Page 89 of True Abandon

“I’m Eric.” He offers Jax his hand.

Jax just gives him a nod leaving Eric to drop his hand.

I turn my body so I’m now standing with one of them on each side of me.

Giving my attention to Eric, I explain. “Jax is staying in the Pele. It’s identical to the Maui suite. Well, almost identical—”

“Mines bigger,” Jax says with absolutely no expression at all. I think he’s trying to be funny, but I just can’t tell. It makes for an incredibly awkward silence.

For some reason, it makes me laugh in the middle of my throat. I kinda sound like I’m choking.

Eric doesn’t seem to be interested in standing here and playing this odd game of whose suite is bigger. His hand has returned to my back as he moves me away from the restaurant.

Jax doesn’t say a word as he brushes past us and walks into the restaurant, taking a seat at the bar. Isaiah is quickly by his side with a drink.

An attractive woman is seated at the bar. I don’t know if she’s meeting him or happens to be sitting there casually, but it serves as a reminder of the fact he if going to move on when he leaves here. He’ll meet someone nice, eventually settle down and start a family. Yeah, I know I’m getting ahead of myself but these are the thoughts that flash through my mind.

“Night,” I offer to Jax even though he can’t hear me.

I step away from Eric, as we walk toward the lobby. When we get there, we stand by the koi pond. My hands are clasped in front of my body. He has one hand in his pocket, and the other is in the air as he speaks.

“I had a great time tonight.”

“Me, too,” I say.

“I still want to pick your brain about the event. Are you available tomorrow? Or is asking for your time two days in a row too much?” He winks, and it brings my attention up to those baby blues that are ridiculously striking against his dark skin.

“I’m all yours. Are you sure you don’t have an activity or something you want to do? It’s kinda my job to make sure you get the most out of your stay.”

“How about you take me somewhere off site. Maybe a place I can bring my boss and wow him with my local expertise?”

“I can do that.” I smile and start to turn on my heel toward the exit when Eric calls my name again.

My feet halt. I face him fully and raise my brows in wonder.

“I’m lying,” he says.

I look back at him and the way he looks handsome in that suit and the charismatic way he carries himself. His choice to call himself a liar is confusing, to say the least.

He takes a step forward. “I don’t want to talk to you about my event. I want to take you to dinner as a man asking a woman on a date. If I’m honest, I want you to come up to my room right now and have a drink with me so we can talk some more. I know you won’t do that, so I won’t ask.”

I rub the back of my neck as he holds his hands, palm side up and says, “I like you.” He smiles, and it makes me smile. “This isn’t some set of lines. This isn’t my big move I use on women. I mean it. I like you, and I want to go out with you tomorrow on a date. Before you tell me it’s against company policy, I’m gonna say right now if you use that line I’ll book myself at the Marriott down the street.”

His comment makes me giggle which feels really good. I twist my fingers in front of my stomach as he takes another step forward.

I open my mouth to speak, but he speaks first. “I think you’re smart and funny, not to mention incredibly beautiful. I’d really love to take you to dinner tomorrow. What time do you get off?”

My feet shift from side to side. I should tell him I’m not interested in dating. I should say I’m not ready.

The truth is, I am a little interested, and I think I’m ready. I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t let my own insecurities cause me to pass on something great ever again.

My mind wanders to Jax. Just like the ocean in the pitch black of night, I may not be able to see him, but he’ always there. His being ever present in my memories. We may be playing catch-up this week, but forty-eight hours from now he’ll be gone. Then what? He’s back to L.A. or New York, wherever he decides to call home, feeling grateful to have made peace with his demons, and I’m still here.

That’s right. I’ll still be here honoring the vow I made to myself. It’s time to move on. Maybe Eric isn’t the man I’ll be with forever, but he’s worth spending a nice night with having dinner. A real dinner—not one where I’m looking for anything to talk about but myself.

Eric is successful, charming, and damn if he doesn’t look great in a suit. Lani would kick my ass if I said no to him. That’s probably why I open my mouth and answer, “Yes.”

Chapter TWENTY