“We would love to. Thank you. Mr. Williamson and I are going to go discuss what we want to do, and we will let you know,” I tell her.
Her phone rings, and she excuses herself so she can answer. As she steps out of the room, I turn to look at him.
“Did you have to pinch me so hard?” he mutters.
I roll my eyes. “Please, like it hurt.”
He huffs, so I change the subject.
“So what do you want to do for the rest of the day?”
“I can’t even remember what they have to do around here,” he says.
It doesn’t escape my notice that his cheeks redden, but I wisely ignore it. I pull out my phone and start listing off our options.
When I’m done, Max turns toward me. “Spend the day with me?”
My heart catches. I know he doesn’t mean it in the way I wish he did. Months ago, I would have taken this as a sign he wanted to be with me. Now, I see it for what it is. He wants to spend the day with a friend. Someone who doesn’t drain his social battery.
“Sure,” I tell him, even though I know I shouldn’t.
The last thing I should do is spend a day doing things lovers would do, but like a glutton for punishment, I can’t help myself.
I can never say no to Maximilian Williamson.
MAX
If anyone were to ever ask me what one of my favorite things about Iris is, it’s that she knows me. Truly knows me, and todayis proof enough. She could have picked one of the boat tours, learning to surf, or something else where there would be a shit ton of tourists. Instead of doing that, though, she picked for us to try one of the hiking trails.
“My ass is dead,” she mutters.
I look over at her and laugh.
She looks miserable. Even though her hair is up, it’s sticking to her face and neck. She’s got a dirt smudge on her forearm, and her clothes are clinging to her from sweat.
As far as I’m concerned, she’s never looked more gorgeous.
“If you would have taken the lead, you could have set the pace,” I tell her.
“You know I don’t like walking in the front when we’re hiking,” she says as she sucks in a breath.
Yes, much to my dismay, she refuses to walk in front of me when on a trail. Not because she thinks I’m going to sneak a peek at her ass but because she’s afraid she’s going to walk into a spider web. She’d rather I walk into it than her. If I remember right, she explicitly told me that she would rather sacrifice me than have it happen to her.
“Almost there,” I tell her.
“You said that fifteen minutes ago.”
I come to a stop and reach for her hand. Without hesitation, she places hers in mine. Together we crest the hill and come to a stop. Her breath catches as she looks at the view.
“It’s beautiful,” she says quietly.
“Our guests will love it.”
“Oh, for sure.”
I turn toward her. “So was it worth the hike? Is it better than your sunrises?”
She tilts her head from side to side. “Was it worth it? Yes, but better than my sunrises? Absolutely not.”
