judgment.
Whatever. He had his mission, and he was going to complete it, even if Tess and her outraged BFF roommate fought him the entire way.
“Evidently.” He waited a moment, but she didn’t move. “May I please talk to her?”
“Why?”
Oh, Lord. “You may, uh, have heard that we—”
“Were yelling at each other across a tennis court in public two nights ago?” She raised her brows. “Yeah, I heard. Trust me.”
“Right.” He scuffed his sneaker against the patterned carpet underfoot. “I, um, need to apologize to her for my unprofessionalism. As a resort employee.”
“Not good enough.” The door started to close. “Bye, Lucas.”
“Wait!”
Operating on sheer instinct, he shoved his foot forward, and shit, that was a heavy door. Even though she wasn’t trying to push it shut, the impact hurt like a mofo.
Belle opened the door a few more centimeters and eyed him like an insect. “Yes? Do you have something else to say?”
“I don’t just want to speak to Tess as an employee.” He dragged a hand through his hair and grasped the back of his neck. “I like her. I want to fix whatever I damaged on that tennis court and maybe see where we can go from here. If she’s interested.”
She swung the door wider. “That’s more like it.”
Thank Christ.
“Now can I talk to her?” He didn’t crane his neck to look around Belle, but he was sorely tempted.
“Nope.”
His stomach took another nosedive.
“Shit.” He dropped his chin to his chest. “What did I do now?”
Belle laughed, completely unsympathetic to his torment. “Nothing. She’s just not here. I’m guessing she got going before dawn, like she normally does. But if I know her, she’s left me a…” Turning to scan the room, she gestured for him to hold the door. “Wait here.”
A moment later, she returned from the coffee table with a small piece of paper in her hand, and he tried his best not to snatch it from her fingers.
“According to this note, she’s on the far end of the island. The adults-only, swimsuit-mandatory beach. She says she’ll be back within an hour or two, so if you want me to tell her you stopped by when she—”
“No.” He could get to that spot within ten minutes, and it should offer them decent privacy. Perfect. “I’ll go talk to her there. Thank you.”
Belle grabbed his arm when he turned to go, her grip firm. “I don’t think so, Sparky. Either you promise me you’ll leave right away if she wants you to go, or I’m going with you. And I’ll complain to management that you’re harassing a guest after having yelled at her during her lesson.”
Sparky? What the fuck? “If she tells me to leave her alone, I will. I promise.”
He would, even though he was dying to talk to Tess. Because his desires weren’t more important than hers. His parents had taught him that long before he’d gone on his first date.
“When she comes back, if she tells me you didn’t keep that promise, I will rain hellfire upon you.” Belle let go of his arm. “And I watched Game of Thrones, so you don’t want that. Trust me.”
He considered some of the plotlines he’d seen and shuddered. “Fair enough. Thanks.”
Then, before she could threaten him more, he was jogging down the hall and toward the beach. Toward the most interesting woman he’d met in God knew how long. Toward the only woman who’d seen past his lazy-dude façade in months. Maybe years.
Toward a woman who might not want to talk to him at all.
Shit.
He put his head down and jogged faster.
Somehow, Tess had found his favorite place on the island.
The adults-only end of the resort was always quieter than the family beaches, not only because it was child-free, but also because reaching the area required a much longer walk from the hotel. Even by the adult-beaches standard, though, this spot was special. Peaceful and secluded.
At the very tip of the island, the resort had created a little pool of turquoise ocean water, protected by rocks about ten meters from shore. That line of rocks, a sort of homemade reef, absorbed the force of any waves before they reached the pool. More rocks marked the sides of the protected area.
While the pool constantly received a fresh influx of ocean water, that water moved only in tiny ripples, lapping like a gentle caress against the skin of anyone lucky enough to find the spot. Visitors could even see over the line of those dark rocks and into the stunning