“That's impossible,” I said, shaking my head to get rid of those thoughts.
“Is it?” Paul asked, his voice still gentle, as though he were afraid of scaring me. “Christian, you have enough money already, and if you sold your stocks as well? You could-”
“You don't mean for me to come back,” I said flatly.
“It's me that you're talking to,” Paul said, sounding impatient. “Christian, if this was coming from one of the other owners, sure, maybe they would be looking for excuses to get rid of you. But give me a little bit of credit here.”
I swallowed hard. “Yeah,” I said, feeling a bit choked. “Yeah, I know. Sorry.”
“There's a girl, isn't there?” Paul asked, sounding almost curious.
I sighed. “Is it that obvious?”
“Nothing else has ever been able to hold your attention,” Paul said sagely. “So, what, she won't put out for you?”
“She did, but it’s more than that.” I tried to explain.
“Oh,” Paul said. “Oh. Wow.”
“Fuck off,” I said half-heartedly. We'd been friends for long enough that he knew exactly what that meant. “It's not like I'm getting married or anything. I'm going to come back to New York once January comes around, anyway. Nothing's ever going to happen between us, not in a long-term sense. She's just fun. You told me to get it all out of my system, right?”
“Yeah,” Paul said. “And that's good, Christian. I'm happy for you.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “You make it sound like I'm dying,” I told him.
“Maybe you are,” Paul said, a devilish note to his voice that came through clear despite the shitty reception. “I've never heard you give a shit about anyone before.”
“I give a shit about you,” I protested.
“A female, then,” Paul amended. There was a pause. “I'm happy for you, kid. Even if it is just a bit of fun.”
I rolled my eyes. “Even though you're all married and having children and whatever, I'm not a kid,” I said.
There was laughter on the other end of the line, and our conversation quickly turned to other, less serious matters.
Chapter Sixteen
Gretchen
Mina was waiting outside the massage parlor when I showed up on Wednesday morning. I snorted and accepted the coffee that she handed me. “I want to know all the details,” she told me, breezing into the shop behind me once I'd unlocked the front door. “You have, what, an hour until your first appointment? I want to know all the details.”
I laughed a little, even though inside, I was wondering if maybe I shouldn't regret having told her about the follow-up date. I'd needed her opinion when it came to outfits, though; sometimes, it felt as though she knew my wardrobe better than I did. She knew which outfits would make me look sexy.
“Come on, don't be coy,” she told me, shaking her head. “You had a good time?”
“I had a good time,” I allowed. “I actually should take you to that restaurant sometime; I think you'd like it. It's down on the beach, and it's just barbecue. Like, you order whatever it is that you order, and they bring all your ingredients over to your table and cook them for you, kind of like Korean barbecue. But with, like, pineapple and stuff, so-”
“Okay, no offense,” Mina interrupted, holding up both hands to forestall my babbling. “But I don't care about the food.”
I laughed at how direct she was, but that was one of the things that I loved about her. “Yeah, okay,” I said. “But it is a great place. And then we went from there back to my place and...” I trailed off, cheeks flaming.
“Holy shit,” Mina said, her eyes widening. “You actually fucked him, didn't you?”
I blushed brighter. “I hate that word,” I complained. “Fucking just sounds so-”
“Okay, okay,” Mina said, shaking her head, a grin on her face. “You made love to him, didn't you?”
“Yeah,” I mumbled, picking at the hem of my sleeve.
Mina whistled lowly. “You fucked—sorry, sorry—made love to Christian Wall.”
“Yeah,” I said, shrugging a little as though it was no big deal.
Mina frowned, peering at me. “You don't sound too happy about that,” she pointed out.
I swallowed hard and turned away from her, feeling traitorous tears pricking at my eyes. “It's not like that's ever going to happen again.”
“Aw, honey,” Mina said, sweeping me into her arms. “I've heard some stories about him,” she said. “Did he kick you out of bed afterward?”
“I kicked him out,” I told her, not sure why I was so tearful about the whole thing.
“You did what?” Mina asked incredulously.
I couldn't help laughing at her expression, a little watery sound. “Yeah,” I said, shaking my head. “We slept together, and-”
“Was it that bad?” Mina asked, sounding scandalized.
“No, it was good,” I told her. “It was really good,” I said, coughing lightly.
“So, he's good in bed?” Mina asked, a wicked gleam to her eye.
“I haven't slept with that many people,” I reminded her. I swallowed hard.
Mina laughed. “You don't have to sleep with that many people to realize that someone is a good lay,” she said. She cocked her head to the side. “You enjoyed it.”
“I enjoyed it,” I admitted. “But then I started thinking, afterward. I know he's going to leave. There's not even a question of that. He's going to go back to New York, and he's going to-”
Mina groaned. “Gretchen. I thought we talked about that,” she said.
“I know, I know,” I said. “I'm getting ahead of myself. And I shouldn't be, but you know me, Mina. I’m just not the type of girl to sleep with someone once and then never sleep with them again. And I like him. He's arrogant and a little obnoxious, but I really like him, for all of that. We click.”
Mina shook her head as well. “I feel like I should be happy that you've finally gotten over Lino, but you don’t seem happy. More confused.” She pulled me into her arms. “So, you kicked him out of your bed?” she asked after a moment.
I laughed and nodded. “Yeah,” I said, grimacing a little. “I have never been that rude to anyone before. And there was something about the situation. Anyway, I just needed him to get out of there.”
“Aw, man,” Mina said. “I wanted things to be different for you.” She laughed a little. “Not least of which because if you married a billionaire, can you only imagine what would happen to our shops?”
“Speaking of our shops,” I said, frowning. That's right. It was time to get down to business.
“What have you done?” Mina asked, looking cautious but also interested.
“I haven't done anything yet,” I told her. “But I woke up this morning to a message from one of the hotel concierges. One of the women from Trinity Resort. Apparently, they've got a couple there who wants to get a massage done together, this afternoon, and she was wondering if that was something that we could do here.”
“Did you call her back yet and remind her that, oh yeah, you're only one person?” Mina asked. “I mean if they don't mind waiting.”
“I was thinking,” I said slowly.
“Uh oh,” Mina said, but she still looked interesting.
“I know the pineapple business is going well,” I said. “But they were looking to get the massage done this afternoon, and I know that you've got help coming in. I thought that maybe you could join me over here.”
Mina stared at me for a beat and then burst out laughing. “I don't know the first thing about massage,” she said.
I laughed as well. “Sure, you do,” I said. “Maybe you think that you don't, and maybe you aren't classically trained or anything like that. But you've massaged me, remember? And you've done wonders for my shoulders. Besides, a lot of massage is just about mimicking. You just need to glance over every once in a while, and see what I'm doing and copy that. Couples massages are so easy.”
Mina bi
t her lower lip. “I don't want to screw things up for your business,” she said.
“And I know you don't need any extra money or anything, with the pineapple shop taking off,” I said, trying to make my voice sound soothing. “But seriously, it would be that easy. I wouldn't be asking if I didn't think that you could do it.”
Mina frowned and then moved around behind me, her hands coming up to my shoulders and resting there for a moment before she started to knead at the tissue there. I couldn't help groaning. “Just like that,” I said, letting my head loll forward. “Oh fuck. You're going to be a better masseuse than I am.”
Mina laughed and then withdrew her hands. “Are you sure?” she asked.
“So sure,” I said confidently. I didn't wait for further confirmation from her before I called the hotel back, letting them know that we could accommodate the Jensons that afternoon. I kept my eyes trained on Mina's the whole time, and even though she had a slightly bemused smile on her face, she didn't protest. Good.
“What do we do now?” Mina whispered at me as the Jensons changed into their massage outfits.
I couldn't help laughing a little. “Relax,” I advised. “We'll give them a couple of minutes, and then we'll go in there and get the massage started. Start at their feet; they're tourists, so their feet are probably really tired. And then just work up their legs, through their back, and through their shoulders. You've got this.”
“I can't believe I let you talk me into this,” she said, shaking her head.
“You're going to be great,” I said confidently. “I'm going to let you have Mrs. Jenson; just don't be too firm with her, all right? But as long as you can get her to relax a little, she'll probably be easy.”
Mina sighed a little but followed me into the massage room and got to work.
“So, the two of you are just here on vacation?” I said, smiling at Mina's startled look. What, did she think all my massages were conducted in strict silence? I couldn't even imagine how awkward that would be.
Mrs. Jenson giggled a little. “Actually, it's our honeymoon,” she said.
“Oh, wow,” I said, surprised.
“We were married to other people first, if you can believe that,” Richard Jenson told me, laughing as well. He reached over and tangled his fingers into his wife's fingers. “We were both married, and we each had four kids. But then we found one another.” He whistled an appreciative note. “Don't get me wrong, my first wife, Helen, is an incredible woman. But I've never felt anything like what I feel for Trish.”
Trish giggled a little. “Same for me,” she admitted. She glanced back at me. “You must know that feeling, though. When it feels like everything in the universe has somehow aligned to bring you to the right place and the right people.”
I shook my head, as much as I might wish it was otherwise. I looked over at Mina, who was expertly working her way up Trish's legs, soothing the no-doubt sore muscles there. Tourists always pushed themselves too hard; they didn't seem to understand that Hawaii was a place to come to relax.
“Maybe I've got a certain friend who's like that for me,” I said, and Mina flashed me a smile.
“It must be so great, to work together with your best friend,” Trish sighed.
I grinned, winking over at Mina. We didn't exactly work together, but they didn't need to know that. “It is great.” I agreed.
“I'm sure you'll each find husbands at some point, too,” Richard said.
Mina snorted, and I gave her a warning look. I knew her views on love and marriage, but she didn't need to be spoiling this couple's honeymoon with her cynicism. Fortunately, though, she just said, “At the rate, we're going, I think we're both more likely to end up living together in some elderly care home, with too many cats and too many stories!”
“Sometimes, that's the best way to do it,” Trish said.
The conversation moved over to their plans for the rest of their trip, but I couldn't quit thinking about what Mina had said. I knew deep down that I shouldn't have kicked Christian out of bed the night before. He had made no signs that he was going to leave, and the foundation of any relationship was trust. If I could trust him to know what he wanted, it would be different.
But I had told him it was best that we never see one another again, and he hadn't even argued with that. I had blown it this time.
I suppressed a sigh and tried to focus on the conversation, but there in the back of my mind, I was starting to feel guilty.
Chapter Seventeen
Christian
I was doing my best to forget about work and just enjoy the fact that I was there in Hawaii, but at the same time, I knew I needed to keep up with the news so that when I eventually did return, I would know what had been happening. And there was part of me that was just curious as well.
I took a deep breath and opened my computer, tapping away at the keys to bring up the latest. Wow, despite my absence, or maybe because of my absence, the company was doing well. Surprisingly well. Our stocks had never jumped this high before.
I pulled out my phone, debating on whether to call Paul. But I knew he was just going to reassure me that, of course, they weren't trying to phase me out of the company or anything like that. I couldn't help thinking, though, that with these numbers, something was up.
They were certainly proving that they didn't need me. And I could only imagine the way that things might dip once I came back if I was the reason our numbers had been so low before.
For all that I had always maintained that I was the face of the company and that they needed me, I was starting to wonder if that was true.
I shut the computer and set it off to the side, moving over to the pool and diving into it, keen on forgetting about work through physical exertion, if that was what it would take.
When I resurfaced, I was surprised to see Gretchen crouching at the side of the pool waiting for me.
“Nice dive,” she commented, grinning crookedly at me.
I raised an eyebrow at her, pausing to tread water. “What are you doing here?” I wanted to be a bit blunter than that and remind her that she'd been the one to say that we should never see one another again, but I figured she already knew that just as well as I did.
Sure enough, she looked a little uncertain and bashful. “I came to see you, actually,” she said. She coughed lightly. “I don't have work today, and I was thinking that I could take you to that nice place that I wanted to take you to if you were interested. It's not a place that many tourists know about, so you probably haven't been there yet.”
I frowned at her and decided just to be blunt. “Thought you didn't think we should see one another again,” I said.
Gretchen ducked her head a little, toying with a bit of her hair. “Yeah, um.” She chewed on her lower lip and then blurted out, “I owe you an apology for that.”
I laughed, deciding to take pity on her. “Yeah, sure,” I said, swimming over to the edge of the pool. “What kind of place is this? Do I need to get changed out of my swim trunks?”
“No, but you probably should throw on a shirt,” Gretchen said, obviously eyeing my abs as I pushed myself up out of the pool.
“Think you'll get distracted otherwise?” I asked, winking at her.
She rolled her eyes but didn't protest, and I took it that that was exactly what she was thinking. I grinned. “I've got to bring my computer upstairs,” I told her. “Should I call my driver?”
“I was thinking we could rent scooters,” she said. “If you're comfortable with that.”
“Yeah, that sounds fun,” I said. “You're going to have to be patient with me because I have hardly driven in the past five years or so, let alone driven a scooter, but-”
“It's easy,” Gretchen said confidently. “And we can take it slow.”
When we got to the waterfall, I could immediately see why she was so eager to show it to me. “Oh, wow,” I said as we walked up to it. We'd parked our scooters and had a short hike to get out to whatever it was that she
had wanted me to see. Which I now saw was a cascading waterfall, with a beautiful little pool down at the bottom of it.
“I brought lunch,” Gretchen also said, swinging off her backpack.
I shook my head, struck by the sudden urge to kiss her. I pulled her into my arms for a moment, despite the fact that as warm as it was, we were both a little sticky from the hike. “This is amazing,” I told her.
Gretchen smiled almost shyly up at me. “I'm glad you like it,” she told me. “I always love showing people around here.” She shrugged a little. “It's my home, and I'm proud of it.”
“You should be,” I said, looking with wonder at the waterfall. Then, I stripped off my shirt. “Come on, let's go for a swim before we eat. I'm really hot after the hike.”
Gretchen laughed and nodded. “Yeah, sounds like a good idea,” she said, stripping off her dress and revealing a sexy black swimsuit underneath it.
We swam around a little and then pulled ourselves out of the water, sitting on some of the rocks next to the pool. “I can't believe there aren't more people here,” I said, looking around. To think that it was this beautiful, and yet we had it all to ourselves.
“Yeah,” Gretchen said, smiling happily. “This is one of the best-kept local secrets, I think. During the summer, you sometimes will get tourists out here, but for the most part, I think they just stick to the beaches. So, it's a special place.”
I munched on one of the sandwiches that she'd brought; Gretchen picked at hers a little. “I don't know for sure,” she said slowly, “but you seemed kind of down when I came to get you from the hotel. Is everything okay back home?”
I blinked over at her in surprise. “Wow, you're good,” I said. Then, I narrowed my eyes teasingly. “How long were you watching me, anyway?”
She laughed. “I wasn't creeping or anything like that,” she said. “But I guess as part of the massage stuff that I do, I'm pretty well-trained at noticing things like that from people's expressions and body language.”
“That makes sense,” I said. “I guess I have that with people as well; it's what makes me so good at all the PR and stuff like that. And the actual selling part. I can always tell when a couple is ready to buy a house or not. Well, almost always.”
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