Page 17 of The Mistakes I've Made
Truer words had never been spoken.
The internal berating and name-calling in my head continued long into the afternoon as I tried to put my best foot forward and do my damn job for the rest of the day, taking the last touring group out for an afternoon on the sound.
What a heaping pile of shit I’d managed to dig myself into.
Barely twenty minutes of her being on the island, and I’d not only hit on the hotel heiress, but also ask her out to dinner. This woman could destroy our town with the type of resort her family built, and here I was, trying to get into her pants.
She wasn’t wearing pants, I reminded myself.
My thoughts drifted back to her long dress and just how much I’d wanted to get up under it.
Damn it.
Perhaps Leilani was the daughter of the devil because, even now, after discovering who she really was, I still wanted her.
Maybe a little more.
And, if that wasn’t pure evil, I didn’t know what was.
But what made it truly sinful was the fact that, at seven o’clock, my ass was not firmly planted on the cushions of my sofa at home in protest of the date I’d planned with the devil’s daughter.
No, my ass was walking up to the door of By the Bay Inn, about to make a dozen mistakes I’d probably regret in the morning.
I shook my head as I held my hand out to twist the handle.
Not mistakes. There would be no mistakes.
I was here on official town business.
Dean isn’t the only Sutherland who can be a leader, I reminded myself.
I might have acted rashly and asked a complete stranger out for dinner. It hadn’t been the first time. It certainly wouldn’t be the last. But it didn’t mean I had to waste this opportunity with Ms. Hart.
I could use it to my advantage—the town’s advantage.
Right, good talk.
I let out a breath as I stepped into the foyer of the familiar inn. This place was almost like a second home to me, the fresh smell of lavender and pine bringing back a slew of childhood memories. Even before my brother and Molly had been engaged, I’d spent a great deal of time here when I was growing up.
I might have been Dean’s annoying younger brother to him and his group of friends, but, growing up, he’d always done a good job of including me, and many events had been spent within these walls. Birthday parties, holidays, and summer cookouts. It wasn’t just an inn. It had been the family home for the McIntyres, and they’d made it their mission to treat every guest who entered as an extended member of that family. Growing up without a father, Dean and I had always appreciated the sentiment.
“You clean up nice, Mr. Sutherland.”
That voice. It was like melted butter, and it made my chest tighten and my balls ache. Never in my life had a woman’s voice done such a number on me.
And, just like the first time, I hadn’t even seen her face.
Turning around, I finally got a glimpse of her, and damn if that didn’t make that little pep talk I’d given myself just seconds ago seem almost laughable.
If looks could kill…well, let’s just say I’d be the happiest dead man on the planet.
No longer wearing the long dress, she’d traded it in for something shorter.
Much shorter.
The red dress, although casual with a bright floral pattern, had an incredibly striking appearance on her, and I found myself almost out of breath as I took her all in.
“You, too,” I said, trying to sound confident rather than bewildered.
