Page 38 of Her Big Fat Dreamy Billionaire Ex

He needed to take a vacation. Would Grams kill him if he took off tonight? Went to Mexico or something? The thought made him laugh. Who takes a vacation when they own a resort in Belize?

Felicity turned around. “What’s so funny?”

Oh, crud. He hadn’t realized he was laughing out loud. “Nothing.”

She fell into step beside him. “Come on. What is it?”

“It’s stupid.”

An eyeroll answered him. “You know you’re making me want to know even more now.”

“Haven’t you ever had a dumb thought, then chuckled about it?”

“Just tell me.” She nudged him with her elbow. “It must be something good if you’re too embarrassed to say it.”

Heat tinged his neck. Fine. He had to tell her now. Maybe he could withhold a little information and be fine. “I was just thinking I needed a vacation. Then it occurred to me how silly that was, taking a vacation from a great vacation spot.”

He expected Felicity to laugh, but she just looked at him sideways. “You want a vacation?”

“Well, you know. It just popped into my head. That’s all. It was nothing.” Would she give up on this now? He desperately hoped she’d move on to something else. He hooked his thumbs into his pockets.

“I never thought I’d hear the words, ‘I need a vacation’ come out of your mouth.”

He stared at her, not understanding. “Why?”

She looked down at the dirt path and shrugged. “You’re always working.”

Aiden stiffened. This again. She was wrong about him. He wasn’t always working. Couldn’t she see he was living on a resort in Belize? It was a freaking paradise.

Then images of himself as he worked on growing the resort came to his mind. If he were being truthful, he wasn’t just sitting on the beach enjoying life. He had thrown himself into his work at the resort as hard as he’d been working on his business before. Was there some truth to what she was saying? He sighed and checked behind them to make sure the group was caught up. He didn’t really know what to say to her, so he didn’t respond.

“I’m sorry,” she said when the silence stretched out. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“I’m not uncomfortable.” Lie. He was totally uncomfortable. He’d always thought she was exaggerating when she called him a workaholic. Sure, he was kind of obsessed with his drone when he was building it, but he knew his ideas were going to take him somewhere. He knew it would be something he could profit from.

And the resort...well, he knew once he got it updated and put in the time, he could make it profitable as well. And he had. But he still was spending most of his days working around the place. Aiden drew in a breath. Felicity was right. He was not the kind of guy to take off on a vacation.

He didn’t like that thought.

“I’ve upset you.” Felicity was looking at him, her eyebrows pulled together.

“No. I’m fine. I’m just thinking about...stuff.”

“I’m thinking about shrimp.” As if to punctuate her statement, Aiden heard her stomach growl. Her cheeks colored as she looked down at her middle.

“You should order the Mango Shrimp Ceviche. It’s to die for.”

“I will.”

She held a small smile, and he wondered if it was because of the shrimp or because she was going to eat dinner with Harold. He suddenly wanted to change the subject. “Grams will be happy with the pictures you took today.”

“It wasn’t hard to get great pictures with scenery like this. You’re lucky to live in such a beautiful place. I enjoyed the hike. My muscles needed it.”

“That is one nice thing about leading these excursions. I don’t have to worry about getting flabby.”

Her smile stretched wide. “Flabby? You?” She reached out and pinched his abdomen. “Sorry, I’m not buying it. You could always eat anything you wanted and not gain an ounce.”

He checked the group behind them again before responding with, “I’m not twenty-one anymore.”

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