Something inside her was changing, some subtle shift in her priorities.
“Your shoulders are getting red. Did you put sunscreen on?” Drew asked.
“Oh, you know what? I was so excited about getting outside in the warmth that I completely forgot.”
“We’d better head back then, and get some sunscreen on you before you fry up like a lobster.”
She laughed. “Yes, that would be bad. Sunburnt is definitely not a good color on me.”
They turned around and Drew walked them farther up the beach into the shade on the way back.
Once inside, she headed into the kitchen.
“How about something to drink?” she asked.
“A beer sounds good.”
“Okay. Actually, that sounds pretty good to me, too.” Normally she disliked beer, but it was warm outside and she was parched, and today it felt like summer. And summer meant beer. She grabbed two beers and handed them over to Drew, who opened them both and gave her one. They went out onto the terrace and took a seat.
There wasn’t a soul out there, just the whitecaps billowing over the water. Carolina spotted a boat far off in the distance, but couldn’t make out what kind it was. It disappeared along the horizon, so all she could see then was water. No one else could be seen along their private stretch of beach. She felt like they were the only people in the universe right now. Shipwrecked, alone, and utterly in their own world.
She kind of liked it.
“Tell me how work is going.”
She shifted her gaze to Drew. “I don’t want to talk about work today. I’m on vacation.”
He cocked a brow. “I’ve never known you to not want to talk about your work.”
“So you’re saying I’m obsessed?”
He laughed. “No. I think you love your job. Nothing wrong with that. I talk about hockey a lot, because I love what I do. So do you. If you didn’t, you probably shouldn’t be doing it.”
“True. And I do love it. I’ve also been a bit obsessed by it for the past several months.”
“Rightly so, I imagine, since you have a lot riding on this being a success.”
She drew her knees to her chest. “Don’t remind me.”
“Oh, right, because you’re on vacation today and you want to obliterate it from your mind.”
Her lips lifted. “Exactly.”
“I can take your mind off work.”
“You can, huh?”
“Yeah.” He got up and grabbed his beer and hers. “Follow me.”
He led her through the door and into the house, down the hall and into the side yard, an oasis of greenery and palm trees, where there was a pool and a hot tub surrounded by a tall fence. He sat them down at the edge of the pool.
She tucked her feet and legs in the water. “Ah yes. At least this one is heated, unlike the ocean.”
Drew sat next to her and sank his legs in, too. “Yeah. And it’s a lot more private here.”
She laughed. “I didn’t see anyone out there.”
He clinked the tip of his beer bottle to hers before taking a long swallow. “But I have nefarious plans for you, and I wanted privacy.”