Page 7 of Blame It on the Bikini
"Are you talking to me or to yourself?" he asked.
"I can feel you judging me."
"It's more that I'm curious why you made such a drastic change in your life. I can't imagine your father was happy about that. Didn't he try to talk you out of leaving?"
"Yes, but I didn't want to be talked out of it. The truth is that I went into law because of him. I wanted to be close to him. I wanted us to have something in common. And he was so proud of me when I became a lawyer and joined his firm. But the reality of working as an associate in his firm was completely different than what I thought it would be. I was working eighty hours a week on deals that didn't seem at all important to me. I lasted almost two years before I quit. I gave it more than a fair shot, but it wasn't the career for me. I hoped he'd understand, but he didn't. I shouldn't have been surprised. His attention always came with strings. Now that I've let him down, he barely speaks to me."
"Huh. That's…" Grayson's voice trailed off.
"That's what?" she asked curiously.
"Interesting. We actually have something in common, fathers we wanted to connect with through work…and strings."
She met his gaze. "That's right. Your father is the reason you're staying at Ocean Shores for a month."
"He is. My dad seems to think I'll change my mind about wanting to sell the building when I get to know all the tenants."
"Your father might be right."
"I don't believe he is. And I'm betting you probably didn't think any of the strings your father placed on you were right, either."
"Maybe not," she admitted. "But this is different. Our community is special, and whether we can change your mind or not, I hope you'll at least get to know us, enjoy your time at Ocean Shores, because it could be the best month of your life."
He gave her a disbelieving smile. "I'm supposed to spend a month in Italy this summer. You think Ocean Shores can beat that?"
She nodded. "I think it can, but only if you have an open mind."
"You don't lack confidence, Lexie."
"Neither do you, Grayson," she said, deliberately using his first name since he'd used hers and also because she wanted him to start seeing her as an equal, not a tenant at one of his buildings. "I guess that's two things we have in common," she added as he turned into the entrance for the resort and pulled up in front of the main building. "Thanks for the ride."
"Good luck with the wedding," he said as she got out of the car.
She grabbed her equipment out of the trunk, hearing the wedding planner practically scream her name as she rushed out of the main entrance. Clearly, she'd been waiting for her. She closed the trunk and put on a professional smile.
She might not be doing exactly what she wanted, but she was taking steps in that direction. She couldn't let Grayson's doubts get into her head. She had too much to do.
But as she followed the wedding planner into the resort, she couldn't help wondering if she was calling her own shots. Or just pretending she was.
Grayson made his way through a grueling workout at a gym not far from Ocean Shores, which had turned out to be more impressive than its online photos. His workouts were his stress relievers. Pushing his body to a physical limit usually calmed his mind, but it hadn't worked today. His thoughts kept drifting back to the beautiful brunette he'd dropped off at the Seaside Cliff Resort.
Lexie Price was a pretty picture of contradictions, a woman he couldn't quite figure out. She'd annoyed him from the first minute they'd met, and that irritation had only grown when she’d sent him financial projections from one of the residents, along with another pitch to keep Ocean Shores off the market.
At the same time, he had admired her persistence. But he hadn't really bothered to look at her friend's report or listen to her concerns, because he knew that he was going to sell the building as soon as he could. Now, he also knew that he was going to have to spend the next four weeks with her as a thorn in his side. It had been easy to dismiss her from afar, but in person, it was a lot more difficult.
She was beautiful for one thing, which had been impossible not to notice when she was wearing that skimpy hot pink bikini. But even in her work clothes, her dark-brown eyes and enticing features had made it hard to look away from her. Besides being way too attractive for his liking, she was also proud, fiery, and stubborn, and she was not going down without a fight. He didn't want a fight. He just wanted to sell and move on.
Unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen for a while.
On his way back to Ocean Shores from the gym, he tried to focus on the deals he was currently working on. He could dive into those as soon as he got back to his apartment. He had more than enough business to occupy his mind, but he felt strangely restless in this new city, this somewhat odd environment he'd found himself in.
For the past decade, he'd been running at a breakneck pace, living a life focused on furthering his business goals. Now he was hanging out at a beachside apartment where life definitely seemed to move at a slower pace. He didn't really care that his accommodations were modest. Lexie might believe he was a snob, but that wasn't really it. He just wanted to be the best at what he did, and moving real estate was part of that.
After parking his car in the lot, he got out and walked toward the entrance to the courtyard, pausing in surprise when he saw an older man with his head under the hood of a classic Mustang. That was a classic car he hadn't seen in a while.
The man pulled his head out and gave him a smile. "Hello," he said.
"Nice car."
