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Orrrrr,my mind turned, we could become friends with benefits and maybe not now, but soon, he would discover me.
“Bexley?” he asked, startling me as I looked at him again.
Oh, my God.I was still standing here and hadn’t answered him! Also, how does he know my name?
“Your nametag.” He pointed at my chest like he’d read my mind, not that it would’ve been hard to. I probably looked both startled and horrified.
“My friends call me Bex,” I managed to say quickly. “And I would love to go to dinner with you, but please don’t go to the front desk about it. I’m pretty sure they would fire me.”
A humungous grin split his face as he nodded. “I can keep a secret,” he promised, holding his hand out. “I’m Bastian.”
My fingers slid along his palm, warm and silky smooth. Another shiver of delight coursed down my spine. I looked at him through my eyelashes and earnestly admitted, “it is an absolute delight to meet you, Bastian.”
Chapter3
Bastian
As far asasking women out for dates, I suppose that could’ve gone way worse. But it was the fact that Bexley had stood there, staring at me in horror for a good few minutes before actually saying yes, that I realized maybe I wasn’t that good at this anymore.
Frankly, I couldn’t remember the last time I chatted up a woman in a non-professional setting. Maybe I’d come off as aggressive or abrasive. Whatever it was, it shocked her to the core enough to not speak to me, and then she offered me the prettiest smile I’d ever laid eyes on and said yes.
Immediately, I felt bad for finding her beautiful. I felt bad for thinking her smile was the prettiest I’ve ever seen. I felt bad for going on a date with her. Everything about it felt horrible, and yet, in the small window of time I could’ve bailed, I didn’t.
Truthfully, as bad as I felt, I wanted to take her out for dinner. So, after making arrangements for a babysitter with the front desk and ensuring Bex wouldn’t be booked, I returned to my cabin.
I showered, pulled on a button-up T-shirt and a nicer pair of shorts, and headed to the bar to meet her. If she wanted to keep this a secret from the front desk, I figured she probably didn’t want to go for dinner at the resort. I hired a car for the week after arriving at the airport so I could take us anywhere she wanted to go if she didn’t want to stay here. But I didn’t know the area well, so I would have to follow her lead.
Then she walked in wearing a short wispy dress with a strawberry print pattern that showed off long, deeply tanned legs, and my lungs had forgotten their main function. That beautiful sun streak hair was curled perfectly around her shoulders, and her makeup was natural. But I’ve been around enough starlets to know she’d taken her time to appear so beautifully put together. That was a lot of effort for a first date; honestly, I was grateful. The results were perfection.
Forcing myself to swallow, I stood and ran a hand on my chest, not that there was any way I would be able to fix my appearance now. She saw me, and that pretty smile lit up her face, stealing my breath again.
“Hey.” She grinned as she reached me. “I’m not late, am I?”
“No,” I promised. “You’re right on time.”
“Oh good,” she nodded at the bar. “Did you wanna have a drink first or …?”
I glanced at where I left my beer on the bar top and then turned back to her. “Whatever will make you more comfortable. I know earlier you said not to mention it to the front desk, so I wasn’t sure if you could stay here and go for dinner.”
She shook her head. “No. That was a joke to break the tension. I’m free to use the amenities here. It’s part of the perks of being an employee, and there’s nothing about being unable to date. Besides, if somebody asks, we can say we knew each other from before. They’re not going to say we can’t be hanging out in my off-work time, can they?”
“Okay, perfect. Let’s get a drink first, then.” I slid my hand along the small of her back and guided her to the bar. It wasn’t lost on me how perfectly she molded against my body.Had Eleanor ever fit against me like this—like she was made for me?
I tried to remember, but honestly, the memories were a distant haze. Then, I felt bad because I was forgetting her. I was forgetting a woman who had made me so happy, feel loved, and cherished. Should I even be here with Bexley? I’d already gotten my chance at love. Was it selfish of me to demand a second chance?
“Are you okay?”
I looked down at Bex, realizing I was frozen and lost in my thoughts. I forced a quick smile, hoping to brush over the awkwardness. “Yeah, I’m great. Let’s grab a drink.” I needed this beer to get my mind off the past so I could look ahead to the future—perhaps a future with Bex.
“So, how long are you here for?” she asked as she swirled her strawberry mojito. The bartender had asked to check her ID, making me realize how young she looked compared to me. I was in my thirties. Should I be dating someone who couldn’t even pass as twenty-one?
I cleared my throat. “Every summer, my family goes away together. This year my parents wanted to come here. So, we booked a family cabin, and we’re all going to be sitting on top of each other for the week.” I laughed, and she smiled.
“It sounds nice. My family and I don’t do anything like that. We all kind of go and do our own thing.”
“Do you have siblings?” I asked.
She nodded. “I have a brother and a younger sister, but we’re not close. The minute we all flew the coop, we did our own things, and that was it.”
