Silver Lining, page 5
“Remember what I said about being prey?”
“There’s nothing about you that suggests you’re prey, Lena. On the contrary, you are an enigma.”
“Is that so?” I asked.
My skin warmed with the heat of his stare as if he were studying me. “You are the lioness, sleek, stunningly beautiful, and majestic. You exude confidence. I imagine whatever you do, you do well. And yet you blush when I compliment you. As if there are two amazing women in one. I want to know more about each one.”
“You determined all of that from the gym and these few minutes?”
“Would you think I’m a stalker if I told you I watched you yesterday, wondering if you’d come back to the bar.”
My spine straightened at his choice of words. “You watched me?”
The waiter arrived with our food. Once he was gone, CJ lifted his fork. “Saved by the waiter.”
“One of us was.” I lowered my spoon into the soft, creamy yogurt. When I looked up, his gaze was on me. “I’m not about taking things slow,” I confessed.
His dimple reappeared. “Take charge.”
I shrugged. “This is one week. I’d like to see where it leads.”
“And I’d like to see you…” His words trailed away as his dimple grew deeper.
I had a million questions.
What does he do?
Why does he need a break?
Why did he say at the gym that he regretted being the predator?
And yet I asked none of them. Because my questions would lead to questions from him, questions I didn’t want to answer, subjects I didn’t want to cloud my thoughts. Instead, I chose to live in the present. With the gentle breeze from the fans above and the din of the ocean beyond the pool, I would soak up the here and now.
“I wanted to go to your chair yesterday,” he said, breaking the silence. “I just had to get out of my own head.”
“Are you out?”
CJ nodded.
“Then maybe you’d like to join me today?”
“I reserved a cabana on the beach.”
My eyes widened. “Confident?”
“Hopeful.”
“And if I hadn’t shown for breakfast?”
“I’d have a cabana all to myself, which doesn’t sound as fun as sharing it with you.”
“I want to share it with you.” I lowered my spoon. “I want a break too.” Pausing, I gave my next sentence some thought. “Please don’t take this wrong.”
He leaned back as his hands dropped to his sides. “That is never a good start to a conversation.”
“It’s not the start. It’s the middle.”
“Go on.”
Inhaling, I met his gaze. “I’m not married or anything like that.”
CJ’s eyes widened. “Good to know. I’m not either.”
“I figured. No ring.”
“You either.”
“I’m only looking for a break from reality. Real life needs me to return.”
“One week.”
I nodded and lifted my champagne glass. “To us. To a week to remember, one that hopefully makes us each smile once we return to real life.”
With a sexy grin, CJ lifted his glass. “A week with you will be impossible to forget.”
Chapter Nine
Lena
There was an indescribable elation the moment when all the pieces of a business deal came together. It was the moment when the late nights, hours of research, and lack of sleep all culminated into the perfect storm—the lucrative payoff. Whether it was the gotcha moment when securing an acquisition or the satisfaction with turning a company that was in the red to the black, that was the feeling I lived for.
I sought out opportunities.
I’d learned early in my quest of attainment that life didn’t present breaks on a silver platter. It was the digging, the pursuit, and the willingness to learn that separated the winners from the losers. I had an affinity for start-ups. That road map had paid handsomely in the past.
However, staring across the table as our champagne glasses clinked, I had a different sensation, something I’d not allowed myself to entertain.
New.
Engaging.
Endearing.
Giving myself a week’s hiatus, I could possibly grow to adore this unusual and different feeling.
It was the way CJ looked at me.
Much like the feeling of the great deal, as I sipped my mimosa, something tingled through me. Electricity bringing life back to a basic part of me I had kept dormant for most of my adulthood. I wouldn’t lie to myself and make this any bigger than it was.
I barely knew the man with his gaze upon me.
We weren’t in love or even in like.
This was lust with a side of curiosity.
If I ever learned his secrets or he mine, we both may run in different directions.
This was attraction.
The kind of lure that pulled me toward him, wanting his companionship. Not for a big deal. Not for forever. It was as if there was a magnetic pull, one that I felt the first time we spoke at the bar. With each moment in his presence, the allure grew stronger, as if there was more—a silver lining—so to speak.
“Where are you from?” CJ asked as we resumed eating.
“All over.”
“Oh, come on. There is somewhere you call home.”
A blueberry covered in yogurt sat on my spoon. “Currently, Missoula, Montana.”
“I’ve heard that’s the new Silicon Valley.”
“Not quite, but it’s beautiful with a side of tech.” I grinned. “What about you?”
He shrugged his broad shoulders. “Originally from Ohio. Nothing wrong with it, but I wanted out.”
“So where is out?”
“Lately, it’s been in Austin.” His expression dimmed. “I guess I’m not sure anymore.” He winked. “I could check out Missoula.”
“Is this part of why you were in your head?”
Lifting his napkin, CJ wiped his lips and sat back. “It is and since I made my way out, I’d like to stay here in your company.”
“So, rule number one,” I said, “no discussing real life.”
CJ’s smile was back. “You’re a rule follower.”
“I never said that.”
“Then why make rules?”
I tweaked an eyebrow. “For you to follow.”
“I see,” he said with a laugh. “You’re the rule maker.”
Finishing off my mimosa, I gave his comment some thought. I did make rules. I set boundaries, I planned to the nth, I also broke rules. I’d done worse than break rules, and in hindsight, I felt no regret for the lengths I’d traveled. Along the way I’d made mistakes, serious life-altering mistakes. With each mistake, I learned. I dusted myself off. I moved forward. In the grand scheme of life, I’d come out ahead.
“Yes,” I finally answered. “I’m better at making rules than following them.”
“Now you’re talking. A rule breaker.”
“You?”
CJ looked at our empty dishes and glasses seconds before the waiter appeared.
“May I get you both another mimosa?” he asked.
“How about a walk on the beach?” CJ asked.
Nodding, I smiled at the waiter. “Thank you. We can put this on my room.”
“All-inclusive,” CJ said. “Any additional charges will go on my suite.”
A few minutes later the waiter was back and handed the small black folder to CJ.
“Wait,” I said. “You don’t need to pay for—”
CJ waved as he signed his name and suite number.
Once the waiter was gone, I pressed my lips together and narrowed my gaze.
When CJ noticed, he began to laugh. Standing, he offered me his hand. “Come on, Lena. You are obviously capable. For this week, could you allow me to pamper you?”
“Pamper?”
“One week, remember. Then it’s back to real life. Tell me, who pampers you in real life?”
I laid my hand in his. As his long fingers encased my hand, a tingling sensation radiated from my palm in his grasp throughout my body. Looking up to his handsome face, I stood, feeling the warmth of his touch and the nearness of his body. For longer than either of us intended, we stood in the middle of the outdoor restaurant, near the infinity pool, and stared. His eyes with the colors of the ocean swirled with emotions. As the silence prevailed and the world beyond our two-person bubble faded, we reached out to one another in ways words were insufficient to express.
For one week I wanted to learn more about this man—the one who made me forget my long list of concerns and the one who had awakened a primal part of me. That feminine part of me hoped CJ wanted the same thing.
Moistening my lips, I tried to recall what he’d said.
“Pampering,” CJ prompted.
“I’d say any pampering is by my own hand.”
His smile quirked and his dimple came into view. “Not this week. This week all the pampering will come from me.” He leaned closer to my ear and whispered, “Pleasure too.”
As he spoke, his warm breath tickled my skin.
“Only if it’s a two-way street.”
Before we could make our way to the beach, I saw Adam leaning against one of the tiki-style bars, his eyes on us.
“Just a minute,” I said as I stepped into a shaded area and removed my phone from the large purse. In no time at all, I sent a text to Adam and Kelsey.
“No dead fish. Give us space.”
I knew better than to ask them for privacy. Involving themselves in my private life was what the members of my security did, what I paid them to do. Space seemed to be a happy medium.
Tossing my phone back into my purse, I grinned and reached for CJ’s arm. “To the beach.”
As we stepped onto the soft white sand, I removed my sandals, adding them to my bag. CJ took off his leather flip-flops and held them in one hand while he captured my hand with his other. My feet sank into the warm sand as we passed the cabanas and headed toward the shore.
“I forget there are so many shades of blue,” I said as the breeze blew my hair around my face and my sundress fluttered in the wind.
“This is my first time here.”
Like it was meant to be.
“It’s one of my favorite seas,” I said. “The Mediterranean is stunning too, especially in Greece.”
CJ’s steps came to a stop, and he looked down at me. With both of us having bare feet, CJ was easily seven or eight inches taller. “You must travel a lot.”
“Not usually for pleasure. Work.”
“I’m glad you got your boss to give you a free week.”
My boss.
When I looked up, I nodded. “It was a hard sell, but she went for it.” We began walking again until our feet were washed in waves of warm, salty water. “Was it difficult for you to get time away?” I asked.
“Nah, I’m kind of between gigs.”
For the next few minutes, we walked the shoreline. I wasn’t certain of how far we’d gone or where we were until we came to a sign indicating the property line for the resort. The beach beyond this point was barren, seaweed near the water. What was manicured farther from the shore was now filled with sea grapes and tall grasses. Even though CJ kept walking, I stopped.
“You don’t want to keep walking?” he asked.
Shaking my head, I tried to shrug off the sudden sense of dread. Turning around, I looked back for Adam and Kelsey. If they were watching, they were giving me the space I’d demanded. Despite my spike in pulse, I tried to make my voice light. “Let’s head back.”
“It’s not as if there’s an invisible fence. We can walk beyond this point.” CJ demonstrated by walking forward a few feet and back. As he did, the breeze picked up, the sea grapes rustled, and grasses swayed.
“The resort is secure,” I reasoned.
“Lena, are you okay?” He again took my hand. “I was just joking about the fence. If you want to go back, we can go back.”
Though CJ was talking, my focus stayed on the sea grapes, wondering if I’d seen someone hiding behind the foliage.
“Lena?”
“What?” I turned to CJ.
At the same time, a young couple came running out of the hedges.
“Oh,” I yelped.
My entire body stiffened as my skin chilled. It didn’t matter that the sun was beating down or that the young couple was giggling, the strings of the girl’s bikini flying in her wake. Even as I watched the woman peering over her shoulder, egging the man on toward the water, the breakfast I’d eaten churned in my stomach.
“You’re white as a sheet,” CJ said.
My gaze went down to where our hands were connected and back to him. “Let’s go back to the resort. You rented a cabana. We shouldn’t waste it.”
When we turned, in the distance, I saw a couple walking our direction. With the glare of the sun, it was difficult to make out the details. Yet I knew. Breathing a sigh of relief, I knew it was Adam and Kelsey.
It wasn’t until we grew closer to the couple that my bodyguards turned and walked ahead of us.
As much as I hated being smothered, I had to admit, I was happy they were near.
Our walk back was filled with small talk about beaches and weather. While this was CJ’s first trip to Cancún, he had done some traveling, mostly around the US. He compared the white sand to that of western Florida, telling me that his grandparents have a place down there, and when he was younger, his spring breaks were spent visiting.
I acknowledged his story and encouraged him to keep talking, but my mind was on the rustling sea grapes, the sudden paralyzing fear that we’d been followed. Every few minutes, I would peer over at the man still holding my hand.
Had he taken me that way on purpose?
Could he be working with my fish stalker?
No.
It was my imagination.
The real reason for this getaway.
The reason I’d left Missoula in a rush.
The attempt on my life.
“I can walk you to your room and you can change, and we’ll come back to the cabana.”
His words barely registered as I looked up at the large resort. Seeing it from afar made me realize how large it was, how my stalker could so easily be there. It hadn’t seemed that large while I was inside or on the pool deck. But out here…
Chapter Ten
CJ
There was something melancholy in Lena’s expression that emanated a wave of sadness. Even with her eyes hidden behind large sunglasses, I felt a chill as if she’d left me, going someplace she didn’t want to be. Reaching for her chin, I turned her gaze to mine. “What thoughts are going through your beautiful mind?”
As she inhaled, her neck and shoulders straightened. “CJ, this isn’t a good time for me.”
“With me? Walking on the beach or is it bigger than that?”
“Bigger. Much bigger.”
Still holding her face, I leaned closer until my lips met hers. Soft and firm, she didn’t back away or hesitate to return my kiss. When it ended, I grinned and placed another kiss on her forehead. The return of her smile was radiant.
“One week,” I said. “Let the bigger go for one week. I won’t pry. I just want to do what I can to see you smile.”
She nodded. “Remember what you said you were doing yesterday?”
“Wallowing?”
“In your own head. I was just there.”
“I missed you while you were gone.”
Her cheeks rose and her head tilted. “You’re not real.”
Taking her hand, I placed her palm on my chest. “I’m real, Lena. Flesh and blood, beating heart.”
“Physically you’re real. I’ve known a lot of men. You’re too good to be true.”
I shrugged. “I’ve been rather preoccupied for” —I wanted to say forever— “many years. I don’t have a vast history of relationships. I don’t know what’s real and what’s not real. I know you have a gorgeous smile that I’d like to see more often. I enjoy hearing your voice and your laugh. I fucking want more of your lips and whatever else I can get.”
Pink filled her cheeks.
“And it’s my goal to make you blush.”
“I don’t blush.”
“You do. You are.”
Lena’s hands went to her cheeks as she nodded. “Okay. One week. I’ll try to stay out of my own head, and you do the same.”
Taking her hand, I shook it. “Deal.”
“Which cabana did you rent?”
“They said it would have a sign.”
Together we walked around the large cabanas until we found the one with the sign that read CJ. On the ground level was a soft mattress surrounded by straw mats and flowing curtains. Up a small ladder was a sundeck with two chairs. To the side was a cooler. I’d had it filled with water bottles. “We will also have an attendant and can order whatever we’d like.” I looked toward the resort. “And the pool bars are up there, if we want anything else.” I bowed at the waist. “I’m here for your pampering.”
Lena’s smile shone as she walked around the circumference of the cabana and ran her fingers over the curtains. Her blue sundress hung to her calves, and her bare feet left her footprints in the sand. Her finger- and toenails matched, colored in pale blue. I was drawn to her dichotomy. Physically, she was petite, lean with curves in all the right places—almost fragile. For a moment when she was in her head, I sensed vulnerability. And yet yesterday and today at breakfast, she seemed the exact opposite.
The lioness was returning.
Her grin grew. “This is much more secluded than the pool.”
“That was my plan.”
She let out a breath. “I’ll go change and meet you back here.”
“I can walk with you.”
“Then you’d know my suite number.”
“That was also my plan.”
“How about we take your plan one step at a time?”
“You drive a hard bargain.”
She grinned. “It’s kind of what I do.”
“I’ll let you go,” I said, “under one condition.”
