Page 7 of Nothing to Do

“Nope,” she said, curling her fingers around the strap of her bag. “Sorry to disappoint.”

“No, I’m not disappointed, just surprised.”

“Because you’re always right?” she asked, finishing the question with a smile, so it didn’t come off too confrontational.

He breathed out a laugh. “It has been known… maybe once or twice.” When he smiled, her own widened. “Why would you come all the way here if not for him?”

“He’s a stranger. Why would I come here for him rather than someone I know?”

“He’s a stranger to all of the winners, as far as I know, but they’re here for him.”

“Then I don’t suppose his ego needs me,” she said. “I came here because my sister is not worldly and I want to support her.”

His eyes narrowed as he considered her for a few seconds. “Your sister?” She nodded. “Doesn’t she have any friends?”

That made her laugh. “Alessia has a lot of friends, but each of them would be as interested in Roman Lowe.” Tipping her head to the side, she crooked a brow. “I’m not competition.”

“Ah,” he said, apparently enjoying that revelation. “Why is that? You’re married?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head.

“Engaged? Involved?”

Again, a head shake. “No. Neither.”

“So you’re not competition because…”

He drew out the last word to prompt her.

“Because I have no interest in throwing myself at a stranger. Because money, for me, doesn’t equal happiness. Because the idea of being plastered across the television and internet is genuinely terrifying… Can you imagine that kind of scrutiny? I don’t envy him it.”

“Your sister doesn’t mind any of that?”

She shrugged. “We’re different. Doesn’t mean we don’t love and care for each other. So she’s happy watching makeup tutorials and trying out different hairstyles? It doesn’t mean she’s not a good person, just that she values looking good and spending time with her friends.”

“And you don’t value those things?”

“I’m more… work-oriented… and much more interested in what a person says than how they look while they’re saying it.” His head bobbed like he was taking it in. “Anyway… Like I said, I can go upstairs.”

“It’s nicer down here,” he said, stalling her before she could retreat. “Up there it’s just boring boardrooms and uncomfortable furniture.” He put down whatever he’d taken from the shelf and turned himself more toward the room. “Here we have couches inside and loungers on the terrace… Could probably even rustle you up a hammock, if you feel like working on the sand.”

She laughed. “Thank you, but my sunscreen’s supposed to be just in case rather than a challenge…”

“Then you should work here,” he said, rounding the desk to come her way. “We got off on the wrong foot… We should start over.” He offered her a hand. “Zane.”

Sharing a workspace didn’t bother her. She worked in an open-plan office most of the time anyway.

Sliding her hand into his, she shivered when his fingers closed around it. “Thea.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” he said. “Wanna get to work?”

She nodded. Having a colleague wouldn’t be so bad. While he did his hotel business stuff, she could get to work on her project. Maybe they’d motivate each other. With the sun glittering off the ocean, it wouldn’t be easy to resist temptation. If he was working, she’d be working, the setup would do just fine.

FOUR

ZANE LET HER WORK at the desk. He spread out on the opposite side of the room, where two couches faced a low table.

They worked with little interaction beyond the tip-tap of their keyboards. His preference was to work with his laptop on his legs. Sometimes his feet ended up on the table. He’d even been sitting on the floor for a while.

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