Tell Me Something (The "Something" Series Book 1) (23 page)

“Okay, I give up. Where are we?”

“Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. You can’t see it now, but the water is beautiful here.”

“I can’t wait to see it. Are we in a resort?”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” he hedged with mischief in his eyes.

I enjoyed studying his profile from the passenger side as he navigated the winding road. He was the most relaxed I had ever seen him. The thought of having him all to myself was almost too good to be true.

A short time later we pulled into a driveway with a large iron gate into which Josh punched in a code.

I had expected someone to come out, but instead it looked as though we were alone as we entered through the front door of an elegant two-story house.

“Wow.” I stepped inside the foyer and glanced at the beautiful staircase, marble floors, and the gorgeous open room that led out to what looked like a pool.

“I was hoping you’d like it.”

“Is this yours?”

“No, it’s a rental, but the pictures seemed nice online.”

“And it’s only the two of us, no one else?”

He took my hand and led me into the gourmet kitchen. “Just the two of us, not even a chef. Hopefully they stocked some food.” He opened the refrigerator, which was completely packed with meats and produce.

“Um, who is cooking?” A cook I was not.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be the head chef and you can be my sous-chef. Are you hungry now?” He put his arms around me.

I shook my head. “I would love to see the house.”

We started out on the first floor and then proceeded upstairs. The master bedroom was impressive with its large four-poster king-size bed and the French doors that opened onto a balcony. I stepped outside and could hear, and practically feel, the ocean only steps away. “I can’t wait until morning to see everything.”

His arms came around me from the back, and I sighed with pure contentment.

“Tell me something you’re thinking right now,” he queried softly.

“I’m thinking that I can’t wait to wake up with you tomorrow morning. We haven’t done that, and it’s something I’m looking forward to for the next few days.”

“I didn’t know it bothered you,” he murmured.

I shrugged and turned towards him. “Well, of course you wouldn’t. I’ve never mentioned anything until now. And I wouldn’t use the word
bother
, but I like the idea of waking up with you tomorrow. That’s all.”

“My refreshingly logical Haylee. You don’t expect me to be a mind reader, and I can’t tell you what an amazing gift that is.”

I could only laugh and mentally thank my father who once told me, ‘Honey, men are pretty black and white creatures. No matter how obvious the hint a woman gives a man, it would be easier if she simply told him what it is that she wants. Men are not good at guessing, believe me.’

“It feels good to be here right now. Tell me something,” I requested.

“I loved my Christmas gift, and I may even start eating cereal again.” It hadn’t been much to get him a bowl that separated the cereal from the milk to avoid soggy cereal, but then what did you get a millionaire who had everything?

“Well, your gift was beyond generous and very thoughtful. Now I’ll definitely get to go see my family before I start school. Thank you.”

“I’m pleased to see you happy and not so down.”

“I wasn’t down, I was merely coping. Yes, it was a weak thing to do, but I needed the easy way out this year. Next year, hopefully, I’ll be stronger.”

“Haylee, there isn’t a part of you that isn’t strong.” His arms wrapped around me and lifted me up. “Light as a feather.”

“Are you comparing your strength to Will’s?” I teased.

He shrugged. “Maybe. So who feels like they can lift you easier?”

“You can.” Men were so strange with what they felt jealous over.

His thumb traveled along my bottom lip and then his mouth found mine. It was a different kiss than I’d ever had from Josh. Sweet and tender. He placed me in the center of the four-poster bed and took his time worshipping my body from head to toe. So this was what it felt like to be made love to. It was as if his body was showing all of the emotions he couldn’t form into words.

***

Josh came in with a breakfast tray that included scrambled eggs, toast, and fresh fruit.

Now this was a way to start a morning. I sat up and crossed my legs, tucking a sheet around me.

“Feel free to lose the sheet,” he suggested, winking before going back downstairs for his own tray and then taking a seat beside me.

“This is really good. I was starving, and think I may have to keep you,” I teased.

“Well, one of us has to cook. Otherwise we’d be eating nothing but cereal.”

“You say that as if that would be a bad thing. I happen to love cereal.”

“I know. I saw your stash of Frosted Flakes in your apartment.”

“Tell me something,” I asked after we’d lapsed into comfortable silence while eating.

“All right. This is the first time while on a vacation, I haven’t wanted to go back to work. Instead I’m thinking about the next opportunity we can manage some time down here. Do you like the house? I was thinking of buying it.”

I’m pretty sure my smile was the goofy sort that you can’t help when someone has made you gloriously happy. “I love the house. Is it for sale?”

He looked at me like a man who was used to getting what he wanted. “Everything is.”

With his money, I imagined most things were.

“Now tell me something Haylee.”

“I feel comfortable asking you almost anything. You have a way of never making me feel stupid for asking. I guess it’s nice to feel this relaxed with someone.”

“Hmm, sounds more like a compliment than a telling me something I don’t know about you.”

“So did yours. I only returned the favor. So what’s on the agenda today?”

His face leaned in for a quick kiss. “I thought we could go snorkeling today and maybe tomorrow take out a boat and go to one of the other islands.”

“That sounds great except I don’t have any clothes.”

“Ah, that reminds me.” He handed me a robe and then opened the master bedroom closet. “Take a look.”

The first thought I had was that he had surprised me by packing my things. So when I glanced inside the closet to find at least twenty-five items of clothing I didn’t recognize, I was momentarily confused.

“What is this stuff?” I took out one of the hangers. It held a white bikini that still had the tags and appeared to be my exact size. There were a couple pairs of shorts, cover-ups, sandals on the bottom, and even a wetsuit.

“I called a shop on the island, gave them your sizes, and requested that they bring it by for you.”

“To borrow?”

“No, of course not. I bought them for you.”

I kept my back towards him as I processed this. Finally, I turned around, trying to find the best way to say it without insulting him. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate it, Josh, but I could have brought my stuff from home. I thought maybe you meant that we were going to be naked the whole time or in robes like this. But I didn’t think it meant you were going to buy me a new beach wardrobe.” He had just given me a first class ticket to Australia and then flew me down to the islands. For some reason this just pushed it over an invisible threshold for me.

“Haylee, I’m a wealthy man who has not spent any money on you thus far. Can you please accept the gift?”

Great, he was offended.

I wished he would understand where I was coming from. “You bought me my iPad, a plane ticket to Australia, and this trip down here. Josh, I don’t want anything from you but you.”

That appeared to hit home as his features softened. He took my hand. “Haylee, come here. Let me tell you something about me.”

I followed him over to the bed where he sat me on the edge and then kneeled so that he was eye level with me.

“I’ve never been overly generous when it comes to giving gifts or making frivolous purchases. I don’t subscribe to trends. I’ve had the same suits for many years, the same furniture for many more, my father’s watches. I’ve gotten my hair cut by the same man for the last ten years who still charges me sixteen dollars. And clearly I have judgement issues regarding those I perceive who do make frivolous purchases.”

“Oh, I’m well aware of that,” I said, thinking of London.

“Yes, and I was properly and justifiably put in my place, which leads me to you. Most women— Actually, you know what? I’ve learned my lesson with that. Let me clarify, my ex-wife and even other women I’ve dated before tended to have an expectation about me. They assumed if we went out to dinner, it would always be a four hundred-dollar meal with the most expensive wine. If we went on vacation, it would be lavish. If they hinted that they loved a friend’s purse, then they expected I’d buy them one. Hell, my ex even went so far as to say I was cheap because I didn’t want a million-dollar wedding.”

“You’re talking to the wrong person if you want to me confirm that spending less than a million dollars on a wedding was being cheap.”

“Exactly, and that brings me to you. From the very beginning, you didn’t have that expectation. Hell, you took me to In–N-Out burger. And you don’t hint or have an expectation for anything for Christmas, and then you get me an incredibly thoughtful gift.”

“It was only a cereal bowl, Josh.”

His eyes regarded me. “Haylee, it meant more to me than a lot of other gifts I’ve ever been given because you remembered something I told you and then thought about it. You didn’t give it with any expectation of receiving anything in return. Giving you that plane ticket felt good because I know how much seeing your family means to you. Your best pair of underwear shouldn’t come from Catherine. And because I know you’d never splurge on yourself, it makes me incredibly happy to do it for you.”

“Well, when you put it that way, how can I possibly say no?” I took his face between my hands and kissed him thoroughly.

“Thank you,” he approved, obviously pleased that I was accepting the gifts.

“More like, thank you. Do you want a fashion show?” I wiggled my brows.

He laughed, helping me to my feet. “I would love one. But to warn you, it might mean that snorkeling gets postponed because I can’t be responsible for my actions.”

“Hmm, I like it even more now, then.”

I proceeded to put on a show with my two new bikinis, one in white and the other one a fun navy-and-white stripe. Then I modeled a couple cute sundresses, two cover-ups that went great with the bikinis, shorts, and T-shirts of the softest material. In addition, he had purchased four sets of bra and panty combinations in various soft-hued colors. My favorite by far, though, were the camisole and short combinations for sleeping, two of them were silk and two of them were cashmere.

“I feel like all I want to do is pet myself in this.” The feeling against my skin was luxurious.

“That gives me a whole lot of ideas,” he marveled with his hands roaming over my back, giving me soft caresses.

“Ha, I guess this is your way of making sure I don’t sleep in my oversized T-shirts and running shorts, huh?”

“You could wear a plastic bag and still look sexy.”

I raised a brow. “I could pass for adorable, maybe pretty, but there is nothing sexy about this.” I motioned to my short set.

“That is where you are so very wrong. You are sexy in the most understated way.”

My face must have shown that I didn’t think that was much of a compliment because he clarified.

“What I meant is that I didn’t buy you red or black teddies or lingerie, because you are sexy as yourself. You were much sexier in that light blue corset from the photo shoot that covered the majority of you than you could have been in a thong and nothing else. It’s almost like a hidden treasure trove of sexy underneath the cutest little package.”

He took my hand and backed me onto the bed, taking his time unwrapping said package and making me feel sexy indeed.

***

It was late afternoon by the time we finally made it down to the beach to snorkel, but the best part about vacation was the luxury of time. I loved my new wetsuit and loved Josh’s ass in his even more. I had never snorkeled before, so he took a few minutes to show me my gear and, just like that, we were in the water.

The fish were amazing. I had never seen so many colors, and the water was so crystal clear that it was easy to see them all. It was also warm, which was surprising as I had grown up near the Pacific Ocean, which was anything but. After snorkeling for a couple hours and grabbing a quick lunch, we took a nice long walk on the beach. Hand in hand, we talked about everything and nothing. It was comfortable and peaceful to be completely free to show affection and to get to know one another even better.

After taking a shower in preparation for dinner and donning one of my new dresses, I went downstairs and saw a candlelit table set for two. Josh was in the gourmet kitchen with several dishes on top of the stove. I took a seat on the other side of the large counter watching his graceful movements in the kitchen. There was something sexy about a strong man who could cook.