Carter couldn’t actually afford to take this time off, not really. But what was the point of owning a resort and having an enormous fortune if he couldn’t do what he wanted every now and then? And right now, there was nowhere he’d rather be.
Gentle waves rolled in today and the water was clear and free of any seaweed. He and Hannah had walked out through chest deep water to the first sand bar while Addi swam between them. He was impressed with how much stronger her swimming was already. With her goggles on, she dove down to look for sand dollars, popping up to the surface when she found one to examine it, then swimming back down to return it to its home under the white sand.
While she played, he and Hannah relaxed. For the most part, he tried to look out to sea, or back at his resort…anything to keep from feasting his eyes on Hannah. With her hair pulled up on top of her head, exposing her long, smooth neck, and her lightly tanned skin gleaming in the sunlight, she was breathtaking. No matter what he did though, his eyes still wandered over to her too often. He should not be checking out another man’s girlfriend. Except that she didn’t feel like someone else’s. She felt like his.
Was he crazy or just being foolishly possessive?
“Big wave coming,” Hannah called.
But he had no time to react as the wave crashed down over him, slamming him under in a swirl of bubbles and currents. Giving the wave time to pass, he stood up again, and found Hannah laughing at him.
“That’s what you get for taking your eyes off the waves.”
Addi popped up then, completely unaffected by the wave since she’d been down digging for sand dollars. “What’s so funny?”
Carter smiled at her curious little face. “I just got plowed by a wave and Hannah thinks it’s hilarious.”
“I sure do.”
But just then, another wave, albeit a smaller one, rolled right over her. She popped up a couple seconds later spitting out the salt water and wiping her eyes.
“Now who wasn’t paying attention?”
“Shut up. Now my sunglasses are going to be clouded with salt.”
Addi, bored with the conversation, dove back down again. Carter moved closer to Hannah. “Maybe we should stop distracting each other.” Then, like his hand had a mind of its own, he reached out and moved a strand of hair that clung to her skin, wrapping around her neck. He met her eyes, which roamed over his face like he was a painting she loved.
Addi popped up between them, and Hannah moved away. “Big wave,” she said.
Carter grabbed Addi and jumped up to ride the wave, which fortunately crested after it washed over them. “I think we’d better head in before Addi gets too tired. The surf is getting rougher.”
“I was just thinking that.”
They started in for the beach, Carter keeping close to Addi. Since she kept wanting to stop and play, Hannah got ahead of them. As she walked up the beach, a couple of guys walked by, checking her out. She didn’t pay any attention to them, but Carter did. His jaw clenched, but really, how was he any different? He knew exactly how he looked at her, usually before he even realized he was doing it. And it was worse, because he knew she had a boyfriend.
As he walked up the sand, his eyes scanned the area for Brant, but he quickly saw that another guy was on duty at the umbrella service. Brant was probably at home, waiting for Hannah to get back from work.
“Here’s your towel, baby,” Hannah said.
For a split second, Carter thought she was talking to him. He stared at her stupidly while Addi ran from him to get wrapped up in the towel Hannah held out to her. He was now in a thoroughly crappy mood. The problem was, he didn’t know if he needed to stay away from Hannah to get over it or stay close to her. Then he heard himself saying, “Let’s get some lunch. What do you say?”
Hannah smiled as she dried off. “Swimming always makes hungry, so I won’t say no.”
“What do you ladies want to eat?”
“I don’t know about Addi, but I’d kill for a giant cheeseburger and a milkshake.”
“Ooh, I want a milkshake,” Addi said, her eyes sparkling. “Can I have a strawberry one?”
Carter smiled, thrilled to see her so enthusiastic about anything, but especially food—even ice cream. “Of course. Tell you what, you guys head out to the front of the resort and I’ll come pick you up.”
Ten minutes later, he picked them up in his red Range Rover Evoque convertible. Addi climbed in the back and buckled up and Hannah sat in the front seat. With her hair piled in a messy bun on top of her head, sunglasses perched on her nose, and her golden skin shining in the sun, she was the picture of summer. As they rolled down the quiet beach road with the ocean breeze whipping their hair around and the decadent turquoise waters sparkling to their right, Carter realized he’d made the right choice. Being with Hannah always made him happy—as long as he didn’t think too much about the fact that she wasn’t his.
“Where too?” he asked Hannah. “You’re the local.”
She directed him to a sprawling shack of a restaurant called Poseidon’s Realm. The walls were covered in ocean themed décor and the waitresses all wore t-shirts with funny mermaid sayings. The place was clearly popular since it was so busy, but they were still able to get a seat on the deck overlooking the beach. Addi got a kick out of the seagulls who kept sneaking in from overhead to swipe food that was dropped on the floor while Hannah leaned back in her chair and sipped on the chocolate milkshake she’d ordered.
“I know this isn’t really your style,” she told him, “but, man, I love this place.”
Carter took a drink of his Coke. “And what exactly do you think my style is?”
She shrugged and grinned at him. “You know, like that five-star restaurant you have back at the resort. Nothing but Kobe beef and microscopic portions and vegetables who get a spa treatment before they’re served.”
He laughed but shook his head. “Spa treatment?”
“You know, gently steamed. Where I come from, vegetables are either cooked within an inch of their life or deep fried.” She smiled, as if at a fond memory. “Or smothered in gravy if it’s taters.”
The waitress brought their food over then, so he looked at her plate. Her burger was enormous and it was served with fries and coleslaw. “Well, you should enjoy this meal then. But for the record, you’re wrong about what I like.”
She looked at his plate. “Ok, Mr. Grilled Mahi, how am I wrong?”
“Of all the nicknames you’ve given me, that’s the worst.”
“You only think that because you don’t know the ones I’ve never said out loud.”
He wanted nothing more right then than to pull her across the table and kiss her sassy mouth. “Now that you’ve successfully driven this conversation way off tangent, what else do you call me?”
“Oh no. I’m not telling.”
Carter was about to press the point when a woman walking past their table suddenly stopped.
“Hannah!”
Carter watched as the woman engulfed Hannah in a hug. The heavy scent of suntan lotion hit him in the face when the breeze picked up, and he tried really hard to be patient. But when the woman turned and started checking him out, he wished she’d just leave.
“Hey, Tiffany. Enjoying your vacation?”
The woman nodded. “Not as much as you, I’ll bet,” she said, letting her eyes slide to Carter again. She waved her hand at someone behind Carter’s shoulder. “I’ll meet you at the car,” she called out.
Watching carefully, Carter saw Hannah blush and then work to control her expression before Tiffany looked her way again. “I haven’t had much of a break, actually. I’ve been working a lot. Tiffany, this is Carter Ellis and his daughter Addi.”
To Carter’s surprise, however, Hannah didn’t say anything about being Addi’s nanny or that he was her boss. Maybe it didn’t mean anything, but maybe it did. “Nice to meet you,” he said, holding his hand out to shake hers, even though being polite was the last thing he felt like doing.
“Just enjoying a yummy lunch together, huh?” Tiffany asked. But again, her eyes hadn’t even shifted from his face to their food. “Well, as much as I’d like to stay and get to know your fella here, I’d better get going before my friend leaves me. Call me some time.”
Who she wanted to call her was left hanging in the gulf breeze.
Hannah picked up a French fry. “Thank goodness she’s gone.”
This was so exactly what Carter was thinking that he burst out laughing. “But you two looked like such good friends.”
“Oh please. She works with me at the school but rarely talks to me. She obviously just wanted to meet the hunk I was having lunch with.”
She’d called him a lot of things before that could be taken as compliments, but he could never figure out if they were. He couldn’t help but hope, at least, that since she called him a hunk it meant she at least thought he was attractive. But when the heck had he ever been so worried about what a woman thought of him?
“I noticed you didn’t tell her I was your boss. She might think I’m your boyfriend or something.”
Hannah shrugged and grinned. “I don’t care what she thinks. Serves her right for being so nosey.”
“But what if it gets back to your actual boyfriend?”
Hannah’s brows drew together and she tilted her head like he’d just asked the most confusing question ever. “Um, I don’t have a boyfriend, so that won’t be a problem.”
Now it was Carter’s turn to be confused, but his heart was also racing like a turbo engine at full power. “You don’t have a boyfriend? But…Addi said that Brant guy moved in with you.” Carter turned to Addi, who was calmly dipping her fried shrimp in ketchup. “Right, Addi? Didn’t you tell me that?”
Addi nodded. “Yeah. That’s what Hannah said.”
Carter looked back to Hannah, his eyes sharp on her face. She was biting her bottom lip. Finally, as the suspense was about to kill him, she said, “She misunderstood. He moved into the apartment under me. So, same place.”
“So why did he need to get a key from you the other day?”
“Because…um…I had the spare.”
“Why?” He knew his voice was sharp, but he couldn’t help it. He was determined to be absolutely clear on the situation before he let himself hope.
“Why? I just did. I don’t have to tell you the whole long story of why I had his key. But he’s not my boyfriend. We dated once for a few weeks, but there was zero chemistry between us so I broke it off. We’re just sort of friends now. I guess. I’m not even sure I’d say that. But why the heck are you so worried about it?”
Carter glanced down at Addi who watched them with big, curious eyes while she munched on her food. “Look, can we talk about this later?”
Hannah glanced at Addi but looked as if she was about to argue. “Fine. But don’t think I’m going to forget about it.”
“No problem. I’m absolutely certain I won’t forget.”