Page 13 of Sexy as Sin
Ignoring the caterer, though, was a sign that the event was going well. The verdict on the food would come from the guests, not from schmoozing. You couldn’t auto-generate word of mouth.
Or so she told herself, because did she head off to start that cultivation? She did not. She stayed here. Maybe she wanted to look at those gray eyes some more. That was something you didn’t see every day. Or maybe she wanted to sneak a chance to relax, and client or no, he was a relaxing bloke to be around. At least when he wasn’t looking at her with that hint of humor and more than a hint of heat, making her wonder what was under the clothes. Under the calm. That confidence came from somewhere.
“Fresco suit,” he said. “It’s a weave. Merino wool. Italian fabric. Cooler than linen, if you believe it.” He smiled. “I won’t tell you what my shirt looks like underneath it. Always best to keep your secrets. Want to take a walk with me?”
“Uh... working?” Why had he said exactly what she’d been thinking? Could hetellwhat she’d been thinking?
“Winding down,” he suggested. Which was what she’d just told herself. Indeed, the crowd was dwindling in fairly rapid fashion. “Everybody’s had their Popsicles and is headed back to the air conditioning, or maybe to the beach. I happen to have some idea how your day’s gone so far, and your staff and my partners seem to have things under control for the moment. Ten minutes. Everybody deserves one break.” He must have seen her wavering, because he added, “I might need a break myself. I’ve done this tour twenty times today. Maybe I want to look at how pretty the view is instead of trying to sell it. Also, I could be tired of being charming, and you might feel the same way.” He reached into the tub and pulled out two ice blocks, red and green, and waggled them at her. “Let’s cool off. Indulge me.”
“So I get to be rude?”
He laughed. “If you like. You get to be real for a few minutes, and so do I. Whatever form that takes.”
It was madness. She shouldn’t do it. She was in charge. She took the green ice block, though, and headed out of the marquee with him, where the summer sun instantly hit her like a hammer. Two days of not enough sleep, too much time on her feet, and too much adrenaline. She wobbled, and he put a hand under her elbow and asked, “All right?”
“Yeah,” she said. “No worries.” He took his hand away, and she focused on cooling herself off with the frozen treat, keeping her balance over the uneven ground, and not succumbing to the wave of heat-fueled dizziness that had swept over her like a suffocating woolen blanket. It was a little hard to judge exactly how far her feet were from the ground. Like when you’d drunk too much, except that she hadn’t drunk anything at all. Her head hurt, too. “You realize,” she told him, trying to ignore the unsteadiness, “that I reallyamunlikely to be charming during your tour. Color me un-thrilled. I can say that, because your scary PR is the one paying, and you don’t seem like the type to give a girl a bad Yelp review because she told the truth.”
“How do you know what we’re doing?”
“I read it on the sign.”
“Huh.” They were walking along the ridgeline. It was nearly five o’clock, and still hours from twilight, when it would be even more beautiful, if that were possible. Delicate yellow-white frangipani sent out their sweet perfume, and the hibiscus flowers, short-lived and gorgeous as butterflies, fluttered in a breeze that stirred palm fronds, rustled the tops of blue gums, and made its way through Willow’s sweat-soaked clothes like bargain-basement air con.
After a minute, Hunter said, “You don’t approve of development. When did you move here yourself?”
She shot a wary glance at him. Nothing to read in his expression. Nothing at all of the man who’d bumped heads with her over a slab of bacon and stared at her non-voluptuous body as if she’d made him forget his manners. “Six months ago. It’s been a dream on a couple of fronts. Buying into a partnership, and living here. You could call both things ‘at last.’”
“Mm. When did you fall in love with it?” He was headed toward an outcrop of rock that stood like a gray sentinel looking out to sea. She wondered how much extra a future homeowner would pay to have it in their back garden. Or maybe the consortium would knock it over and cart it away. That would be a pity.
“Yonks ago,” she said. Talking helped. Her head wanted to float away like a balloon. She needed to keep it here for an hour longer. Just an hour. You could always do another hour. “I moved to Oz when I was twelve, and we’d come down from Brissy—Brisbane—for summer holidays, my aunt and uncle and cousins and me, when my uncle had leave. We stayed at the holiday park, and it was the closest I felt to my life before that. Byron was sleepier then, nothing flash about it. Just the sea and the surfing, the hills and the trees, and what you call ‘lifestyle’ when you’re selling it. Comfortable, I thought. I still do. My cousin bought a house here six or seven years ago. First thing he did when he started earning well, because he feels the same way, even though he doesn’t get here often enough. I’d come down to stay at his place and never want to leave. Now, I don’t have to.”
“So you moved here, and now you want to roll the rug up after you.”
Her face was heating up even more, and her head throbbed. “I loved it for what it is, though. I’m not changing it. I’m... I’membracingit.”
“You don’t think that every additional resident changes something?”
“It’s a matter of degree.” She felt off-base. Stiff. She’d shared too much, and had only given him ammunition.
“Climb up here with me,” he said. “Let me show you what we’re doing. You may not change your opinion, but at least it’ll be a fully informed one.”
She eyed the rock. It looked like a fairly steep climb. “Your shoes are leather.”
“But the view is worth it. Come on. Let me show you my vision. You never know. I might surprise you.”
Willow was still hesitating. Why? She’d been nothing but adventurous this morning. Was it him? Hehadturned her down. Also, she hated everything he stood for. And yet here he was, taking her on a walk when he should be working. Not exactly the action of a man who wasn’t interested. Maybe she didn’t like men who mixed their signals.
She said, “Sure,” and wiped her face again, and he thought,Yeah, that’s some first-class people-reading, Hunter. The girl’s hot, she’s exhausted, and you’re the client.
He always knew what to do next. Or maybe it was just that even when he didn’t know what to do next, he didsomething.Not acting was a decision in itself. Right now, he stuck the remains of his ice block into his mouth like a cigar and led the way up the fifteen-foot boulder. A handhold here, a foothold there, until he reached the narrow ledge at the top. When he got there, he asked, “All right?”
“Sure.” It was nearly a gasp. She was climbing, looking hotter than ever. Her face was flushed, but when he reached for her hand to pull her up, it was clammy.
“Hey,” he said. “I’m an insensitive jerk, aren’t I? We don’t have to do this. And have you been drinking enough water?”
“Never mind.” She wasn’t looking any steadier up close. “I’m good. Did you take your guests up here? Bit scary for them, surely.”
“No. Just you.”
