Gorgeous: Book One (Gorgeous #1) - Lisa Shelby Page 0,31

get a feeling I won't like the answer to my unspoken question?

"So, where did all of this bike riding take you?"

"Everywhere! I just rode and stopped from time to time to admire the view. I took a break at Harbor Sands for lunch and had some mahi-mahi tacos and chips and salsa. It was so good that I just had to have a Pacifico to go along with it. With my feet in the sand and beer in my hand, it almost felt like I was on a tropical vacation."

"Pacifico, huh?"

"Yep, I’ve never been to Mexico but when your feet are in the sand and you're eating Mexican food, you just have to throw in the Mexican beer. It's enough for me. I'll get to Mexico one day, and then I'll do it for real. Can't wait."

I find myself making a mental note to find a reason to go to Cabo. Oh, the places I want to take this woman. All she has to do is name the destination, and I'll take her.

"Sounds like you had a better day than I did."

Her eyes go wide with worry. "Oh no, did your meeting with the investors not go well?"

It feels good to see she cares enough to worry about my meetings going well or not. "No, they were productive, and I think they're in, but your day sounds like a lot more fun." My suit jacket pocket vibrates with the text letting me know the car is ready.

"The car is here if you're ready for dinner?" I ask her. It's a good thing because I could honestly sit right here, in this booth, listening to her talk about her day all night long. I think she would rather go to dinner.

"Sure, where are we off to?" she says, grabbing her clutch and sliding out of the booth. We stand at the same moment, and it feels good to see her excited to share a meal with me, unlike last night when she was not only hesitant, but I thought at one point she might just turn and walk away.

Our server takes our menus. I make a mental note that she likes halibut and take it upon myself to order her the perfect Chardonnay to go with her meal. She doesn't seem to mind, and in fact, she has been much more relaxed tonight. She talked all the way to the restaurant and continued to tell me about her day and how she can't wait to come back and stay in one of the camping cabins in Two Harbors. Her day of bike riding and exploring not only added a new glow to her naturally tan skin but seems to have done her some good mentally.

Now, if she would relax enough to call me by my name.

"It's nice to see the other side of the island. Who knew there was so much to see? I'm not sure what I pictured, but I love it."

"I'm sorry you were on your own today."

"It's okay; I don't mind. I prefer it most of the time," she says as her gaze turns to the window and the view outside.

"And why is that?"

Quietly she replies, "When you grow up like I did, being alone is often preferable."

She turns red, and I feel an underlying anger begin to stir inside me at the mere implication she may have had anything other than a stellar childhood.

"Why is that, Olivia?"

I must have sounded gruffer than I realized because she startles and brings her gaze back to the present and not whatever past she was seeing out the window.

She gives me a half-hearted smile when she says, "Let's not talk about that right now. I've had a great day, and there's no need to darken my sunny, blue skies."

She's hiding something. Not only is she hiding something, but I get the feeling what little bit she said was more than I should have expected to have gotten from her. She's loosening up and I just need to be patient.

Patience is not something you have mastered, McKinley. Good luck.

She changes the subject by asking a million questions about the island. Our meals arrive and they are delicious, as usual, but with the company, more wine, and eventually watching her eat her dessert, this meal has never tasted better. She has a million plans in her mind and some great ideas, but I can tell she is doing everything she can to keep me talking about work and the island so we don't