Page 52 of Just Desserts

"Scared of what? Talk to me, pretty girl, no judgement, don't worry about hurting my feelings, just tell me what's going on in that head of yours." He said, making sure to pull away and look into my eyes so I knew how serious he was. This wasn't a half-assed question because he felt like he wassupposedto ask what was wrong. He cared, and that finally made me start to cry.

"Is this all too soon? What is this even? I'm not divorced, this is my first time living alone, my entire vision for my future is shifting under my feet and I feel like it's wrong to cling to you. It's wrong to bring you into all my drama and does it make me a bad person? That I could move on, have feelings for someone else after being with someone for so long, someone I loved. What if this is a rebound? I don't want to do that to you. I'm a mess Myles. I don't know what I'm doing." The words came tumbling out without my control.

"This can be whatever you want, Isla. First and foremost I want to be your friend, someone you feel comfortable around and who can cheer you up when you need it. Do I want it to be more than that? Yes, I won't ever lie to you. But I'm in no rush, you are worth waiting for. Life is messy, I don't expect you or your life to be perfect, I just want to be a part of it." He said calmly, the sincerity shining so clearly in his eyes.

"I hate it when you're sweet." I grumbled. I did hate it, it made it so much harder to push him away. Which is what I was doing, I could acknowledge that to myself. I obviously wasn't doing a great job of it, my heart wasn't in it.

"Can't help it, you're easy to be sweet too. So, can I still take you to dinner? I'm sure you've had a long day." He said, pulling me closer to him and rubbing his hand down my back soothingly.

"Dinner sounds good." I mumbled.

"I was going to take you out to this pub I found that does Karaoke but I'm thinking we should save that for another time. How does takeout and a movie at your place sound?" He asked and I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face. This man was going to ruin me.

Everyday since that moment he has held up his promise. We went from ‘seeing each other’ to officially dating swiftly, most of our weekends and as much weeknights spent together as possible. I was trying to take things slow, but it was easy to get lost in Myles, and that didn’t seem like such a scary idea anymore.

Myles

The last few weeks with Isla had been incredible. Every moment I spent with her, I found something new to obsess over. The summer went by in a haze of sundrenched days, vibrant food and meeting new people. I got to meet Isla’s friends Aiden and Jen and we had hung out several times since then. I appreciate the couple greatly, once I found out how instrumental they were in helping Isla in the early days of her divorce.

We also had Grams' Monte Carlo night where she insisted we stay for the event. I arrived early with Isla to help her carry inand set up the food, then I spent the night losing money and getting grilled regarding my intentions by the majority of the residents. It was such a fun night, Isla seemed to almost glow with excitement. Her ease and comfort around her Grams and her friends was evident. She looked beautiful, in a simple dress and flats she stood out among all the costumed, Vegas styled guests. The food she prepared was a hit and I had to stop myself from eating most of the plates before they made it out to the event room.

We took turns planning dates when we could during the work week while I took control of the weekends, making sure to find activities Isla had mentioned in passing. It was my mission to cross off every item on her Johnny Wouldn't List, even if that meant axe throwing. Though we spent almost every weekend together, I was working my hardest to take things slowly. I kept all physical interactions at a PG rating, wanting Isla to be the one to initiate, to let me know when she was ready.

At times, when she fell asleep in my arms my body resented me something fierce. Then I remembered how much trust it took for her to get to that moment, and my patience was reignited. I would be there for Isla, until she realized I wasn’t going anywhere. Not now, not later, ideally not ever.

Today was another busy day at the hotel as the spring and summer season brought in tourists from all over. I was working with vendors to make sure we had extra of everything to accommodate the increased level of guests and activities the hotel was hosting. I was in my office reorganizing the schedule for the 100th time when my door swung open. I look up startled to see Sarah and Sully walk in, both of them with varying expressions of anger and concern.

"What's going on?" I asked, looking between the two of them.

"Alyssa's here. She's been sitting in the lobby for over an hourat least. I noticed her a little bit ago and texted Sully, he rolled back the cameras. She got here around noon."

"Is she meeting someone, has she checked in at the front desk or restaurant?" I asked, confused as to why she would be here.

"She seems to be staking out the place." Sully replied firmly.

"What?!" Sarah and I exclaimed together.

"She hasn't gone through any of the papers in her folder, she occasionally will look down and pretend to read but she hasn't moved past the first page. She's clearly waiting for someone, but she's not checking the front door. She's actually looking at every door but the main entrance. Any chance she's here for you boss?" He asked, looking at me.

"Not that I know of, I haven't seen her in person in years." I said, a gnawing feeling developing in my gut.

"This doesn't feel right." Sarah said, looking between the two of us.

"Agreed." I said.

"Boss? Why don't you let me handle it. You don't get involved, just focus on Isla. I'll make sure that viper doesn't get near either of you."

"I can't ask you to do that, Sully." I replied. I knew enough of Sully's background to know this is something he could do easily, but the reason he was working at the hotel was to avoid stressful jobs. He had enough high stakes gigs in his work history.

"You're not asking, I'm offering. We all know I'm the best person to do it anyway." He stared at me sternly. Knowing I didn't really have a choice, if I hired an outside PI to followAlyssa, Sully would feel insulted on a whole new level.

"Fine. Please keep an eye on her. Nothing illegal, but I'll let you take point on this. And thank you, I really appreciate it. You too Sarah, I'm glad you're watching out for Isla."

"She's awesome, if you fuck this up I might switch teams and steal her away so watch your back." Sarah replied flippantly.

"What are we gonna do about the roach motel camping out in the lobby though?" She followed up.

"Sarah and I will return to our posts. Wait until I text you, once I'm set up, Myles you come out and talk to Sarah about something on the computer. Let me take it from there." Sully directed us, I could see him working out several scenarios in his head.

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