Page 7 of Promise Not to Fall for the Rich & Famous

Gage glanced down to the towel she’d dropped beside her board.

Christian blew out a whistle. “Yep. She’s ticked. She’s going to go talk to Cyree right now.”

Prickles of guilt settled over Gage as he glanced back over his shoulder. Determined strides took the woman farther away with every step. “What’s Cyree going to say?”

When Christian didn’t answer, Gage shot him a questioning look. One his friend hadn’t even caught; he was too busy staring at Carly as she hurried off. A hint of realization sank in as Gage took in the guy’s brooding expression.

Christian likes her.

It would make sense, explain why he’d been so protective outside the resort. Was it possible he’d ticked her off onpurpose? In hopes that Carly would stomp in there and get her way?

“Cyree will make her do it anyway,” Christian said, still not managing to pull his gaze off her.

Gage blew out an irritated breath. “You should have let her boss do that. Now she’s going to be mad at me this whole time.”

Christian seemed to pull out of his daze, but only partly. He shrugged, looked down at the sand, and then looked back toward the resort once more. “I figured they already told her.”

Yeah right.Gage would drop it for now, but he couldn’t help but think his friend had caused a rift on purpose. Who cared? Gage wasn’t here to hook up with some intimidating blonde he’d be forced to leave once his five weeks were through.

He’d simply concentrate on the surfing, cross the film off his list, and get back to school where his heart was. His father was right—this was no time to get distracted by women anyway.

CHAPTER 3

Carly studied Cyree as the woman scooted to the edge of her white leather office chair, her small frame looking as poised and perfect as the rest of her sleek, contemporary office. The woman couldn’t be more than five years older than Carly, but she had a professional air about her that demonstrated just why she held such an important position at the Royal Palm.

“You know our motto, Carly. Patron satisfaction is of upmost importance. I hate to state the obvious and sayespeciallypatrons with the last name Craven, but…”

Carly fought back an eye roll and glanced out the wall of windows. Somewhere out there, Mark Craven’s son stood, probably whining about the idea of not getting his way. In fact, he was likely calling his father in that very moment. Or his agent. Or the producer of his upcoming show…

“It’s fine,” she said with a sniff. “I just…am really going to miss working with the kids.”

“I understand,” Cyree said. “As soon as his five weeks is up, you’ll go back to your scheduled appointments.”

“Five weeks?” She hadn’t meant to blurt it aloud but that was way longer than she’d imagined.

“Yes. He’ll be playing the role of a pro surfer. Which is exactly what brought him to our resort—we’re the only one who has one on staff.” Cyree’s smile gleamed with pride, the way Carly’s probably did when her students mastered those tricky words for the spelling bee.

Sure, she was a schoolteacher now, but she’d won her fair share of surf comps and made a decent amount of money in the process. A swell of unwelcome images rushed in, reminding her of the time she’d given it all up.No, don’t let those in right now.She’d seen the way people looked at her when her emotions took over, and Carly had had enough pity in her life.

“Well, I appreciate you taking the time to hear me out.” Carly came to a stand and gave the woman a nod.

“And thankyoufor coming straight to me with your inquiry,” Cyree said. “I look forward to seeing what you can do with Mr. Craven.”

With one last nod to Cyree, Carly stepped out of the quiet office and pressed a hand to her chest. The area had tightened at the sound of the famous actor’s name. Embarrassment crept through her. There was just so much chaos stirring. Memories prodding. Tears mounding. She moved quickly down the hallway and through the massive foyer where all the hustle and bustle came to life. She quickened her steps, veered left to avoid a bellman cart, right to dodge an old couple wearing tennis clothes and sun visors, and made for the exit.

How would she get through the next five weeks without even one fun-loving, easy going, open-hearted little soul to light up her day?

Had fate not delivered her such a hard blow, Carly would have a little one of her very own.

An ache settled over her heart as she pushed open the swinging door with aswooshand hurried over the covered patio. She should go apologize for her behavior, Carly knew that much,but she couldn’t get herself to do it yet. Not with the replay of past hurts so fresh in her mind.

She reached for the leather cord at her neck, secured the ceramic pendant dangling from it, and ran her thumb over the polished surface. There, she could feel the inscription. Tears welled in her eyes as she made her way to a nearby palm tree, hidden by a wall of green shrubs. A wicker bench waited there, tempting Carly with privacy and shade. As she sank into the seat, she envisioned the three distinct parts while tracing over them. First, a name—hername: Ava Marie. Below that, two arrows pointed inward toward a single square, symbolizing the way her baby girl came and left—all on the very same day. Tiny, scattered grains dotted the space beneath the inscription, like sand under the ocean floor, but it signified something of its own; the way Carly’s heart had crumbled into a million pieces that day.

She clenched her eyes shut, lifted the pendant, and pressed it against her lips. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she fought back the sobs.Come on, Carly. It’s just a small setback.But that was just it. Why now were her emotions on the brink of bubbling over? Why now did everything feel so raw? It seemed as if she’d taken a hundred steps back in time and erased all her healed parts in the process.

But then it hit her, hard and sudden like a concrete slab in her gut:In the instant before we release something meaningful, we tighten our grasp.

She uttered a whisper to the heavens. “Please say this means I’m letting him go. Please say that it’s actually happening this time.” Carly hated even thinking of the many times she’d tried and failed to let Jimmy fade into her past where he belonged. She hadn’t been able to stop herself from reaching out and dragging him into the present, determined to make him part of her future.