Page 37 of The Mistakes I've Made
“A walk? Now?” I sounded incredulous, but it didn’t stop me from following him down the street.
“Yeah. Why? Do people not walk in Honolulu? Or is it just you? Too outdoorsy? Don’t think I haven’t seen you walking past my office every morning this week.”
My arms folded across my chest. I grumbled. “I just—I have a lot to do.”
“I know,” he replied. “And I thought a walk might help you, especially when you see where we’re going. Besides to and from the inn, have you gone anywhere else in the town?”
“Does the corner market for coffee count?”
“If you can tell me the name of the owner, it does,” he said hopefully.
My lips pressed together as I tried to remember what he even looked like.It had been a he, hadn’t it?
“You don’t remember, do you?”
I shook my head as he let out a frustrated breath.
“What?” I finally said. “What did I do wrong this time?”
“This is all part of it,” he said, raising his hands out in a wide gesture. “Don’t you get it?”
“What is all part of it?”
“Us,” he said. “Here. Ocracoke. Jesus, I sound just like my brother.”
“It’s just a hotel, Taylor.”
His chest fell. “To you maybe. But, to the people staying in it, it’s an adventure, a world away from home. And shouldn’t that adventure be an extension of its surroundings?”
I looked around. Local kids rode their bikes past us, happy to be done with another day of school. They all waved and giggled hellos to Taylor, calling out to him by name. Several restaurant owners were setting up for dinner while tourists zipped down the street in golf carts.
“And you think The Cozy Hotel fits this better than anything I could create?”
“No,” he pressed. “But I don’t think tearing it down is the answer.”
“Clearly, we’re not seeing the same building.”
He smiled, staring down the tree-lined street. “Clearly.”
“So, where are you taking me anyway?”
He smiled, his hands shoved into the pockets of those worn jeans of his. “You really don’t like not being in control, do you?”
“No,” I answered frankly. “But it seems like you don’t much like it either.”
His eyes met mine, and I found myself nearly stumbling.
“No, I guess I don’t.”
Somehow, I didn’t think we were talking about work anymore.
“It must be something you get from your dad,” he said as we continued down the street.
It seemed flirting time was over.
“Why would you say that? You don’t even know him.”
He shrugged. “No, but it doesn’t take more than a Google search to learn about the guy. Nor does it take a genius to figure out the type of man it would require to support a company of that magnitude.”
