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She came out of his room, a towel wrapped around her neck. The swimsuit she’d picked out at SaleMart was blue with white stripes down the sides. It fit her well. Maybe too well. He turned his head so he wouldn’t get caught staring at her figure as she walked toward the tub.
She tossed her towel and phone on the chair next to him. “You’re not getting in?”
“I can’t. The heat isn’t good for my injury.” He motioned. “But you get in. I’m fine.”
She pouted, but slipped into the water. “It stinks that you can’t enjoy the hot tub.”
“It’s no big deal.” He said the words, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t highly disappointed he couldn’t get into the warm water. It looked quite inviting.
The bubbles surrounded her, and he was reminded of the Jacuzzi incident. He couldn’t help but smile. She’d been so distraught, so he couldn’t laugh at her, but she’d looked hilarious with all the foam on her head. He didn’t have a photo, but he doubted he’d ever forget it. That image was seared into his brain.
She leaned her head back and relaxed into the water. “This feels wonderful.” She jerked around to look at him and cringed. “Oh, sorry.”
“You don’t have to be sorry. Enjoy the water.” He looked up at the stars. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. And even though the resort was well-lit, he could still see the Milky Way. The vastness of it made him feel small. “It’s a nice evening.”
“Yes. I love it here. The weather is always gorgeous.”
They stayed silent for a few moments before Dani turned to him. “Hey, I forgot to ask. Did you find a place with a room for me?”
He shook his head. “Sorry. No one has any openings.” A tiny bit of guilt struck him, because that wasn’t entirely true. He’d found a few hotels, but they were on the cheaper side, and he didn’t like the idea of taking her to another nightmare. No, he’d rather make sure she was safe than have to explain to the police why Danica Jordan was murdered at a place called Assault-and-Batteries are Us.
“Oh. Then…?”
“It’s fine if you just stay with me for a few days. Until something opens up.”
Her phone chimed. Dani scrambled out of the water so fast, you would have thought she saw a fin swimming around her. She quickly wiped her fingers and grabbed her phone off the deck chair.
“Who is it?” he asked, hoping she didn’t say her boyfriend. He silently reprimanded himself. So what if she had a boyfriend? Did he think she’d be single? She was Danica Jordan, after all.
Her face fell, and she frowned. “It’s just Shelby. My father’s assistant.”
A small twinge of jealousy made him wonder who her boyfriend was. A famous actor? Someone he knew? Austin pushed aside those thoughts. It wouldn’t do him any good to be thinking things like that. He cleared his throat. “What does she want?”
She read the text in a fake high voice, imitating Shelby. “Your father has received your messages and will reply as soon as he is able. Are you behaving? No more embarrassing incidents?” A massive eye-roll followed and she tossed her phone back on her chair. “Ugh.”
Maybe it wasn’t her boyfriend she was hoping to hear from. Maybe it was her father. He watched as she climbed back into the water. “He’s too busy to send you a text?”
“Allegedly.” She looked like she’d taken a bite of a sour apple and found a worm.
“Is he shooting a movie right now?”
“Yeah,” she said, her voice softer.
“I’m sure he has some crazy hours when he’s filming. You should give him some slack.”
Dani wiped at her face. Was she crying? He immediately felt awful for reprimanding her. He hopped off his chair and sat next to the tub, ignoring the fact that now he was sitting in a puddle of water and would have a wet seat when he stood up. “Hey, are you okay?” He placed a hand on her shoulder.
Dani nodded and turned from him. “I’m fine.”
She obviously wasn’t fine. He’d made her cry, and now he felt like scum. But he had no idea how to make it better. All he could think to do was pat her shoulder in a “there, there” motion, which felt super lame. “I’m sure he’ll text as soon as he can.”
She took in a large breath, then let it out slowly. “Yeah.”
He swallowed, trying to think of something else to talk about. Anything. He royally messed this conversation up and needed to abort, and fast. He took his hand back and pulled his legs to his chest. “So, if you were to go to college, what would you want to major in?”
It took a minute before she answered. “I’m not sure.”
“What kind of job do you think you’d like?”
