Page 12 of Sunburned

“No.” He met my eye with a small smile that saidAbsolutely not, thank God. “I’ll let you unpack.” He checked his watch. “It’s nearly six. Dinner is at eight, but you have had a long travel day. Would you like anything to eat now?”

I nodded gratefully. “Please.”

I glanced toward the pool as I followed him into the kitchen, but Samira and Gisèle had disappeared, replaced by a pretty young maid cleaning up after them. Laurent opened the gargantuan stainless steel refrigerator, revealing neatly stacked glass containers of food interspersed with orderly rows of Perrier, fresh-squeezed juices, and French wines. The bottom shelf of Coors Light stood out like a Big Mac in a Michelin-starred restaurant. I had to smile. However many other ways Tyson might have changed since I last saw him, he was apparently still drinking Coors Light.

Laurent took a handful of containers from the refrigerator and set them on the island as I grabbed a large Perrier. By the time I’d quenched my thirst, he was sliding a plate of freshly cut fruit and a smoked salmon sandwich toward me. “You’re an angel,” I said.

I’d just stuffed the first delicious bite of sandwich into my mouth when I heard voices and turned to see two men in polos coming up the stairs. One was in his twenties with a backpack on his shoulders, the other in his fifties carrying a briefcase. They nodded to Laurent and me as they cut across the room toward the front door.

“Tony,” a female voice called out, and the older man turned to face the woman who emerged from the stairwell, holding a folder. “You left this,” she said, handing him the folder.

Allison Zhu was just as broad-shouldered and svelte in a figure-hugging black dress as she had been in a Speedo when she shot to fame as a gold medal swimmer in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, her perpetual poise and endorsement deals with Under Armour, Verizon, and Dove making her a household name. Her features were sharper thanthey had been when she was younger, her formerly long straight black hair now blunt-cut in a chic bob, but she radiated the same cool control that had been her trademark all those years ago.

She and Tyson had met in college, but this was the first time I’d encountered her, and she was nothing if not intimidating as she turned her attention to me when the men left. “Hi,” she said, approaching with her hand extended. Her grip was strong, her dark eyes penetrating. “I’m Allison. You’re Tyson and Cody’s friend?”

So they’d called me a friend. That was a good sign.“Audrey,” I replied. “Nice to meet you.”

I’d learned in my brief research that after she’d retired from competitive swimming, Allison had gone on to business school, and, looking for something to do with the millions she’d made on her endorsement deals, had partnered with Tyson to create De-Sal. Tyson may have been the creative genius who patented the technology, but it was clear from everything I read about her that Allison was a shrewd businesswoman who had turned the company into the behemoth it was today, with more than a hundred desalination centers all over the world.

“We’re still wrapping up for the day downstairs, but I’ll see you at dinner?” she asked as she withdrew her hand.

“Yes,” I said.

Laurent turned to me as Allison jogged down the stairs. “I have to pick up Jennifer at the spa,” he said. “You will be okay?”

I nodded. “I’m pretty tired. I’ll probably try to take a nap.”

“I’ll wake you at six-thirty.”

“You don’t have to.”

He smiled, a hint of mirth in his bright blue eyes. “Unfortunately, Ido.”

“Ah,” I said, understanding.Tyson. Of course.“Well, then, I’ll see you at six-thirty.”

Back in my room, I closed the drapes against the bright day and lay on the soft bed, wondering what the hell I’d gotten myself into.

But it was only five days. I could handle anything for five days, and I’d been clear when I accepted this invitation that it was the one andonly time I’d respond when Tyson called in a favor. He’d agreed, of course, but I knew better than to take Tyson at his word. No, if I wanted Tyson Dale out of my life for good, I’d have to find a way to make that happen.

Fortunately, I was resourceful.

Eleven Years Ago, June

The sun had not yet dropped beneath the horizon when I tucked my mom into bed and biked the two miles over to Tyson’s. It was so humid I should’ve borrowed her car, but I got so little time to myself that the twenty minutes alone with my thoughts was worth showing up damp with perspiration.

I found Tyson and Cody poolside in the soft evening light tending the smoking grill, longnecks dangling from their hands. Cody was slightly taller and broader than Tyson, but somehow took up less space, his personality as reserved as Tyson’s was brash, his sense of style trending toward traditional—like the golf shirt he now wore—while Tyson was more of a rock ’n’ roll kind of guy.

“Hi, gorgeous.” Tyson lifted my backpack from my shoulders and set it in a chair. “Does this mean you’re staying the night?”

I smiled. “Maybe.”

I didn’t usually spend the night with Tyson, because I wanted to be there to help Mom if she awoke in the night in pain, but I knew that after the amount of energy she’d expended while we were at the beach today, she’d be out cold until morning.

He pulled me closer, slipped an arm around me, and kissed me.“Mmm…salty.” I pushed him away, stripping down to my bikini to dive into the pool.

I emerged refreshed and Tyson handed me a towel with a naughty grin as I approached the grill, wringing out my long hair.

“What do we have here?” I asked Cody.

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