Chapter 8
Chapter
Eight
IRIS
Sliding the glass door to the villa open, I slip outside.
I walk the few feet off the back deck until I reach the beach.
The grains of sand shift under my feet, making me smile.
A breeze kicks up, and I wrap the blanket around me tighter.
I walk down to the water’s edge. The water is warm as it crashes against my feet, but my eyes are on the horizon.
The first hints of orange are starting to rise.
A new day.
There is something about a sunrise. It makes me feel hopeful that yesterday’s problems are just that, yesterday’s, and today is a new day ready for all the opportunities it might bring.
I sit down right there on the beach, uncaring about getting wet, and watch the sun. I close my eyes as the waves crash against me and the sun heats my skin.
God, I needed this.
I might love Boston as my home, and London might be my favorite city to visit, but there is nothing like watching a sunrise on a beach where the air is so humid you feel sticky as soon as you step outside.
It is as if you are transported into another world.
One where the plights of the world cannot reach you.
I zone out until the sound of a ringing phone disturbs me.
My eyes open to find a man running down the beach in my direction.
“Sorry,” a guy mutters as he runs by before answering his phone.
I get up and head back to the villa I’m sharing with Max. It’s the same one we always share when we come down here, but somehow it feels different this time.
Maybe I’m different.
I drop the wet blanket on the deck before stepping into the outdoor shower and start to wash the sand off my feet.
I should have brought my toiletries out here with me. I could have showered in nature.
Once the sand is off, I head inside and get ready for the day. As soon as I step inside, I know he’s already gone. He never sleeps well when we are away from home. Well, in Boston he has no issues, but I suppose that was home long before New York was.
An hour later, and I’m ready to get to work. My phone rings as I leave my room.
“Hello,” I say without looking at my screen.
“Do you want hot or cold chai?” Max asks.
“Cold.”
“I’ll meet you in the lobby in fifteen minutes,” he says before hanging up the phone.
Laughing, I shake my head.
That man. I never know what to expect when it comes to him.
It’s no wonder I fell for him.
No, no, you’re over him.
At least, I’m trying to forget the crush I harbored for years.
Sighing, I enter the lobby and look around.
There are electricians hanging chandeliers and other workers doing whatever they are assigned.
The place is coming together smoothly. Right on time and on budget.
When we decided to remodel after the last hurricane, I wasn’t sure we would make the deadline. Yet here we are.
My favorite.
My tablet dings, making me pull it from my bag. As I wait for Max, I start to go through emails. First I get rid of all the spam and then move onto answering the ones I can without having to look anything up.
“Here.”
A cold chai tea latte is shoved between my tablet and myself, making me jerk my head back.
“Rude,” I tell Max as I take it from him.
“I said your name, but you weren’t paying attention,” he tells me.
I look over at him and hide my smile behind my cup.
He’s got on a white button-up without a tie and black slacks.
One of my favorite things about being on location is that he’s so much more relaxed than when he’s stuck in an office.
It reminds me of when we worked at the hotel and didn’t travel so much.
His eyes narrow. “Why are you smiling?”
“Because the sun is shining and it’s a glorious day.”
Something I can’t quite name flashes across his face. “You watched the sunrise on the beach this morning.”
“I did.”
“And how was it?” He sounds a little jealous.
“Perfect.”
He opens his mouth to say something, but before he can, someone calls out to us. We turn and watch Myla walk toward us.
“Thank you guys for coming,” she says as she reaches us.
We both shake her hand. As soon as Max drops her hand, he shoves his hands in his pockets, making me smile.
“Of course. Max said you needed us to make some decisions,” I tell her.
“Yes, the original tile we picked out for the bathrooms is backordered by months. We could wait it out, but if we do, then it will put us behind schedule, which I know is not acceptable,” she tells us.
“Agreed. Show us,” I tell her.
“Follow me to my office,” she says.
I fall into step behind her and Max behind me.
We go to her office, and she shows us different samples. Max stays quiet while she and I chat. Once we are done picking out tiles and then a secondary to prevent things like this from happening again, the conversation shifts.
“Have you looked at the new amenities packages yet? I know we emailed them over while you were traveling, and you got in late last night,” Myla says.
“No, not yet. I was actually going through my emails right before you came up and hadn’t had a chance to open it yet,” I tell her before looking over at Max. “Did you look at it?”
“No,” he says bluntly.
Sighing, I close my eyes. I swear to God this man is going to drive me crazy. Couldn’t he have said it a little less bluntly?
Myla laughs. “You have a way with words, Max.”
“Mr. Williamson,” he reminds her.
Her smile drops, and she clears her throat. “Right, sorry. Well, since you guys are here, do you want to test out any of the amenities? It would be on the company’s dime since you would be testing to see how it is.”
Max opens his mouth, likely to remind her that the company is his, but I reach over and pinch his back where she can’t see.
“We would love to. Thank you. Mr. Williamson and I are going to go discuss what we want to do, and we will let you know,” I tell her.
Her phone rings, and she excuses herself so she can answer. As she steps out of the room, I turn to look at him.
“Did you have to pinch me so hard?” he mutters.
I roll my eyes. “Please, like it hurt.”
He huffs, so I change the subject.
“So what do you want to do for the rest of the day?”
“I can’t even remember what they have to do around here,” he says.
It doesn’t escape my notice that his cheeks redden, but I wisely ignore it. I pull out my phone and start listing off our options.
When I’m done, Max turns toward me. “Spend the day with me?”
My heart catches. I know he doesn’t mean it in the way I wish he did. Months ago, I would have taken this as a sign he wanted to be with me. Now, I see it for what it is. He wants to spend the day with a friend. Someone who doesn’t drain his social battery.
“Sure,” I tell him, even though I know I shouldn’t.
The last thing I should do is spend a day doing things lovers would do, but like a glutton for punishment, I can’t help myself.
I can never say no to Maximilian Williamson.
MAX
If anyone were to ever ask me what one of my favorite things about Iris is, it’s that she knows me.
Truly knows me, and today is proof enough.
She could have picked one of the boat tours, learning to surf, or something else where there would be a shit ton of tourists.
Instead of doing that, though, she picked for us to try one of the hiking trails.
“My ass is dead,” she mutters.
I look over at her and laugh.
She looks miserable. Even though her hair is up, it’s sticking to her face and neck. She’s got a dirt smudge on her forearm, and her clothes are clinging to her from sweat.
As far as I’m concerned, she’s never looked more gorgeous.
“If you would have taken the lead, you could have set the pace,” I tell her.
“You know I don’t like walking in the front when we’re hiking,” she says as she sucks in a breath.
Yes, much to my dismay, she refuses to walk in front of me when on a trail.
Not because she thinks I’m going to sneak a peek at her ass but because she’s afraid she’s going to walk into a spider web.
She’d rather I walk into it than her. If I remember right, she explicitly told me that she would rather sacrifice me than have it happen to her.
“Almost there,” I tell her.
“You said that fifteen minutes ago.”
I come to a stop and reach for her hand. Without hesitation, she places hers in mine. Together we crest the hill and come to a stop. Her breath catches as she looks at the view.
“It’s beautiful,” she says quietly.
“Our guests will love it.”
“Oh, for sure.”
I turn toward her. “So was it worth the hike? Is it better than your sunrises?”
She tilts her head from side to side. “Was it worth it? Yes, but better than my sunrises? Absolutely not.”
We turn back to the view and take it in.
“I’m looking forward to that massage,” she says after a few minutes.
“Massage?”
She nods. “Yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve had one.”
Over the years, I’ve learned that Iris loves a good spa day. She loves getting massages, facials, and doing all that girlie shit. She also prefers not going alone.
“Was it with the girls?” I ask, referring to our friend group and her best friend from childhood.
“Yeah. I think it was right after the gala,” she says, referencing the hockey gala we went to for Brantley.
“It’s been a while then,” I mutter, more to myself.
How did I not notice it had been so long?
“Yeah…” She trails off, pulling out her phone to take a photo of the scenery.
“Do you want me to come with you?” I ask without thinking about it.
As soon as the words leave my mouth, I want to take them back. The only thing I hate as much as being forced to people is being touched by strangers.
She turns toward me, eyes wide as her phone lowers. “Are you serious? You would get a massage with me?”
“If you wanted me to.” I shrug. “I know you don’t like doing it alone, but if you want to…”
“No, I would love for you to come,” she says quickly.
“Okay then. Let’s get back and get our massage on.”
Iris laughs as I cringe. “Get our massage on? Really?”
“Whatever. Let’s go,” I say as I start back down the path.
She pulls me back by my arm. I turn, looking at her, thinking about how she is so beautiful that the scenery around us pales in comparison. I would miss everything because my eyes are always on her.
“Take a picture with me?” she asks.
I nod, turning so she can take a selfie. She makes a cute face at the camera, but I turn my face toward hers, pushing my lips to her cheek. She laughs as she pulls away, wiping her cheek.
“Ew, you are so sweaty.”
I turn away from her. “You wanted the picture. Now keep up, or I’ll get a massage without you.”
It’s an empty threat, but it gets her legs moving as we head back down the trail.
Regrets. I have massive fucking regrets.
When I agreed to a massage, I didn’t know what I was getting into. I didn’t know about the little noises she would make. Or the way her breathing would make me hard as a rock.
“I swear, Matilda, you are a goddess with your hands,” she sighs.
Matilda chuckles. “Thank you.”
My masseuse taps my shoulder. “If you roll over, I can do your front.”
Do my front? Absolutely not.
“I’m good. I’ll stay right where I am,” I mutter.
My masseuse laughs under her breath.
“Don’t worry, you aren’t the first husband to have this issue,” she says quietly.
I open my mouth to correct her but stop.
What’s the harm in her thinking that Iris and I are a thing? It’s like the plane all over. I’m fully into fantasyland.
I can pretend it is real for a little while longer.
The masseuse continues to rub and hits a particularly tender spot behind my shoulder blade, making me grunt.
Iris sighs, and I swear to Christ if I wasn’t lying on my stomach, everyone in the room would know exactly what her sounds do to me.
I shut my eyes and try to tune her out. I am on edge the entire massage, unable to fully relax, which I am sure Glenda, my masseuse, found amusing because every time I would tense due to Iris, she would let out a little laugh under her breath.
Thankfully, she doesn’t out me. She’s getting a hell of a tip.
“Wake up, sleepyhead,” Iris says teasingly.
I let her believe I had been asleep, which is why I didn’t answer her when she spoke to me during the massage. Truth is, I couldn’t talk to her and keep my cool. I needed to focus.
“Is it over? That was torture,” I grumble.
Iris giggles. “Torture? You fell asleep.”
I turn my head over and look at her. She’s got a line on her face from the table. Her eyes are glassy, and if I’m honest, it’s the most relaxed I’ve ever seen her.
“Did you enjoy it?” I ask, making her smile.
“Ten out of ten, recommend. If Matilda was a man, I would have proposed.”
Jealousy rolls through me, and I push it down.
Jesus, have I really gone so far off the deep end that I’m jealous of a woman because she made Iris happy?
What the hell is wrong with me?
“Hey, are you okay?” she asks quietly.
“I’m perfect.” I clear my throat. “Are you wanting to do anything else while we are here?”
“I mean, I was going to either order room service or check the on-site restaurant since it’s reopened. Which, in case I didn’t tell you, it was smart to open it as soon as we finished it. The business from the neighboring resort alone has made it more than worth it.”
“I have a good idea every so often,” I tease, making her laugh.
“That you do. That you do. So what do you say? Want to have dinner together?”
“Sure.”
“At the restaurant?”
I sigh, feigning annoyance. “Fine.”
“Look at you being all agreeable and shit. If I would have known all it would take was a massage, I would have made you get one earlier,” she teases with a smile on her face.
The way she smiles at me makes my heart ache and wish for something else.
That’s the thing about wishes, though. They don’t always come true.