She gifted him with another grin. “Pays to know the guy in charge, huh?”
“Always.” He maneuvered them along the empty road. “Being a part of my life comes with many perks. Give me time and I’ll sway you over to the dark side.”
She smiled. “For more afternoons like this, feel free to try your best.”
“I always come exploring when I visit this hotel,” he said. “One of the reasons I picked the island to build on was that I knew what an in-demand tourist destination it’d be.”
Avery rolled her head on the headrest to stare at him. “What’s it like?” she asked. “Looking at a map and deciding a small piece of the world is going to be yours?”
A grin curved his lips. “Exciting,” he answered honestly. “And exhausting. You have no idea the hours and work that goes into every new project.”
“I assumed you’d pawn that off on Wyatt.”
She really didn’t hold him in much esteem, did she?
“I prefer to be hands-on whenever we launch a new location. Too much can go wrong fast. I made that mistake when I first started with all this. I inherited someone else’s dream and had to find a way of making it my own. Coordinating new openings is the best part of my job.”
“I wouldn’t have guessed.”
“Because you don’t know much about me. Not really.”
She inclined her head. “I guess beyond my initial interview, I didn’t have much to do with you. Not that I expected to. I liked working with Wyatt better.”
“Wyatt?”
“Sure,” she replied. “There was one hotel he was quite concerned with. We spent weeks together coming up with a way to turn it around, and stayed in touch afterward. I got a number of other jobs with Wexton Hotels thanks to him.”
So his friend had spent more time with Avery than he had. He didn’t like the idea that he had missed chances to know Avery that Wyatt had been able to enjoy in his stead.
“Did the two of you get close?”
She shrugged. “I’d consider him a friend.”
“But not me.”
Her chocolate gaze returned to his. “No,” she murmured. “Whatever we are, it’s not friends.”
Was that good or bad? He couldn’t decide. In his experience, lovers were not friends. That term was reserved for a relationship that was far deeper. It was easier to keep things light, superficial, when sex was involved. Instead of probing deeper, he steered the conversation to safer topics as he guided the car toward the nearest town to find a bite to eat.
But as he drove he couldn’t help wondering, if he didn’t want her friendship, why was a feeling suspiciously close to jealously nipping at him?
…
Avery wandered happily by Hayden’s side. Lunch had been quick but tasty, though Hayden was exasperated when she’d insisted on eating at one of the cheaper local coffee joints instead of driving back to the five-star restaurants around the hotel. He’d shaken his head when she’d reached for a pre-packaged sandwich but agreed to follow her lead. This time.
She’d even convinced him to explore the small main street, dragging him into the off-brand stores that sported everything from tourist knickknacks to quality clothing. Through all her meandering, he’d seemed content to follow her lead.
Touching her bare ring finger, she couldn’t help but think of the past. Jon had hated to go shopping with her, preferring to arrange a meeting time for lunch whenever they hit the mall. He reasoned they could both do their separate shopping and make it home earlier than if they went to every store together.
But Hayden didn’t complain, even though the stores had to hold little interest to a man who only bought items with price tags that would give her heart palpitations.
“What have you found?” he asked, leaning over her shoulder.
She showed him the beaded bracelet she’d been admiring. “It might not be diamonds,” she teased, “but I like it.”
“Excellent.” He plucked it from her fingers and headed for the check-out.
“Hayden,” she protested, running after him. “That wasn’t code for ‘buy it for me.’”
He tossed her an amused smile. “Oh, I know. Those requests usually come attached to some promise of future fun.”
“Now I definitely don’t want you buying the bracelet,” she said, reaching for it.
He pulled her close, dangling the beads before her eyes. “This is your souvenir of the day,” he said. “When you wear it, I want to you think of me.”
She stared up into his chiseled face, acutely aware of the hand on her hip. “Maybe I’ll just think of the cute store or the pretty gallery.”