Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 84102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
There was something lovely about that, about being able to make that choice. She moved back to his side. The bus ride had been perfectly pleasant. She’d imagined some broken-down vehicle no one with a brain would consider safe, but it had been a lovely, comfortable if older bus. The few people on it had been chatty and more than willing to talk to the professor when he introduced himself. He’d proven he could switch from Latin American Spanish to Castilian without breaking a sweat. The Spanish they spoke in Argentina was a bit more formal than what they spoke across Latin America, but David eased into it with a flair that her mother would approve of.
He was ridiculously charming. He’d sat with an older woman for a long time listening to her stories about working in this building for years. She’d gone on and on about cleaning products and how hard it was to keep the place sparkling when the owner refused to shut the windows. She’d listened in and it had been boring, but David had made that old woman feel comfortable, and he’d thanked her profusely for speaking with him.
He hadn’t flinched when a massive, kind of stinky dog had bounded onto the bus and walked right up to him as though that dog knew who the sucker was. He’d simply found some beef jerky in his backpack and petted the old thing while its owner had settled his luggage.
Then he’d talked to that guy for what felt like forever.
They’d loved him. When the bus had reached the town they were stopping at, everyone who was going on down the line shook David’s hand and wished him well. Some promised to talk to him further if he needed more information. They were all excited about his project.
He wasn’t the quiet guy who stood in the background. Not when it came to this. He was the shiny center of the universe, the benevolent scholar who made everyone feel important.
When had she learned to cling to the shadows? To hang in the background and try to go unnoticed?
Maybe there wasn’t one thing or moment that had taught her. Maybe it was simply part of who she was, and there wasn’t anything wrong with that, but being around David was a nice contrast to her normal day.
His fascination with the world around him was infectious.
How would that translate to sex?
“The whole place is powered by solar and hydro.” David had gone into teaching mode. “He was one of the first adopters of green energy.”
It should be obnoxious, but she found it oddly soothing. “Didn’t he make his money off something to do with solar?”
A brilliant smile lit his face. “Yeah. He invented some of the components that they still use on solar panels today.”
Yep, there was that gooey feeling again. She forced herself to look back at the house or she might stare into his dreamy eyes and turn into a drooling idiot. “How did he do it? I mean, if this place wasn’t inhabited before, how did he build all this stuff?”
“It wasn’t completely uninhabited. The town on the east coast was here. It was a fishing village at the time. It’s bigger and more modern now. Montez brought workers out here. He paid them, and when they were done, he offered them all the materials they would need for homes of their own and leased land to them at very little cost, locking the rent in for a hundred years. He did the same with businesses.”
“So this whole place runs on his money?” She wasn’t sure she understood how it worked.
“There’s a fund that’s managed by Eddie’s company. The interest alone on the money Montez left for the island is incredible. But they do have some tourism on the island, and the scientific projects bring in cash. The people who live here aren’t ever going to be wildly wealthy, but they also don’t have debt, and they get to live here,” David explained. “On this small island they’ve got waterfalls and great surfing and fishing. They’ve got this glorious wilderness around them, and they’re taught from a young age to value it. It’s a slice of paradise.”
“I’m afraid I would miss high-speed internet.” She was more of a city girl these days.
“Oh, I would, too. I mean, look, I’m fascinated by this place, but I’m not longing to move here,” he admitted. “I would definitely miss being able to get anything I wanted delivered in a couple of hours. But it’s cool to get a glimpse of another world. That must be the butler.”
She glanced up ahead, and the big doors that looked like they belonged in some fantasy movie set had come open and a large man stepped out. He was dressed in khakis and a lightweight shirt that didn’t quite hide the gun on his belt. “Butler?”