Page 10 of Tequila Lime and Sunshine

Hawke

Free breakfast buffets might be my favorite thing.

This particular breakfast buffet is even better because of a certain woman with her hair in a messy bun sitting at a table all by herself.

“Good morning, Sunshine. Why didn’t you wake me for breakfast?”

She looks up from her phone with a scowl. “Why would I wake you up? Just because we’re sharing a room doesn’t mean we have to do everything together.”

I see she’s back to her normal sassy self this morning. That’s ok. I kind of like her this way.

I smile. “You’re stuck with me, babe. Better get used to it.”

“Great,” she mutters under her breath.

I stand to fill up my first plate of food. Once I’m loaded up with waffles, eggs, bacon, fruit, and some sort of mystery pastry, I head back to Summer’s table. Surprisingly, she’s still there. I half expected her to leave while I was gone.

I slide into the chair across from her. “What are your plans for the day?”

She looks up at me, almost like she forgot I was here. I hold back my laugh. I don’t know what I did to make this woman dislike me so much, but it’s almost comical how hard she’s trying to ignore me.

“I was going to do some work this morning and then spend the afternoon at the pool. You?”

“I actually have a little work to catch up on as well. And the pool sounds fantastic. Thanks for asking.”

She sighs and rolls her eyes. “I wasn’t inviting you to the pool with me.”

I take a bite of the pasty. The cherry filling inside is surprising but not unwelcome. “I don’t know. Sounded like an invite to me.”

“Maybe you should get your hearing checked.”

I knock her foot with mine under the table. “I’m pretty sure the pool is open to all resort guests. Is it not?”

She rolls her eyes. “Oh my god. Fine. Go to the pool. Whatever. Do what you want.”

I wish I could do whatever I want because she’d be at the very top of my list. Unfortunately, she’s not mine to have. And even more unfortunately, she doesn’t like being anywhere near me.

I’m smiling at her like a fool when I hear, “Hey, guys. Fancy meeting you here.” I look up to see my brother and his girlfriend smiling down at us.

“Morning to you, too,” I reply, trying to act casual like I wasn’t just thinking about how badly I want to hook up with his ex-girlfriend. “You sleep ok?”

Carly smiles at Holden, silently telling everyone that they did more than just sleep last night. I’m sure it’s a strategic move to stake her claim in front of Summer. “Yes. The bed was surprisingly comfortable.”

Holden gives her a stupid smile before pulling out a chair for her. “Mind if we join you?”

I glance over at Summer and can instantly tell by the tight set of her jaw and fake smile plastered on her face that she does, indeed, mind if they join. But she’d never say that. Instead, she mutters, “Of course not.”

Once they’re seated, Holden asks, “Where are your rooms? Are you in the east tower?”

I shake my head. “No, our room is in the other one.”

Holden’s head snaps in my direction. “Wait. You guys are sharing a room?”

“Mm-hmm.” I answer casually because it’s not as big of a deal as he thinks. Hell, Summer curled up in a ball in her bed as soon as we got in last night and was gone before I even woke up.

“Why?” he looks back and forth between Summer and me.

“Because dumbass here decided he was coming at the last minute, and there weren’t any rooms available. So, I got stuck with him.” She conveniently leaves out the part about her boyfriend breaking up with her, so she had a spare bed anyway. But I’m not going to bring it up when I’ve made it my mission for this trip to get her to like me again.