“It’s nice to meet you, Melinda. Where are you from?”
“New York City.”
“That’s far. What brought you here.”
I wasn’t about to get into what happened with my ex. “I needed a change. I wanted a fresh start.”
“I get that. So does a fresh start include maybe going on a date with someone you just met?”
My cheeks flushed from his forwardness, but why not take him up on his offer? “Couldn’t this be a date?” I batted my eyelashes at him and he suddenly got a bit shy, glancing away before he chuckled, taking a swig of his beer.
“Yeah, definitely. I’d like that.”
I pushed a piece of hair out of my face and fidgeted my fingers together. “I would too.”
“So, you left the big city to start over, to date a handsome guy you met at the bar, all that is missing is you telling the guy what you do that’s so awesome that it brough you here to him?”
I toss my head back and laugh from how bold he is.
“Damn, you’re pretty,” he said.
My laughed died down and I locked eyes with him and for some reason, I felt a little self−conscious.. Now that I was here, surrounded by all these people I didn’t know, feeling a bit forced to make it work, I wondered if the small-town life was the life for me? Sure, competing with Chris again was fun. Even if I did work for him, it still made it enjoyable to be better than he thought I would be, which undoubtedly infuriated him.
Ugh, speak of the devil.
He just walked through the door, looking hot and infuriating. My blood started to boil. “Thank you. You aren’t so bad yourself,” I tried and bring my focus back to this nice guy that chatted up a conversation with me out of nowhere.
“Caden.”
I’d known that high−pitched voice anywhere. Bess.
“Come with me. I need to learn how to play pool,” she slipped her arm in Caden’s and pulled him away—he never even looked back to say bye.
“The world hates me,” I mumbled, sipping my gin and tonic.
“Aw, Bess, get you again, Melinda?” Chris said next to my ear, startling me.
“I was being ironic,” I retorted, full well knowing I hadn’t. Bess irked me.
Mary placed a beer down, and Chris grabbed it by the sweaty neck, lifting it in the air. “To you, Melinda. Always smart, yet always in the last place, because as I remember, I used to snatch first place. I wish you the best of luck.” He leaned in and clinked his bottle against my spill−proof cup. “You’ll be needing it because you’re working for me now. Meaning second place isn’t an option.” His lips curled around the tip, and his throat bobbed as he took a swig.
I hated that I noticed that. Why was I staring at his lips? He left me with a smug grin—sauntering off to talk to some guys nearby. How dare he treat me like that? Goading me and mocking me when I was trying to fit in. When I was, as he said, working for him. At the very least, he could show some respect. Granted, I hadn’t exactly played nice when I met him again the other day. Still, I had come out here to work for him. And surely, he knew I’d left chaos behind in New York. He could show some frigging kindness.
But if he wanted to play that game, fine, I could do that. But I needed a side−gig to release some steam. The resort was only part−time, thank God, and it would be a good idea to look into local charities. It would be a nice way to meet people, people who weren’t Bess and Chris.
And I’d take anyone but them right about now.
