Recipe for Temptation - Gina Gordon Page 0,54
and restaurant in the hotel. In addition, there was one bonus item—a selfie with “something that swims.” Weird. Were they supposed to swim out and catch a dolphin?
He whispered to Penn, “May I say, the lengths your father goes to arrange these daily challenges are mind-boggling.”
“No doubt he’s been scoping this place out since we arrived.” She looked over the scavenger hunt list. “One year we actually had to make a dream-catcher, and the winner was picked by one of our neighbors.”
Her father went over the rules. Teams could split up. All items had to be collected and handed in at their designated spot. The team with the best time and all the items won. Bringing in the bonus item shaved ten minutes off the team’s time. Simple as that.
“Penn, are you—”
She placed her hand on his arm. “Whatever just happened…” She shrugged. “It happened. I’m here to win the trophy. That’s all that matters.”
He knew it mattered, what had happened last night and this morning at breakfast. But he wasn’t going to push her. Instead, he’d do what he came here to do. He’d help her win that trophy.
“Dave and Beth, Cole and Pennie.” Her father looked between the four of them. “You’re tied with two wins each. Whoever has the best time with all the items, wins the cup.”
After a quick glance at the list, Cole asked, “So what’s our strategy?”
Penn sucked in a deep breath. She seemed to have cooled down and relaxed at little. “Divide and conquer. We meet back here when we’re done.” He loved the determined set to her jaw. His Penn was back.
She’s not yours.
She ripped the paper in two. “Here’s your half.”
Excitement built as he grasped the paper. Oh, yeah. They were so going to win this.
With a high-five, they took off, each needing to collect ten items.
Cole raced through the hotel compound at break-neck speed. He grabbed a rental receipt from the boat hut on the beach, a menu from the steakhouse at the far end of the grounds, and a brochure from the parasailing kiosk in the hotel lobby. As fast as he could, he collected twelve items on the list.
Almost an hour later, he was on his last item—a bar of lavender soap. He raced across the lobby to the elevators. After waiting ten seconds for it to arrive, he ran around and took the stairs two at a time down to the lower level. He rushed past groups of shoppers, trying not to mow anyone down.
Just before he reached the spa, he saw Christine and Pete. They were huddled together against the wall, giggling and smiling as they whispered to each other with contented gleams in their eyes. One of Pete’s forearms rested on her shoulder, his other hand resting on her belly.
It was a Kodak moment. They looked so happy, lost in each other, as if the rest of the world didn’t exist.
Cole knew exactly how it felt. Every single minute he’d spent with Penn this week, he’d been completely lost in her. Time had stood still. His brothers, his restaurant, the Boys and Girls Club… None of that mattered. He’d lived for their every moment together—for her reassuring smiles, her ability to ease his tension, and the special way she brought him out of his shell. He had tried to do the same thing for her, but it had proved to be more complicated than he’d anticipated. But most of all, he lived for the way she made him feel like the best version of himself, even if deep down, he knew his best self wasn’t someone she could ever love.
Penn was all that mattered.
Someone bumped him from behind, and he was yanked back to the present. He shook his head. Damn. He needed to concentrate on the task at hand, not moon over his lover. If they didn’t win this trophy, he sure as hell wasn’t going to see any more of her pretty smiles coming his way.
He hurried into the spa and headed for the desk. The receptionist greeted him as he approached, but when he practically skidded into the counter, she backed away.
“May I hel—”
“I need a bar of lavender soap.” He drummed his fingers on the marble. “Like, right away.”
She fetched one from the display, and he grabbed it, slammed down a twenty, and took off to her bewildered look.
He’d completed his half of the list in under an hour. Not bad, if he did say so himself. But when he arrived