Chapter 18
James
“I thought you said we’d have our pick of the rooms?” Hallie asked me as the two of us stared at the only two rooms that were in any condition for someone to stay in.
“I didn’t think this many rooms would still be out of commission.” The only rooms that had been finished were a room with a queen and the primary. Two beds for four people. “You and Roxie can take the primary. Sebastian and I will take the queen.”
“Are you sure? We can take the queen.” Hallie nervously chewed on the inside of her cheek, her eyes darting around the room.
I had to fight not to imagine pushing her up against the wall of the hallway to kiss all the worry from her face.
My hands on her hips. Gripping her curves.
Our tongues dancing. The gasp that would escape between her lips as I pulled her inside one of these rooms.
In reality, I would stop myself before we ever got to that point, out of respect for Hallie and our agreement.
I wasn’t even sure it was what she wanted, since she hadn’t once acknowledged our kiss.
But the images in my head didn’t stop. In my head, I tugged Hallie into the primary bedroom.
Kicked the door shut behind us and pulled her down onto that large four-poster bed to kiss every inch of her.
To relish in the sounds she’d make. To worship at the altar of her.
I knew that vision in my head was only that … a vision. But it didn’t stop me from wishing that it were real. My pants felt snug around my groin, and I desperately hoped that Hallie wasn’t paying attention.
I cleared my throat. “I insist. You two are my guests. Seb has been here a hundred times. He won’t mind sharing the queen with me.”
We stepped inside the primary, and sunlight streamed through the giant windows, illuminating the four-poster bed with its private curtains and the cozy reading nook in the corner, my mother’s favorite spot.
Hallie looked around, and I wished I could see it all through her eyes.
Hell, I wished I could see where she spent her summers.
Did her family take any trips anywhere? Or did they stay home?
Did she have friends on her street that she spent hot Midwest summer days rolling around on bikes with?
Did she go to summer camp, or did she stay at home to take care of her sister?
Hallie Woods was like a brand-new market to me and I wouldn’t stop until I understood all the numbers perfectly.
“This is amazing, James. Thank you for bringing me here.” Hallie dropped her bag off on the bed. “Now, I think we should find Roxie before she gets herself into trouble.”
I tossed my bag into the room next to Hallie’s and followed her back down the hallway. “I’m not sure what kind of trouble she could get herself into.”
“In a place this big and knowing Roxie as well as I do, the possibilities are endless.”
Voices drifted from the foyer as we descended the grand staircase, hushed and annoyed. Roxie stood in the foyer, arms crossed over her chest and eyes narrowed as Sebastian Whittaker smiled at her.
“We’re in the primary at the end of the hall on the right, Rox.” Hallie interrupted whatever stare-down the two were having.
“As long as I’m far away from him,” Roxie huffed as she grabbed her stuff from the bench in the entryway. She shoved her way past Seb and bounded up the stairs past us.
“About that …” Hallie winced. “The only two rooms free are right next to each other. We’re sharing the primary. Sebastian and James are in the room next door.”
“Great.” Roxie gave Hallie a forced smile.
“Oh no.” Sebastian’s voice took on a fake air of sincerity. “How terrible for you. I hope you brought earplugs, darling. I snore.”
Roxie rolled her eyes before disappearing down the hall.
“Is this going to be a problem?” I turned to ask my best friend.
Seb gave me a smile that could have resembled a shark. “Why would you assume there’ll be a problem?”
“Because you’re you. And there’s clearly something going on between you and Roxie.”
Seb ascended the stairs, then paused to give me a clap on the shoulder. “This is going to be fun .”
Hallie leaned over to whisper in my ear as she watched Sebastian’s retreating figure. “Do you think …?”
“We’ll keep an eye on them.”
Hallie tossed one more concerned look toward her best friend as she finished ascending the stairs to the main floor. “I’m not sure what their problem is, but they can bicker all they want. I am going to enjoy this beautiful house, this beautiful weather, and soak up all the relaxation I can get.”
Sitting across from Hallie at brunch after our date last week had been torture.
I could barely go a minute without having our kiss flash across my mind.
Our week apart had done little to stifle the feelings of desire growing inside me—for her, for more.
And now I was walking into three days with her.
Uninterrupted time. No need to say goodbye at the end of the night.
Just her and me (and Sebastian and Roxie, but I think they’ll keep themselves busy).
Somewhere between her quick wit and that damn kiss, everything shifted.
The article and the deal we’d made no longer seemed like my priority.
I wanted her to see me for more than the guy trying to protect his family’s legacy.
I wanted her to see me , all the messy, imperfect parts I hadn’t let anyone get close enough to see before.
“I want to give you some time to enjoy the backyard. We have a pool and a private dock for our sailboat. But I also planned a few things to show you around the area.” I’d spent every summer here, but Hallie was experiencing it for the first time, so I aimed to make it special for her.
We couldn’t cram everything into these next three days, so a tiny part of me hoped that this wouldn’t be the last time she stepped foot on my family’s Hamptons property.
“I’m assuming food will be involved?”
My mouth twisted into a grin. “Of course there will be food involved. What a silly question.”
Hallie sighed dreamily. “I bet there are so many amazing places here. I really hope Roxie brought her camera.”
“Her camera?” I asked. I knew Roxie worked at the art gallery that Michelle Granger frequented, but I didn’t realize that she was an artist in her own right.
“She’s a photographer. She takes all the photos that I showcase for my blog.
We had a dream once of starting our own food blog together.
” Hallie followed me through the living room to the kitchen.
Carefully, she traced the fine details of the furniture—the worn edges of the mahogany desk, the faded floral pattern on the armchair.
“Once? Not anymore?” I opened the fridge, trying to figure out what we were working with. There wasn’t an ounce of food inside, and I was certain the pantry looked the same. Clearly, at the end of the season, once Labor Day had passed, my mother had the housekeeper clean all the food out.
“Now’s not the time.” Hallie’s words sounded rehearsed, as if she’d had this very conversation not so long ago.
“I think it could be the perfect time,” I countered. Ultimately, we were here today because she wanted a career in the food industry. I’d known her long enough to realize she found the series merely an exercise to reach her goal. So why not take matters into her own hands?
But Hallie waved me off as she watched me double check the pantry was as empty as the fridge. “Looks like we’ll need to make a stop at the store.”
“We can run into town to grab a few things. I’ll see if Seb and Roxie want to join.”
Roxie came back down the stairs wearing a coverup over her swimsuit. She was making a beeline for the backyard, a beach towel tucked under her arm and her book dangling from her hand. “I’m good. I’m going to lie out by the pool with my book.”
Seb bounded down the stairs, no longer in the suit pants and dress shirt he’d shown up in. He looked at home in a pair of linen shorts and a matching button-up shirt. “Seb, do you want to go into town with us to the store?”
Sebastian’s head bobbed as he pretended to consider my offer. The subtle shift in his eyes toward Roxie lounging by the pool, however, betrayed his decision before a word left his lips. “I think I’m going to catch some sun. I’ve been stuck in the office for too long.”
“When was the last time you actually went in to the office?” But he was already halfway out the door and no longer paying me any mind.
“I guess it’s just the two of us.” Hallie slid off the stool at the kitchen island. “Lead the way, my esteemed tour guide.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice. But let’s take a different car. My dad has his whole collection here.”
Which was how the two of us ended up cruising back toward town in my dad’s favorite classic convertible.
Hallie’s laughter floating along the wind whipping through her hair.
My phone pinged with another update on the current state of the market.
They wouldn’t close for a few more hours.
I could count on one hand the number of times I’d left work before the market closed—maybe twice?
—but when I’d asked for time off this weekend, I had promised myself I wouldn’t let it pull me away.
The chance to spend this weekend with Hallie was too good to pass up. Despite the insistent itch in my fingers to check for urgent investor updates on my phone, the device remained stubbornly in my pocket. I wasn’t about to waste a moment of this.
“How does even the grocery store look as luxurious as the houses?” Hallie asked as I pulled the car into the parking lot. The white-accented shaker-style architecture of the local store mirrored that of many houses in the area.
“I don’t think we need much,” I told her, grabbing a cart as we headed inside. “We have dinner plans every night and one breakfast reservation. So, we just need enough for two breakfasts, lunches, and snacks.”
Hallie walked alongside me, the two of us throwing items in the cart as we circled the store. Her eyes widened comically as I reached for my cereal of choice, the shock evident on her face. “You’re picking Cheerios over Cinnamon Toast Crunch?”
“They’re good for your cholesterol. Says so right there on the box.”
Hallie snatched the box from my hands only to put it back on the shelf, replacing it with Cinnamon Toast Crunch. “We’re on vacation, James. Live a little.”
“So now my cereal choice isn’t exciting enough?” I teased, as we continued through the store. “First you think I’m a carbon copy of everyone else that works on Wall Street and now even my breakfast is boring? Should I get Raisin Bran instead? Really live up to the Mr. Old Fashioned character?”
Hallie tensed. Her knuckles whitened as her hand tightened around the handle of the cart.
“I never thought you were boring, James.” Looking up, a heavy weight of regret settled in her eyes, clouding their usual sparkle.
It looked like both of us were working through a jumble of confused emotions. Breaking down preconceived notions. Venturing back into previously avoided territory. And neither of us knew quite what to do about any of it yet.
“Let’s get some lunch meat for sandwiches and then I think we should be good. We should probably get back to make sure that Sebastian and Roxie don’t kill each other.”
The easy camaraderie we’d shared since arriving in the Hamptons had vanished, replaced by a tense silence.
We’d transported ourselves back to those first few weeks where we were on opposing ends.
But I no longer wanted to put on the boxing gloves and go a few rounds in the ring.
Sparring with her was starting to feel like taking a swing at myself.