The Job Offer - By Eleanor Webb Page 0,22
tour ride that afternoon which, he found out, was not much fun because of a surly female passenger who complained throughout the tour about everything from the chairs to the water spray and wind that messed up her hair.
They reminisced further about their times on the island and discovered that they liked to do many of the same things in addition to kayaking and biking. He did not tell her that he owned a company because he did not want the knowledge to influence her one way or another about a relationship with him. He skirted that topic of what he did when she asked by just saying that he was in the manufacturing business. He found out that Anne was on summer break from teaching and also worked as a business consultant.
Ben also discovered that she enjoyed football, namely the Seattle Seahawks and the University of Washington Huskies, just as he did, and they got into a lengthy discussion about the Seahawks draft picks and the upcoming season. She must be a fan because she followed them closely via satellite television and never missed a game. He forgave her for not liking basketball and for her take or leave attitude for baseball, and she forgave him for not liking to read for pleasure.
He especially found her charming when she described growing up on the island and at the inn even though he had heard her say it all before. She lit up from the inside when she described some of her adventures and the many guests they had over the years. Then he told her that he was thinking about either buying or building a vacation home on the island and asked her opinion about the best places to build. Considering what he liked to do, she recommended finding a place close to Eastsound because of its central location on the island, although there really wasn’t a bad location. She also told him to talk to her parents because they would know where to look and who to talk to about buying.
All evening long, he watched the play of emotions across her face and how she talked with her lovely hands. He remembered that she was always expressive. She could not talk without her hands moving. He was surprised that she never wore rings on her long fingers. She smiled frequently as she spoke, and he had a strong desire to taste her lips again. The little freckles he remembered on her nose were no longer there, covered now with powder, and her lightly tanned skin looked soft and warm to the touch. She never was able to develop a deep tan, being fairly light skinned, and always wore sunscreen to prevent burning.
The skin of her chest was slightly lighter than her arms and shoulders, and he remembered how she looked in her bikini. He longed to run his fingers along her throat and down through the deep V of her dress. He could just see the beginning of the under curves of her breasts and her hard nipples again. The sight aroused him and he moved in his chair to ease his discomfort. She did not seem to notice. Her hair curled around her face, over her shoulders, and down her back in soft waves. The dark brown color was streaked with red highlights caused by the lighting in the room. The more she talked, the more he found himself wanting their meal to continue so that he could look at her and hear more of what she had to say.
The evening was going so well, in fact, that when the last of their food was cleared away and they were drinking coffee, he found that he did not want the evening to end with dinner. He could not remember ever being with a woman whom he was so at ease with and also found attractive. He thought by the looks she gave him that she felt the same way and would want to extend their evening together. Finally, he had to ask her. "It looks like a nice night, and it is much too early to call it a day. I was thinking about going down to the dock and watching the sunset. I know I promised to have my evil way with you if you went down to the water with me, but if I promise to be mostly good, would you come with me?"
"'Mostly good? Now I'm intrigued at how you define 'mostly good.'" She