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There was a business reason we were having lunch together. It would be good for me to know the food and the resort if I was going to advise the couple. I couldn’t help but wonder if this was one more way that Silas was getting closer to me.
“I can see why couples choose your resort. The location is magnificent.”
Silas paused, his gaze steady on mine. “I think you’ve given me more compliments in one day than you ever have before.”
“I’m sorry if I wasn’t always courteous to you, Silas. In fact, I know I wasn’t.”
“There’s nothing to apologize for.”
“I don’t feel right about it.” Especially when my brothers were friends with him. I hadn’t been raised to be impolite, and as I scanned over our past interactions, I realized I had been incredibly rude to him.
“I’m just pleased you’re here now.”
We were getting to know each other on a different level, and some of the animosity I’d always carried with me fell away. We needed to work together, and to do that, we needed to be cordial.
“How are things at Happily Ever Afters?” Silas asked.
“Good,” I said, not wanting to get into the business issues with him. He was still my competitor, and if he sensed that there was something wrong, he’d dig until he found something he could capitalize on.
“When you first came to me, wanting to work with my couples, you were a new business and needed the extra income. But now, your business is flourishing. Do you need this?”
I wasn’t sure how much I should divulge to him. “I like to explore every possibility. If it doesn’t work out, then I’ll know it’s not the right business move for me.”
“Hmm.”
The waitress brought us our salads, a spinach salad with strawberries, feta cheese, walnuts, and a balsamic vinaigrette on the side. We dug into them, and I hoped he’d forgotten what we were talking about.
“I’m not sure I buy it,” Silas finally said, startling me.
“Buy what?”
“Your reason for working with me.”
I flushed. Could he tell I wasn’t telling the truth?
Silas winked. “I think you just want to be closer to me.”
I relaxed since he was just teasing me. “Of course, you would think that. Your ego doesn’t let you go anywhere else.”
“I do have a healthy ego. I have a feeling this is going to be a good partnership.”
Was he talking about us working together professionally? I shouldn’t have been disappointed. It was what I wanted, yet I couldn’t get that phone call out of my head. I wanted Silas in a way I’d never desired anyone else. I was reluctant to let it go, even if it had no future. Yet he’d said the next move was mine. Was I going to take advantage of his offer of a room and stay here, maybe even meet with him one night at the bar, and take it to his penthouse? How many other women had he done that with?
I set down my fork with shaking hands. “How many other women have you taken to your penthouse?” Did he have the penthouse for that purpose? Coldness slithered down my spine. He kept a separate house for his privacy. I suddenly felt cheap.
“What are you talking about?”
“I assume the penthouse is for women you’re sleeping with, and the house is yours when you need privacy.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “I keep the penthouse so I don’t have to travel home on late nights, and it’s a nice spot to escape to in the middle of the day. It’s my hotel. It only makes sense. But I don’t keep it to fuck women there.”
His harsh words penetrated my shock. “So, I’m not one of many you’ve taken there?”
He’d bent me over that balcony like he’d done it before. How many women had ridden him in the hot tub? God. How could I have been so stupid? Why did I think I was special? He attracted women who wanted to be close to his wealth, hoping he’d choose them. I wasn’t anything like that. I worked hard for what I had and didn’t need a man to provide means.
Silas shook his head. “Where is this coming from? Why would you think that about me? I never treated you like you were one of many.”
“The women you’re photographed with at events at the hotel… It only makes sense.”
