Page 26 of A Quick Stop in Paradise

“I know I fucked up,” he said, his face not looking all that remorseful. Weird, that. “But this isn’t about me. It’s about her safety.”

I smiled politely. “You should have just said so. I’ll let the security team know she’s a concern. Of course, if she doesn’t want you to find her, they won’t be able to tell you one way or the other if they find her, but they’ll at least be out there to make sure she’s safe.”

He rolled his eyes. “Are you serious? You’re going to blow off all of us? Are you new here, or just not that worried about losing your job over something like this?”

“And miss out on the chance to serve guests as irresistible and charming as you? I’d be devastated.”

I shouldn’t have been taking swipes at him. He reddened, pursing his lips in a thin, tight line. “What are you after with her?”

“Having pizza together. Listening to her stories from work. She’s a good storyteller.”

He stood up. “Is your manager in today?”

“My manager’s already heard one complaint about me from someone upset I told on you. Maybe I should just set up a complaint box? Whole resort can come around and write on little slips of paper and drop them in, let everyone complain about me all they like.”

“Sure, all right,” he said, his voice cool and detached, as he turned and walked back in the direction of the hotel reception. I narrowed my eyes after him for a while before I slipped my phone from my pocket, and I shot Ryan a text, keeping the phone below the bar surface and hiding it from view.

Shane and your aunt have both been asking at the bar about you, looking for me. Are you safe right now?

She didn’t respond right away, and I sent a text to Allison too, giving her a ping on the situation in case she needed to keep tabs. As much as I gave her a hard time, she had just about every employee at the resort catalogued in her mental directory, and if there was anybody to make sure this little hot-button issue could reach all the right people, it was her.

I’d barely sent the text to Allison before I got a group queueing up at the bar, and I moved faster than usual tending to their orders with more of a professional distance than usual, irritable and trying to hide it, knocking out one drink after another for them, and when I’d gotten to the last one, of course the first one to order had already knocked back his drink and wanted another. By the time I finished making his second drink, making a mental note of the guy so I could cut him off sooner than the others, I found I didn’t need Ryan’s response—a shadow of movement caught my eye at the far side of the pool, and I looked up at where Ryan came around the edge of the courtyard, a tired look on her face. I glanced down at my phone to check—a reply from her that said,I’m so sorry for the ordeal, I’ll be there in a second.

So she would. She slid in across from me as soon as I finished reading the message, and I set it down.

“Should have asked them if there was a reward for finding you,” I said. “Could be a rich woman right now.”

She smiled—seemed like she hadn’t been doing that much, judging by the heavy look in her eyes and the dark rings under them, but what came out was a genuine smile. “Please,” she said. “You’re a softie. You wouldn’t turn me in.”

“Softie enough to offer you a drink on the house if you want one, just don’t tell Greer, she’ll kill me.”

She laughed. “You’re a sweetheart, but even on vacation, I don’t want to go drinking at two in the afternoon.”

“How about just a coffee, then? You look like you’ve had a morning.”

She hung her head. “You could say that again…”

I turned back to pour the coffee from the pot into a demitasse, sliding it across the bar top to her. “I take it your family hasn’t been… lovely with it.”

“Ha. You could say that.” She took the cup, looking down into it, and she was… well, she was transparent. As soon as she looked away from me, I saw her long, slender fingers tighten on the mug, thick natural eyelashes flutter low, the smooth edges of her jawline tighten. Girl was going through an emotional hell right now, playing it cool. I leaned over the bar, and I dropped my voice into a low, soft tone just for the two of us.

“Bartender’s the one you dump your feelings out to, and she keeps your secrets better than the grave itself does.”

She dragged in a long, shaky breath, quiet for a long time, and just when I thought she’d brush me off, she managed in a quiet voice, “I knew everyone would either take his side or just pretend like nothing was happening, but seeing it… in action… feels like fucking shit. I’m glad I had breakfast at your place, because everyone went without me, and I just had a shitty meal all alone in the corner of the café, and what a fucking vacation this is.”

I balled a hand tightly on the bar surface, measuring my reaction—letting the steam come out of the sizzling frustration that wouldn’t help her right now—and after a second, I said, “Family should have your back. I’m sorry they don’t.”

“Even the ones who don’t blame me. Stella is just angry to the point where I feel like I have to manage her emotions, starting things unnecessarily, and Oscar… god, I thought I could trust him. He’s my twin, for God’s sake. But he just wants to pretend like nothing is happening, not rock the boat, just try to smooth everything over. Couldn’t he at least have stayed with me? Stella is pissed off at them, but she still goes with them too? Am I that bad?”

“They’re probably just figuring out how to handle their own emotions around it, but that’s a reason and not an excuse. There’s no excuse for abandoning you like this.”

“Look at me. I’m like a baby.”

“You want to be loved and seen and supported. That’s pretty universal. Babies and adults alike.”

She hung her head, groaning, and I could tell it was to keep herself from crying, gripping her fingers tighter on the mug, her classy French-nail manicured fingernails clinking against the ceramic. “What did I do wrong?” she said, finally, her voice barely there.

“Babe, you didn’t do a single thing wrong. Promise you that. Hey…” I put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing her softly. “I get off at six tonight. Let’s get dinner and I’ll show you the area.”

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