The Scandal (Billionaire's Beach Book 4) - Christie Ridgway Page 0,48
an indigo button-down, which, combined with his new Malibu tan, emphasized the paleness of his blue-tinged gray eyes. His hair, still damp from his shower, was combed back from his face, but it was already beginning to wave, something she’d noticed it did as it grew longer.
She swallowed. “You look…nice.”
More than nice. More than very nice. Her blood started to chug in her veins as a yearning to touch him overwhelmed her. She’d had that hair between her fingers. That hard body over hers. She could feel it even now, the delicious weight of him imprinted on her, and she felt her flesh prick with goose bumps.
Could he sense how much she wanted him again?
One finger in the air, he made a circle. “Let’s see the whole thing.”
She hesitated, then complied, making a little spin on one foot. It felt silly and fun, and she could feel the new flush on her cheeks. As she came to a stand again, he threw his hand over his heart and staggered.
She would have been alarmed except for the wide grin on his face.
“You can really knock a man off his feet, Ms. Sara the Butler.”
Sara was spared the need to reply because of the clatter of Essie’s feet on the stairs. Glancing back, she noted the girl still wore her shorts and sneakers.
“Change of plans!” she said in a breezy voice.
Oh, no. Sara’s stomach dropped to her toes.
“Zachary and I have a phone call scheduled in an hour,” Essie said. “I haven’t talked to him in days and days, so I have to stay here for this.”
“You text him all the time,” Joaquin pointed out.
“I haven’t talked with him in days and days,” she repeated, with added teenage melodrama. “Joaquin, please.”
He looked to Sara, then back to his sister. “We have reservations. Sara’s all dressed up.”
“I know. I helped her find just the right thing. That’s why you have to go while I stay home. Please, Joaquin.” She beamed her brother a winning smile, one that visibly made him melt.
“If you’re sure…”
“I’m sure, I’m sure.” Essie latched on to Sara’s elbow and started towing her toward the door. “Now you two crazy kids go out and have a wonderful time.”
It was only because Sara knew she’d look foolish that she didn’t drop to the floor and wrap her arms around the teen’s shins, refusing to leave without her.
At the restaurant, they had a table on the balcony railing overlooking the ocean. Though the view was no more spectacular than the one from Nueva Vida, the atmosphere was still impressive—the starched white linens, the sparkling crystal, the gleaming silverware. A tiny vase held creamy gardenias, and a votive candle glowed in its holder.
The attentive waiter kept them occupied for the first few minutes with a complimentary cocktail, an amuse-bouche, and a recitation of the specials of the day. Once they’d made their choices, he strode off, leaving Sara to face Joaquin.
He lifted his glass. “To a night without teenagers.”
She returned the gesture. “Okay. But I still wish Essie was here.”
After sampling the cocktail, she fussed with placement of it on the cloth, inching her water goblet to the left. Next she adjusted the placement of the spreader crossing the bread and butter plate.
Feeling Joaquin’s gaze on her, she glanced up. “Sorry. Occupational hazard.”
“You seem a little…nervous for someone who has to know by heart which fork and which knife to use when.”
She gave half a shrug and tried surreptitiously drawing in a calming breath. “It’s just, you know…weird.”
His eyes still on her he sat back in his chair, looking as relaxed as she felt tense. “And I’m sorry for that,” he said. She was grateful that he didn’t pursue whether it was the sex or the socializing that caused the awkwardness.
“Let’s think of a way you might unwind…”
At her little jolt, he grinned.
“Not that,” he said, clearly amused by her obvious turn of thought.
Instead of glaring like she wanted to, she straightened in her seat and clasped her hands in her lap. “I don’t know what you mean,” she said, prim and proper.
He laughed. “I have to know all about the Continental Butler Academy. It must be the most interesting place if it taught you how to fold up as crisply as a brand new envelope.”
A safe enough topic, she decided, so while dinner progressed, she told him of her coursework, her instructors, the friendships she’d struck up with the other butlers in the first all-female class.