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“Yes.”
“Not that I’m not thrilled you stuck to your guns and said no, but why did you say no?” he asked curiously.
I smiled, feeling slightly embarrassed. “I told you, I always thought of sex as being something special and important that you share with someone you love. I didn’t love Simon or Joseph, so I couldn’t justify sleeping with either of them. Whenever I considered it…” I trailed off.
“Yes?”
I pushed back my blush and continued. “Whenever I considered it, I kept thinking of you,” I admitted. “It just didn’t feel right to sleep with one man while you were fantasizing about another.”
Tristan’s smile was both thrilled and teasing. “I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to hear you say that.”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t get too cocky.”
“Too late,” he replied. “You know, I really like that I was your first.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You would,” I said. “What number was I?”
Tristan’s smile faltered a little. “Um…is that really necessary information for you to have?”
“Ballpark?”
“It’s definitely less than a ballpark.”
I laughed, but a part of me felt slightly uneasy. I knew enough of Tristan’s romantic history to know that he had played the field in college and even afterward. I also knew that he had never committed to one woman for any significant length of time and wondered if I was expecting too much of him. I knew it was naïve of me to assume that my love for him alone might be enough for him to change, but I hoped.
I wondered if that hope would see us through or if it would end up breaking me. I had experienced enough to know that hope was as intoxicating as it was treacherous.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Tristan
“Where’s Ben?” I demanded, just as he turned the corner. “Ah never mind, he’s here. Where have you been?”
“There was a situation by the west pool,” he said darkly. I could tell by his expression that he was upset by it.
“What happened?”
“Mr. Beaumont,” Ben told me. “He’s one of the tycoons who arrived a few days ago with his wife. He was ordering cocktails all morning by the pool and got drunk.”
“How drunk?”
“Drunk enough to get a little fresh with Nakoma, the waitress who brought him his ninth cocktail.”
“I assume his wife was not around?”
“She was at the spa, getting a full body massage,” Ben replied. “She doesn’t know about the incident.”
“Is it handled?”
“Molly’s seeing to Nakoma now,” he said. “She’s a little shaken up. She’s young, and this is her first job.”
“And Mr. Beaumont?” I asked, with distaste.
“The cad’s too drunk to hold a conversation,” he replied. “I cut him off and escorted him back to his suite. Once he sleeps it off, I doubt he’ll remember much.”
I sighed. “I wish there were a manual on how to deal with unruly guests.”
“If only,” he sighed, then he looked around as we entered the massive lobby together. “Have they arrived yet?”
