There was a reason people often referred to life as a four-letter word. Everything she’d ever wanted was right here in this pool, hers for the taking. Only she couldn’t take it. Not while the threat of Nolan Webb was hanging over her head. If, by some miracle, the threat ever was removed, it would be too late. Finley would be long gone.
She’d never get another chance like this again.
Never.
Tears pressed against her eyes. She pushed back the emotion as she held up her arms to catch the ball. “Over here,” she said gruffly the second before Ian tossed the ball.
Chapter 5
Finley stood, watching Sunny as she arranged the shampoo bottles on her caddy, then jotted something down on a clipboard. She moved with the grace of a queen. His gaze took in her erect shoulders, slim waist, and toned legs. Even in her gray dress uniform, she was a vision. What was it about this woman that had him tied in knots? Since they’d met, he’d hardly gone a moment without thinking about her. He’d gotten up early this morning so he could get his work out of the way so he could do this. He flexed his hands, taking in a deep breath. Here goes. “Hey,” he said cheerfully as he stepped up beside her. “What can I do to help?”
She spun around to face him, her eyes saucers. “Excuse me?”
He motioned at the caddy. “I wanna help you clean.”
If piñatas had suddenly started falling from the sky, Sunny wouldn’t have looked more surprised. She gurgled, her hand going to her neck. “What?” She let out a half laugh and shook her head like she still didn’t believe him.
He reached for a cloth. “Put me to work.”
Her dark eyes flashed with amusement. “You’re serious?”
“Yep. I’ve thought a lot about what you said. You’re right. I need to prove myself to you. Also, I’ll get to spend more time with you.” He grinned. “It’s a win, win situation.”
Her eyebrow shot up. “Let me get this straight. You’re going to help me clean rooms in your own hotel so you can impress me?” She wrinkled her nose like she could hardly believe what she was saying.
She looked adorable and beautiful at the same time. He stepped closer, pumping his eyebrows. “Will it?”
She shook her head, warm, rich laughter floating from her succulent lips. He could tell she was warming up to him. Heck, he’d clean a thousand hotel rooms if it meant earning her trust. “We’ll see,” she chimed, reaching for the cloth in his hand as she rolled her eyes. “That’s a hand towel, not a cleaning rag.”
“Oh.” He grinned sheepishly. “See, I have a lot to learn.”
Her hand went to her hip as she looked him up and down, a peculiar light coming into her eyes. “All right. You wanna help? I’ve got something you can do.”
“Lay it on me.” The energy passing between them was strong enough to light up Manhattan. She had to be feeling it too.
Her eyes lit with some secret joke as she cocked her head. “Hey, I’ve got the perfect job for you.” She reached for something beside her caddy and handed it to him.
He took it automatically, then realized what he was holding. “A plunger?”
“Yep. The toilet needs unstopping. I was just about to do it, but since you volunteered …” Challenge simmered in her eyes as she gave him a checkmate smile.
He straightened his shoulders, tightening his grip on the handle of the plunger. The gauntlet had been thrown down. “All right. I’ll do it.”
She chuckled in amusement as she motioned. “Right this way.”
A second later, Finley had to fight the urge to gag. The stench permeated the entire bathroom. He averted his face, his stomach roiling. “You really want me to do this?” In his lifetime, he’d faced down numerous cut-throat executives around polished conference room tables, but this disgusting toilet might just be his undoing.
Sunny folded her arms over her chest, eyeing him. “You volunteered.”
He coughed. “You sure I can’t just take you to Paris? We could be there by nightfall?”
“You’re such a baby,” she taunted, clucking her tongue. She sighed in disappointment reaching for the plunger. “Give it to me,” she said dryly.
His jaw tightened. “Not on your life.” He turned to face the toilet with a new resolve. “I hope you know that I wouldn’t do this for just anyone.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
He stuck the plunger in the toilet and moved it up and down. The suction took hold. He felt a mixture of relief and triumph when the toilet drained. He pressed the lever to flush it, giving her a victorious look.
“Here, let me get a bag for the plunger.” A second later, she held out a bag as he dropped the plunger in it.
“What else you got on your list?” He wiped his hands on his jeans. Nothing else could be as vile as that. An image of his mother flitted through his mind. She’d freak if she saw him. He laughed inwardly at the thought.
“You wanna clean the shower while I clean the sink and toilet?”
He gave her a cheeky grin. “I thought you’d never ask.”
“Let me get you some cleaning supplies.”
As he wiped down the shower, he glanced at Sunny. She caught his gaze and smiled into the mirror at him. “You should’ve seen your face when you saw that stopped-up toilet. I thought you were gonna puke.”
He shuddered. “I almost did.” That Sunny could do this type of work day in and day out was impressive, and strange. He couldn’t help but wonder what had brought her to this point. She was smart. Surely, she had other aspirations. He wondered about her background, how she’d ended up a single mom. There was so much Finley wanted to ask Sunny, but he sensed it was better to keep the conversation light. Let’s see, what simple thing could he ask? “What’s your favorite type of food?”
She pursed her lips. “Hmm … aside from chocolate?” A grin split her lips. “I could eat chocolate every meal.”
He laughed. “Yes, aside from chocolate.”
She pursed her lips. “I dunno. It’s hard to say. I like all types of food. Tex-Mex, Indian, Mediterranean, sushi.” She squirted the mirror with a liquid solution and wiped it clean with deft movements. “Every once in a while, I like a good old-fashioned cheeseburger, onion rings, and a shake.”
“Chocolate or vanilla?”
“Chocolate, of course,” she said matter-of-factly. “How about you?”
“Strawberry all the way.”
She laughed, the sound filling his chest with warmth.
“I like Tex-Mex too. You haven’t lived until you’ve had Tex-Mex in Texas.”
She wiped down the sink. “Really?”
“Yep.” He kept his voice casual. “Have you ever been to Texas?”
“Nope,” she said quickly. “I’ll just get the toilet and then we’ll restock the towels and toiletries.”
Was it his imagination? Or had she suddenly grown nervous? He got that feeling again, the one that told him that there was more to Sunny than what met the eye. He stood and backed up just as she was rushing past. The two of them collided.
“Sorry,” she mumbled.
He touched her arm, peering into her eyes. “No problem,” he said softly. The air took on a charge as he leaned closer. “Imagine meeting you here in this small, enclosed space,” he joked. His blood ran hotter when he saw the longing in her eyes. An invisible lasso wrapped the two of them together as he leaned down. She lifted her face to his, her lips parting expectantly. He brushed his lips against hers, savoring her taste. Notwithstanding the cleaning rags in his hand and in hers, he slid his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. For one painful second, he thought she might retreat, but then her eyes grew soft. A jolt of adrenaline raced through him when their mouths touched. His lips moved slowly and deliberately against hers. He didn’t want to move too fast for fear she’d flee. She was breathtaking, intoxicating. Suddenly, he realized that it wasn’t about the place, but the woman. Had they been standing in front of the Eiffel Tower, the moment wouldn’t have been more thrilling.
Sunny went stiff in his arms. Finley looked over to see a short, dark-haired maid with more piercings than a prize pig at the fair. This woman looked exactly how he would picture a maid in a hotel to look and act, as opposed to Sunny who looked anything but.
The maid’s eyes bugged. “Oops,” she quipped, then laughed. “Maybe I’d better go talk to him, as you’re otherwise occupied.”
Finley felt sick when he saw the mortified expression on Sunny’s face. That feeling intensified when she stepped away from him. “This isn’t what it looks like,” Finley blurted, then instantly regretted his words. Of course it was what it looked like. They were adults, sharing a kiss. What was the harm in that? “What I meant to say is that kissing Sunny was a privilege.”
“Thanks for clarifying that,” the dark-haired maid hooted.
Geez. Now he sounded like a moron. The more he said, the deeper the hole he dug. The look of regret on Sunny’s face was both confusing and chilling. He could almost read her mind, could tell she was thinking she could never let this happen again. Why? That was the million-dollar question.
“Don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me, Mr. Landers.” She tossed her head at Sunny. “Not for your sake, but for hers.”
An awkward silence passed.
“I’d better check on Ian,” Sunny muttered.
Finley touched her arm. “I’ll do it.”
She gave him a questioning look.
“Really,” he assured her.
“All right,” she relented with a sigh.
He cleared his throat as he nodded to the short-haired woman and pushed past her to get to Ian.
* * *
The next day, Sunny went through the motions of work, her mind a thousand miles away. Evie told her she was an idiot for getting involved with the boss. The hard truth was that Evie was one hundred percent correct. It was stupid to get involved with Finley, and him being the owner of the hotel was the least of her worries.
As amazing as the kiss with Finley had been, the after-affects were agonizing. It was like getting a taste of heaven and then having the gates come crashing down, forever barring your re-entry. Sunny kept running through her mind what she’d say to Finley if she saw him, but he was nowhere to be found. Maybe he regretted the kiss as much as she. The thought caused a pit to form in her stomach.
When the last room on her list was clean, Sunny breathed a sigh of relief as she wheeled her cart back to the supply room and clocked out. All had been quiet where Ian was concerned. After yesterday, she’d given him a good tongue-lashing and he promised that he’d chill in the break room. She hated having to keep him there so often. Soon, she’d have to make other arrangements. It was unfair to keep a ten-year-old cooped up in an employee lounge day in and day out.
At least Ian was getting a decent education. The bulk of Ian’s schooling was done online with remote instructors. He had several assignments that needed to be turned in today. She was letting him use her laptop. Afterwards, she gave him permission to play a video game. She checked on him during her lunch break, and he seemed to be doing okay. This evening, she planned to take him to a skateboarding park and to get ice cream.
Sunny’s heart sank when she walked into a vacant lounge. Was Ian in the restroom? She knocked on the door of the men’s room. “Ian? Are you in there?”
No answer.
She tried the handle. It was unlocked. She opened the door and looked in. Empty. Her heart began to pound. Where in the heck was he? Ian knew how important it was to stay out of trouble. She wiped her sweaty palms on her uniform, trying to decide where to look for him first.
“Have you seen Ian?” she asked when Brianna a fellow maid came into the lounge.
Brianna jutted her thumb behind her. “Yeah, he’s outside in the bouncy house.”
“Bouncy house?” Sunny shook her head. “What’re you talking about?”
“There’s a bouncy house and a bunch of other activities set up in the courtyard. There’s even a food truck.”
Crap! Just what she needed—Ian to get in the middle of someone’s party. If Drake saw him, she’d be in hot water. “Thanks, I’d better go check on him.” She rushed past Brianna and out of the room. When she got to the courtyard, she paused, looking for Ian. There were a handful of other kids playing in the bouncy house and taking turns going down an inflatable slide. Several couples lingered nearby watching those kids, but it wasn’t a huge party with lots of people like she’d assumed. There was a pizza truck and a shaved ice stand. Where was Ian? Off to the right was an inflatable ring with two kids wearing gigantic, puffed-up Sumo Wrestler suits. She was about to glance away, but then something familiar caught her eye. Was one of the kids Ian? She caught sight of his red hair. Oh, no! This couldn’t be good. What in the heck was she supposed to do with that kid? Her heart did a somersault when she realized Finley was standing beside the boys. He blew on the whistle around his neck and brought his arm down like a referee. The boys went at it, grabbing each other’s arms before tumbling to the ground like life-size Weeble wobble toys. When Finley saw her, he flashed a large smile and waved before turning his attention back to the boys. As they got back to their feet, Finley held up Ian’s arm. “Blue takes the day,” he announced. A trickle of applause came from the three or four adults watching.
She forced her feet to obey her brain’s command to move as she walked toward Finley.
“Hey,” Ian said exuberantly. “Did you see that?” He held up his arms. “I’m a champion!”
“What’s going on here?” She looked at Finley, then back to Ian. “We agreed that you were going to stay in the lounge, remember?”
“I was, but Finley came and asked me to come outside.” He waved, his hand encompassing the set-up, his eyes sparkling with wonderment. “He brought all this in for me.”
The wind left her lungs as she turned to Finley who had a sheepish grin on his face. Somehow, she managed to find her voice. “You did this?” A laugh rumbled in her throat. It was too much, so kind and thoughtful, yet so over the top. Ridiculous!
He rubbed his neck. “Guilty as charged.”
“Why?”
“I thought it would be nice to break up Ian’s day a little.” He held up a hand, lowering his voice. “I know you don’t want me to use my money to impress you, but this wasn’t about that. This was about doing something nice for Ian.”
She tried to wrap her mind around what he was saying. “So, you put this elaborate set-up together? Most people would’ve just offered to take him to the park.” She didn’t want to think about how much this must’ve cost.
“It wasn’t a big deal,” Finley countered defensively.
“I—I don’t know what to say.” She clasped her hands together tightly. Emotion lodged thick in her throat. No one had ever done anything like this for her—err—for someone she loved. Doing it for Ian was the same as doing it for her.
Finley was wearing a white t-shirt, jeans rolled up to his ankles, and Docksider shoes. As usual, his chestnut hair had just the right amount of wave to make it look perfect. She glanced at his cut biceps, remembering how he’d been shirtless at the pool. He looked like a slightly older version of an Abercrombie and Fitch model. Her face flamed when she realized he was watching her watch him. There was a glimmer of amusement in his golden-brown eyes as he smiled.
She spread her hands. “I’m not sure what to think of all this.”
“Don’t think.” He took a step closer, his eyes holding hers. “Just enjoy the rest of the day with me.”
Sheesh. Even the timbre of his voice was thrilling. He smelled fabulous—musk and mint combined with a distinct masculine scent. She allowed herself one glance at his lips, remembering how tenderly he’d kissed her. He had no idea how much she’d love to throw caution to the wind and give him a hard, passionate kiss, holding nothing back. She
cleared her throat, trying to gain control of her emotions. Her heart was hammering so furiously that if her ribs hadn’t been there, it would’ve pounded right out of her chest. “Finley,” she began, “this isn’t a good idea.” Be strong, she commanded herself. You don’t need this right now.
He brushed a tendril of hair away from her face. “Why not?”
Her breath hitched, her skin sizzling with attraction. She could hardly form a clear thought, much less formulate a sensible argument. “You own the hotel where I work.”
“So?”
She let out a long breath. “Must I spell it out for you? It could get dicey—put us both in awkward positions. I mean, helping me clean yesterday was bad enough, but this …” Surely, he’d understand where she was coming from.
His eyes moved over her face like he was drinking her in. “I’m willing to take the risk,” he uttered.
For a second, she was frozen. Time seemed to stop. What she’d felt for Finley before was a crush experienced by a young, naïve girl, but this was something more—something grownup and consuming, like she’d finally come to the end of a long journey and discovered the prize she’d forgotten she always wanted. She stepped back. “Sorry, but I can’t.” This whole scenario was utterly ridiculous. If only she could just be herself, she’d jump at getting a chance with Finley.
Disappointment flickered over his handsome features as he nodded.
Her heart shriveled. That was that. The end of what might’ve been. Someday, she’d hopefully look back knowing that she’d made the right decision, but right now, it cut like a thousand knives slicing her insides.
She expected him to walk away but was surprised when he reached for her hand, sending a zing through her. “I’m sure you’re starving since you’ve been working hard all day. You’ve got to try this pizza. It rivals some I’ve had in New York.”
A halting laugh cracked through her throat, and all she could think about was how her hand felt so protected enclosed in his. “Finley, I just told you, this wasn’t going to work.” Despite her best effort to shut it out, hope sprang up inside her like a tender chute in the middle of a barren desert. Was there some way to make it work? Could something good actually happen to her?
The Jilted Billionaire Groom Page 5