Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 86710 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86710 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
I’m taken aback by the vehemence in her voice. I don’t understand what the big deal is about getting photographed. Yes, I get that there are people who value their privacy but being so intense about it implies that you’re hiding something. The main thing that someone would hide in a new relationship is their marital status. I know for sure that Olivia is not married.
“So what you’re saying is that our relationship should be a secret? Even after three months when you stop working for me?”
“We’ll talk about it then.” She stands up and stretches, then stops to look at me. “Do you think there might be more pictures?”
“I doubt it. They probably printed the best one they had.”
She visibly relaxes. “Good. Let’s forget about it and enjoy this beautiful island. I know this is an experience I’ll never forget.”
“We’ll come here whenever you want,” I tell her, forcing a smile.
I’m haunted by Olivia’s reaction. What do I really know about her? I haven’t met any of her friends or family. My imagination goes on overdrive. I need to meet Olivia’s brother. It will make me feel better about our budding relationship.
Breakfast is waiting for us. There’s fresh fruit on the dining table and shortly after we sit down, the smell of frying bacon and eggs fills the room. When I bought the house, I envisioned bringing my family here for vacations. Having meals together in the dining room, the chatter of my wife and children filling the room.
Olivia and I sit across from one another. She’s so freaking gorgeous; a sight I’d want to wake up to every morning. Is she the first part of my dream, the wife part? Only time will tell but in my bones, I feel that she’s the one. I’ve never had this strong, intense chemistry with any other woman. She ticks all my boxes for a wife… if she wasn’t so secretive.
It’s a lazy day and after breakfast, I drive Olivia around the island. Afterward, we take a walk on the beach and in the afternoon, we go paddle boarding again.
“What time is our reservation?” Olivia asks when we’re getting ready for dinner.
“It’s for eight.” I’ve reserved a table for us in one of the most exclusive restaurants on the island. I move behind her to zip up her dress. She’s wearing a sexy black dress that fits her like a second skin. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you,” Olivia says turning around. A twinkle comes to her eye. “You don’t look too bad yourself.”
Her phone rings and she crosses the room to pick it up from the bedside table. She shoots me a look I can’t read before answering the phone. It’s clearly a woman and she sounds excited though I can’t make out the words.
I step away to give her privacy. I shut the door behind me and head to the living room to wait for her. She follows me a few minutes later.
“Good news?”
“No, nothing special,” Olivia says. “It was my former boss. She was checking on me.”
“How nice of her.” I’ve never thought of calling a former employee to check on them but maybe female bosses are different. More attached to people.
What am I doing? I’m becoming suspicious about everything that Olivia says. I’ve never been this way with any other woman and I don’t want to be. Give it a rest, I tell myself. Olivia doesn’t have to tell me everything about herself. I don’t tell her everything either, although I’d be hard-pressed to give an example of what I’ve kept to myself.
I take her hand as we walk to the car, and resolutely push the phone call from my mind.
It’s a beautiful evening and I have a gorgeous woman on my arm. The restaurant is a short drive away but we take the long way round to enjoy the views. We’re going back home tomorrow. Too soon. Time is moving too fast and I wish we could stay longer.
The restaurant has breathtaking views of the ocean and we’re shown to a table on the terrace. I pull out the chair for Olivia and as her scent hits me, I think again how lucky I am to be here with her.
We order and relax back to enjoy the evening. A gentle breeze blows in from the ocean.
“This island is special,” Olivia says. “Was it on your bucket list to have a home here?”
I laugh. “Not always. I didn’t know about it until a friend had a bachelor party here. Then it got on my bucket list. Do you have a bucket list?”
A serious expression comes over her features. “I don’t have a bucket list but I love lists. I love writing a to-do list at night and then crossing items off the following day.”
I chuckle. “I’m the same way though mine is a mental list. It’s satisfying to do everything you had planned for the day.”