Still, he frowned. “My flirtation is not automatic.”
She raised a slim, dark brow, and for just a second, he could totally see her in front of a classroom, confronting a student who’d blamed his missing homework on his pet chinchilla.
Not that Lucas had ever used that particular excuse. No, he’d been more partial to his imaginary moose friend, whose appetite had been remarkably vast when it came to school assignments. Or so he’d told his long-suffering teachers.
He looked at Tess again and shook his head. Dammit, that was one effective eyebrow.
“Okay, so my flirting is kind of automatic.” Giving up, he grinned at her. “Doesn’t mean it’s not sincere.”
Another eyeroll. “I’m sure.”
Automatic instinct or not, he wouldn’t flirt with a woman who didn’t want that sort of attention from him. “Would you like me to keep things completely professional? Would that make our time together easier for you?”
An impersonal distance between them wasn’t what he wanted, but neither was her discomfort.
“You mean you’d stop flirting?” She blinked up at him, hazel eyes doubtful. “Won’t that cause you severe bodily injury? Possibly death?”
He considered the matter. “Maybe. But I’m willing to risk it for your sake.”
“Well…” After hesitating a long moment, she waved a dismissive hand. “Nah. I’d hate for the resort to lose its star tennis dude because he experienced some sort of catastrophic flirtation backup. I can handle it.”
Did she actually enjoy his flirting? Or was she merely being polite?
Either way, she deserved to know how many times she’d be weathering his charm offensive in the future. “Then we’re agreed. But before we begin our appointment, I’m afraid I have some bad news for you.”
Her shoulders slumped. She closed her eyes, and her dark lashes rested on her cheeks like lace. “What now?”
“Your friend didn’t just buy you one tennis lesson with me.”
She squeezed her eyes shut more tightly and groaned. “Don’t tell me.”
With her face scrunched up like that, her hair in those pigtails, she looked like a kid. He stood there and let himself enjoy the view, content to get his pathetic kicks where he could.
After he’d remained silent a few moments, she peeked through one eyelid. “What’s the matter? Is it too horrifying for words?”
“You said not to tell you.” He grinned at her. “I’m just following orders.”
“Don’t be deliberately obtuse, Karlsson.” She propped both fists on her hips. “What did Belle do?”
“From what I saw of my upcoming schedule, she bought you several more lessons. Very expensive, private, nighttime lessons. The only ones still available for the next two weeks, probably because theyareso expensive.” Another groan was Tess’s only response. “Unfortunately, I have to inform you that the money for those lessons is nonrefundable, due to company policy. Which the concierge would have explained to her before she booked the appointments.”
This groan was more like a wail.
There was nothing he could do about it, unfortunately. Because he was a draw for the resort, the company didn’t look kindly upon cancellations made less than a week in advance, whether or not they could easily fill the vacated slots in his schedule. They felt the availability of too many last-minute appointments would devalue his perceived worth.
Maybe they were right, maybe they weren’t.
Either way, poor Tess had a simple choice before her: She could waste a shitload of her friend’s money, find someone else to take the lessons…or suffer through several nights of his company.
They both knew how this was going to play out, at least for tonight. He just wondered how long it would take her to accept the inevitable.
To her credit, not long. Within moments, her eyes opened, her shoulders straightened, and she gave a firm little nod. “Okay, then. Multiple tennis lessons it is.”
He should resist. But he wouldn’t. “With me. One-on-one. At night.”
“Yeah, smartass. I got that part.” She gestured to the court. “How does all this usually work? I didn’t pack a racket or any sort of tennis supplies.”
“You can borrow what you need from the clubhouse. Part of what you pay for with those nightly resort fees.” He waved her toward the building. “After you.”
