Page 11 of Finding Cory

Cory's eyes were serious as he looked down at her. She smiled back at him, charmed again by his honesty and his straightforward, open approach.

"I'd like that too."

"I'm honored by your trust in telling me about your ex and why you're here, and I promise you that nobody will hear a word of it from me."

She was already quite sure of that, but she nodded anyway, accepting his pledge. Cory bent his head slowly, allowing her time to move away if she wanted to, but she was more than happy to step in closer and accept the kiss he pressed against her lips.

"Tomorrow," he said, a low-voiced promise, before he swiped his access card and let them back into the building.

Olivia was sure the color flags were flying high on her cheeks as she watched Cory bound up the spiral stairs in the atrium to the main lounge on the second floor where he had to call the bingo game. She caught herself admiring at the muscles bunching in his strong thighs as he took the steps three at a time, and laughed at herself. Cory was a whole lot more than just a handsome face and an attractive body.

"He's good-looking for sure, but Cory's a player," a voice said behind her, and Olivia turned to see Jill, the guest relations manager she'd met at the airport. "Don't get your heart broken."

Olivia wasn't entirely sure what made her ask, "Is that personal experience talking?" but the way Jill's face flushed told her that her shot in the dark was right on target. Jill didn't say another word, just turned and stalked away, outrage radiating from her in waves.

"I think I might have made an enemy," Olivia muttered regretfully. She couldn’t do a lot about it, though; she guessed that the moment Jill so much as suspected chemistry between Olivia and Cory, her nose would have been out of joint. Thank God nobody had witnessed their kiss at the wedding chapel, or the quick embrace outside the door. Olivia's name would have been mud all over Sunfish Island before nightfall; no doubt she'd have been smeared as a slut who threw herself at Cory literally as soon as she arrived.

Wandering over to look at the tour-booking desk—currently unoccupied—and the large display of brochures for available trips, Olivia wondered if shehadbeen slutty. She'd always had a policy of never getting involved with anyone she worked with. What was it about Cory that had made her forget that resolution within a couple of hours of meeting him? It wasn't just the way he looked. She'd worked with attractive men many times before and never felt remotely tempted. No, she felt a genuine connection with Cory, one that had been there from their first meeting, and every moment spent in his company since had only reinforced the impression that he was a man she could like and respect as well as lust after.

I'm not going to feel guilty for going after what I want, Olivia decided, squaring her shoulders and turning to look around the lobby. Whatever had happened between Jill and Cory was obviously in the past, and Jill's little display of jealousy only put Olivia on her guard. She couldn't trust anything Jill said about Cory now. Every instinct told her that Cory wasn't a "player" as Jill had described him—and wouldn't Rosie, who'd known Cory all her life, have dropped a gentle hint or two if he were, instead of eagerly matchmaking?

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