Page 49 of Grand Escape

“Thanks. I don’t know what it is. I must make a mean lemon drop, because we can’t keep these stocked when I’m on duty.”

Miles winked at me.

He’s cute. So, why haven’t I given him a chance?

Oh, right. Sleeping with someone at work came with different strings. Tony-like strings, and I already had one situation like that.

Taking the lemons, I blew Miles a kiss and quickly escaped the kitchen. Pretty certain someone was going to see through my armor, I didn’t want to get up close and personal with anyone today.

As I stepped back on the elevator to return to the beach-access level, the doors stopped partway while shutting, then opened again. I sighed, rolling my eyes, definitely not in the mood to be chatty. In fact, I was in the mood for a good, long, hard cry.

“Oh, Rylan. I didn’t expect to see you,” Teddi said, stepping into the elevator.

“Hey.”

“I had to come and get a jar of cherries. Can you believe no one restocked the pool bar last night?”

I tried to think who was on pool duty last night. “Oh, it must’ve been Billy. I’m filling in him for him today at the beach. He has a sore throat.”

“Aw, shit. I hope it’s not catchy. These damn tourists bring all the crud here.”

The doors opened on her last word.

“They sure do,” I mumbled. “We should be more selective who we let in,” I said with a double dose of snark.

“Hmm? What do you mean?” Teddi asked as we left the elevator.

“You know, the crap. I mean, the crud. They bring it here.” I tried to slough off my hurt, acting like I was agreeing with her earlier sentiment.

“You saw, didn’t you.” Teddi narrowed her eyes at me as she stopped next to the ladies’ room, the point where she should turn to go to the pool and I should walk straight to the beach.

“Saw what?”

“Don’t do that, Ry. Him. Her. The whole scene.” A strand of Teddi’s hair blew in the wind, and she pushed it behind her ear without taking her eyes off me.

I nodded. “I brought him a coffee from Sam and found him with them. The women and his brother.”

Teddi touched my arm. “If it means anything, Adam seemed shook. I saw him as they arrived. The entourage, I mean. He didn’t look pleased.”

“Look, it happened, and I just want to lose myself in work, okay? This isn’t new to me, heartache and disappointment.” I didn’t know where all the sharing was coming from. I’d shared more in the last week than in a lifetime.

“You don’t deserve any of that heartache, babe. But look, I’m not going to argue with you. It’s just a hunch, but my guess is your lover-boy shows up any moment, pleading for you to understand.”

“Whatever. Gotta go,” I said and walked away.

I was done with all the emotional turmoil. I’d come here to get away from a life of trying to please people who could never be pleased. It was ironic that I landed in a five-star resort, where pleasing the unpleasable was the mission.

The difference was I didn’t care about the majority of guests in the way I’d come to care about Adam. And my parents had lost my affection a long time ago. I had zero fucks left for them.

Blowing out a long breath, I trudged toward the bar, my body aching from the night before and my heart heavy from this morning. If this was any indication of the day to come, I wanted to crawl back in bed and start over, but that wasn’t an option for someone like me.

When I got to the bar, I reminded myself that this was the life I’d chosen. Hard work, yes, but in beautiful surroundings and with no attachments.

It was Friday, so I didn’t have long to mope. As soon as midmorning hit, the beach area was jumping.

Jet Skis buzzed in and out to the left of the buoys, and banana boats on the right. In the middle, kids played in the waves, and adults did their own version of playing. The chairs were all spoken for, umbrellas dotted the beach, and my bar stools quickly filled.

With the thatched roof overhead protecting me from the unrelenting sunshine, I made a batch of strawberry margaritas for a bachelorette group that had just arrived, and opened a bottle of beer for the guy sitting at the end by himself.

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