Nikki took a giant gulp of water and sat down in the empty break room, then ate the rest of her pasta in glorious silence. No soft classical music, and no tempting man with muscles made for sin bulging beneath her fingertips.
She’d touched his hips twice, both times accidently brushing against—well, it clearly wasn’t his cell phone!
At first, she’d been pissed that he’d reacted that way to her touch.
But that feeling lasted for maybe two minutes—was it a simple chemical reaction, or was he thinking of her? Did her touch do something to him?
She shivered, a whole lot more turned on than she had a right to be. Damn it, she was a professional!
If she closed her eyes she could still feel his muscles beneath her fingers. Every inch of him was hard—every inch.
It had happened before, men getting aroused during the massage, but she’d always attributed it to blood flow. This felt different.
Hot.
Good.
She slammed her hands down next to her leftover pasta. “Ugh!” What was wrong with her? She never acted like this. Ever.
Exhaustion. That’s what this was. She’d been on her feet all day—what she wouldn’t give for a nice foot rub.
Bet her client would have liked a rub.
Okay. too far.
Low blood sugar and exhaustion. She needed more than a few bites of pasta and a bottle of water. Stretching her arms over her head, she felt muscles her tense and relax. Then she grabbed her white cane and stood. The cane was wrapped in white leopard print, her way of feeling better about the fact that she had to use it to get around. It could be worse, though, it could always be worse. At least she saw shapes, colors, blurs. Tap, tap, she moved the cane in front of her.
Nikki’s dream was to be able to afford a seeing-eye dog. The idea of having a dog with her at all times and living with her in her small apartment across from the resort sounded like a dream come true.
Someone to spend time with.
She swallowed the sudden sob in her throat and focused on the future. Because every time she thought of the past, a deep sense of hopelessness would threaten to overtake her, and she didn’t want to be one of those people. The ones who felt sorry for themselves, who refused to leave the past where it belonged.
What good would it do her to focus on something she couldn’t fix? None. Forcing a smile she didn’t really feel, she picked up her pace, tapping left to right, as she went down the hall.
Low voices buzzed around her.
Ahead was the main lobby, to the right was one of the staff meeting rooms, and as she passed the buzz grew and then went completely silent as staff members exited the room in a flurry around her.
Cole stopped in front of her. His scent was always a mixture of spicy cologne and spearmint gum, and his height always seemed to tower over her, casting a shadow over her small frame.
“Did I miss a meeting?” She frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Oh that?” Cole’s warm fingers brushed her arm as he pulled her into step next to him. “I was just reminding them to be on their best behavior while, uh…Nadine Titus visits. VIPs deserve the best treatment, and since she’s the boss now, it’s important to make sure that everyone works hard to…” He coughed. “Make his—” He sputtered. “Her, make her stay…busy.”
“Isn’t she in her eighties?”
“She’s young at heart. Spunky. Hell, her itinerary included skydiving.”
“We don’t offer skydiving.”
“Exactly.” His breath tickled her ear as they walked toward the hotel lobby, which was busy as always, a flurry blur of action in front of her as valets took suitcases to their rooms and people met over drinks in the main bar.
“So…” They stopped walking. “Is that all I missed?”
“Yup. Totally.” Cole was acting weird again; his voice sounded—strange.
“Cole?”
“Yes?”
“What’s going on?”
“Why would anything be going on? Hey, here’s an idea…” He grabbed her by the arm and led her away from the hustle. “You should go home.”
“Wow.” Nikki patted his hand and smiled. “What a great idea. Why haven’t I thought of that?”
“See? Go, you should…do that. Do what you feel.”
“You must be really stressed.” She let out a relaxed laugh and inhaled. “That smells amazing, what’s on the menu for tonight?” Already, she was leaning toward the restaurant and the delicious aroma coming from its direction.
“Sushi,” he blurted. “You hate sushi. Where are we on that whole going-to-bed thing?”
“My bed,” she corrected. “Not yours.”
“Can’t kill a man for trying.”
“Also, you’re a liar,” She poked him in the chest and tapped her way toward the smell. “That’s not sushi.”
“Yes it is.”
“No, it isn’t.”
“Look, why don’t I have one of the guys walk you home?”
Nikki snorted, “Because I can’t manage to cross the street on my own? Chill. I’m not going to get hit by a car, I’m not that blind.”
“Sorry, Nik, I didn’t mean—”
“Shh.” She took another step as her stomach grumbled. Clearly the pasta hadn’t been enough. “Why don’t you feed me? You’ve been asking me to have dinner with you all week—the least you can do after forcing me to work until eight at night is give me food.”
He was silent.
Cole was never silent.
“Cole?”
He cleared his throat and pulled away from her. Since when did they ever have uncomfortable silences between them?
“Sure.” He choked out the word like the absolutely last thing he wanted to do with his life was spend an hour in her presence.
“Wow. You sound elated.” Something was up, but she was too tired to pry. Maybe the stress surrounding the resort’s acquisition really was getting to him. He worked twelve-hour days and was constantly trying to please every guest that stayed there. Catering to them hand and foot wasn’t easy; he’d said as much before.
“You know what?” Nikki turned around. “I’m more tired than I thought—I’ll just head home.”
“No!” Cole blurted, turning her around so fast she nearly fell against him. His bulky arms wrapped around her from behind, his breathing heavy in her ear. “Food. You’re starving. I’m starving. This way!” His panicked voice wasn’t helping his case at all.
“Remember, I’m not deaf,” she sang in a teasing voice as he jerked her toward a table, grabbed a menu, and shoved it in her face. She recoiled from the intrusion with a jerk. “Um, I can’t read this.”
“Right.” He swore. “Sorry, wasn’t thinking. Say, speaking of thinking, here’s a totally random thought. Hats.”
“Hats?” she repeated. “That’s your random thought? Hats?”
“How do you feel about hats? I think they’re making a comeback.”
“When did they leave? Be honest, are you having a nervous breakdown?” She groaned. “You slept with one of the maids again, didn’t you? That’s what this is about! And you’re avoiding her?”
“Ha, maids, classic!” He laughed loudly and then leaned down to whisper. “You’d look sexy in a hat. We should get you one, or say, five, for each day of the week—sunglasses, a makeover might be fun?”
Her eyes narrowed in on his blur. His body was hunched forward, and something was blocking her view of the other blurs in the room. “Cole?”
“Should we order?”
“We just sat down, and then you started yelling about hats. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Completely fine. Never been better. You like steak? We’ll get a few steaks, salads, alcohol—”
“You’re on the clock.”
“Today I don’t give a shit.”
“Whoa.” Nikki leaned back. “She must be horrible.”
“Huh?”
“Nadine Titus. Granted, I’ve only met her a few times, but she’s clearly got you ready to nosedive off a cliff into a pool of tequila.”
“God, that would be amazing right about now.”
She burst out laughing. “Every time I’ve spoken to her she’s been incredibly sweet.” Except for that one time when she blackmailed Nikki into bidding on Brant. But she kept that information to herself. “I think you’re just stressed.”
“Not sweet.” He swore. “A nightmare. He’s a total nightmare.”
“He?”
“She, sorry, stressed.”
“So order your drink.” Nikki folded her walking stick and tucked it next to her purse. “And tell me all about it.”
He was quiet. Too quiet.
“Cole?”
“Well…” He was fidgeting so much she almost reached across the table to hold his hands still. The constant blurry movements were giving her a headache. “He, uh, sorry, she was…hungover.”
“So?”
“So, she looked hungover.”
“And that’s stressful because…?”
“No reason.” He cut loose with another curse. “I had to change her entire itinerary in a span of five minutes while warning every single employee to be on their best behavior while simultaneously begging them to—”
She waited, and then when he didn’t continue she prompted, “To…?”
“Keep an eye on her.” He reached for Nikki’s hands and squeezed. “Because the last thing we need is for anyone to get hurt.” His voice softened. “Right?”
“Cole,” she whispered, and he leaned in. “Why would an eighty-nine-year-old woman who likes skydiving hurt anyone?”
“I think…” Cole cupped her cheek and his large hand engulfed half her face. “You’d be surprised what some people are capable of and what some people are willing to do for those they love.”
His hand dropped.
“Hey, Cole.” A man stopped at their table. “Nikki, good to see you. What can I get you guys?”
“Fuck.”
“Uh, I think you’re at the wrong restaurant for that, Cole,” Nikki teased. He didn’t say anything for a good two minutes while his arms shot into the air in front of the waiter, who shook his head and then stood directly in front of her.
The waiter completely blocked her view, not that she’d be able to see anything but shots of color and blurry movements.
“Stay!” Cole barked at her. “Just don’t… Stay right here, I have to take care of something really quick.”
“Staying.” Nikki lifted her hands. “But don’t get mad when your drink’s empty!”
“Ha!” His laugh was forced as he bolted away from her like she was diseased. If she didn’t know him better, she’d be insulted.
She shrugged and looked in the general direction of the waiter. “Put his drink in my hand and nobody gets hurt.”
“Are you sure you shouldn’t wait for Cole and—”
“—And?”
A cold drink was pressed against her palm. “Nothing, never mind, Cole’s probably just having a rough time dealing with Nadine Titus. Two employees got written up this morning already.”
“Two?”
She cringed. Good thing she was stuck in the spa or she would have been nervous. That didn’t sound at all like Nadine. Then again, the woman had forced Nikki to do something that wasn’t only painful but embarrassing. And Nadine was above all else a businesswoman.
“Did you want anything else?” he asked.
For some reason she felt embarrassed, again, and Brant wasn’t even there. How was it fair that even from miles away, he made her feel angry, resentful, and still hopeful that one day she’d be rid of him and all the memories that came with him?