Turn Over:A Secret Baby Sports Romance(53)

     



 

"Sorry." His brows furrowed in confusion.

"I'm all packed." I pointed to the bag.

He picked up the suitcase as if it weighed the same as a pair of flip flops. "Let's do this."

I locked the door behind us and followed him down the stairs. His car was running, cool air filling the convertible.

Mason secured my suitcase in the trunk and made sure I was settled in  the front seat before closing my door. It surprised me that he was such a  gentleman. I don't know why. Maybe it was because I thought he was  self-absorbed. Everything he did contradicted the preconceived ideas I  had of him. Except maybe last night. I could have predicted he was  phenomenal in bed.

The car whipped in reverse and I reached for the bar on the door.

"You better hold on, girl."

We spun out of the parking lot and merged onto the island roads. Before I  knew it we had crossed the bridge and South Padre was in our mirrors.

"Do you always drive so fast?" I asked.

"I have a lot of ground to cover." He tapped a few of the buttons on the  computer screen on the dash. "My acquisitions are located from one end  of the state to the other. And if you haven't noticed, Texas is one damn  big state."

"You're going to get us killed driving like this." I clutched the handle tighter as we exited onto seventy-seven.

I looked at my driver. He had a devilish grin. He was enjoying the  effect his driving was having on me. It wasn't the first time I had seen  him smile like that. My skin tingled.

"Don't worry. I promise to deliver you to the hotel in one piece."

"Have you ever crashed?" I should have checked his driving credentials before I got in the car with him.

"Not yet." He smiled wider.

I looked out the window at the blurry landscape. "What kind of meetings do you have in San Antonio?"

"I'm meeting with a few contractors."

"Shouldn't they be coming to you? Why not meet in Padre?"

"I want to keep everything I'm doing with the resort as private as possible."

"And you're not worried I might write a big expose on it?"

"You are home sick with a sore throat. I don't think I have to worry  about you interviewing anyone." He pulled his sunglasses down and I  caught the message in his sapphire blue eyes.

"Right." I didn't like that he had pinned me in a corner.

"Have you ever been to San Antonio?" He lowered the radio so we could talk.

"I've never been anywhere but around the island. I went across the  border when I first moved here so I could say I had traveled to Mexico."

"You're telling me you haven't left Padre in three months?"

"Is that bad?"

"It tells me something about you." He changed hands on the steering  wheel so that his right palm rested on my leg. I liked that touching me  came naturally to him.

"That I'm trying to work hard at my new job and prove myself to my boss?"

"No. That's not it."

"What then?" I waited-worried he was going to think I wasn't the travel  companion he really wanted. There were probably tons of women who were  beautiful and spontaneous, willing to hop on a jet with him and cross  the ocean. Women with adventurous spirits and travel savvy. I didn't  know if I fell into that category. I didn't have any idea what category  he put me in.

"That you needed to meet me."

"Is that so?" God, he was arrogant.

"It is." He gently squeezed my thigh. "We can have fun together, Sydney."

"Fun?" I realized exactly what category he had grouped me in-the fun girl.

"We both work hard. We play hard. Very hard."

My cheeks burned. Somewhere deep inside I knew this was bad. Mason was  the kind of guy who got what he wanted when he wanted it. And when he  was satisfied he would move on to the next thing. But with his hand on  my leg and those bedroom eyes smiling at me, all I could think about was  that I wanted him too. My body still ached from this morning, and yet I  wanted more.

"So that's what this is?" I tried to sound completely cool.         

     



 

"Of course." His eyes landed on the road. "Unless you're not up for it?"

"Why wouldn't I be? I don't have time for anything else." I found it was getting easier to lie today.

He chuckled low in his chest. "Exactly. We're on the same page. I knew we would be."

"Right. Same page." I chewed on my bottom lip. "And it will be fun."

"The minute it's not fun we end it, ok? There's no reason for things to get serious and ruin this. You're a cool girl, Syd."

My chest pounded. I didn't know if I was entering into a relationship or  I was signing up to be his summer pen pal. In college I encountered two  types of guys: the ones who used my nickname and the ones who didn't.  The ones who called me by my full name, like my last boyfriend, were the  ones who took me seriously. The ones who shortened it down to one  syllable were the charmers. The flirts. The ones who wanted to keep it  easy.

"It's all about having a good time." I couldn't believe what I was  saying. This man had me twisting words and thoughts, ignoring the  warnings in my head.

"Now you're talking." Mason laughed and the music blared. "Wait until I show you San Antonio."

For now, I told myself. I could do this. I could be his fun girl.





11





Mason





I pulled up in front of the hotel and waited for the valet to situate  our bags and park the car. A hot wind blew off the Riverwalk. San  Antonio. It had been awhile since I was here. I had tried to buy one of  the hotels last year, but decided I wouldn't get the return I wanted on a  resale. Good move on my part. The hotel was poorly managed and in  another six months, the owners would be desperate to sell again. It  would be the perfect time for me to snag it at the lowest dollar.

Sydney's hair whipped around her face. She squinted at the sun.

"What do you think?" I asked. "Good place to get over a sore throat?"

She grinned. "I think I could make a speedy recovery here."

"Not too speedy." I nodded at a few of the men walking past us. "We're not headed back to South Padre until tomorrow afternoon."

"Right this way, Mr. Lachlan." The bellhop waited for us next to the revolving door.

"They know who you are?" Sydney asked.

"I usually stay in the same places when I travel."

She laughed. "And I thought you preached about being adventurous. Sounds like you are a creature of habit after all."

"I wouldn't say that."

"Just observing." She grinned as if she had discovered one of my little secrets.

I tried to defend myself. "This is where I do a lot of business. It makes sense to stay here."

The lobby was filled with men like me, only significantly older. They  wore dark suites, some of their jackets slung on the back of barstools.  This is where business deals happened. Not in an attorney's office or in  a conference room. Deals over a glass of bourbon and a strong handshake  usually made it to the end.

"Are there any women here?" Sydney's head swiveled.

"I see the only one I want to see."

"That's not what I mean." She was staring at the bar. "Do you ever negotiate with women?"

"I think you and I have made a pretty good deal." I winked, pleased we had negotiated terms we both wanted.

She wacked me on the arm. "I'm serious. Where are the women in this place?"

"I'm sure they are shopping or at the spa."

Her mouth dropped. "That is the most sexist thing I've heard. I'm  talking about the women who should be here in this underground business  world."

"Sweetheart, there's nothing underground about this. This is how deals are made. It's completely out in the open."

"Exactly. It's a good ole' boys club."

"You've walked through this lobby for all of thirty seconds and you've already determined how it works?"

Her eyes flared. "Tell me I'm wrong."

She had me. It was a good ole' boys club. I hadn't thought about it  much. I didn't care whom I did business with as long as the deal was  solid and would make money. I realized looking around, Sydney probably  wouldn't see it that way. She was clearly outnumbered.         

     



 

I saw the cigar smoke drifting from the brandy bar. I could hear the  pats on the back. The deep chuckles between men. An occasional statistic  thrown out about the local quarterback. I shook my head.

"You're not wrong."

"As long as you see it." She crossed her arms in frustration.

"I do now."

The bellhop led us into the elevator and deposited us on the top floor  outside of the executive suite. I opened the door for Sydney while he  laid our bags out on the luggage racks.

"Is there anything else I can get for you, Mr. Lachlan?"

"No, I think we're good." I handed him a folded twenty-dollar bill as he backed out of the room.

"This is beautiful." Sydney looked out of the window, admiring the  Riverwalk below us. "Wow. You can see everything from up here." I was  glad she had decided to drop the conversation we started in the lobby.