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She’d thought of dozing on the beach, but it was too hot for that. She’d seen in the papers on the journey over here where she’d had plenty of time to study the newsstands in the airports, that they were experiencing a heatwave, and that was no joke.
She was from Cali, baby, but this had to be way over a hundred and ten degrees.
Here, it was so hot, it reminded her of when she climbed into her car after it had been shut up in the hot noon sun for hours on end.
It was enough to choke you, to make you take a deep breath as your body processed the intense temperature. But hell, she liked it.
She was a beach babe, always had been. Much to her mother’s despair.
“Sun equals wrinkles, April,” she’d often wailed when she’d returned home to find April at the side of their small pool, her body bared save for a small slip of a bikini to the rays her mom swore were worse than gamma.
She’d always just shrugged.
Her appearance wasn’t the be all and end all like her mother thought it was.
Just because Jessica Santino had used April’s pretty baby face for over a decade to win competitions and to travel all over the goddamn country, didn’t mean that had to be April’s way of life forever.
In fact, the instant she’d turned eighteen, when she’d managed to hit the Miss USA pageant and her momma had been celebrating like she’d won the damn thing already, she’d pulled out the trump card.
Her parents had divorced when she was thirteen. Her dad had cheated on her momma, and even though deep down, April would never ever trust Cedric Santino for that, he’d come through in her time of need. Knowing what her mother’s reaction would be to her refusal to attend the pageant to end all pageants, she’d arranged to go and live with her dad until college.
He’d welcomed her with open arms. Her stepmom had too.
Nobody in Jessica’s family had understood the desperate need she had to drag April all over the States on the hunt for the next trophy. It had brought the end of her marriage and lost her a lot of friends.
As well as a daughter.
Well, kind of.
After she moved out, April had avoided her mother for many years before she’d finally succumbed and caught up with her.
They weren’t close. Would never be. If anything, she was closer to her stepmom who at least accepted her as she was. And when she stayed at their place, she didn’t ask April to wear better clothes at the dining table or to at least put some makeup on when they were just hanging out in front of the television.
Momma would never change though. April had accepted that a long time ago, and had embraced it in her own way.
Shuddering at the memories and wondering how thoughts of sunbathing had dragged her back to those uncomfortable times, she blinked and turned off the water.
Sluicing off the excess with her hand, she grabbed the towel and dried off. She’d left a bikini on the unit and slipped into the scrappy two piece as she headed out of the cubicle.
The bed looked hella inviting, and she stared at it a second, contemplating napping there. Then, she decided against it. If she slept in that behemoth, she’d never get out again until tomorrow, and no way was she going to waste her first day here in bed.
In bed with Luca? Maybe.
That was a whole other ball of wax, she thought with a rueful grin to herself.
Then, she shook off the thought.
She was here to get away from men. Anything with too few X chromosomes, she needed to avoid.
Men brought trouble. They brought heartache, and April was just… well, she was too tired of that, too heartsore to even think about something as carefree as a holiday fling with the sexy villa owner. Even if it was exactly what she wanted, it was the last thing she needed.
And therein was the enormous difference.
As she trudged through the stylish as hell lounge with its rattan furniture and big screen television, she chuckled to herself. Was she bigheaded, or what?
Luca might not want her back. Just because she’d been lusting all over him as he’d proudly shown off his property didn’t mean that desire was mutual.
Stepping into the kitchen, she found the cupboards and the fridge fully stocked. Pouring herself a glass of orange juice, she looked around the rustic space. Worn oak against bright white walls, and a huge scrubbed oak table with copper pans hanging overhead, made the place look roughly elegant. Rustic and charming.
