At Any Price(84)

As an owner, Adam was given one of the two Universe rooms, which, I learned, were the best rooms in the hotel. When we were shown in, I walked around with my mouth wide open. The infinity pool, tiled in glass jewel-tones, hung on the edge of the fourth wall and it was bigger than my kitchen. Beside it, there was a table for dining and a seating area. Behind and tucked off into the corner was a king size bed with pale white netting tied to the four dark wood posts. There was a kitchenette to the rear of the suite and every luxury. Even given the gorgeous blue waters and white sand beaches that looked like they were made out of talcum powder, I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to leave the suite.

“This—this is—amazing,” I finally said after Adam had watched me with open amusement as I tripped around the large space, inspecting everything.

“Are you tired? Do you want a nap?”

“I want a swim!” I said.

And he smiled. “We have a reception with the manager of the hotel for dinner, but I’m free until then. And then I’m in meetings most of the day tomorrow, so I made some arrangements with our majordomo for you to have a tour of the area, maybe a little snorkeling if that’s something that interests you.”

I looked down at the rainbow tones of the glass tiles underneath shimmering blue water. “I want to try out this pool.”

He shot me an arresting smile. “Now that I can get interested in.”

I found the bathroom—back behind the bed and a few steps up. It, too was open to the outside but still quite private, even from someone who was standing below. I quickly changed into my black and white bikini—it was gorgeous and made me feel sexy and it hadn’t been overly expensive. And thanks to another splurge—leg waxing, ouch—and a manicure and pedicure, I felt resplendent, glamorous, full of energy and excitement and not my usual scruffy self. I had stepped into the princess dream again.

I was already in the pool and of course he’d pulled out the dreaded laptop to check on work—lest the world had fallen in while he was on his flight. I was irritated at first but also relieved that it didn’t take much taunting to entice him into the pool. He changed and got in with me. We swam, talked, flirted.

We talked about the game, of course. He was still clam-mouthed about the clues I wanted, though he wasn’t above throwing more red herrings out with a playful gleam in his eye.

I asked him about his past. “So how did it all start? When did you find out you had a gift with programming?”

He squinted out over the bay, arms hooked over the edge. “We weren’t well off, after my dad died. And we moved around a lot. Somewhere along the line I acquired this secondhand Gameboy.” He smiled. “That thing was my prized possession, but I only had a few games for it. And I got bored with them after a while. So I hacked into it and started writing my own games.”

My brows shot up. “That’s amazing. How old were you?”

He grimaced. “I’m not going to tell you because then you’ll call me an even bigger nerd.”

I shook my head, laughing. “Not possible. Your nerdness is pretty huge as it is.” And then I blushed, realizing my words could be interpreted another way.

He laughed. “Thank you.”

I splashed him. He splashed back.

“So how old were you?” I asked again.

“I think around ten or so,” he said simply, with no attempt at bragging. Still, that answer blew me away. He responded to my obvious shock. “But I had little else to do. I missed a lot of school in those days because—well, because of the home situation. I had hours and hours to work on it. And I was pretty determined.”

“Ah, so it started young, then.”

“What was that?”

“Your incessant need to always be working.”

He made a face. “It’s not that bad.”

I watched him with open skepticism. “Really? So your family never complains that they don’t see you—that the two times I’ve been with you to family dinner were the first times they’d seen you in months even though you live nearby. Your hundred-hour workweeks all come at a price. You just don’t see it.”

He sobered. “I’ve been better lately. Last few weeks I’ve only clocked in around sixty or so.”

I shook my head in mock wonder. “Only sixty. Such a slacker.” My words were serious but I wanted to lighten the mood so I splashed him again. He sputtered in surprise and then grinned, ducking under the water, shooting straight for my legs. I tried to dart to the side but he grabbed one of them and jerked me back toward him. When we came up for air, we were both laughing and he pressed me to his chest.