Chapter 3
Jolie decided that she would rather spend the rest of the day in her room. The swimming pool area had become too noisy now, and the private beach that the resort offered had started looking crowded. Her room was going to be the only place where she could get some peace and quiet, she figured. But, before anything else, another frozen margarita was in order.
She weaved around the deck chairs of fellow vacationers as she walked towards the Tiki bar set up at the edge of the pool. Her satin cover-up trailed behind her, and the book she had abandoned reading earlier, dangled from her hand.
At the bar, a man was sitting on a stool with his back turned to her and she sat down beside him.
“Another one of those frozen margaritas you made for me earlier, Juan,” she said with a sigh to the bartender. The only people she had any form a conversation with, in the past two days of staying here, had been the bartenders. She’d developed a working relationship with all of them and they seemed to like her too.
“If you liked the frozen margarita, you should give the limoncello mojito a try,” the man sitting beside her said, swiveling on the stool and turned to Jolie. None of the guests had dared to speak to her before this, and she figured it had to do with the vibe she usually gave off.
His voice had startled her too. It was a deep soothing voice that seemed to pierce her soul and it took her a few moments to re-adjust herself.
He was staring at her now, with a half-grin framing his face. She eyed him, like she did everybody these days. Unconsciously judging them for their fashion sense. He was in a thin white polo shirt, and tan chinos. His shoes were fashionable-enough leather sandals, and he had dark sunglasses dangling from the V of his neck. Through the gap, she caught sight of a dusting of dark curly hair and her immediate impression of the man, was that he was extremely masculine. Even though, her best estimate was that he was at least double her age.
She trailed her gaze up to his face finally, and Jolie had to clench her jaw to stop herself from blushing. The man was unbelievable handsome. His face was angular with a strong jaw. He had a dark beard with flecks of gray, that was neatly trimmed. It added a powerful quality to his features, just like his eyes did. Green and small and sparkly. The more he stared at her, the more certain she was that her cheeks were going to flush.
It wasn’t often that one look at a man could have this kind of a de-stabilizing effect on her.
“I’m not a big fan of mojitos, the mint leaves get stuck in my teeth and I have a hard time getting them out,” she found herself saying. The moment she had finished that sentence, she felt extremely foolish. It was too much information that he didn’t need to know. But the man smiled widely at her instead and then jumped off his stool and walked casually around the bar counter, joining Juan who was already in the process of preparing her margarita.
“No mint leaves then. This is a homemade limoncello recipe, perfected over the years after several failed attempts. I can guarantee that you’ll like it,” the man said and Jolie watched in shock as he started fiddling around with the bottles behind the counter, until he extracted a big corked glass jar of what looked like the liqueur he was talking about.
“Are you Brandon Calloway?” she blurted out, before she could stop herself. Of course she knew of him. She also knew that he owned this resort. Margaret had been firm in mentioning that she wanted Jolie to stay in the best resort on the West Coast for her forced vacation. She just hadn’t expected to bump into the hotelier himself. And she definitely hadn’t expected him to look like this.
He smiled at her, as he poured his desired mixture into a shaker and started shaking the cocktail himself. Word on the street was that Brandon Calloway was a very hands-on guy, but this was not the extent of service she had expected from him. She watched his biceps tighten as he poured the drink into a glass and then stick a straw with an umbrella in it.
“My secret’s out,” he said, looking her straight in the eye again, in the same way that he made her uncomfortable before. This time, Jolie couldn’t stop her cheeks from flushing, and she pulled the glass closer to herself.
“Thank you, that was not necessary,” she said, and watched as he walked around the counter and stood beside her. She could tell that he was trying to urge her into taking a sip.
She did, and the flavors of the drink burst in her mouth. The citrus zing overwhelmed her tongue and her throat and she could also tell that he had been generous with the white rum and sparkling wine. The effect the drink had on her was heady, like a whip and an unconscious smile took over her face.
“Do you approve?” he asked, in that same deep voice that made her nervous, and Jolie couldn’t do anything other than nod her head. She charged ahead and took another sip and kept smiling.
“I love it. Probably the best mojito I’ve ever had,” she said and Brandon was smiling too.
“Wait till you try my Mai Tai,” he said and Jolie smiled some more.
This vacation wasn’t looking so bad anymore, especially given the fact that a handsome stranger was smiling directly at her, and offering to make her cocktails. Jolie tucked in some stray strands of her red locks behind her ears and was already wondering what this could lead to, until her eyes fell on the thick gold ring on his finger. Brandon Calloway was a married man.