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There would be no messing about. No more hot and sweaty sex on soft sheets. A glass of wine, and a final farewell. They would share one friendly parting drink. After that Bryce Royal would be out of her life. She painted a smile to her lips. “Alright, but I really can only stay for one drink.”
Vivian couldn’t find the strength to pull away when Bryce slipped his hand about her waist and led her into the poolside bar. When it came to this man, she struggled to say no. And after he was gone, and she was alone once more, she promised herself she would take a long steaming hot shower and have a bloody good cry.
CHAPTERFORTY
“To you, Vivian. And once again, thank you for giving me the opportunity to apologize for my terrible behavior.” Bryce raised his glass in salute.
Vivian didn’t know where to look as heat settled to burn on her face and neck. Her body thrummed with the need to have him touch her, to trace his fingers over her naked body. He’d said he wasn’t finished with her when they parted in California.I just wish we could go back to that night and do it all over again.
She’d been comfortable in his company over dinner, but ever since they had left the beach, Vivian had been struggling with being this close to Bryce. The girl at Laguna Beach, and the hurt one in New York, were not the same version of herself who now sat next to him in the well-lit bar.
As tears threatened, she forced herself into reviewer mode. To a place where she could be detached from her emotions. Her gaze took in the bar and its odd décor.
If there was one thing the hotel had made a slip-up with in its big revamp it was with the brightly painted supposedly Caribbean themedWinds of Changecocktail lounge. The sad mish mash of tiki and pirate nick-nacks really ought to be tossed in the trash and started over.
The disaster of a bar didn’t help with Vivian’s growing discomfort. She caught several odd glances from the other guests and could just imagine what they were thinking. What was the smartly dressed and obviously wealthy man doing in the company of that young woman? Anyone with good taste could see she was batting well out of her league. His immaculately cut suit spoke fluent Italian hand tailoring, while hers whispered last season’s value buy from ASOS.
The difference in our circumstances is yet another reason he’d be keen to leave our fling in the past.
Vivian shivered as he reached out and brushed the back of his hand down her right cheek. “And now I made you blush.” His gaze darted to the couple a few seats further along the bar. They turned away, but before then they hadn’t made much of an effort to pretend they weren’t eavesdropping on Bryce and Vivian’s private conversation.
“Would you prefer if we took our drinks and sat somewhere a little more secluded? I spotted an empty table when we arrived.”
“Yes, please. I don’t particularly like being stared at, or having strangers pry into my private business,” she replied.
Away from the other patrons, Vivian’s face returned to its normal temperature. She could handle the truth that Bryce didn’t want her, but the last thing she needed was for other people to pick up on the dynamics of their relationship. Self-doubt was her constant companion.
He set their glasses on the table, then made room for her. “Where would you like to sit?”
Vivian immediately chose the chair where she could be seated with her back toward the bar. She sensed eyes were still focused on her, and in her current frame of mind she didn’t want to meet anyone else’s gaze but Bryce’s. From the moment the two of them had stepped through the door, they had been an object of interest for the other patrons.
Fingers wrapped around the stem of her cocktail, she tried to think of safe topics for small talk. Silence would only serve to hold other people’s attention.
“Did you fly directly into Galveston itself? I mean, did you come by way of private plane?” A number of famous people reportedly had homes in the area, and she doubted any of them ever flew commercial.
The main airports at Houston were some way of a distance from Galveston Island. The land link via the interstate was fast, but it was still a long drive. She couldn’t imagine Bryce being keen to make the seventy odd miles trip from the main airport.
He picked up his glass of red wine and took a drink. “Don’t judge me, but yes, I did bring the jet. It’s sitting at the local airport a couple of miles from here.”
Her question might have been posed as bit of an ice breaker, a way to try and calm her nerves, but she had always wondered what it must be like to travel on a jet. To experience that sheer level of luxury. The nearest she had ever got to First Class on a commercial plane was walking past the closed curtain as she boarded. Actually having your own private plane on standby to take you wherever you wished blew her mind.
“You are who you are, Bryce. I myself flew in to Houston Hobby, that’s the smaller one of the two main airports. Only a few airlines service it, but its less of a drive. And they have a drive through Starbucks not far from the hire car depot.”
He reached across the small table and lay his hand over hers. The warm comfort of his touch had her heart making more silent wishes.
If only he wanted more with me. If only we came from the same world. If only.
Vivian’s gaze remained locked on where their fingers met. It would be so easy to turn her hand over and place it fully in his, so easy to let him know she was open to things happening. But she didn’t want to risk him pulling away again. A public rejection would crush her.
“What is the attraction of the frappé? I just don’t get it. The thought of even putting sugar in my coffee makes me shudder.” There was a laugh in his voice, a sexy tease. It sent Vivian’s mind racing back to Laguna Beach, and how Bryce’s warm smile had made her throw all caution to the wind and spend the night with him.
But his thoughts were clearly elsewhere.
Tuck your hopes away and just be nice.
“A girl loves her sweet treats, what more can I say?”
The brush of his thumb over her skin promised a world of wicked things. This simple touch had the nerve endings in her body lighting up like fireworks. She wasn’t sure if her heart and mind could handle much more of these mixed signals.
