AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Clearing my throat to shove those thoughts aside, I said, “You’ve got it. I’ll be right back.”
“Oh,” she called out. “And a sweet tea, if they have it.”
They had it, alright. And I was going to deliver every bit of it to her, poolside. Then I’d do whatever else I needed to do to make her want me as much as I wanted her.
2
ZOEY
This had to be a dream. Everything couldn’t be working out this perfectly.
I sat poolside, my legs dangling in the chilly water as I watched a guy with a gorgeous smile and well-defined pecs breeze through the gate. He held a large bag and a foam cup with a straw sticking out of it. Not only was this guy jaw-droppingly gorgeous, but he was bringing me my fantasy lunch. It didn’t get better than this.
“I wasn’t sure if you’d want condiments, so I got you a little bit of everything,” he said.
He’d somehow managed to open the gate with both hands full, using just the index finger of the hand holding the bag. The guy was good with his hands. That was important.
“Thank you,” I said.
I swung my legs around and pushed myself to my feet. I’d yet to master a way to do this gracefully. I just hoped this guy was so hard up for a woman, he’d go for someone imperfect like me.
“I’ll set you up over here,” he said, gesturing toward the row of lounge chairs. They were arranged in sets of two, with a table between. He carried the bag of food over and set it on the table. “I handed the paperwork back to Bo.”
“Bo?” Had I missed something? “Who’s that?”
He turned just in time to see me approaching. I was so glad I’d slipped my cover-up on over my bathing suit while he was gone. I could only hide my imperfect body under that towel for so long.
Now that he was facing me, I felt it again. That jolt of electricity that went from the top of my head all the way to my tippy toes. Immediately, I had to shove aside thoughts of continuing toward him until I was pressed up against him, his arms around me, his hands on my back, moving up and untying the string that held my bathing suit top in place…
“The guy who runs the bar and grill,” Jared said.
Oh, yeah, right. Bo was the person who’d sent him in this direction with a manila envelope in the first place.
“Bo’s dad owns Scoreboard,” Jared continued. “Bo’s the one behind the bar most of the time.”
I gave a nod and ripped my stare off that riveting smile. He wore a pair of sunglasses, which meant I couldn’t see his eyes. I wanted to see his eyes even more than I wanted to take a bite of that burger. My first bite of cheeseburger in three years. I wanted that bite, and I wanted itbad.
“I can leave you to it,” he said as I slid onto the lounge chair and reached for the cup.
The thought of him leaving panicked me a little. What if I couldn’t find him again after this? How did I even begin to look for him in the cabins spread out up and down these mountains?
“Stay,” I said. “Keep me company while I eat.”
Surprisingly, he did exactly that, obediently taking the lounge chair next to me. He kicked back, tennis shoes on the cheap plastic slats, as I took my first sip of sweet tea.
All other thoughts fled as I experienced the smooth, sugary liquid. “This is amazing,” I said, taking a break before going in for another long sip. “I’ve never had iced tea at a bar before, so I wasn’t sure…”
“It’s the only restaurant in town,” Jared said.
That was right. I’d noticed that when I was researching the place. Scoreboard wasn’t just the only restaurant, but the only place to get food or beverages, unless you counted the tiny supermarket and the convenience store just a few miles from this pool. Luckily, the only hotel in town was next door to the only restaurant. Otherwise, I might starve during my long weekend in town.
“Bo makes that sweet tea himself,” Jared said. “Brews up a batch every morning. He also has a great team of cooks. They take their steaks and their burgers very seriously.”
Speaking of which, I had a bag full of junk food to eat. I felt a little self-conscious pigging out in front of this guy. Would he judge me for eating this way? Would he remind me how bad it was for my heart and my physical appearance like my ex always did?
That thought seemed to propel my hand forward. I grabbed the paper bag and opened it, peering inside at its contents. Heavenly scents wafted out to me, and I had to close my eyes and take it all in. This was on my post-breakup bucket list, along with all the other things I’d given up during my two-year-plus live-in relationship with a stuffy banker. If eating my bucket list burger in front of a hunky stranger scared that stranger off, he wasn’t someone I wanted to be with, anyway.
“I don’t know how you can eat that,” Jared said as he watched me dig into the bag and pull out the items. I set them on the lounge chair next to me.
