A sudden glare of light ahead caught our attention, and Hayes and I looked up to see a golf cart careening toward us from the direction of what I assumed were the tennis courts. Rory was at the wheel, Oliver beside him, long legs outstretched on the dash, and Raj was seated on the bench in the rear. They made for quite a sight. Bronzed youthful skin, chiseled features. Like they’d rolled out of the pages of a catalog…
“’Ello, chaps!” Rory called, bringing the cart to an abrupt halt alongside us. “Where are you two off to? Hi, I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Rory.”
“Solène.”
“Enchanté,” he said in a thick Yorkshire accent. He had a lopsided grin and random tattoos on his arms, and still I could see the appeal. The dark hooded eyes, the leather necklaces, the scruff on his otherwise youthful face.
“Youhaveactually,” Hayes intervened. “In Las Vegas.”
“This year?”
“How was Switzerland?” Oliver asked, which threw me. We hadn’t spoken since that evening at the Mandalay Bay and here he knew my itinerary. It made me wonder how much these boys shared. My mind flashed back to the Crosby Street Hotel. What, if anything, had Hayes told him?
“Switzerland was lovely, thank you.”
He smiled, nodding slowly. I could not discern what was going on behind his gold-rimmed aviators.
“Good to see you, Solène.” Raj waved. In a polo and madrasshorts, he seemed decidedly less business wunderkind and more sixth boy band member.
“Are you guys coming from the pool? Are the twins still there?” Rory raised an eyebrow.
“They’re not twins, you know, mate. They’re not even sisters,” Hayes laughed.
“Let me have the fantasy, man.”
“Simon, Liam, and the others are on their way back,” Raj said. “The match is at six. Benoît is grilling lobster. We can eat at eight. And Croatia and Mexico won’t start until ten.”
I felt like they were speaking in code. “What match?”
“Netherlands and Chile,” Hayes said. And when my expression indicated that I’d registered nothing, he added, “The World Cup.”
“Oh. Right.”
“It’s going to be a hell of a match,” Oliver said. “I hope you’ll stay.”
“We haven’t decided what we’re doing yet,” Hayes said, wrapping his arm around my waist in a manner that struck me as possessive. “We’ll let you know.”
“All right, we’re off!” Rory announced.
“Nice watch,” Raj called back as they peeled out.
Hayes laughed. “She’s keeping it warm for me. I can only wear one at a time!
“We don’t have to stay,” he said once we were alone again. “It’s going to be loud and crazy, and if you’d rather not, I certainly understand. We can go out for dinner. Or we can go back to your hotel, or… whatever makes you most comfortable.”
There was something about Hayes when he was being polite that was such a turn-on. The idea that no matter how famous he was he had this breeding that would endure.
“You know what? Why don’t we go to your room?” Even as I said it, I could feel my face flushing. It was not like me. But none of this had been. I wasredefining. This was me trying to enjoy myself. This was me trying not to care.
His eyes widened. “Now?”
“Yes. Now. Why? Is it not tidy?” I smiled up at him.
“Oh … it’stidy.”
“Well, good then.”
“I just thought you wouldn’t want to… see it… so early in the day.”
