The matching smiles on their faces were much better than the looks they’d given the paparazzi. He saved the image and texted back.
“Did you send this to your sister?” he asked.
“Yeah, she’s the one that told us about the image spreading everywhere,” Ben replied.
Shit, Calvin thought with a groan. He hadn’t thought of what she must be going through. He’d seen how having her privacy invaded had affected her on the boat. He could only imagine what it would be like having her privacy constantly attacked.
Flipping his contacts open, he pulled up her number and started typing a text message.
“Sorry about all the mess today,” he typed, then erased it quickly.
“Hey, I hear I’m your new sexy…” He quickly deleted it and started again.
“I’m sorry things got interrupted…” Again, he deleted his words. After all, was he talking about the kiss or the day being interrupted?
“I’m sorry your day was cut short. Don’t let what happened get you down. I’ll be back at work tomorrow and have ensured that no one will bother you again.” He reread the message and then hit send.
Then he shot off a quick text to Stacey and Gavin. Both of them filled in for him on his days off.
“Make sure Miss Rothschild is uninterrupted. Her security is your number-one priority until I get back tomorrow morning.”
Both Stacey and Gavin texted him back right away with confirmations. While he waited for a reply from Bella, he ate his leftovers and switched the set back to the end of the game.
He had just climbed out of the shower when he received a text from Bella.
“I’m sorry about all the mess I’ve put you in,” she said.
“This is in no way on you,” he responded. “Did you at least have fun today?” he asked, needing to know.
“Yes,” she texted back. “Thank you for keeping my mind off… things.”
He felt his loins jump at the memory of how he’d distracted her. He wanted to text back with, “Any time,” but typed, “I’m sorry I didn’t complete the job.” He hit send before he really thought about those words. “Sorry, not what I meant,” he quickly typed, feeling his entire body heat.
“LOL,” she replied. “I’ll take it though.”
He didn’t know what to say after that, so he replied, “We’ll talk tomorrow when I’m back at the resort.”
“See you then. Goodnight.”
“Night.”
The next morning, he rode the ferry to the resort with another group of employees. The daily trek was hindered only by the light rain that forced the entire group indoors.
Today it was Todd that sat behind the wheel of the large vessel. The man was about Calvin’s age and tended to flirt with all the female workers no matter what age they were.
“My mother always told me that one day I’d get in trouble,” Todd had told him once. “I’d flirt with the wrong woman and end up married.” He’d laughed. “Not me. I’m a perpetual bachelor.”
Calvin had to admit that he’d never really believed that being a bachelor forever sounded appealing. Not that he was rushing to the altar but seeing all his friends happily married had caused him some jealous moments.
He thought it would be nice to come home to someone each night. Someone to share his life with, to raise a family with, like Ben and Sarah had.
When he stepped off the ferry, the light rain had deepened. Most of the employees raced through it to avoid getting soaked. Some shared umbrellas while others just dashed down the pathway.
Since he’d carried an umbrella that morning, he shared it with Stacey as they strolled towards the front of the resort together.
“Did you have any problems yesterday?” he asked her.
“No.” She glanced at him. “We all heard about what happened on the sailboat yesterday. I can’t imagine not having my privacy.” She shivered.
Stacey was a middle-aged woman with three young kids at home. He couldn’t remember ever seeing her not smiling or laughing. Even though she was older than him and had given birth to three kids in the past ten years, she was in better shape than he was. He knew that on her off hours she was at the gym with her husband, Eric, who was one of the police officers in Silver Cove.
When they stepped up on the front porch, he shook off his umbrella and glanced up to see Bella leaning on the railing a few feet away from them, watching him. He smiled and started to make his way towards her, when he noticed the pain in her eyes just before she turned around and moved away.
“I think she thought…” Stacey started as she touched his arm. “That we…”
He shook his head not understanding. When Stacey raised her eyebrows and motioned between them, he groaned. “Shit.”
Stacey laughed. “I’m flattered, really, but you should go… explain things.” She nudged him to where Bella had disappeared around the building.
“Yeah,” he said and handed Stacey his umbrella.
He found Bella on the back porch and could tell she was debating rushing through the rain to make her way through the garden towards the gazebo for some privacy.
“There you are,” he said, stopping beside her.
“Go away,” she said, crossing her arms and turning away from the rain.
“Hey.” He touched her shoulder. “What’s eating you?” He knew what it was but wasn’t going to try to justify his private life. After all, he’d convinced himself that whatever was between them wasn’t a good idea.
He watched Bella’s eyes move back to where they’d come from. “I… didn’t know you were involved.”
He held in his chuckle. “I’m not.” His smile dropped away. He had to nip this in the bud. He couldn’t keep leading her on. Bella was his best friends’ little sister. At that thought, he swayed slightly away from her.
“You aren’t?” she asked, her eyes going to his.
The look in her eyes caused his heart to jump in his chest. She was wearing a large gray sweater over a white tank top with gray leggings that hugged her every curve. Her long hair was flowing around her face and shoulders. He wanted to reach up and bury his fingers in the dark tresses as he pulled those plump lips to his.
He shook the thoughts of kissing her from his mind.
“No,” he answered and forced his eyes from her. “Have you had breakfast yet?” he asked, realizing suddenly that they were standing within view of the large windows in the dining room. He could see guests enjoying their breakfast inside already.
Her gaze followed his. “No, I was hoping we could talk.”
He glanced at his watch. “I have a staff meeting first, but I can meet you inside after.”
She nodded slightly as she glanced down at her hands. “I… I’m not the jealous type.”
He sighed. “Bella, we…” Just then his cell phone chimed with his reminder about the staff meeting. “Later.” He touched her shoulder.
When she nodded, he followed her inside and, as she was seated, he disappeared down the stairs towards his meeting.
Chapter Nine
God how stupid could she be? When she’d watched Calvin and the pretty brunette that worked the front desk making their way slowly through the rain, huddled together under the umbrella, she’d been instantly hurt.