“What did you major in?”
“Philosophy,” she says with a laugh. “And I sell shoes for a living.”
“I bet it’s a bit more than that,” I reply, enjoying her. “What are your favorite shoes in the world?”
“My pink stilettos. They’re Louboutin. I’ve had them for five years and if the heel ever breaks on them I’ll cry for a week.”
“That sounds serious.”
“I’m always serious about shoes,” she says. “What’s your favorite thing?”
This makes me pause and run my finger over my lips, thinking. “I don’t know if I have a favorite thing.”
“Oh, come on,” she says and rolls her eyes. “There has to be something.”
This. With you.
“I have an affection for my car.”
“What kind of car do you have?” she asks with a raised brow.
“The fast kind,” I reply with a grin.
“I have a new car,” she replies. “It ranks up there with favorite things.”
Before I can reply, she shivers, and I realize that the sun has just dipped behind a mountain, making the air colder. I reach under the seat for a blanket and wrap it around her shoulders, my face inches from hers. All I’d have to do is turn my head and my lips would be on hers.
Instead, I drag a knuckle down her cheek and tuck her hair behind her ear.
“This is the first time my professionalism has ever been tested,” I whisper, surprised that the words are spoken aloud.
“What do you mean?” she asks. She licks her lips as she stares at mine, and I feel my blood flow directly to my cock.
Bloody fantastic.
“We should get back.” Before I can move, she grips my forearm with her hand, keeping me still.
“What do you mean?” she asks again.
I shake my head, but not answering her is simply disrespectful. So, I clear my throat and cup her cheek in my hand as I look into her eyes.
“You’re special, Charly, and I’m quite attracted to you. But you’re a client. So I have to keep this strictly business between us.”
She narrows her eyes. “Are you telling me that you take women on your boat, alone, often, and keep it business?”
“No,” I reply and sigh. “I’m never alone with clients.”
“Breaking rules,” she says in that slow Southern drawl of hers that makes me want to kiss the fuck out of her. “But I should remind you that I never said that I wanted you back.”
I don’t bother to reply; I simply smile and walk away, start the boat engine, and take us back to the resort.
***
“We need to go over some things,” Todd says the next morning after I answer my door to him.
“Then you’ll need to go for a run with me,” I reply shortly. I slept like shit. I couldn’t get Charly out of my head, and when I did sleep she was in my dreams.
Naked.
Fucking hell, maybe I just need to get laid.
“We don’t have time for a run,” Todd says with a scowl.
“You just hate to run,” I reply and tie my shoes. “I need it today.”
I need to burn off this sexual tension.
“Fine.” Todd sighs in resignation.
“Let’s go.”
We walk through the lobby and out the back door toward the trail that winds around the whole lake. I break out into a slow jog.
Just as we turn a corner, I see Charly walking up ahead toward the clearing where I saw her the other day. I immediately turn the other way.
“Let’s go this way.”
Todd joins me, but looks over his shoulder toward Charly.
“That brunette, Charly, is a pretty girl.”
“Is she?” I ask. She’s not pretty, she’s fucking gorgeous.
“You’ve noticed,” Todd replies. He’s already breathing hard and we’ve barely started.
“You need to run more,” I inform him, hoping to change the subject, but without success.
“Did I see you come in from the lake with Charly last night?” Todd asks.
“So?”
“So, I’m just saying, you’ve noticed that she’s pretty.”
“Where are you going with this, Todd?”
“Okay, I’m just going to be honest because I can’t breathe and don’t have the lung capacity to beat around the bush.”
“Fantastic.”
“I’ve never seen you look at anyone the way you look at her. Even Amy.”
“We don’t say that name,” I remind him, and wonder just how I’m looking at her.
“It’s true,” he continues. “And Charly is a beautiful woman, Simon. You should notice. I’d worry if you didn’t.”
“I’m so relieved that you’re not worrying.”
“You should take her to dinner or something.”
“She’s a client,” I remind him. “This is work.”
“Come on, you’re a human being, Simon. If you wanted to pursue a beautiful woman, no one would fault you for it.”
It’s starting to piss me off that he keeps referring to Charly as beautiful. Not because it’s inaccurate, but because he’s obviously taken more than a passing notice.
“Yes, they would,” I remind him. “I’m a public figure. Everything I do is under scrutiny. These Lift retreats are successful because we all maintain our professionalism. This is a safe place for the women who attend. I don’t fuck with that, and I’ll bust your arse if I ever find out that you do.”