His quick indrawn breath confirmed he hadn’t known. Easier to hide than try to find solutions to help a teen girl. The lines around hiseyes crinkled as the knowledge seemed to hit. “Shit. I figured she was out having fun.” He finished his drink, then lifted his gaze to hers. “It’s effective, hiding. Until it’s not.”
“Is that what you do?” The question popped out before she could wrestle it back. “Hide at work? In suits and business meetings?”
“That’s reductive.” He winced, as if he didn’t like his answer. “Maybe. I’m good at work. I understand it. It makes sense. Kelsey doesn’t always. Life doesn’t.” The ice clinked in his glass. “I was twenty-three when she was born. I thought things would be different. Her mother left when Kelsey was four. She wanted—” He stopped, then started again. “She wanted the life I promised before the life I built. I stayed with the promises. Kelsey stayed with me. And I became the person who never missed a payment and never missed a meeting. I’m her security.”
Rowan fiddled with the square of the napkin. His words struck deep. She wondered how her father thought of his role when her mom took off. How odd. They had more in common than she thought. “So now you build a hotel on an island where the ocean is five feet away and you sit on your phone at the beach.”
Another wince. “Poetic, isn’t it.”
“I shouldn’t judge.” He looked up, sharply. “I’m just a woman who lost her dad and her knee and then lost the ocean because every time I look at it, I see the worst day of my life.”
He didn’t try to offer apologies the way people did to pretend hurt was a problem to solve. “Your dad died in the water?”
“No. Heart attack in a car in a parking lot. He was coming to watch me practice. We missed each other by ten minutes, and I had to stand there while the paramedics did their best. I remember the scent of wax and coffee and the tarp they put over him. I went to my competition that next week—the one we’d been working so hard on. I intended to win. For him. But I didn’t.”
It was the most she’d shared in a while.
His eyes reflected a mirrored grief, with endless regrets. Like he knew exactly how she felt. “I’m sorry.”
The words were simple but landed softly. Rowan’s throat burned, so she fell back on humor to lighten things up. “We’re a pair. The useful and the useless.”
“That’s not what I said.” His words were sharp and his eyes were hot. He leaned in. “You stand on a beach and make my daughter brave, because you’re fearless. Maybe I was a dick because I envy that.”
The wordenvypinged like a coin tossed into a well inside her. Her foundation shifted a few degrees when his knee knocked hers under the table. Just a brush, but it brought a wave of heat. Her thighs trembled. His hand rested on the table, palm up, like he was reviewing options. But he curled his fingers into a fist instead.
“I’m not fearless,” she said.
“And I’m not only a suit. Look, I left my jacket at home.”
She gave a snort. The banter mixed with a hint of tenderness slid past her defenses. “Careful. You’ll get ink on your delicate executive skin.”
“From the black pasta?” He glanced at his wrist like he could see the threat. “Disaster.”
“Do you always keep the good stuff under wraps?”
“Is this where we exchange secrets?” His smile wasn’t the usual charming PR expression used for clients. This one was private, like it was just for her. Her body revved up at the thought.
“Sure, why not?” It must have been the cocktail and the dim light and the sudden intimacy of sharing. In this moment, he seemed more approachable and real. He was a stranger, yet not. How tempting to let go of things because he didn’t know or care about her. The freedom in saying the worst without fear of hurting or being hurt. “Tell me something you’re afraid of.”
He tapped his finger, regarding her carefully. As if fearful she was setting him up for a horrible prank. “Are you safe to trust?”
“Only tonight.”
“Fine. Bagel. He scares the crap out of me.”
She laughed. The sound spilled out of her mouth with a gusto she couldn’t contain. His answering smile made her feel as if she’d accomplished something incredible. “Fair enough.”
“You have a great laugh.”
His voice was quiet. The emotions shifted on his face, making her want to look harder to catch them. “And you’re funnier than I gave you credit for.”
“Under my suit, there’s an array of things to discover.”
The heat between them hummed and crackled. She imagined running her hands over those carved muscles hiding beneath starched linen. Her eyes widened as she recognized the delicate place between her thighs was suddenly throbbing. That luscious mouth firmed. His pupils dilated, and they sat in the loud silence. Yeah, he’d noticed it, too. Rowan only hoped they would chalk it up to secrets and alcohol. It’d never stand up in the bright sunlight.
“I bet.” Rowan withdrew. He’d been teasing and there’d be no true sharing tonight. Better this way.
“My father.” He spoke curtly, like if he didn’t say it fast, the words would be swallowed up. “He was cruel. I don’t want to be like him.”
