“Well, hello to you, too, big brother.”
Nicole. Not Paige. He battled disappointment on hearing his sister’s voice and mentally shifted gears. “What’s the news?”
“The McCauley sisters have given me a tentative yes. If all goes according to plan, they’ll be arriving on your plane with an ETA of nine Sunday morning.”
That was good news, so why did his neck kink up? Because an early arrival time meant he had less than seventy-two hours left with Paige. Once her sisters arrived they’d occupy her time.
That was exactly what he wanted, and yet his chest felt as heavy as it had that day when he was eight and his father had informed him Santa was a hired employee.
But his weird mood wasn’t his sister’s fault. Nicole had done her job. “Good work. Thanks.”
“Hey, are you okay?” A personal question. Territory the Hightowers didn’t enter. But Paige did. She waded right in and wheedled information out of him he’d had no intention of sharing.
“I’m fine.”
“You don’t sound as pleased by the success of your plan as I’d expected.”
Because he wasn’t. “I’m in the middle of the trade show.”
“Oh. Sorry. But I didn’t think you’d want to wait until tonight to get the message on your room phone.”
“Correct assumption. Thanks for calling.” He clicked the phone shut and shoved it back into his pocket.
His damage control plan was right on track—albeit with a few extremely sensual detours. Detours that cost him precious networking time. But somehow he couldn’t work up any concern over the missed connections even though it meant he’d have to work harder to make up for dodging his duty after he returned home. It was a fair trade-off and a necessary one if he wanted to avoid disaster.
He’d enjoy his time with Paige, then hopefully her sisters would monopolize her from the moment they touched down Sunday morning and get her out of the hotel to see some of those sights she’d mentioned. Brent and Luanne weren’t due to arrive until late Sunday afternoon. That was cutting it close, but he was used to juggling tight deadlines.
He’d be leaving on Monday, as soon as his flight crew had logged the required downtime, and he’d still have time to organize his thoughts before the critical board meeting on Tuesday.
Everything was going exactly according to schedule. What more could he want? Nothing. Nada. So why did he still feel unsettled?
His phone buzzed again. This time he checked the caller’s identity. Paige. Adrenaline shot through his system, making his pulse spike. In less than a week Paige McCauley had become as adept at throttling up his engines as flying or roller coaster rides ever had. “Have you finished with your boss?”
“Yes.” Her breathless voice swept over him with the same physical punch as the scrape of her fingernails down his spine had earlier this morning.
“Meet me upstairs.”
Her quiet chuckle circulated through him like an aphrodisiac. “If I meet you in your suite, neither of us will get any lunch. Meet me by the service elevator at the end of the Calypso hallway instead, and I’ll show you my favorite place in the hotel.”
He caught himself grinning. And for the first time since he’d taken over as HAMC’s CEO, Trent walked away from work in the middle of the day, and he honestly didn’t care if he made it back to the convention before tomorrow morning. The vendors could make an appointment and demonstrate their wares in his office when he returned to Knoxville.
Paige stood at the top of the world—or at least as close to it as she’d ever get.
Her personal paradise consisted of a thirty-foot-wide circle of terracotta tiles with a twelve-by-twelve greenhouse parked in the center of it. The private patio on top of the hotel’s tallest tower was off-limits to guests, but she often escaped here.
“I feel like I can see the world from here,” she said without looking at Trent. Knowing that her feelings had crossed the line from lust to love made it difficult to look him in the eye. She was desperately afraid he’d guess, and the last thing she needed was another embarrassing goodbye scene.
She ducked her head and stubbed her toe on the tiled decking. “That probably sounds stupid to a guy who has traveled the globe.”
He held the picnic basket she’d borrowed from the kitchen in one hand and turned a slow circle, scanning the city of Vegas spread out as far as the eye could see. “No. It doesn’t. The view is incredible.”
“When I look at the Paris Hotel’s Eiffel Tower I think about the day I’ll visit the real one in Paris. It’s the same with the Venetian. One day I will get to Venice and ride in a real gondola.”
He strolled toward her and cupped her shoulder. “You’ll love both. I’m sorry I won’t be there to share them with you.”
Her breath caught at the sincerity in his voice and the hollowness his words left inside her. No. He wouldn’t be there. A future together had never been part of their plan, and the reminder saddened her. But she didn’t dare show it and frighten him away. She had a few days left of his company and she intended to make every second a good one.
She pivoted and gestured to the glass structure in the center of the patio circle. “This is our chef’s private garden. I’m lucky he’s willing to share it with me. He grows a lot of his herbs up here.”
“You come up here alone with him?”
“Of course.”
“How old is this guy?”
His bristly questions surprised and pleased her. If only it were jealously. “He’s my father’s age. He goes by the name of Henri, and studied in a French culinary school, but don’t tell anyone his real name is Henry, and he’s a Georgia farm boy with a green thumb. He lived in Europe long enough to banish all traces of Georgia’s red clay from his roots.”
“Is that why you like him? Because he’s erased his southern roots.”
Grimacing, Paige nodded. “I’m trying to lose my accent.”
“Don’t. It’s charming.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “That’s only because you’re from Tennessee and Southern sounds normal to you. But I notice you don’t have an accent.”
He shrugged. “Private schools and international nannies will do that.”
“You had nannies?”
“My parents traveled a lot and left us behind.”
How sad. “My sisters and I never had strangers watch us. We had each other. The older ones babysat me and then I babysat the younger ones. There’s nothing like knowing family will always be there for you no matter how bad it gets.”
He studied the horizon. “I envy you that.”
She had to strain to hear his nearly inaudible comment. “I can see where you might not be close to your sisters, but what about your brother?”
“My father raised us to be competitors, not friends.”
Her heart ached for him. He’d come from a large family, but from the sounds of it he might as well have grown up an only child. Paige gave his forearm a squeeze. “I’m sorry. My sisters and I can be competitive, but ultimately, we were the McCauley team. Take on one of us and you’re facing the whole bunch.”
His somber expression made her wince.
Way to go, Paige. Kill the mood. She crooked her finger. “Follow me. The picnic table is back here.”
She led him around the greenhouse to the round iron table and chairs set up on the other side. She sat, unzipped and discarded her boots and let the radiant warmth of the tiles seep into her soles. This was as close to running barefoot through the grass or sand back home as she could get.
“Another thing I miss about South Carolina is the seasons. Here it is late December in Vegas and with the sun shining on us it’s warm enough that we don’t even need a jacket.”
“You enjoy cold weather?”
“Sure, and even the occasional snow. Not that we had much of that in the South Carolina low country, but every few years we’d get a surprise.”
“You’d like Knoxville. We get snow and have four full seasons. In the spring and summer Tennessee is so green it’s like flying over a rolling emerald carpet.” He opened his mouth as if to add more, then closed it again, leaving her curious as to what he’d chosen not to say.
“Knoxville’s not on my short list of places to see, but maybe one day when I’ve checked off the rest on my list I’ll get to explore Tennessee.” But not with Trent.
She took the basket from him, set it on the table and unpacked their lunch of chipotle chicken, grilled vegetables, foccacia and, of course, dessert.
“Oreos?” He took the bag of cookies from her.
She withdrew a thermos and two highball glasses. “No one should miss the Oreo experience.”
“Even without a crisis?”
That would come soon enough. Monday, his departure day, to be precise. “Especially without a crisis. I even brought milk for dunking them.”
His gaze softened on her face, then flicked to the greenhouse. “How often does your chef come up for herbs?”
“Only in the morning. Why?”
“I’m wondering if we’ll be interrupted if I take you into the greenhouse.”
The passionate intent in his eyes sent arousal racing through her like a drought-fueled forest fire. “I—I don’t know. But getting caught would probably get me fired.”
“Willing to risk it?”
And be forced to return home in disgrace? She’d return when she was ready and not before. “No.”
“Are you sure?”
Right now she wasn’t sure of anything except that saying goodbye to Trent was going to hurt. “Not this time.”
He cupped her face and lifted her chin. His kiss blistered her with his hunger. “You have until Monday to change your mind.”
And she was tempted, tempted to abandon sanity and follow her heart right up until the crash.
Don’t do it. Don’t do it. Don’t do it.
Paige hit the enter button on her computer keyboard Friday afternoon. The job search engine filled her screen, listing available assistant hotel event coordinator positions in the Knoxville area. There were two. Her heart pounded in panic and her hands shook over the keys.
Stupid. What are you doing? This is no better than practicing writing a married name. That was something her sisters had often done with each school crush.
She clicked her mouse and closed the window. She and Trent would not be sharing names, cities or anything else after Monday.
But he’s everything you’ve ever dreamed of in a lover.
Her phone rang. She grabbed the receiver. “Paige McCauley. How may I help you?”
“By getting your chef to share his brownie recipe,” her youngest sister replied.
“Sammie, what a surprise. Are you home from school?”
“Yep. I’m on winter break and, of course, I am working at the store for the holiday rush. But I’m taking my dinner hour, so I decided to call. What’s up?”
For once, Paige didn’t have to get creative or prevaricate. “I’m dating a hot guy. We’ve been riding roller coasters.”