breath, awaiting her answer.
“Yeah,” she finally said softly, a slight smile touching her lips as she exited the room.
A rush of adrenaline went through Finley. Crazy how quickly things could change. Yeah, he still needed to get caught up on work, but it would have to wait. He hurried into the dressing room to put on his shorts. His next stop would be to Drake’s office to find out everything he could about Sunny Day and her son Ian.
Chapter 3
Sunny paced back and forth across the living room of her small, rented house.
Of all the hotels, why did she have to pick the one owned by Finley Landers? It was like fate had some vendetta against her. Finley no more believed her flimsy story than a man in the moon. If only she’d stopped to think before she opened her big, fat mouth and called him Fin.
Should they pack up and leave this instant? Before Finley found out who she really was? The thoughts of relocating and getting set up in a new place made her chest tighten. It was hard enough to leave her career, her home … everything and flee into the unknown. She and Ian were just starting to catch their breath. She’d chosen Park City because she had fond memories of coming here once on a ski trip with her dad and Lexi. It was only a few months later they learned their dad had melanoma skin cancer. When he died three years later, it was just Sunny and Lexi. Their mother had abandoned the family when they were kids. Tears gathered in Sunny’s eyes as a feeling of complete and utter loneliness overtook her. She still couldn’t believe her older sister was dead. She should’ve known her charmed life as a top designer wouldn’t last. Every time something good happened in her life, trouble followed right around the corner. This time, she’d let her guard down, beli
eved that fortune could smile on her, then she got slapped back down to reality. She blinked to stay the emotion, not wanting Ian to see her break down.
It had been a rough two months. Sunny was constantly looking over her shoulder, fearing every minute that Nolan had somehow found them. The one consolation of the entire situation was the familiarity of Park City. As a kid, she was enthralled with the tall mountains, especially in contrast to how flat Texas was. The weather was pleasant this time of the year, as opposed to the relentless Texas heat and humidity.
Ian was stretched over the couch. He looked up from his video game and frowned. “What’s wrong?”
Her heart splintered when she saw the haunted expression on his face. The poor guy had been through a lot. She hated that she was forced to leave him alone while she worked. She’d been tempted to enroll him in public school, but didn’t have any records for him. “I’m fine,” she responded, forcing a smile. Her plan was for them to lay low for a couple of years before she tried to find work in her field. Eventually, she’d enroll Ian in school and would then be able to show proof that she’d homeschooled him.
Due to the abundance of wealth, Park City was an ideal place to set up an interior design business. Sunny didn’t want to leave. She’d probably have to find another job though. She sighed heavily, her gut churning. She’d start looking for something else tomorrow. Then again, it had been nearly impossible to find a job that would allow her to bring Ian to work with her. She couldn’t afford childcare, and it wasn’t safe to leave Ian here in the house while she went to work. She needed the job at the hotel. She’d have to make sure that from now on, Ian stayed out of trouble. And, she needed to avoid crossing paths with Finley Landers. If she could accomplish those two feats, she might just be able to avoid disaster.
She couldn’t help but smile a little as she thought of Finley standing before her in nothing but a towel. She’d had a crush on Finley since high school and had kept up with him through social media. In fact, Finley was friends with her on Facebook—or rather, friends with Ashley Reed. She’d not dared to even look at FB since she had to flee, in case Nolan was somehow monitoring it. She could only imagine what her friends must be thinking. Or worse! What her boss Jill thought. It still cut that she’d had to walk away from her career right when it was on the verge of taking off. She wondered who’d been given the job instead of her. Probably Sabrina Lewinsky. A recent college graduate and a junior designer/assistant, Sabrina had been gunning for Sunny’s job for the past year and a half since she joined the design firm.
Her thoughts went back to Finley. He looked just as good as she remembered—no, better! A heatwave went through her as she thought about his muscular chest and defined biceps. The boy had turned into a man, a very fine specimen of a man. He had the same playful twinkle in his warm brown eyes which were flecked with gold. His fabulous smile with sparkling white teeth still had the power to send butterflies thrumming in her stomach. How many times had she wished that Finley would pay attention to her? Back then, he’d been Mr. Popular and she was the scrawny geek who sat behind him in English. They’d struck up an unlikely friendship, mostly because Finley needed her help studying for tests. She suspected that he probably didn’t even realize that he’d broken her heart.
Finley had been over the moon for Emerson Stein. From what she read, his infatuation carried through to adulthood. They were engaged, then Emerson dumped him for the Titan’s quarterback. Was Finley still carrying a torch for Emerson? She made a face. Probably. Then again, what did she care? Finley was a blast from her past, certainly not part of her present or future.
Admittedly, it was a little gratifying that Finley noticed her, even when she was wearing her dreadful maid uniform. Had things been different, she would’ve liked to have gone out on a few dates to see where things went. But knowing that was an impossibility, she’d masked her interest in Finley with open hostility to make sure he got the message loud and clear that she was off limits. The crazy part was, her harshness seemed to have the opposite effect. She still couldn’t believe Finley was interested in her. Then again, maybe he flirted with all the girls.
She plopped down on the couch, a swift stab of jealously shooting through her. Finley could have his pick of girls. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Emerson Stein must’ve been crazy to turn Finley down. Sure, the football quarterback she’d married was handsome, but no one could hold a candle to Finley. She reached for the remote and turned on the TV as she surfed aimlessly through channels. Would she run into Finley again?
Despite her best effort to quell them, she couldn’t stop tingles of anticipation from circling down her spine. Heaven help me! She wanted to see Finley again—was just as enamored with him as she’d ever been. Even the threat of Nolan Webb wasn’t enough to keep her from daydreaming about the possibilities.
* * *
Sunny looked up as Evie a fellow maid stepped into the bathroom of the room she was cleaning. “Hey.”
Evie smiled, chomping on a piece of gum. “Hey, yourself.” She glanced at the bathroom, grimacing. “This place is a wreck. Talk about a bunch of pigs.”
The waste basket was tipped on its side, half-eaten pizza slices spilled out. Tomato sauce was smeared on the floor, mixed with coffee grains, globs of shampoo, shredded toilet paper, and no telling what else. “My thoughts exactly.” Sunny picked up a mound of towels from the floor, walked past Evie, and deposited them in the towel bin hanging from her housekeeping caddy. “What’s up?” About her same age, Evie had short, dark hair, several tattoos, and multiple ear piercings. She was the mother of two kids, a boy and a girl, from different dads. Even though Evie looked nothing like Lexi, her free-spirited nature reminded her of Lexi. Sunny’s heart hurt as she thought of her older sister. She was still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that Lexi was gone. She swallowed the emotion, taking in a deep breath as she smoothed her uniform. Times like this were the worst, when the grief took her off guard.
“Drake asked me to find you.”
Her heart sank. “Is it Ian?” That kid was going to be her undoing. How many times did they have to talk about him staying in the break room?
Evie waved a hand. “No. Ian’s minding his p’s and q’s. I just checked on him.”
Sunny put a hand to her chest. “Thank heavens. I appreciate you checking on him.”
“No prob.” Evie held up a finger like she’d just had a new idea. “You know, you could always drop Ian off at my house. I’m sure he’d love playing with my kiddos.”
“I wouldn’t want to put you out,” Sunny hedged. They’d gone through this same conversation too many times to count.
She chuckled. “Between the kids and the dogs, what’s one more? Know what I mean?”
No, she really didn’t know what Evie meant. Sunny had no idea how to be a parent, and it was starting to grind at her. Weeks ago, her life had been orderly, predictable. Now it was a big, snarly heap of vipers that she was trying to untangle without getting poisoned in the process. “Thanks. I might do that sometime,” she said evasively. While it would be nice to have a place for Ian to go, she wanted to keep him close for now to make sure he was safe. Also, from the way Evie talked, her kids sounded wild. Ian was enough of a handful as it was without adding fuel to the fire.
Evie twirled her hand. “The invitation’s always open.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that. You said Drake asked you to find me?” she prompted, putting the conversation back on track.
“Oh, yeah. He needs you to restock the towels in the indoor pool area and tidy things up.”
“Okay.” She wondered why he hadn’t just asked Evie. The question must’ve been written on her face because Evie shrugged.
“I dunno why he wanted you. Who knows what crazy thoughts are twisting through Drake’s bald head.” She brought her finger to her ear and made a circular motion. “Cuckoo,” she chimed.
Sunny laughed. Drake was a little strange. Nice, but eccentric.
> “Anyway, Drake asked me to take over for you.” She wrinkled her nose. “From the looks of things, I’d say you’re getting the better end of the deal. Pigs,” she muttered. “Some people shouldn’t be allowed to stay at hotels.”
“Amen,” Sunny chirped, handing Evie her bottle of cleaning solution as she went out the door. As Sunny walked down the hall and pushed the button to get on the elevator, her thoughts went to Finley. All day long, she’d feared she’d run into him, but hadn’t. She should feel relief, but instead was disappointed. She clenched her fist. Why in the heck did she even care? One chance meeting with Finley, and he was consuming her thoughts once more. This time, however, the stakes were much higher. She was no longer a naïve schoolgirl. She knew the risks. Why was she even thinking about Finley Landers? Why was his face the last thing that flashed before her mind when she went to sleep the night before? The thing with Finley had been a silly crush. He barely knew she existed. She was merely the mousy girl who sat in the seat behind him, the non-threatening friend he could confide in, the Brainiac who could help him with his assignments. She grunted. She was being far too generous in her description of herself. If she were a real Brainiac, she could find a way to navigate Ian and the Nolan Webb threat. She shook her head, her thoughts returning to Finley. The fact that she looked familiar to him was miraculous.
She stepped into the pool area, expecting to find it brimming with people. Was it closed for a private gathering? There was probably a sign on the door, but she’d been too consumed with her own thoughts to notice. She heard movement and was surprised to see a lone swimmer. Her heart nearly stopped when she realized it was Finley. He was slicing through the water in neat strokes, his muscles moving like a fine-oiled machine under his tanned skin. Her throat went dry as she swallowed. Geez. It was unfair for a man to look that good. How was she supposed to remain unaffected by him? Had Finley arranged this so he could be alone with her? The notion sent excitement brimming in her chest. She snuffed it out and forced her feet to move forward to the towel closet. Her pulse drumming against her neck, she removed a neat stack of towels and placed them in the open cabinet. Then she commenced picking up the wet towels littered over the cement floor. Finley was at the other end of the pool, seemingly oblivious that she was even here. She glanced at the towels near where he was. She’d have to get those too. Her heart pounding, she went over to get them. Maybe he’d be too focused on swimming to notice her.
The Jilted Billionaire Groom Page 3