Page 45 of Sapphire Storm

Once he’d satisfied himself, he decided to honor their newfriendship by taking the man’s advice.

A little while later, he sat down with a printout of hismother’s trust document and began to read over it with a highlighter in hand.

13

Late Tuesday morning, Ethan received word that Romanwas on the property and waiting for him in the restaurant bar. As he headedtoward the lobby, he checked the pocket of his chef’s jacket to make sure hestill had the keycard for the villa he’d picked out for the man’s face-off withRachel Peyton. Then he stepped outside to the valet stand and retrieved Roman’ssurprise for the day.

“We really don’t have to do this, man,” Joey Verdugo said ashe followed Ethan through the lobby.

“We do,” Ethan answered brightly, then he spotted Romansitting by himself, glowering down at his clasped hands. The bar top was whitemarble with spare gold detailing. The young man’s outfit matched it almostperfectly. His jeans were so acid washed they were almost bleach colored, andhis white dress shirt was baggier than anything he’d seen the guy wear. Theoutfit made sense. White was the color of peace. Hiding your perfect muscleswas advisable when revealing to your best friend that you’d been propositionedby her fiancé. Roman Walker, it seemed, had thought this afternoon through.Which was probably why he looked like he wanted to die.

The bartender on duty poured the martini she’d just finishedshaking, then started carrying it toward Roman. Ethan intercepted it the secondshe placed it on the bar.

“Please,” Roman whined when he saw Ethan slidingthe drink out of his reach.

“Nope. That will not make this better.” To the bartender,Ethan said, “I’ll settle that with you later.” She nodded and departed. “Roman,this is Joey Verdugo, the valet who helped you on Saturday.”

“’Sup? My friends call me Joey V.” The lanky, goateed guygave Roman a weak wave and then both men stared at each other like teenagerswhose parents were trying to force them to hang out together. Ethan stayedsilent. Yes, it was partly a test, and with each passing second of awkwardsilence, Ethan was afraid Roman was about to fail.

“I’m really sorry I almost ran over your feet, Joey,” Romanfinally said. “I should’ve…uh…been paying closer attention.”

“That’s okay,” Joey said, even though Ethan had told himspecifically not to use those words. “You seemed super upset so…”

“I was,” Roman said, nodding aggressively. “I was superupset.”

“Which is still not an excuse to shove a ticket in someone’sface and almost run over their feet,” Ethan said brightly.

Roman glowered at him. “I’m really sorry, Joey. I’d give youan extra tip, but I’m about to be broke and homeless.”

“Herbal donations are always welcome,” Joey said, rubbinghis thumb and forefinger together like he was rolling a joint.

“Thank you, Joey. That’ll be all,” Ethan said and gave theguy a firm pat on the back.

“Really?” Roman asked once the valet was out of sight.

“Don’t you feel better?” Ethan asked.

“I’d feel better if I had that martini.”

“I figured focusing on something other than Rachel for a fewminutes before your meeting would ground you somewhat. Also, it’s always goodto be reminded that the people who work in hotels are human beings withfeelings.”

“Sure. Can I be one of them? ’Cause I’m about to need ajob.”

Ethan gripped one of Roman’s shoulders and gave it a squeezehe meant to be comforting and parental. “I’ll look into it.” He leaned in closer,dropping his voice to a whisper. “But I’m not sure it’s very likely given youand I are about to knock the biggest event of the year off the calendar.”

“That’s what I thought,” Roman grumbled.

He gently lifted Roman off the barstool by one elbow. Theguy started walking so quickly he almost forgot the canvas tote bag resting onthe floor. He spun, grabbed it, and they started moving again.

As he led them in the direction of the villas, Ethan said,“That can’t be all of your things.”

“No. The car’s full of suitcases. I loaded it all thismorning before Hank woke up. Diana’s not coming back till later tonight, andI’m supposed to train her tomorrow morning. Oh my God. Am I allowed to throw upat least? Can we stop so I can throw up?”

“There’s a bathroom in the villa if you feel the need, butlet’s get you settled first.”

“I’d be settled if you let me have a martini.”

“After. As a reward for a job well done. My treat.”

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