her, and bit back the disappointment when nothing had come through.
Maybe he hadn’t gotten her last message. She’d try again tonight, after Austin helped get her situated into her new room. He’d found one, right? She’d forgotten to ask. Hopefully not all of the resorts were as booked up as the Billionaire Club.
Austin joined her as she walked toward the checkout lines. He took the cart from her. “I can meet you outside if you don’t want to stand in line.”
He seemed to be acting funny. She took the cart back. “No, I don’t mind staying with you.”
He motioned toward the door. “It’s fine. You’ll like the fresh air outside. Let me check out.”
She peered at him, her suspicion growing. Why was he being like that? He awkwardly pushed the cart forward with one hand as the line moved. She stepped to the side. “What do you have behind your back?”
“Nothing.”
He was lying. She could see something in his hand. What was he hiding? She gave him a flat look. “Why are you lying?”
His cheeks colored and he tossed the box into the cart. “It’s nothing,” he said again, avoiding eye contact.
She looked at the box and almost snorted, but managed to keep it inside. “Nose hair trimmers?”
His blush moved to his ears. It was actually really cute. She stepped toward him and he turned his head so she couldn’t see his nose. She giggled and grabbed his chin so she could make him turn toward her. “Yeah, I can see why you want one of those.”
He playfully swatted at her. “Stop it.”
She laughed and shoved his shoulder. “You’re adorable. It’s not a big deal. I wouldn’t even have noticed had you not tried to hide it from me.”
“It’s just an embarrassing problem to have.”
“I was totally kidding. I can’t see a single…” She peered closer. “Oh. Never mind.”
His mouth dropped open. “You’re t-terrible.”
“Did you just stutter?”
“No.”
He totally had, but she didn’t want to embarrass him any further, as his face was now a deep shade of burgundy. Dani shoved him forward, as the line had now moved and there was a large gap. “Go. We’re holding up the line.”
After they’d checked out, Austin loaded up the bags onto the golf cart. Dani climbed in and they were off. The sun had set, but the glow of twilight still lit the sky with a beautiful cobalt blue. The breeze blew her hair as Austin drove back to the resort. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the smells of the local restaurants, mixed with the salty air of the seaside.
“You look happy.”
She smiled at him. “Yeah. I am.”
“Even though you had to endure a shopping spree from SaleMart?”
Dani glanced back at the bags of cheap clothes and makeup they’d purchased. She never thought she’d ever be caught dead wearing that kind of trash, but somehow, it didn’t matter right now. She was genuinely happy, which made no sense at all. She was cut off. Her life was in the crapper. She had to clean other people’s bathrooms for tiny paychecks, and she was mooching off the maintenance man. By all rights, she should be miserable.
But she wasn’t. If she were being honest, she felt happier at this moment than she had in months. How strange. That was sure unexpected. She turned to Austin. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”
“I’m glad.”
“Not that I’ll be going back after my father gives me back my credit cards.” She shot him a grin.
He glanced at her, one hand on the wheel. “Would it be horrible if he never did?”
Dani gasped and clutched the golf cart seat. “Don’t say such things.”
He chuckled, but then sobered again. “I’m serious. You could learn to live on your own. You’re an adult.”
Dani thought about what living on her own might entail. “I don’t want to clean toilets for the rest of my life.”
“Why is that the only thing you can do?” He slowed the cart to take the turn into the resort parking lot. “You’re young and bright. You can go to college. Your entire future is ahead of you. You can be anything you want to be.”
A jolt of emotion swept through Dani, and she wasn’t prepared for it. No one had ever called her bright. She was usually the girl everyone made fun of for the stupid things she did or said. She’d never even thought about college. She wasn’t good at school. Skated by, really. Her tutors had treated her like she