Page 58 of Heart of Stone
Reid would not be deterred. Whatever he had planned, he was sticking to it. “I guess I’d need to know more about the things you like, Natalia. What is it that would keep your attention?”
“Order that pizza, and I’ll be happy to tell you.”
I waited just long enough for Reid to pull his phone out of his pocket before I turned and walked back inside. Despite my best efforts to appear unaffected by him, to meet and match him at this game, I was struggling simply to keep my breathing under control.
And once I had a few moments alone, I realized what the problem was. Not only had it been years since I’d been with anyone, but I also didn’t know much about Reid. Sure, I knew his parents and had witnessed his moods and gotten an explanation about what caused them. And yes, I’d seen his sweet side in full swing. But I didn’t know anything about the man. There was no question he was breathtakingly handsome and had that voice that had been my undoing since the first time I heard him speak. But there wasn’t much I knew beyond that.
When he followed me into the cabin a few minutes later, his stare was just as predatory as it had been outside. If I thought a bit of distance might cool things between us, I’d been mistaken.
“We’ve got twenty minutes to kill, so I’m curious to hear how you intend to spend that time.”
“I think you’re going to have to do all the work.”
That did it.
Those words stunned him enough to bring him to a halt as his brows shot up in surprise. “The work?”
A smile grew on my face as I nodded slowly. “Look, it’s no secret that I’m the one who’s almost always doing all the talking. I think it’s only fair that you do it now.”
It hadn’t been difficult to get a sense of where Reid’s thoughts had taken him, but once I’d revealed precisely how I intended to spend the next twenty minutes, curiosity had replaced that desire. “You want me to talk?”
“I do.”
“About what?”
“Anything. Like, maybe you should tell me why you were so interested in missing out on decorating at this retreat for all these years.”
He jerked his head back. “I… I already told you about why I avoided this place.”
Nodding my understanding, I lowered myself onto the couch and explained, “I know. I get that. I probably shouldn’t have worded it that way. You know things about me, and I don’t know anything about you. I was wondering what kept you in Pittsburgh all these years.”
Reid sat down, too. “I built a life there. My business is there.”
His life was there. Even though I’d wanted to know more about him, I hadn’t prepared myself for how those words would hit.
Six months.
Reid was only here for six months. Five now. Then he’d return to that life he’d built.
Ignoring the way that it made my belly twist to consider no longer having any of what we’d had the past couple of weeks, I asked, “What kind of business?”
“I’m a land developer.”
I hadn’t had any preconceived ideas about Reid and the work he did, but for some reason, I found myself feeling slightly stunned by his admission. “A land developer?”
He dipped his chin. “Yeah. A commercial land developer, to be specific.”
“So, what exactly do you build? Is it big warehouses and factories?”
Reid shook his head, a chuckle escaping. “No. That would be an industrial developer. I deal with things like office buildings, shopping centers, hotels, and other similar commercial properties.”
While it was obvious that I was great at my job and understood the ins and outs of running the retreat, there wasn’t a chance I possessed the skills to do what Reid did for a living. “Oh, I see the difference. Wow. That must be a ton of work. How are you able to be here for so long?”
“I have an excellent team that works for me. When I went back to Pittsburgh to check on things there after the first week of being here, it was mostly just paperwork and administrative stuff I had to deal with. Fortunately, I can do most of that from here, and my guys can handle the physical labor there.”
“You’re very fortunate to have that. I presume you enjoy the work.”
“I do. I like creating things and seeing the plans come together. One of the biggest rewards for me is witnessing the transformation in the areas where I build.” His expression turned pensive, and it was clear he was lost in thought for several beats. “Of course, what I’m responsible for creating is the very opposite of what my dad has built here.”
