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“Tell me about yourself. What kind of person are you?”
I thought about it for a moment. The first thing that came to mind was how dissatisfied I was with my life, but I didn’t want to share that with him. It was way too personal.
“Well, my mom always says I’m an old soul.”
Hayden chuckled. “What’s that mean?”
“I guess she’s talking about me being a serious person,” I said, opening up more than was probably wise, considering who Hayden was. But I was finding he was incredibly easy to talk to, so I continued. “I’ve never really been the first to jump into adventure, which you already saw at the waterfall. When I was a kid, I was less outgoing than my peers. I guess I just took a long time to figure out who I am, but I’m finally comfortable in my own skin.”
“That must be nice.”
My eyebrows popped up in surprise, but when I turned to look at him again, his gaze was trained on the ground in front of him. Everything about his body language told me that he didn’t want to elaborate. It was just like at the lake when he mentioned his dad. There was a tightening around his eyes and his hands flexed into fists. He probably wasn’t even aware that he was doing it.
There was a story there, I was sure of it. Especially knowing what I did about Hayden’s father and the kind of manhewas. I wasn’t in a position to ask about their relationship—we really barely knew each other—but my curiosity was piqued.
Hayden seemed like such a confident guy, so sure of himself, but I had to wonder if it was all just a show. Something deeper was definitely brewing beneath the surface.
Was there more to this man than I originally thought?
* * *
When we arrived on the island yesterday, electricity wasn’t the only thing not working. The water to the house was supplied by a well with an electric pump, which meant that there was no water either. Today, that was a different story.
When Hayden and I returned to the house, the first thing I did was take a long, hot shower. Even after swimming in the lake, I felt gross and way overdue for this. I took my time, allowing the heat of the water to help relax my muscles. The rough jostling in the plane yesterday caused soreness in my neck and back, and it started to feel a little better as I stood there.
Then, my mind conjured up the image of Hayden stripping down to his boxers and that sinful body on display. My pert nipples felt overly sensitive as the warm water cascaded over them, and I bit my lip as a deep ache formed at my core. But that was crazy. Hayden was hot, but I didn’t want him like that.
That’s what I tried to tell myself, but there was no denying my attraction to him, despite what I knew of the Reid family and what my mother had gone through. However, as much as my views on the Reid family was tainted by those memories, was it really fair that I was judging Hayden mostly on the past sins of his father?
Especially when Hayden clearly had issues with his father, himself.
I realized at the waterfall that there was so much more to Hayden that I’d originally pegged him for, and I wasn’t sure what to do about that . . .or my growing desire for him.
By the time I stepped out of the shower I had no easy answers, but I felt so much better being clean. The best part was pulling on my own clothes. I had brought along more than one outfit, even though we were only supposed to be in Costa Rica for a single day, because I was an over-packer. It was part of being overly responsible and always thinking ahead. Sometimes it led to worrying too much or stressing out unnecessarily.
This time, I was glad I’d crammed three whole outfits into my little suitcase.
I pulled on a pair of cut-off jean shorts and a blue tank top. Leaving the bedroom, I headed for the stairs, walking down to the first floor. I didn’t really get a chance to thoroughly explore the place yesterday and this morning, I’d been too eager to get to the plane to look around.
Exploring the first floor now, I could hardly believe that this was just a vacation home. It was huge. The living room alone was probably the size of my first apartment, if not bigger. There was pristine white furniture and beach-themed decor.
The dining room had a crystal chandelier hanging above the table, which was a work of art, seemingly carved from a single piece of driftwood. I could just imagine the entire Reid clan gathered here, enjoying their status in the world and the benefits that came with that wealth. In my mind, they’d always been pampered and privileged, living the perfect life while the people that they stepped on to get to where they were suffered.
But then, I thought about Hayden’s comment about his dad not wanting to stay longer than a week here with his family. Sure, a whole week’s vacation sounded pretty good to me, but I had the feeling that the real problem was his dad’s attitude.
It didn’t surprise me. My impression of the whole family had come from the actions of that vile man.
I heard footsteps on the stairs and walked out in the living room to see Sandra and Dale heading down the steps. I was shocked to see her walking on her own.
“How are you feeling?” I asked, noting the way that she clutched the banister for support.
“Much better, really,” she assured me with a glowing smile. “The swelling has gone down.”
She lifted her leg to let me check it out, and I saw that she was right. But there were still deep purple bruises on her ankle.
“She wants to go for a walk,” Dale said, and I could see that he didn’t think it was any better of an idea than I did. He looked on edge, but I had a feeling that Sandra called the shots in their relationship. She had him wrapped around her little finger.
“Shouldn’t you rest?” I asked Sandra.
