Page 16 of Beach Bodies

I laugh in spite of myself, because that’s an awfully casual way to refer to an exclusive wellness retreat that he’s paid thirty thousand dollars to attend. Plus tax.

‘Yeah, the four-weekintensiveis definitely… intense.’

‘It’s not my normal scene. I guess I gave myself away to the omelette master over there. But, you know, that’s the life of a journalist. You go where the story is.’

Instantly, my skin prickles. ‘Oh, you’re here doing research?’

‘Huge feature on wellness tourism forFit Life. Have you heard of it?’

‘No.’

‘Ouch.’

I wave a hand. ‘I’m not into magazines.’

‘Not a reader?’

‘I didn’t say that.’

Daniel’s eyes crinkle. He sets down his coffee briefly to push his sleeves above his elbows. The man’s forearms are rippling with muscle and tendon. Yes, I imagine them braced over me in a compromising position. And yes, I immediately toss the thought into the trash bin, where all such thoughts must go.

‘Sorry to have made assumptions. You must get that a lot.’

‘Meaning …’

‘Meaning that you look like a living Barbie doll, and people project their own ideas about what that means on you.’ He pauses. ‘No offence.’

Fuck, this guy is full of surprises. Gorgeousandon point? Unfair.

‘No offence taken,’ I say. ‘Actually… I appreciate that you said that.’

‘I bet that makes it hard to trust people. Romantic partners, especially.’

‘Um…’ An alarm blares in my head.Too close too fast!But also, how is this guy reading me this easily? Itishard to trust people– because there are so few deserving of trust. And for the past five years, let’s just say I haven’t let anyone get past light flirting with me.

‘Sorry,’ says Daniel, eyeing me. ‘I guess that’s another assumption, isn’t it?’

Yes, it is. But it doesn’t mean he’s wrong.

Mom was gorgeous. She liked to date. People assumed she was a slut.

I was only twelve when I realized I was going to be gorgeous like Mom. I remember the morning it dawned on me. I stood in front of the bathroom mirror in my pyjamas, touching my face, my heart pressed tight between warring feelings of exhilaration and deep dread. Beauty made Mom’s life harder. It put a target on her back, and that morning, I felt the target on mine, too, as real and physical as my skin, my bones.

Let’s just say I did a lot of hiding in oversized clothing when I was a teenager.

And then …

Jessica.

She waltzed into the bar where I was working in downtown Cincinnati with her bevy of college friends and her fake ID, and everything changed. ‘I’ll have a Cosmo,’ she said in her breathy voice, fixing her big blue eyes on me, and she must have seen something in my wry grin, because she quickly amended her order. ‘Or… what do you recommend?’ For the first time in my twenty years of existence, that night at O’Malley’s I was actually thankful for my looks, because they made her notice me.

Daniel’s gaze is locked with mine, like he’s watching the memories play inside my head. His clear brown eyes don’t waver, and I squirm internally.

‘Well… you know what they say about assumptions,’ I say with forced levity.

He grins. ‘And I’d love to make it up to you. Drinks? Tonight, at the Sunset Bar? Zero assumptions. Just two people talking.’

Suddenly, all I can think of is Vic’s directive during training last night– the same as every year.We don’t expressly forbid relations between guests and staff– we’ve learned the hard way that putting a lot of beautiful people together has consequences, ha-ha– but we do ask that you exercise good judgement and discretion. And this is your friendly reminder that all guest-related information and activity at the resort is covered in your NDA.

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