Page 13 of The Bride's Secret

“Yes Ma’am. How about noon?”

“I’ll see you then.”

Wyatt smiled and clicked the phone off. Now, if he could just print up some of their marketing materials and put together some semblance of a packet, he would be good and ready. He checked his watch. Carisa was still gone. And he waved the thought away. It was none of his business how she spent her time. Was this lovely quiet in an empty hotel room not what he had been planning all along? He nodded. Then jumped when he heard the door click.

Carisa stepped in, sweat glistening down her packed abs, a towel draped around her neck. “Wow, what a workout.”

He checked his watch. “You’ve been working out this whole time?”

“Well, no.” Her sheepish smile made him uncomfortable. “But I really hit the treadmill hard once I started. Whoever was on there before me had a killer five miles so I just followed that.”

“You ran my five mile workout?” He was astounded. That run had nearly kicked his heels off.

She shrugged. “Like I said, killer workout. But I feel great. I guess I needed to get some stuff out, you know?” Her eyes searched his but he didn’t acknowledge a similar need.

“You getting things done?”

“Yes, actually, it’s been great. I’ll be meeting with a potential client tomorrow. It’s been a productive few hours.”

She nodded.

The new awkwardness between them was a necessary block that Wyatt welcomed. He hoped it would linger, so that he could stay as far away from miss Carisa as possible.

“I guess I’ll go clean up.”

He nodded and put his hands back on his laptop keyboard.

“We doing anything tonight?”

He hadn’t even considered. “Anything going on?”

“They do fireworks on the beach every night, but we can see them up here.”

He nodded. “Let’s do that. And a movie?” He thought that pretty harmless.

Her face lit. “And some room service ice cream. Max told me they have the best pineapple ice cream. And you can get a syrup to go with it.” She closed her eyes. “I luurve Pineapple.”

He chuckled. “It’s a date.” His face almost hit his palm. “I mean…Well, you know what I mean.”

She shook her head, walking away. “I certainly do Wyatt Jackson.”

He had no idea what she meant by that.

After about ten minutes, the sounds of the soaker tub filling made it impossible for Wyatt to work. Just the thought of her in there was driving him crazy. When had he become so attracted to this woman? From the moment he saw her, he admitted. But that attraction had been distant, another man’s woman kind of notice. Once he’d imagined pressing his lips to hers, once he’d played all day with her in that tiny pink little number she had on, his attraction must have amped up several notches. He shut the sliding glass door tight and then all he heard was the blissful sounds of waves crashing on the shoreline.

He pulled up Bellami Spagnoli on google and whistled. Now she was an attractive woman. Dark glistening hair, deep blue eyes, lightly tanned skin. Powerful. People had done an article on her work in the industry. Bellami was not one to trifle. A challenge. He rubbed his hands together. He loved a challenge.

The door slid open behind him. He left his breath out in relief that she wasn’t in a robe. Just a baggy tshirt and jean shorts. Okay. He could handle that.

“Is that your girlfriend?”

Bellami’s headshot filled the page. He enjoyed the slight irk that flashed through Carisa’s eyes.

“You jealous?”

Her huff made him laugh. She sat beside him. “As if.”

He laughed harder. Then he turned his computer away. “She’s no one you need to concern yourself over.” For some reason he enjoyed leaving her guessing.

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