Page 48 of Sexy

I take off my shirt and do the same. The sun beats down on my stomach and it’s good. “I haven’t either, really.”

“Why not?” she asks in a sleepy voice. “You live here. I’d take advantage of it, if I lived here. It’s small, and peaceful. Not like San Francisco. All city blocks and bustling people on their way somewhere.”

“Busy, that’s all.”

“Well, I guess you have time now.”

I open my eyes and stare at her. She’s not pasty, but she’s not tan like me. Mine’s from an airbrush though, not the outdoors. I can’t even remember the last day I had off. “Not really. I have another job. Two actually.”

She open her eyes and meets my gaze. “What kind of jobs?”

“Just some side things.”

“Matchmaking?”

“I guess that makes three.”

“Why do you need so many jobs?”

“Money. I’ve got bills, just like everyone else.”

“You make pretty good money at the hotel. Five hundred dollars a show plus tips. What’s that bring in? Three or four hundred? So that’s not a bad living. Plus you get a free suite at the Landslide.” She props herself up on her elbow and stares at me. “Why do you need so much money?”

“Why do you need to know?” I say, picking a loose rock from the side of the cliff and skipping it across the surface of the lake.

“Because you don’t add up.”

“Neither do you,” I say, skipping another one.

“I’m really not complicated.”

“Your life sure is.”

“What?”

“Nothing.” She has no clue. None at all. “So your dad’s coming and you want the show to be perfect because the travel people are gonna rate the hotel.”

“How’d you know that?”

“Claudio told me this morning. He said you were worried about disappointing your dad. So I guess that’s why you’re here. For him.”

She sits up all the way now. “What’s that mean? You’re so damn confusing, Fletcher. You want to have sex with me, you want to fix me up with Cole, and you want to keep your job. But nothing about that makes sense.”

“It’s not really complicated, Tiffy. And anyone who wasn’t raised as a billionaire’s daughter would understand it. I need money. I have bills. I’m trying my best to make shit work out, so I do what I have to do. People like you just want to stick me in a box. Put a label on me. Make me into something I’m not. But the truth is, I’m not what you think.” I look up at her. “You have no idea who I am.”

“You’re right, I don’t. Because everything you’ve told me is a lie.”

“I never lied to you. And you know what? Just go back to the fucking hotel and tell Chandler I’ll be there. OK?” I get up and start climbing past her, but she grabs my arm as I try to pass over her body.

“Wait.”

“Why?” I growl. “So I can sit here and listen to you judge me? I’m not a fraud. I’m not a conman, for fuck’s sake. That brother of mine you were flirting with yesterday, he’s the conman. I’m just a guy doing the best he can. So you can stop now. Just stop acting like you care about any of this bullshit, and just go back to your perfect life.”

I regret those words as soon as they leave my mouth because I know her life is not what it seems either. I’m just saying these things to hurt her now. So I guess I am an asshole.

“Then tell why you want to fix me up with Cole.”

“You asked me to fix you up with Cole, Tiffy.”