Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
A lex smiled when Mary walked straight through the living room to gape at the picture window that overlooked the beach. The beach house was rented, just like the private jet that brought them here, but a little money went a long way toward impressing Mary.
It s so…big. Like the desert, but water, she said.
Gently taking her bag from her shoulder, he murmured, You can go out there, you know.
I will. After I unpack. And see about groceries. Unless you want to eat out? She glanced around the living room. That might be better. I don t want to make a mess that we ll need to clean up before we leave.
Mary. Grasping her shoulders, he turned her to face him. Don t worry about making a mess. Someone will come to clean the place after we leave. I ve taken the liberty of hiring a private chef for tonight s dinner, but if you prefer to go to a restaurant, that s fine, too. This week is all about relaxing. He kneaded the stiff muscles where her neck joined her shoulders.
Her eyes closed, she rocked her head from side to side. Relaxing.
Try it. You might like it.
Her eyes flicked open. I suspect you don t have a lot of experience with the concept, either.
He laughed. Maybe not, but I m committed to trying it for you.
She stared into his eyes for a moment as if waiting to see if he d take it back. The smile died on his lips. She d been so young when she lost her mother. Life hadn t been easy for the family before then, but ever since they d met, that day she stood up for him in fifth grade, she d been a surrogate mother to her brothers, even her older brother Michael. And she d kept caring for them for all these years. He guessed she didn t know how to turn it off.
He glanced at his watch, then with mock seriousness handed back her bag. No unpacking. Just put on your swimsuit. If you re not back out here in five minutes, I m coming after you.
A smile teased at her lips. And what will you do when you come after me?
I guess you ll find out, he said with his most menacing glare.
Ooh. Might be worth it to see. With a saucy swing of her hips, she turned away and walked to the hallway with the bedrooms.
Fuck. He adjusted himself in his pants. He absolutely couldn t go after her, or he d have to take a cold shower before they went to the beach.
Fortunately, she didn t test him, and he got his erection situation under control by thinking about how cold the water was going to be. Five minutes later, she met him by the French doors onto the deck. She wore a gauzy black cover-up over a black one-piece with a broad sun hat on her head. Alex had put on a white rash guard shirt over his gray trunks.
Mary surveyed him. You should talk about relaxing. Your beachwear looks just like your business clothes.
Make another smart remark, Miss Forza, and I m dumping you into the ocean.
You ll have to catch me first! She flung open the doors and, her flip-flops smacking, ran across the deck and scurried down the stairs.
Alex took his time, grabbing the picnic basket from the fridge and locking the door before he followed at a more measured pace. He picked up a pair of folding beach chairs at the bottom of the stairs.
Mary had frozen a few feet from where the sand began. Late on a Tuesday afternoon, most of the families had packed up and gone home, but a teenage boy tossed a ball for his dog and a few couples walked hand in hand along the shore.
What s wrong? Alex asked when he stood beside her.
She raised her voice. It s so loud. I didn t expect that.
Alex listened to the crashing waves and the swooping seagulls cries. You ll get used to it. Come on. I ll set these up, then you can dip your toes in.
Just my toes? I m not going to miss my chance to swim in the Pacific Ocean.
He eyed the handful of paddle boarders in their wet suits. All right, then.
He walked to a clear spot of sand and set up the chairs. Nearby were the remnants of a sandcastle that some child must have taken great joy in building, then destroying. He dropped his phone and watch into the picnic basket and covered it with a beach blanket.
Mary stripped off her cover-up, and Alex took a moment to admire her. She d filled out since their high-school days. The last time he d seen her in a swimsuit was at a pool party at his parents house. She d surprised him by coming. Although they were friends, she didn t like the other kids he hung out with, the sons and daughters of his father s business associates. Entitled, just like him. Hell, he never understood why she liked him. He was certain it wasn t because of his money or his sarcastic teenage wit. He d feared it was because she pitied him. Poor little rich kid whose dad never noticed him, who had everything a guy needed except unconditional love.
You re not allowed to stare at my cellulite, okay? I know you ve probably never seen it on any of those skinny women you date, but I assure you, it s perfectly normal. Mary pulled an elastic band from her wrist and coiled her hair at her nape.
It s beautiful, he said, just like the rest of you.
Flinging her hat onto the chair, she snorted. That bullshit might work on some bimbo, but I m wily to your wicked ways, Mr. Villa.
He clucked his tongue. You excel at many things, Mary. Taking compliments is not one of them.
She gazed at him for a long second. Then, kicking off her flip-flops, she took off toward the waves.
Her running form had never been great, as he recalled from gym class, and she churned over the uneven sand like a battleship. He took a second to admire the half cheek revealed by her swimsuit on one side. It d be the perfect size for his palm, if he dared touch her. He slipped off his flip-flops and followed.
Mary got as far into the water as her knees before she squealed and turned back, leaping awkwardly against the pull of the waves. Alex was there to catch her and pull her, shivering, into his arms. Cold?
I didn t know water could get that cold. She shuddered against his chest, and he winced at the situation developing in his trunks. He waded around her until the water hit the backs of his ankles, letting the frigid water chill him all the way to his core.
It ll feel better if we stay where the sand is warm. Let s walk.
When he took her hand, she winced. What s wrong? he asked.
Just my finger, she said. It twinges sometimes.
All these years later? He cradled her right hand in his. Her pinky finger stuck out, away from her ring finger. If I d known it d still trouble you twenty-five years later, I d have let that kid hit me.
She smiled wryly. But I wouldn t. You looked so adorable in your pressed uniform shirt and shorts. I didn t want you to get blood on them. I saw your mom when she dropped you off at school. I figured she d make a fuss.
He d been a skinny fifth-grader who d used a snotty attitude to mask his fear of the bullies who d surrounded him at recess. Mary had fearlessly pushed into the threatening circle. She d hit her growth spurt earlier and was bigger than most of them. He still remembered the cloyingly sweet bubblegum breath of the kid who d grabbed him by the shirt front. He d already resigned himself to going home with his clothes torn and blood on his face. It might get him a few minutes of attention from his dad. And at that point, he was desperate even for his dad to yell at him. But Mary shouted at the kid and then popped him on the chin. When he howled and released Alex, Alex had grabbed Mary s hand and run back to the building.
He stroked her finger. You should ve let the school nurse send you to the hospital. They d have at least splinted it.
Back then, I was more afraid of hospitals than I was of pain. Ma spent so much time there at the end. I saw the bills that came in after. Besides, it s not that bad anymore.
He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her pinky fingertip. I m glad we re friends again. I missed you when we weren t.
When she blinked her big, brown eyes at him, he was in danger of kissing more than her hand. And as much as he wanted to do it, this trip wasn t about picking up where they d left off on her porch last week. It was about relaxation for Mary.
Taking care with her crooked finger, he took her hand and set off slowly across the damp sand. He kept to the ocean side where the icy waves lapped at his heels.
They walked for a minute in silence, Mary s hand warm in his. She tilted her face to the hazy sky, then looked down to the shells left behind by the receding waves.
At last, she sighed. It s wonderful. Thank you for bringing me.
It s my pleasure. Truly, it was, to see her cheeks pinked by the ocean breeze and to feel her soft hand in his.
Aren t you worried about leaving your business?
I ll check in with my team a couple of times a day. And with my mother. I don t want you to worry about the Richardson wedding while we re here. I ve got Joey monitoring it this week.
She tipped her head and squinted at him. Why are you personally involved in this wedding? You don t do that for every event at your hotel, do you?
He could ve made up a bullshit reason. He could have told her half the truth. But the words poured out of him. The Paradise is for sale. And I want it. As you know, Rochelle s father, Ray, is the president of the gaming board. If things go poorly, he can turn the board against me to reject the purchase.
She stared at him for a minute, processing what he d said and probably what he hadn t. Good. I mean, not good that your big deal is at stake. But I was afraid you didn t trust me.
Not trust you? Mary, I d trust you with my life.
But you didn t trust me the night of prom, she said.
He sighed. I was a proud, foolish kid. I didn t want anyone to know about our struggles. But I didn t know the extent of them. That there d be no way to hide when people found out my dad had stolen their life s savings.
She pulled him to a stop and bent to pick up a sun-bleached sand dollar. Is that why the Paradise deal is so important? Other hotels have come up for sale, most of them in better condition than the Paradise. You could be instantly profitable with one of them.
It might not be the most rational decision I ve ever made.
A low bar, she murmured.
He squeezed her hand. Are you seriously insulting me while I m baring my soul to you?
Your soul? Her eyebrows lifted.
Okay, fine. I sold that a long time ago. I m only revealing my personal business. But that s what it is. Personal. I lost the Paradise once, and every day it mocked me from the center of the Strip as I drove by it in my clunker. When I barely had two dollars to rub together, the Rissos made money off my father s shame and my desperation. Now I have a chance to take it back. I ll tear down that old piece of shit and build something shiny and new in its place. And I ll scrawl my name across it in twenty-foot-high letters. I ll show everyone who spat on the Villa name that I ve risen from the ashes my father made of it.
You could call it the Phoenix.
Ah, but then people might forget whose building it is. It ll be La Villa Prime.
She snorted. That sounds like one of the toy robots my brothers used to play with.
Maybe it s childish of me.
Maybe it is. But that doesn t make it wrong. Solemnly, she handed him the sand dollar. You have big dreams. Don t let anyone take them away.
Her eyes were so kind he couldn t bear to look into them. He flung his arms around her and buried his face in her warm shoulder. The edge of the sea creature s skeleton dug into his palm, and he loosened his grip on the delicate shell so as not to crack it. Mary, I?—
But he stopped himself. He couldn t tell her about the bigger dream he had, that one day he d be worthy of her. After he d bought the Paradise and turned her into a world-class resort. After he d made his first billion. After he d somehow redeemed himself for the pain he d caused her so many years ago.
Slowly, her hands came up to rub circles on his back. Well, I guess you needed to unburden yourself to someone. You know, the church offers that service for free every Saturday. Or a high roller like you could afford a therapist.
He hugged her tighter. This is better than therapy. And much better than confession with judgy Father Benedict. Though the thought of Father Benedict s hairy knuckles as he set the communion wafer in Alex s mouth was the only thing that saved him from getting stiff against Mary. He tried not to think about the thin layer of spandex that separated his fingertips from her skin.
Finally, when he had his face under control, he pulled back. Mary s hands lingered on his chest.
Feel better? she asked.
God. He took her hand again and led her back toward their beach chairs. I m such a jackass for making this about me when it s supposed to be your relaxation time.
I m much more relaxed now that I understand why you care so much about the Richardson wedding. I ll stop taking it as a lack of confidence in my abilities.
He pulled her to him and wrapped his arm around her waist. I d be lying if I said I wasn t also using it as an excuse to get closer to you.
Her hand landed on his hip. And I d be lying if I said I had any interest in resisting you.
I don t think this day could get any better.
Oh, I can think of a couple ways.