Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 98226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
But I already knew that Theo didn’t like to ask twice.
Besides, what if Joel was working and didn’t have his phone on him when I needed something?
Maybe it was a good idea for him to have my number.
Just in case.
I tapped the screen until I got to the contacts app, putting my name and number in quickly and handing the phone back to him. Theo smiled, but instead of crossing back to where he’d been sitting before, he lowered into the water next to me.
“There,” he said, tapping out something on the screen. “I texted you so you’ll have my number, too.”
Theo set his phone aside then, and he got up long enough to retrieve his glass before he was beside me once more, one arm draped over the back of the tub as he watched me.
“How’s it been on shore? Have you been getting the kind of photographs you envisioned?”
“It’s been…” I smiled, shaking my head as the memories of the last couple of weeks floated through my mind. “Absolutely incredible. Life changing. More than I could have imagined.”
“Yeah? What’s been your favorite place so far?”
“I loved Portofino,” I said. “The people there were so friendly, and the bright houses, the little hidden alleyways and streets. It was like being in a movie.” I paused. “And Nice,” I added quietly. “I liked Nice.”
Theo nodded. “Me, too.”
“Oh, yeah? What did you do there, other than work?”
“Had breakfast with a pretty girl.”
The blood drained from my face, but Theo just smiled, watching my discomfort over the top of his glass as he took another drink.
“Have you taken any time off, or has it been all work and no play?” I asked, ignoring his comment and the way it made my skin heat.
Theo sighed, sinking a little lower in the tub. “I think I discover more and more the older I get that, for me, work is an ever-present part of life. Time off doesn’t exist.”
“Sounds like you need to hire someone to be here traveling with you,” I said. “A Vacation Enforcer.”
He laughed at that. “Oh yeah?”
“I’ve seen you trying to relax,” I commented. “It’s like watching a fish try to fly.”
“So you’ve been watching me, Miss Dawn?”
My smile vanished.
Theo just chuckled, sipping more of his scotch. He sucked his teeth at the burn of it. “To be honest, that’s how it feels for me, too — like I’m out of my element. It’s uncomfortable for me, to rest. I can’t even think about trying to go enjoy a day just being a tourist without breaking into hives.” He shrugged. “But it’s different than what people perceive. I like work. I enjoy it. I worked hard to make it that way. And they say if you love what you do…”
“You’ll never work a day in your life.”
He tilted his glass toward me. “Exactly.”
“I think I can understand,” I said. “I mean, if I ever get to make a living off photography, I don’t think I’ll want a day off, either. It’s hard enough now to put my camera down when I’m not being paid for it.”
“You will,” he said confidently. “Make a living off it, that is. But I hate to be the bearer of bad news — it’ll put pressure on your creativity, once you have financial implications.”
“Does it put pressure on you?”
Theo fell silent for a moment, thinking. “Yes and no. My job is a little less creative, though, and more technical. I used to love to code, but I’m so out of touch with it all now. I’m more focused on strategy, and charming clients for an afternoon and then spending an evening busying my mind with how the next software update could benefit them and us both.”
“It sounds to me like you don’t like to be alone with your thoughts.”
Theo frowned, slowly turning until his eyes met mine. I knew by the way he watched me that no one had ever said anything like that to him before.
I wondered if I’d pegged him down the way he’d done so to me in Nice.
“And,” I added, aiming to lighten the moment. “Like you need a little more fun in your life.”
Theo’s expression relaxed. “That so? And what should I do for fun?”
I shrugged. “Read a book for pleasure instead of work. Watch a movie. Learn an instrument. See a concert. Use your ridiculous amount of money to go shopping or eat at a cool restaurant. Jump off a cliff.”
“Jump off a cliff?” he echoed on a laugh. “Well, that’s one way to tell a person how you feel about them.”
“I mean like cliff diving!”
“Uh-huh, sure. It’s fine. See if I ever offer you an all-expenses paid trip on a yacht through the Mediterranean again.”
I laughed, my head tilting back, and it felt good — the way that sound reverberated through me, the way Theo’s smile widened at the sound.