me getting wasted, making you carry me back, stripping my clothes off, and telling you I thought you were hot.”
“Were hot?”
“Is. Are. Oh, for fuck’s sake, whatever.”
He chuckles. “It wasn’t all a hardship. Especially not the striptease.”
Is he flirting with me?
Holy fucking fuck. I think he might be.
Well, hell, he’s flirting with me after seeing all of that and seeing hungover me.
Now, this is interesting.
Probably a bad idea, following it up. Because, you know, I’m still heartbroken and also shit at flirting. Case in point, last night. But definitely interesting that a guy who looks like that might have an interest in me.
“Okay, well, next time I decide to do another striptease, I’ll let you know.”
“Make sure you do.”
Yep, definitely flirting, and I’ve got shivers in places that I haven’t had in a long time.
“Okay.” I bite down on my bottom lip. I really have nothing else to say. So, I should get the fuck out of here before I mess this flirting business up. “I’ll see you later, West.”
I turn and walk away, and as I’m nearing the door, I hear him say, “You definitely will.”
I let myself out his villa, the door clicking closed behind me.
“You definitely will.”
Oh, hot mama.
Part of me dreads seeing him because I’m still embarrassed about last night and this morning’s behavior. But I’m also looking forward to seeing him again because, hell, he’s the hottest man alive and the flirty comments are absolutely good for my ego.
I’ll just have to make sure that I look a lot better than I do right now or last night when I was still dressed in my traveling clothes.
Speaking of, I really need to get them off because it’s hot as balls already and it’s early and I’m starting to sweat.
I step onto the jetty and immediately see my villa across from me. I’m tempted to try the front door, but I already know it’s locked. It has an auto-lock that engages as soon as you close the door. I walk over to the edge of the jetty and peer down. It’s not too far. I sit on the edge and take off my Converse. Holding them in one hand, I lower myself into the water.
It’s warm, but it still cools me down.
I’m just wading down the side of my villa when I hear that deep, husky voice that I’ve very quickly become familiar with, and it sends shivers skating up my spine. Along with the embarrassment filling my chest. I seem to feel that particular emotion around him a lot.
“Should I ask why you’re in the lagoon, fully clothed?”
Of course he’d catch me doing something weird right after our little flirty moment. Because, you know, life hates me.
I turn to look at him. The sun beating down has me shading my eyes. He’s wearing shorts but different ones. These look like running shorts, and he has running shoes on his feet. But the chest is still bare. Yay for me.
“Thought I would check and see if I’d left the door to the deck open. Save me going all the way to reception to get a key.”
He nods. “Good idea.”
“I thought so.” I grin, and he smiles back at me.
“Well, I’m going for a run. You want me to stick around while you check the door?”
“Nope, I’m good. But thanks for the offer.”
“Okay. Later then.” He waves a hand and takes off jogging down the jetty.
Yes, I stand there in the water and watch until he disappears from my sight. I wasn’t going to miss out on the chance to watch him running. All those muscles flexing.
I turn back around and wade my way around my villa until I reach the steps. Grabbing the handrail, I hoist myself up and climb the stairs.
Reaching the top, I see the sliding door is wide open. Bingo!
Finally, something has gone right for me. Unless I’ve been robbed, that is.
Not that I have much to steal. I didn’t bring a lot of money, as it’s all-inclusive here, and my iPhone isn’t the latest one. It’s actually a couple of numbers back.
I walk inside, dropping my shoes onto the floor, and see the champagne bottle I emptied last night, discarded on the bed. At least one of us got to sleep on it.
I check my bag and find everything still in there, including my phone, of which the battery is dead and needs charging. Pretty sure I forgot to ring Aunt Jenny—unless that’s one of the things I did remember to do.