After speaking with the concierge, I checked my phone one last time for a message from my brother. Silence. That wasn’t how it had been. We used to have two to ten different conversations in the works before I finished my workout.
Before putting my phone away, I sent one text message.
“Mom, still in Cancún. Still safe. Plan to leave the resort by myself to see the city. I’ll text later.”
A smile curled my lips. If breakfast went well and something worked out with Lena, I wouldn’t have to torment my mother for excitement. Before I left the suite, my phone rang. I didn’t need to see the name.
“Chandler Johns.” My mother’s voice was stern.
A full-fledged laugh came out. “Mom, I’m razzing you. I have no plans, none except I’m headed to breakfast.”
“Don’t do that to me.”
“I just wanted to see if you’d respond.”
“Respond,” she said, “you’re going to give me a heart attack.”
“You’re fifty-five. I don’t see that happening.”
“Did I tell you about the story on that news program, you know the one where they recreate crimes?”
I peered down at my watch. I had fifteen minutes to make it to breakfast, and I wanted a table before Lena arrived. “I’m sure you did.”
“It was a fancy resort…I don’t recall the name…”
I was beginning to regret my poke at my mother bear. “I’m sorry, Mom. I’m really fine, and I’m meeting someone for breakfast. So, give Dad my love, and I’ll talk to you later.”
“Who are you meeting? Please don’t go anywhere with anyone you just met. You never know who they could be. People on vacation aren’t always real.”
That was my plan—to not be totally real. I doubted that I’d fulfill my earlier fantasies with Lena by starting off breakfast telling her my woes and regrets about becoming filthy rich. “Got it, Mom. Bye.”
Quickly, I pushed the red icon before she could respond.
Slipping my phone and wallet into the pocket of my swim trunks, I took one last look in the mirror by the door. The surfing cat tank top should probably go. That said, I didn’t pack much for this trip, really anything. Only what I could throw into the carry-on at the last second. The resort had multiple stores.
As I debated my clothing choice, it occurred to me that thinking about my clothes was something I rarely did. That was the beauty of starting your own company, no one to answer to, other than Colton. He didn’t give a damn unless we were meeting with investors or interviewing employees. Or making a deal to sell…
Fuck the surfing cat.
My t-shirt from yesterday and the clothes I wore to work out were not fit for company. In other words, they needed laundering. That left one option. On the way to breakfast, I made a quick stop at an open shop and found a greenish-blue tank with the name of the resort on the front. Since it mostly matched my swim trunks, I decided it was a win.
As the girl rang up the purchase, I stripped out of the old tank, pulling it over my head. After ripping the tags off, I slid the new shirt on. When our eyes met, she grinned.
“You must really hate that cat shirt.” She lifted her eyebrows. “I think it’s unique.”
Stuffing the old shirt into the bag the other shirt had come in, I handed it to her. “Is there any way you can keep this? I’m supposed to meet someone for breakfast.”
“It’s against the rules…” Her smile grew. “But I can hold onto it for a couple of hours. I’m off at noon. Come back before then.”
“Thank you.”
As I started to walk away, she called out, “I hope you get the job.”
My forehead furrowed. “The job?”
“Interview? Right? Otherwise, why change the shirt?”
“I guess I want to impress my breakfast guest. No job…” I’m independently wealthy. I didn’t say that last part.
“She’s a lucky lady.”
For the first time, I noticed the girl’s name tag. With a wink, I said, “Thank you, Rachel. Let’s see if she thinks so. I’ll see you before noon.”
“If the breakfast doesn’t work out…”
Hurrying to the infinity-pool restaurant, I thought about big-boob lady and now Rachel. I wasn’t used to women throwing themselves at me. That wasn’t completely true. I’d had my run in high school and college, nothing serious. The last ten years have been more work than play. Now, without work I could play, but I wasn’t interested in easy prey.
I preferred a challenge…a lioness.
Let the hunt begin.
My flip-flops flapped against the sidewalks as I made my way through the tropical resort. Whether inside or out, palm trees lined the paths. The restaurant I was looking forward to had a view of the Caribbean Sea beyond the pool. Later the restaurant would close, and the pool would open to guests.
A hostess led me to a table for two at the side of the pool. The morning sunlight filtered through the overhead veranda covered in vines with large purple and pink flowers. Large bamboo fans swirled, creating a breeze in the steamy air.
“Coffee?” a man in a shirt with the resort logo asked moments after I sat.
“Yes.”
He turned over my cup. “Are you dining alone?”
“I hope not,” I confessed.
Instantly, his smile softened, and his eyes took on a new life. “First date. You met here.”
“Is it that obvious?”
He looked at my shirt and back to me. “Last minute, you got rid of whatever you were wearing, stopped in a shop, and bought something that matches.”
I took a deep breath. “Basically. So since you seem to be an expert, how do these dates, if that’s even what it is, work out?”
He shrugged. “If this mystery woman…or is it a man?”
“Woman.”
“If she shows, I’ll give you a forty percent chance of hooking up.”
“I’m not…” My thoughts went to my fantasies. “That’s not the only reason I want her to show.”
“Who to show?”
The waiter and I both turned as Lena appeared, a breath of fresh air. With the exception of this morning in the gym, this was the first time I saw her face without the large sunglasses and hat. And I was a bit preoccupied with her presence on the treadmill to appreciate her exquisite beauty.
With very little makeup, Lena was stunning.
Her deep red hair was no longer in ringlets, but curled near her chin, and the sundress she wore hid the curves I’d seen at the pool. Yet the spaghetti straps revealed her slender shoulders and collarbone, the way the V formed at the base of her neck. Large blue earrings dangled near her shoulders and reflected the sun.
Quickly, I stood and motioned toward the other chair.
The waiter stepped in and pulled the chair back.
Hanging a large bag from the chair, Lena sat, turning her mesmerizing, soft brown gaze on me.
I answered her question. “You, if you showed, and you did.”
“I believe I was invited.”
“You were,” I said, taking my seat.
The waiter spoke to Lena. “May I get you a coffee?”
“I was promised coffee and mimosas.”
Flipping over her cup, he turned to me and winked. “Mimosas for two?”
“Yes.”
“Here are the menus.” He lowered two cardboard rectangles that I hadn’t noticed before. “I’ll be back with the coffee and mimosas.” Before he walked away, he whispered, “Eighty.”
Eighty percent chance.
I grinned.
“Eighty?” Lena inquired after he was gone.
“The high today...yes, it’s supposed to be eighty.”
“Really? I’d guess higher.”
A grin took over my face. “I can only hope.”
She took a deep breath and looked around. “It seems we have one of the best tables.”
I wanted to blurt out a thousand questions and an hour-long dissertation on myself, and yet words were escaping me. The silence settled, easing the unfamiliarity as I confessed my thoughts. “I meant what I said in the gym.”
Lena brought the glass of iced water to her lips. “Are you reminding me that you’re a predator, CJ?”
I liked the sound of my name on her lips. “If I’m any good at reading people, we have a ways to go to determine who rules in that category.”
“I’m a woman. Wouldn’t you assume it’s you?”
“Call me intrigued, Lena. My vision is better than twenty-twenty. I’m well aware that you’re a woman. I also don’t believe in assuming.”
She grinned and after taking a drink, set the water glass back on the table. “Tell me what you meant in the gym.”
“You are the woman I saw yesterday at the pool bar, the woman I couldn’t stop thinking about.”