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Now he laughed, as if he could see right through her.
When dark descended and it came time for the movie showing, it was Alec who stood in line as the staff handed out floats. He came back with one for each of them, then took her by the hand to tug her to the wide steps leading into the pool.
“You don’t have to be my escort,” she grumbled at him. The pool’s water was heated to such a degree she didn’t even wince as she waded in to mid-thigh.
“I’m your bodyguard,” he said, politely holding her donut-shaped float steady as she attempted to drape herself over it.
“That’s lifeguard,” she corrected, fussing with the now-wet sarong which, like an eel, had wrapped her legs and was making a graceful mount impossible.
Alec’s sure hand found the knot at her hip and in a second’s work had the fabric whipped from her body. He tossed it over an empty chair by the side of the pool, his eyes on her instead of the flying scrap of material. “Bodyguard,” he said, his gaze running over her curves. “As in keeping yours all for myself.”
“Alec!” she admonished, and scrambled into the float to avoid him guessing how flustered she was.
Then the nearby lights were dimmed as well as the pool’s underwater glow. Next the movie began, projected onto a huge screen set up amongst lush greenery. Laughter and chatter quieted as the film played, the audience, most of whom were gathered together at the shallowest end, rapt.
It took a couple of minutes for Lilly to realize she was being drawn away from the crowd, Alec walking through the water while towing her toward a small bubble in the pool’s lagoon shape. In the meager light, she couldn’t make out his expression—or intention.
“What’s this about?” she asked, as he slipped into his own float. His hand found hers, securing them close together as they bobbed gently, their own small oasis. “What are you doing?” It definitely felt isolated, with the rest of the people grouped at the other end of the water, their collective attention centered on the movie.
“Trying to keep you on your toes,” he said.
“I’m on my ass in the water,” Lilly countered.
He laughed. “It’s part of my plan to keep you off guard, if you must know the truth.”
“Why?” she asked, suspicious.
“Because of that wary face of yours, is why.” He squeezed her fingers. “For once, just relax. Enjoy the warm pool, the company, the stars coming out overhead.”
At that, she tipped her head back and saw them just beginning to wink through the palm fronds that quivered in the light breeze.
“Isn’t this nice?” he said. “It makes one wonder what more one needs out of life.”
“Mmm,” Lilly said, squinting upward to see if she could identify Orion’s Belt or the Big Dipper.
“What is it you want, Lilly?” he asked, in a musing tone. “Out of life, that is.”
“A hefty retirement fund, a mortgage I have a hope of paying off someday, good, affordable healthcare.”
He had no immediate response, the only sound the water lapping against the sides of their flotation devices and the soundtrack of the film droning on, far enough away that she couldn’t distinguish actual dialogue.
“You really aren’t a romantic,” Alec said a while later.
“Didn’t I make that clear?” Because paradise, to her, wasn’t people, or a particular relationship, but financial security. The certainty that she’d have a roof over her head and food to eat was the only thing she’d marry, if she could.
“Some guys in high school and college must have tried to put you in that frame of mind.”
“I didn’t spend time with guys unless it was at my part-time jobs or in study groups.”
“And now that you’re part of the working world?”
“I told you from the beginning. I don’t have the time or the inclination for romance.”
“That’s just plain sad, sugar.”
“Why? It’s okay for you. Why isn’t it okay for me?”
He let the question lie and she thought a smug, gotcha.
“I’m beginning to think it’s just plain sad for me, too,” Alec finally said.
