Page 8 of Grand Escape

Adam grinned at me. “I’ll tell you, it’s a marketing free-for-all out there. Just the other day, I bought a ton of hair products I don’t need because Google suggested them to me.”

“Really?” I raised an eyebrow. This guy was funny, and unfortunately drawing me into his banter when I didn’t need the complication.

Brianna slipped up to the bar again. “Hey, Ry, I need a mojito for the woman in the corner. She hasn’t smiled since she arrived, so make it a good one, okay?”

Focusing on her, I said, “No problem. Her happiness is my pleasure.”

My hands moved quickly, making the drink. With my back to Adam, I heard Brianna say, “Oh, hi,” with that lilt to her voice she saved for potential conquests. I assumed she noticed how handsome he was.

“Hi,” he said, and I wondered if he was smiling since they seemed to be in short order.

“Here you go, Bri. One mojito. Tell the woman the drink is on me. I hope she has a great vacation.”

“Umm ...” Brianna was having a hard time peeling her gaze away from Adam as she took the drink. “Okay,” she finally said to me. “You sure? That’s nice. Never mind.” Shaking her head, she was on her way.

“You do that a lot?” he asked. “Give away the product?”

Noting Adam’s vodka was almost empty, I made a fresh one. “I’ve been here long enough, I have some freedom with the product. Here, one for you too.”

“Pretty soon you’re going to have given me enough drinks on the house, the vacation will almost be a bargain.”

“Unlikely, but every little bit helps.”

He pushed his empty glass away and moved the fresh one closer. “Tell me, how long have you been here, Ry?”

He’d shortened my name as he’d obviously heard everyone else do, and hearing it roll off his tongue made me all squishy.

I didn’t do squishy, so I said, “Rylan.”

Adam raised a brow. “Oh, we’re not at the nickname stage yet in our trip?”

“Almost eleven years. That’s how long I’ve been here. Long enough to forget my parents named me after an island meadow. Presumably, I’d been conceived on a spectacular trip to the British Isles. In a five-star inn, not on the actual isle, to be fair to my very proper parents. That’s about it, and the rest is history. Satisfied?”

He nodded, taking in my little anecdote, potentially dwelling on his comeback.

“I’d hardly call this a trip,” I said, moving the conversation in a different direction.

“That’s got to be some record for working at a resort. Eleven years? And you never got promoted?”

Closing my eyes for a second, I silently prayed for Brianna to return with another order.

This conversation was dangerous, getting too close to personal territory. I’d already divulged more to Adam than I would have liked. Sure, I’d talked about this with Tony, but not with customers. It was why I loved this job—people to talk to who were temporary. I could be anyone I wanted to be from week to week without any expectations.

“Hey.”

Adam’s gravelly voice drew me out of my thoughts. He stared at me, his eyes crinkled in a compassionate way, like he really cared.

Drawing in a deep breath, I said, “It’s been offered a few times, but I like my gig. Most of my days and nights outside, and great tips. I make people happy—most of the time—so I like doing this.”

He nodded. “So, making people smile is your jam? You’d be a great concierge.”

I shook my head. “I dig short-term relationships. You pull up to my bar, I get you a drink, we talk about the weather and maybe the fab Jet Ski you rode, and we move along. Concierge, though? Not for me. I’d have to get to know your kids and whether they like chicken nuggets or mac and cheese, or I need to know your wife’s favorite cake is strawberry shortcake when I order a dessert for your anniversary. Too intimate.”

Realizing how much I’d revealed, I grabbed a glass and sprayed some soda water in it, then downed it quickly, hoping it squelched the heat in my cheeks.

“Commitment-phobe,” Adam said thoughtfully. “I got it. I know plenty. In fact, more days than not, I’m one too.”

Yep, this guy who I’d barely known a day had summed me up without taking a breath.

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