Total pages in book: 21
Estimated words: 19939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 100(@200wpm)___ 80(@250wpm)___ 66(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 19939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 100(@200wpm)___ 80(@250wpm)___ 66(@300wpm)
I’d been working at Cottages for a year now. Last month my boss promoted me to manager over the pool bar, which was called Flippers. I told myself I would do this for a year, then reevaluate my life and where I wanted to go from here. I enjoyed working at the bar, loved living on the beach, and dreaded the idea of going back to my old life. I had walked away from a promising career, a girlfriend who only had marriage on her mind, and a future I knew I didn’t want. I escaped to the Keys, which after moving here I had realized I wasn’t the only one who sought out a new life. The pay was good, the living environment amazing, and the women…endless. That part got old real quick and I made a vow to myself I wouldn’t go out with any of the tourists. So far, I hadn’t been tempted to break my own rule.
“Excuse me, is this the only pool bar?”
I turned to see the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on standing there with a frustrated look on her face. She was glancing around the bar clearly looking for someone.
Don’t be a boyfriend you’re looking for!
I paused for a moment. Hell, I had just been bragging about how I hadn’t broken my no-dating-a-guest rule, and all I could think about was how it would destroy me if this woman was here with a guy.
Clearing my throat, I walked up to her. “It is. Looking for someone?”
She sighed as she slowly shook her head. “Five minutes late. I was just five minutes late and they left!”
I raised a brow. “They?”
Sliding onto the barstool, she set her hat down on the bar, giving one more look before her gaze landed on me. Her eyes did a quick sweep, and I had to hand it to her, she kept her expression pretty neutral except for the slight widening of her eyes. Most women openly gawked at me. I wasn’t an idiot, I knew I was good looking. I had a mirror and plenty of women, and some men, telling me so.
“Um…yeah. I was supposed to meet my two best friends here, and it appears they left without me.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Girls’ trip?”
She tilted her head slightly and stared at me.
“What’s wrong? Something on my face?” I asked as I ran my hand over my face.
Laughing, she said, “No. It’s just…I’ve never seen such beautiful eyes before. It’s rare you see a green like that. Hazel, yes, but not green like a spring meadow.”
“A spring meadow?” I asked with raised brows.
Her cheeks turned a bright pink. “I’m sorry, I should have kept my thoughts to myself.”
I leaned my elbows on the bar and studied her. “Blue, like the Caribbean. That’s how I would describe your eyes.”
Glancing down at the bar, she let out a nervous laugh. “I guess I deserve that.”
When she looked up, I was struck by how insanely beautiful she was. And she had no makeup on, which was rare for most women. I could see the light dusting of freckles across her nose and it was adorable as fuck.
“It was a compliment. Your eyes are beautiful.”
She dug her upper teeth into her lower lip and I knew by the innocent look she wore she had no idea how fucking sexy it was. I wanted to reach out and pull her lip free.
“Thank you. So are your eyes. I’ve never been to the Caribbean. Most people tell me my eyes look like the sky.”
I nodded as our gazes locked. “Maybe, but the blue in the sky is deeper. Do they change colors?”
“Not that I know of,” she said on a nervous laugh. “Why are we talking about our eyes?”
Shrugging, I tossed a hand towel over my shoulder. “Beats me. You brought it up.”
Shaking her head as if clearing some thought away, she sighed as she looked down toward the beach. “I guess they went to the beach without me.”
“You’re not going to join them?”
When she focused back on me, she shook her head. “By the time I get there, set everything up, Lori and Parker will want to leave and go to dinner. I’ll just grab a drink and wait for them to walk back by.”
“I think my co-worker might have gotten the number of one of your friends. He said her name was Parker.”
“Blonde, little, cute as a button?”
“Um, I think so, and her friend looked like she stuck chopsticks into her bun.”
The blue-eyed beauty laughed. “That would be Lori. The one with the chopsticks I mean. It somehow magically holds her hair up in a bun. Don’t ask me how.”
Smiling, I asked, “Would you like something to drink?”
Her shoulders sagged slightly and she grinned. It struck me how her smile seemed to brighten the entire area around her.