Page 81 of The Main Event

The ego boost didn’t hurt. I told myself I was just being curious when I asked the next question. “Like what?”

“Oh, are you fishing for compliments?”

I shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Well, if we’re going to play this game, I want to know what you like about me, too. It can’t just be one-sided.”

My gaze immediately went toward his crotch.

“That doesn’t count,” he complained. “That’s obviously your favorite part of me. You can’t go with the obvious stuff. It has to be a more subtle game than that.”

“Ah. I didn’t realize we were being subtle.” I got comfortable against the pillows. “The first thing I noticed about you was your hair,” I said finally. “George lost all his hair, and I’ve seen your father once or twice when he stopped by to fight with George. He seems to be losing his. I guess I just assumed you would have a receding hairline. Instead, you have this full head of glorious hair.”

Rather than be offended, he smirked. “Well, you’re in luck. I happened to inherit my mother’s hair gene. Her father had a full head of barely gray hair when he died. My father’s hair is lighter, too. I honestly look way more like my mother.”

“So you’re saying you won’t be bald when you’re fifty?”

“Would you care?”

The question could be taken in multiple ways. Was he asking if I would care because I still planned to be around then? Was he asking because he wanted to further clarify the rules between us? So far, we hadn’t met a rule we hadn’t wanted to break …including the one about fornicating in the closets. We’d broken that one multiple times.

“I would hate to think this head of hair would ever go away,” I replied. “You have a few other good qualities, though.”

His smile was wolfish as he went back to massaging my foot. “Like what?”

“Oh, no.” I was firm as I shook my head. “I want to know what’s nice about me. This is quid pro quo, right?”

“Right.” He nodded.

“You can’t just say my feet either. I’ve already come to the conclusion that you like my feet.”

“Oh, I love your feet.” He gave my sole another kiss. “The first thing I noticed about you was your eyes. I swear you have the entire ocean in there.”

“That’s sweet, but there’s no way that was the first thing you noticed about me. You have to be close to see my eyes.”

“We were close. We were at the bar. I was talking to Tammy, so I didn’t see you walk in. You were wearing a pink dress, and you drank a Shirley Temple, which I secretly thought was the cutest thing in the world.”

“You thought I was getting drunk on the job.”

“Only for a second. And, you have to remember, I was out of my element.” He kissed my foot again before dropping it and collecting the other. “Your eyes were friendly at first, and I kind of wanted to get lost in them. They reminded me of my favorite place.”

“The beach?” It was the only thing that made sense.

He nodded. “My condo in Boston doesn’t have a view of the water.”

“You could find one here that does.” I realized what I’d said when it was far too late to take it back. “I mean … if you ever get to that point.” I averted my eyes.

He kept massaging for a beat, then squeezed my foot. “I don’t know what I’m doing yet. I swear, as soon as I know, I’ll tell you.”

“But you’re still going to stay through the renovation, right?” Something akin to panic licked at my heart.

“I am,” he confirmed. “I want to see the renovation through. That’s what my grandfather would’ve wanted.”

I did the math in my head. “So, you’ll be here until the spring.”

“At least,” he agreed. “Honestly, the best time to unload the hotel would be the spring and summer, so the timing works out right.” Now he was the one who had stuck his foot in it, and he realized it. “Don’t.” He stopped me from pulling away by keeping a firm grip on my foot. “I’m not saying that’s what’s going to happen. If it were to happen, though, it would be good timing.”

“This is hard,” I lamented. “Not this part.” I gestured toward the bed. “The other stuff. I thought it would be more fun hiding the fact that we’re doing it from the others. It’s way more work than I anticipated, though.”

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