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I knew that it hadn’t been long at all but there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted those two in my life. I could take things slowly but I at least wanted to have a conversation about it and see what she was feeling and where she was with things. I pulled my chair up to my desk and cracked my fingers, knowing full well I needed to take care of quite a bit before I headed off for an extended weekend.
It was hard but I went through everything on my list and then some before realizing the day was pretty much done and over with. The guys were all spread out, Ryder manning the office on the top floor and the others were off in various different directions working on client relationships and building sales. We had some aggressive growth plans for the future so we were really going hard. The other guys had taken vacations multiple times but that weekend would be the first couple of days off that I had taken since I got there. Sure, I could have planned a more exotic vacation but that would be for the future. This was going to be a cool, chill four day weekend and I’d be close to home in case I got tired of the antics.
At the end of the day I headed out, knowing Sicily had already left. She was still working Thursday and Friday and was going home to hang out with Harper for a bit. I headed to my house to collect my bags, already packed, and head over to my rental. They already set it up for me with a stocked fridge, cabinets, and all the things I liked. All I had to do was go and grab the key from under the mat.
My place would be fine while I was gone and I made sure to let the detective know I wouldn’t be there until Sunday. Save the force some money. I had even managed to ditch the follow from my security guard. Nothing had happened and there was no reason to have a shadow all the time. I ditched him for the surf competition which royally pissed him off, and I was able to convince the guys I was fine.
When I got home, I turned off the alarm system and jumped in the shower, shaved, and changed into my first of five days in my swim trunks, t-shirt, and flip flops. I didn’t even worry about drying my hair and making it look office ready because the office was going to be as far away from my mind as possible. I gathered my bags, my charger, and left that pesky laptop on the desk before heading out. The car was waiting for me out front and I jumped in, setting the alarm with my phone. The only thing I didn’t like about the house I stayed at, was there was no alarm. But it wasn’t like anyone really knew where I would be besides the guys.
“Will you be needing my services a lot during the event?” my driver asked as we headed toward the house.
I shook my head. “No, I shouldn’t. I don’t plan to leave until around Sunday morning. I’ll of course give you plenty of notice if I change my mind. Otherwise I’ll grab a cab. I know it’s hard to get around down here.”
The driver nodded and I faded out of the window, watching as we passed through the city, over the bridge and toward IB. The traffic was already heavier than normal for that time in the late evening, and I knew it was going to be a crazy weekend. It was good though. IB had a lot of privately owned, small businesses that could use the boost in revenue. I knew I was one of the giants that ate small businesses for lunch, but that didn’t make me admire them any less. We seemed to have skipped that hustle and went straight to the top. Sometimes I felt lucky, other times I felt like I missed out on a lot of needed trial and error lessons. But I wasn’t about to complain.
As we passed Sicily’s little beach bungalow I smiled, seeing the warm lights on inside. I imagined the girls having a post dinner movie, Harper barely keeping her eyes open, and Sicily trying to relax, even though she seemed to always need to be doing something productive. That was okay, though. I had the same issue before she arrived. I liked to stay busy, at least at work.
“Would you like me to carry in your bags, sir?” he asked as we pulled up.
I smiled. “Nah. I got these. I’ll see you Sunday.”
“Have fun.”
I grabbed my bags and headed down the small sandy hill to the house, grabbing the key from under the mat. As soon as I stepped inside I smiled, feeling excited already about spending the weekend with Sicily. She hadn’t explicitly said we were, but I had a feeling as soon as we were close, we wouldn’t be able to part. I hadn’t ever been so taken back by a woman before, but I was hooked and I could only hope that she felt the same.
At the same time, I really wanted a finality to all the horror we had experienced. Sicily made me see a brighter side to the future, one that had been decided for me without conscious thought. I was determined to open up to her and have her open up to me by the end of the weekend. I wanted no secrets between, and I sure as hell wanted no space between me and that hot body of hers. I just had to make it until Saturday morning, and she wouldn’t be able to resist.
I plopped down on the sofa and put my feet up, taking out my phone. I sent Sicily a text, with a smile.
Sleep tight knowing I’m your temporary neighbor.
No peaking through the windows.
I laughed, shaking my head. No promises.
Chapter Sixteen
Sicily
“So he’s there for sandcastles, and you are assuming you’ll see him but you guys haven’t actually made any plans…”
“Well, yeah. But we’ve talked about this weekend, and he’s said he’ll see me multiple times…” I hated when Amber made me question myself. “Ugh. It shouldn’t matter. I shouldn’t be going out with him. And I definitely shouldn’t be taking Harper around him.”
“Why not?”
I stopped, holding my coffee mug, perplexed why she would even ask that question. “Um, let me think. Because he’s the f-a-t-h-e-r of my daughter. And he doesn’t know it. And I’ve slept with him, had a full day with him, and am planning on doing the same this weekend, and have not even hinted at that possibility? Because if it keeps going like this…”
“You might end up happy?”
I laughed, turning and setting the cup on the table, only to realize I never started the coffee. I was so absent minded that day. My head was clouded with questions. I had texted with Daniel all Thursday and Friday, yet I was absolutely terrified he wasn’t going to ask us out that day. And to make it worse, I knew it would be the best thing if he didn’t. I was that girl sitting by the phone for a call that probably wouldn’t ever come.
“No. That’s not how things like these go. If I don’t tell him, I couldn’t hold up a lie like that forever. Our relationship would never be real. It would be based on a really really huge lie. Not to mention then I would have to lie to my daughter too. If I tell him it’ll be done and over with. We are having a good time, and there’s definitely some otherworldly connection going on here, but it’s not ‘oh by the way my daughter is actually yours’ strong.”
Amber let out an exhaustive sigh. “You need to lay off the coffee.”
I looked around at the empty coffee maker. “Apparently the universe feels the same way.”
“Huh?”
