Page 50 of Unleashed

I hesitated, caught off guard. “Oh, yes, hiking.”

Michael raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t actually go hiking, did you?”

“I did for a few days, then ended up at the beach in Montauk at a friend’s place.”

He raised his eyebrows. “I thought you were hiking for two weeks?”

I smirked. “I was supposed to. But who turns down a week on a private beach?”

“I wouldn’t,” he said, his laugh soft and warm. “I have a home in Southampton.”

“The beach was lovely,” I admitted. “But now I’m peeling. My shoulders got sunburned.”

“Did you use sunscreen?”

“Of course. But my skin is so fair. I dozed off in the sun.”

“Ah, the joys of being young,” Michael mused.

I giggled, “You’re still young.”

“I’m thirty-four. My partying days are behind me.” He quickly changed the subject. “Did you go with Erika?”

I shook my head. “No, she had work. But she’s definitely a party girl.”

Boy, was she ever. In college, she was always the one finding the parties to drag me to. I was always more subdued, the shyer of the two of us, but she wanted me to break out of my shell. I went because she wouldn’t let me stay home watching crappy movies.

“I can tell. She’s quite the character.”

“We were inseparable in high school,” I said, remembering those days. “She was always perfect, while I was a bit of a late bloomer.”

Michael’s eyes softened with amusement. “I find that hard to believe.”

“You’d be surprised. Did you have an awkward stage?”

I doubted he did. He was a gorgeous man and so well put together in a designer suit. I bet he had the girls chasing after him when he was young.

“Oh, definitely. I was thin as a rail in junior high. It wasn’t until high school, working for my father’s construction company, that I grew into my body.”

“That’s why you became a structural engineer?”

“Exactly. I wasn’t keen on swinging a hammer and getting bruised. I preferred the design side of things.”

“I’m sure that disappointed your father.”

“No, he’s proud. My two brothers handle the physical work, and I still collaborate on projects with them. What about your parents? Are they proud of you?”

“Very,” I said softly. “They’re in an assisted living facility in Rockland.”

Michael’s eyes widened in surprise. “Are they older than others your age?”

“They are. They were in their forties when they had me. No siblings, so I do my best to help them.”

“I could have offered you a higher salary,” he said thoughtfully.

“You’re already paying me more than Abbott did.”

“And you’re worth every penny,” Michael said with a warm smile. “By the way, Keaton Abbott called me while you were on vacation.”

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