The woman strutting toward them was a beautiful blonde in a floral blue bikini. Callum averted his eyes quickly so Lexi wouldn’t think he was checking another woman out. He turned to Lexi, who was arching an eyebrow. He murmured close to her ear, “That’s the woman Cambree wanted to set me up with.”
Lexi scowled at him. “Wow. Maybe you should have gone for it.”
“No way.”
“I know how you like bikinis.”
“I like your two-piece,” he said.
She rewarded him with a smile and sat up next to him on the bed. Callum wrapped his arm around her trim waist. Her two-piece floral suit was just about perfect. Now if he could just get her alone …
Britney strode right up to them, grinning. “You have to be the Hawk brothers I’ve heard so much about from Cambree.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Bridger grinned. “Cambree told us all about how you helped her and Emmett get together.”
Britney pushed a hand through the air. Callum concentrated on her face. “Those two were meant to be together. So cute.” She stuck her hand out. “I’m Britney Nolan.”
Bridger took her hand and held it. “Bridger Hawk.” He inclined his chin. “My oldest brother, Callum, and his fiancée, Lexi Hall.”
She waved with her free hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all. Cambree was in the middle of a facial when I found her, so I told her I’d come make some new friends.”
Bridger arched an eyebrow. “We definitely want to be friends.”
She smiled coyly at him. Callum thought this was just about perfect. Britney and Bridger could have a shallow hook-up at this destination wedding. Bridger would be distracted from drooling over Lexi, and Britney wouldn’t set her sights on Callum.
Callum’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He’d been so busy playing with Lexi in all manner of water sports and thinking how cute and fun she was, he had ignored most of the phone calls, texts, and email alerts that had come in, which was so unlike him that it made him wonder if Lexi was a good influence or a bad one. He discreetly pulled his phone out while Bridger flirted with Britney. It was Shirlene. Crap. She knew he was taking the next two weeks off—well, as much as he could. She wouldn’t call unless it was an emergency.
He pulled it out and gave Lexi an apologetic smile. “Shirlene.”
“It’s fine.” She nodded, but her eyes were pained, as if he was hurting her feelings taking a phone call.
He squeezed her hand and then pushed off the bed and slid the phone to answer. “Shirlene?”
“Well, if you aren’t the most understanding fiancée ever,” Britney said from behind him to Lexi.
He heard the words even over Shirlene’s panicked ramble: “The Israelson deal is imploding. They won’t talk to anyone but you. Can you please do a conference call with their lawyer and help him talk them down?”
“Of course. Thanks for letting me know.”
“Always here for you, boss. Just answer your phone next time.” Shirlene hung up.
He turned back to the group, wondering how many times Shirlene had called. Lexi and Britney were perched on the bed side by side, and Bridger was entertaining them with some joke. They were both laughing and staring up at him.
Callum strode back to the cabana. Bridger stopped mid-stream and turned to him. “Everything okay?”
He shook his head shortly. His eyes sought Lexi’s. “I need to take care of some things with work.”
Her eyes flashed disappointment, but she nodded. “Okay.”
“Do you want to come back to the room with me or stay here?”
“Do you mind if I stay here? I want to soak up the sand and the waves as much as I can.”
Callum smiled. “Of course.” He glanced at Bridger.
“Don’t worry, bro. I’ll take care of your girl.” He winked.
“I’ll be an hour or two,” Callum said to Lexi, disturbed at the thought of his charismatic brother taking care of his girl.
She nodded silently.
Callum said his goodbyes, then hurried to their suite. He had a sinking feeling that he was making a wrong choice. He didn’t want Bridger taking care of his girl. He wanted that job. But he couldn’t turn his back on his real job and his real clients.
Lexi had a good afternoon with Bridger and Britney. Britney was a sweetheart and Bridger was hilarious. It wasn’t as good as the morning she’d had with Callum, but who was she to complain? She was being paid to be here. She didn’t have the right to ask him to not deal with work emergencies. She didn’t even know if that would be possible for Callum. Maybe as it got closer to Christmas Day things would slow down. Surely his deals took a break for the actual holiday.
She walked up to the penthouse door and took a breath. She’d be pleasant and wouldn’t let him know how she’d missed him this afternoon. She’d told him he could kiss her in that cabana. Anticipation and heat swirled through her. Would he want to recreate that tonight, or would he be too distracted by his business deals?
Sliding a key card over the lock, she opened the door. She glanced around the main area and didn’t see him. She could hear his voice coming from his room, but the door was closed. Oh. She could take a hint.
Sighing, she went into her bedroom and closed her own door. She showered off the salt and the sand and dressed carefully for dinner. The rest of Callum’s family had shown up on the beach at different times throughout the afternoon. Everyone but his dad watched her with pity in their eyes when they found out Callum had to leave for a work call and had been gone for hours.
Lexi eyed herself in the mirror, and she thought she looked pretty good with her long, blonde hair in curls and light makeup highlighting her blue eyes and rosebud lips. Her new lacy white dress had capped sleeves and came above the knee. It was flattering and modest. Did Callum really prefer her modest swimsuits and style instead of something like Britney’s bikini? She’d been impressed with the way Callum, Creed, Emmett, and even Bridger had focused on Britney’s face instead of ogling her model-perfect body like most the men on the beach seemed to do. These Hawk men were impressive. Too bad her Hawk man wasn’t really hers.
Lexi slipped her key card into a clutch with some mint lip balm and walked out into the main area. Callum’s voice carried from his room. Her heart sank. He was still working. Should she knock on his door or simply leave him a note? He’d claimed at the beach that he’d only be an hour or two. She hadn’t made note of the time, but it was barely after they’d eaten lunch, so probably one or two o’clock. Now it was seven.
She pasted on a smile and knocked quietly on his door. His voice moved toward the door, and then he swung it open. He blinked at her as if coming out of the dark into the bright sunshine. He was still in his swimsuit but had thrown a T-shirt on.
He stopped talking for a second and then said, “Excuse me for one moment, please.” He pushed a button on the phone—the mute, she assumed—and he set it on a nearby table. “Lexi.” The way he said her name was so tender and sexy at the same time, she wanted to melt into his arms. “You’re exquisitely beautiful.”
Lexi smiled.
He studied her face for a second, then said, “Seeing you is like a prisoner in the hole coming out into the sunshine for the first time.”
She put a hand to her heart and smiled at him. “A bit dramatic, but thank you.”
He chuckled. His eyes darted to his phone, then back to her. “I’m so sorry this is taking forever.”
She nodded bravely. “I … understand.” She obviously didn’t, but what was she supposed to say?
Pushing a hand through his hair, he muttered, “I wish I could come with you right now. Are you comfortable going down to dinner, and I’ll be there soon?”
Lexi heard something in his voice. He wanted to come, it was obvious he did, but he didn’t truly believe he’d make it. All the warmth from his compliments and his appreciative glances drained away. She had to constantly remind herself they weren’t engaged, that they weren’t even dating. Which actually wa
s a really good thing, because she’d never want to feel cast aside by someone that she was in a relationship with. So why did this still hurt so much?
She backed away and raised a hand. “I’ll see you soon.”
Relief swept over his face. He was reaching for his phone before she even spun away.
Chapter Seventeen
Callum wondered how many hours he’d been on the phone babying the Israelsons through the sale of their twelve-hundred acres of prime real estate. All of their excuses had been repeated so many times they were engrained in his brain. Their family had been attached to the land for generations. They couldn’t stand the thought of their grandchildren never fishing in the pond or hiking in the foothills. They’d raised their babies and said goodbye to their parents and grandparents in their ancestral home. On and on.
Finally, a heavy dose of common sense—the millions of dollars they stood to make, and the fact that it was sell or declare bankruptcy and leave those darling grandchildren with nothing but the knowledge that their grandfather had wasted their inheritance and family legacy on online gambling sites and too many trips to Vegas to count—convinced them to sign the papers. Callum wondered if the lawyer, who had sat through the hours of negotiations while he talked on the phone, sighed as heavily as he did.
He pushed a hand through his hair and glanced at the time on his phone. Eight-thirty. Ah, no. Lexi had looked like a perfect, irresistible angel when she’d knocked on his door for dinner. He was still sticky from playing in the ocean and sand. He smiled briefly, remembering the two of them trying to balance on a paddleboard together, how cute she’d looked snorkeling with her goggles pressing against her eyelashes and the straps turning the edges of her ears down, how excited she’d been about swimming in the ocean.
She’d actually asked him to kiss her before he’d had to leave for work. She’d said please. Heat rushed through his abdomen, but worry tempered it. Had he ruined this day for her by leaving her all afternoon … and evening? He couldn’t believe the shift in his thinking. A few weeks ago, if someone would’ve told him he’d be worried that he worked too much, he would’ve laughed. But this was Lexi he was thinking about. She deserved his attention.
He rushed through a shower, dressing, and doing his hair. He spritzed on some cologne and strode to his bedroom door when he heard the front door open. Pushing on his door, he saw the vision that was Lexi walking toward him.
She stopped when she saw him and gave him a smile that he knew was far from genuine. “Hey,” she whispered.
“Hey.” He strode up to her, stopping in front of her. “I’m so sorry. That deal was a mess.”
She held up a hand. Then she shook her head. Then she set her little purse on a side table. Finally, she met his gaze. “Maybe you should be apologizing to your family, not your employee.”
Callum stared down at her. “What does that mean?”
“I have no right to tell you what to do, Callum.”
“Why?”
“Because you paid me to be here,” she hissed from between her teeth.
Callum’s jaw tightened. “Please don’t ever mention the money again. I want you here, Lexi.”
“Really? You’re doing a fabulous job of showing that.” She held up her hand again when Callum stepped toward her. “I’m sorry. I appreciate you saying you want me here and asking me to forget about the money, but the fact of the matter is it’s a very good thing we aren’t engaged.”
“Why?” She’d asked him to kiss her earlier today, and now she was obviously ticked at him.
Lexi studied him for a few beats, then said, “You’re a good man, Callum, and I truly appreciate what you’ve done for my family and I enjoy being around you.” She bit at her lip. “But I would never be in a relationship with someone who puts work before his family.”
There it was. This was exactly why Callum never got into relationships. No woman could understand his commitments, the demands on his time, the lives he changed around the globe. Why couldn’t Lexi even try? “I’m sorry,” he heard himself say, instead of trying to explain. “Will you give me another chance?”
“There’s no chance to give. The two of us are not real, Callum.”
“But I want us to be.” It was out in the room before he could call it back.
A flash of interest and hope lit her eyes before she doused it. She shook her head. “I know you don’t want me to think about the money, but it’s there, and there’s the fact that you’re my boss. Now, as I spend more time around you, I realize how real you are, how good you are, but I can’t handle falling in love with a workaholic.”
Callum heard all the excuses, but he also heard a longing in her voice. He stepped even closer, inhaling her lovely coconut scent. He ran his hands gently down her forearms and grasped both of her hands with his. “But you’re in danger of falling?”
Lexi let out a harsh, unladylike snort of laughter. Callum’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Look at yourself.” She pulled her hands free and gestured angrily to him. “You’re the most desirable man in America. You’re hot, successful, kind, fun to be around, and when you touch me I tingle like I just smothered myself with Deep Blue ointment. Of course I’m in danger of falling.”
Despite the anger in her voice and stature, Callum took hope from her words. He knew how Deep Blue ointment could make you tingle. He took a step closer. She backed up. He took another step, and she bumped into the wall. She placed her palms flat on the wall behind her as if she was holding herself up.
Callum smiled as he rested his palms on the wall, framing her head, and leaned in. “Please fall, sweetheart.”
Lexi swallowed, staring at him with wide, innocent eyes. The pulse in her neck was throbbing in a quick pattern that gave him even more hope. Callum bent low, tempted to go for her lips, but he slowly swept past them and kissed the pulse point in her neck. Lexi moaned and arched up toward him. Callum softly kissed her neck again, inhaling her intoxicating scent; then he moved his way up her soft neck until he kissed her cheek, inches from her lips.
“Please fall,” he repeated.
Lexi squeezed her eyes shut and pulled in a breath. “I can’t live that life, Cal.”
“What life?”
“Waiting for the man I love while he spends seven hours on the phone salvaging a deal.”
Callum pulled back slightly, but his lips still hovered over hers. He didn’t know how to change his life, but maybe if she would fall for him he could explain better, make her part of his life, help her understand why he had to do what he did. Yet how to explain when it was just what he did?
Maybe he could make concessions, train his people better, try to trust others more. “What if I changed?”
She stared at him. “You aren’t going to change for someone you’ve known a matter of weeks.”
“You don’t know that. Give me a chance.”
She studied him, not promising anything but not denying him either. He needed to push his advantage and pray his kiss could convince her where his words were failing.
He moved so close their breath intermingled. “Do I still have permission?” he asked on a whisper.
Time paused as his body brushed hers and they breathed together. His hands were still on the wall, and hers were still pressed behind her, propping her up. They weren’t actually touching, but he’d never felt so invested in and drawn to any woman.
“No,” she whispered.
“No?” The moment shattered and Callum straightened. If she wouldn’t kiss him and wouldn’t give him a chance, what could he do? Dang the Israelsons for burning his afternoon and burning his chances with this angelic beauty.
She ducked under his arm and speed-walked to her bedroom door. When she reached it, she turned and said to him, “Your family has rented out Xplor Park tomorrow for the wedding guests who have been arriving all evening. Do you think it’s possible to leave your computer and phone home and show me a Callum Hawk not attached to his work?”
She was giving him a chance. Could he take it? Callum paused for long enough the light in her blue eyes dimmed. “I can do that,” he said quickly before he lost his nerve.
She smiled, but it was watery. Was she going to cry? Had he hurt her? He wanted to rush across the room and pull her close, but she was the one who’d rescinded her offer to kiss him. She was the one who didn’t want his life or what he could offer her. She slipped into her room before he could move or say anything to reassure her.
Callum paused only a second; then he rushed for his room. He had a lot of work to do if he was going to be away all day tomorrow. The thought of not working made his chest tighten, but he could do it for Lexi. Tomorrow was Saturday, so his work responsibilities should be less. He’d pray for that and pray Shirlene was ready to neglect her boys on her day off and deal with fires.
Chapter Eighteen
Lexi didn’t sleep well, but she still rose early and went on a run along the beach, back and forth, back and forth. It was beautiful and stirring to run on the sand and listen to the waves and stare out into the glorious ocean before the sun even rose.
She made it back to her and Callum’s suite and came up short when she realized he stood next to the counter. The light from the mini-fridge glowed in the room only lit by the pre-dawn.
Callum pulled out a water bottle and straightened, turning to face her. “Hey.” His face was too serious, but what did she expect after last night? “Would you like one?”
“Yes, please,” she said. He looked so good, wearing a tank top and sweat-type shorts.
Grabbing her a water bottle, he crossed the kitchen area and handed it over, his fingers brushing hers. Lexi hoped she didn’t stink, but it had been humid on the beach and she’d sweated quite a bit. He stayed too close, staring down at her. His expression was neutral as if he didn’t dare hope for too much from her, or possibly concerned she might tell him off like she did last night.
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