Page 47 of Handsome
I’d have said no if it wasn’t for the baby. But I’d never do anything to endanger Joshua.
We walked off the small dock while my legs shook a little. The land didn’t rock like a ship, and it took me a few seconds to adjust to the lack of motion.
The air was warm here. Joshua certainly wouldn’t need a blanket.
Cyrus guided us through a palm tree-lined path, and I stayed close to him.
He seemed so calm and relaxed.
I forgot my troubles when I was with him.
He said, “Let’s have lunch on the patio so you can enjoy a full view of the ocean.”
My eyes widened at the yellow mansion on a cliff with huge windows facing the ocean. I gasped and said, “That house is gorgeous.”
When we walked in, we were greeted by light wood floors buffed to a shine, and the beach-theme blue, white, bone and ivory furniture all fit together with pops of yellow to really make the mansion’s interior pop.
He directed me toward the glass wraparound windows overlooking a patio, and the ocean as far as I could see, and said, “We also have an ocean-facing pool, sauna, a planetarium for stargazing, and small walkway to the tennis courts and gardens.”
Seriously, all he was missing was a bowling alley and a fifty-seat movie theater.
I rocked Joshua, half afraid to let him go, but then I asked, “Where do the people working for you live?”
He beckoned for me to follow into a state-of-the-art galley kitchen that was bigger than the diner, and everything was clean and polished to brilliance. He went to the refrigerator and took out a bottle for Joshua. His son sucked hard immediately, like he was starving, though he hadn’t been fussy.
Then Cyrus said, “Most, if not all, live in the Caribbean. I have a daily ship that brings people to the island, and essential staff is paid weekly, even if I’m not here.”
We returned to the main room and the bone-colored sofa, where I sat to feed the baby and said, “That’s nice that you don’t just hire temporary people to take care of things for you.”
He went to a closet, took out a travel bassinet, and set it up beside me while he said, “I get better service when the staff is secure about their lives.”
It probably didn’t occur to him to think of service of as a profession. I blinked and glanced around as I said, “It’s true that I usually serve my regular good tippers with a bigger smile.”
Joshua finished his bottle, and I patted his back till he burped, and then settled him in the sleeper for a short nap.
Once we were sure he was sleeping, I took Cyrus’s offered hand and followed him out.
Even the pool had a view of the ocean once you left the shady section.
I’d only ever seen things like this in movies.
I crossed my arms while we walked over to take in the view from the balcony edge. As I gazed out into the bright afternoon sun, he asked, “Did you ever want to do something other than work at a restaurant?”
I turned toward him and shrugged, “Most places require more education than GED.”
He folded his hands and stayed next to me as he asked, “You didn’t graduate from high school?”
I tensed. The past popped up and smacked me across the face all the time. I swallowed and wished I was different as I said, “No… I had to learn how to pay my own bills.”
If I hadn’t taken control of my life, I probably wouldn’t still be alive. Living like my mother and sister would have killed me.
He put his hand on mine and said, “That had to be hard. I don’t know what it’s like to not have family. Some of my adopted brothers told us about their pasts before they joined us, but most of it seemed foreign to me. My parents always put time and effort into supporting me.”
I smiled at him, and I meant it from the bottom of my heart when I said, “They seem great. Did you ever do anything that upset them?”
He glanced up at the sky and then back at me with a gleam in his eye as he said, “When I was eighteen, I took a year off from college and decided to backpack around Europe.”
I remember teachers and TV always cautioning that the gap year was the worst thing for anyone. I nudged him and said, “I thought that was considered a bad thing in your circle, though it does sound adventurous.”
