“Ah.” I nodded. “That explains the southern twang.”
“Twang?” She rolled her hand through the wind out the window like she was riding an invisible wave with her palm. “I suppose I don’t notice I still have an accent.”
It was faint, but it was there, and it made her a complex creature. She was a sophisticated businesswoman as well as a sweet southern belle. She had a carefree attitude but also struck me as a serious go-getter.
“You’re from California?” Katie asked.
How was she able to riddle me out so effortlessly?
“Los Angeles,” I said. “Please tell me I don’t have one of those hipster vibes or something. What tipped you off?”
“Turn right up here,” she said, nodding at a fork in the road. “Are hipster vibes a bad thing?”
“Oh God.”
She snickered. “Maybe it’s the hair. But it suits you. And the linen shirt. I don’t know. I guess I’m just good at picking out where people are from. I’ve been doing it for a long time and I know the clues.”
“Clues?” I followed a curve in the road, and suddenly, we emerged from the dense foliage on either side of the road. Spread out before us was the ocean, wild and blue and speckled with white sailboats. The road wrapped around a cliff face and climbed steadily upward, and I noticed lights running along the side of the cliff.
This must be the resort property.
“Clues like how people say certain words or even how they walk,” Katie explained. “You walk like a Californian.”
I frowned, puzzled. “Is that a good or bad thing?”
“Neither. It just is.”
“Do you walk like a Nashvillian then?”
Katie burst out laughing. “What? A Nashvillian? What is that?”
“I couldn’t think of the word for people from Nashville.”
She laughed harder and I started to snicker. Had I just made an ass out of myself in front of this beautiful girl?
It didn’t matter. She was laughing.
“I don’t think there’s actually a word for it,” Katie said. “I think we fall under the overarching Tennesseans.”
“I prefer Nashvillian.”
“It sounds like the name of a bad guy from a movie.”
“A little,” I admitted.
The road wrapped around a jutted-out piece of cliff and leveled out. I drove my beat-up truck through a grand front gate with cameras mounted on two white concrete posts. Matching carvings of Roman women wrapped in shawls had been carved into the posts and trimmed with gold paint.
The drive was lined in palm trees and covered in shade. It led to a massive roundabout in front of the hotel lobby, which was a glamorous, massive structure that seemed to rise out of the jungle itself. Valet drivers dressed in all white stood at the ready while bellboys ushered carts of luggage from car trunks to the front doors.
“Damn,” I breathed. “This is a nice joint.”
Katie opened her door and slid out onto the pavement. She fixed her dress and dragged the bag of fruit out of the truck. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone refer to the El Cartana as a joint before.”
“There’s a first time for everything.”
She shouldered the bag and braced herself against the side of the seat. “Do you have a minute? I want to repay you for helping me out today. I would have been in hot water if I hadn’t gotten back so quickly. You have no idea how much you helped me.”
“I don’t need anything, I’m happy to help.”
“I never said you needed it. But here’s a tip for staying on this island, Peter.” She paused and leaned into the truck, a coy smile tugging at her full pink lips. “When someone offers you something, accept it graciously.”
I nodded. “Noted.”
Katie smiled approvingly.
I gestured at the hotel. “What are you waiting for then? Go get my reward.”
Katie threw her head back and laughed as she made her way to the front doors. I watched her go. Or rather, I watched her backside go. I chastised myself for it the whole time but I couldn’t help myself. She had a great figure.
Hell, from where I was sitting, she had a great everything.
Don’t get ahead of yourself, Peter. It was just a ride, not a first date.
I didn’t have to wait long for her to return. She pushed out of the front doors and jogged back to my truck. She came around to my window and draped her forearms on the frame. Then she handed me an envelope.