“If the breakfast doesn’t work out…”
Hurrying to the infinity-pool restaurant, I thought about big-boob lady and now Rachel. I wasn’t used to women throwing themselves at me. That wasn’t completely true. I’d had my run in high school and college, nothing serious. The last ten years have been more work than play. Now, without work I could play, but I wasn’t interested in easy prey.
I preferred a challenge…a lioness.
Let the hunt begin.
My flip-flops flapped against the sidewalks as I made my way through the tropical resort. Whether inside or out, palm trees lined the paths. The restaurant I was looking forward to had a view of the Caribbean Sea beyond the pool. Later the restaurant would close, and the pool would open to guests.
A hostess led me to a table for two at the side of the pool. The morning sunlight filtered through the overhead veranda covered in vines with large purple and pink flowers. Large bamboo fans swirled, creating a breeze in the steamy air.
“Coffee?” a man in a shirt with the resort logo asked moments after I sat.
“Yes.”
He turned over my cup. “Are you dining alone?”
“I hope not,” I confessed.
Instantly, his smile softened, and his eyes took on a new life. “First date. You met here.”
“Is it that obvious?”
He looked at my shirt and back to me. “Last minute, you got rid of whatever you were wearing, stopped in a shop, and bought something that matches.”
I took a deep breath. “Basically. So since you seem to be an expert, how do these dates, if that’s even what it is, work out?”
He shrugged. “If this mystery woman…or is it a man?”
“Woman.”
“If she shows, I’ll give you a forty percent chance of hooking up.”
“I’m not…” My thoughts went to my fantasies. “That’s not the only reason I want her to show.”
“Who to show?”
The waiter and I both turned as Lena appeared, a breath of fresh air. With the exception of this morning in the gym, this was the first time I saw her face without the large sunglasses and hat. And I was a bit preoccupied with her presence on the treadmill to appreciate her exquisite beauty.
With very little makeup, Lena was stunning.
Her deep red hair was no longer in ringlets, but curled near her chin, and the sundress she wore hid the curves I’d seen at the pool. Yet the spaghetti straps revealed her slender shoulders and collarbone, the way the V formed at the base of her neck. Large blue earrings dangled near her shoulders and reflected the sun.
Quickly, I stood and motioned toward the other chair.
The waiter stepped in and pulled the chair back.
Hanging a large bag from the chair, Lena sat, turning her mesmerizing, soft brown gaze on me.
I answered her question. “You, if you showed, and you did.”
“I believe I was invited.”
“You were,” I said, taking my seat.
The waiter spoke to Lena. “May I get you a coffee?”
“I was promised coffee and mimosas.”
Flipping over her cup, he turned to me and winked. “Mimosas for two?”
“Yes.”
“Here are the menus.” He lowered two cardboard rectangles that I hadn’t noticed before. “I’ll be back with the coffee and mimosas.” Before he walked away, he whispered, “Eighty.”
Eighty percent chance.
I grinned.
“Eighty?” Lena inquired after he was gone.
“The high today...yes, it’s supposed to be eighty.”
“Really? I’d guess higher.”
A grin took over my face. “I can only hope.”
She took a deep breath and looked around. “It seems we have one of the best tables.”
I wanted to blurt out a thousand questions and an hour-long dissertation on myself, and yet words were escaping me. The silence settled, easing the unfamiliarity as I confessed my thoughts. “I meant what I said in the gym.”
Lena brought the glass of iced water to her lips. “Are you reminding me that you’re a predator, CJ?”
I liked the sound of my name on her lips. “If I’m any good at reading people, we have a ways to go to determine who rules in that category.”
“I’m a woman. Wouldn’t you assume it’s you?”
“Call me intrigued, Lena. My vision is better than twenty-twenty. I’m well aware that you’re a woman. I also don’t believe in assuming.”
She grinned and after taking a drink, set the water glass back on the table. “Tell me what you meant in the gym.”
“You are the woman I saw yesterday at the pool bar, the woman I couldn’t stop thinking about.”
Chapter Eight
Lena
“I remember,” I said as my cheeks warmed. “I thought you might come over to my lounge chair yesterday.”
“I wanted to.” CJ shook his head. “Without going into detail, I’m here, in Cancún, because I wanted to get away. Yesterday when I arrived, I realized that I was wrong. I’m ashamed to admit I spent a great deal of yesterday wallowing. You were the highlight of yesterday, Lena. Thinking about you reminded me that life can go on. I can go on.”
“Don’t tell me this was supposed to be your honeymoon or something. No woman would leave you at the altar.”
CJ scoffed. “Since I’ve never been to the altar, the jury is out on that one. No, my wallowing was my own doing and had nothing to do with a woman.”
Our waiter arrived with two mimosas and a pot of coffee. Setting the champagne glasses before us, he proceeded to fill our coffee cups. “Have you decided what you’d like to order.”
I looked around for a buffet but didn’t see one.
“May we have some more time?” I asked.
“You’re in paradise. Take as long as you’d like.”
Nodding, I reached for the slender glass.
CJ lifted his and extended it toward me. “To you, Lena, and to focusing on the present.”
“And to you too.” Our glasses clinked before we both took a sip.
The champagne bubbles tickled my throat.
I tilted my head to the side. “Does that toast mean you don’t want to talk about what brought you here, what you were wallowing in?”
“It does.” His turquoise stare was on me. “It means the gods have shown me a beautiful woman, and I can’t turn down a gift from the gods. Real life won’t go away if I take a break.”
The gods.
“I’ve been called many things,” I said with a grin. “A gift from the gods is a new one.”
When CJ didn’t respond, I thought about the rest of his sentence.
A break.
“Is that what you want, a break?” I asked.
“What do you want, Lena?”
Sitting back, I inhaled and pulled my gaze away from CJ’s and out to the crystal blue waters beyond the pool. Returning my eyes to his, I answered, “I don’t know. As you said, real life isn’t going anywhere. I’m not accustomed to this…”
“The resort is amazing,” he said, “and pricey.”