“So what’s the next question?” I asked.
“What’s your biggest turn-on?” Kai asked
“That’s easy,” I said glibly. “Long walks along the beach and French poetry.”
Landon chuckled. “Would you even recognize French poetry if you heard it?”
“Honestly, no.”
Then, to my shock, Asher uttered a string of fluent French. The rushed but beautiful words flowed for almost a full minute. When he stopped, we were all speechless.
Finally, I asked, “Was that poetry?”
“Nope.” He smirked. “It was the instructions for making bouillabaisse.”
That made us all laugh.
Everything was striking me as funny tonight. Maybe it was the wine or the charged atmosphere. The dim firelight. The warmth of the bodies on either side of me. The way Asher’s dark eyes kept meeting mine across the space. They weren’t friendly, but there was some heat there.
I set my inhibitions firmly on a shelf and turned to Kai. “What’s the wildest thing you’ve ever done in bed?”
“In bed?” he repeated, his eyes boring into mine.
“During sex,” I clarified, fairly sure he’d pretended to be confused just to get me to say it.
He grinned. “Those are two different questions. Which answer do you want to hear first?”
“Either,” I said recklessly. “Both.”
Kai smirked. “Then buckle up, boys and girls. It’s story time.”
15
ZOE
Though it wasthe last thing I wanted to do, I headed downstairs to go another round with Asher, following Mrs. Greer’s orders. He still refused to set the New Year’s Eve menu and had brushed off all my suggestions, sometimes quite insultingly. When my phone rang, it felt like a reprieve.
I tried not to take calls during business hours, but if the alternative was more arguments with Asher, the call was the lesser of two evils. To my surprise, it was Peyton.
“Hi,” I said, hurrying down the hallway.
The gym was nearby, but I didn’t want to dart in there. First of all, it reminded me of the things Kai and I had done. And secondly, if there were any guests in there, I didn’t want them to see a staff member on the phone. I finally found a private spot in a hallway that led to rooms with heating and electrical equipment.
“What’s up?”
“I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas,” she said, sounding cheerful.
“Thanks, but that’s next week.”
“I know. Are you coming home?”
“No, I’m doing this internship at a ski resort. I told you that, right?” I could practically picture her waving that off.
“I forgot. So it’s just going to be me and Mom?”
I refrained from reminding her that it had been that way for several years. I’d spent every winter break since I started at Langley studying over the holidays.
“Too bad my boyfriend can’t come,” Peyton said, her voice sounding both young and eager.
