Page 3 of Summer Escape
Her expression softened. "How old is your daughter?"
"Thirteen."
Her shoulders lowered. "It's sweet that you brought her here to reconnect with her and for her to know your family."
I nodded. "Now you understand why I need this place."
"I'm here because—" She blew out a breath, before she continued, "I need an escape from my life."
I waited for her to elaborate, but she didn't. Instead, she pulled on a pair of cut-off jean shorts and turned away from me, letting her towel drop to the floor. I fisted my hands, thinking I should have walked out when she was pulling on her panties. What if my daughter came upstairs?
Surely, I'd hear her tread on the wooden stairs. And since when did my daughter seek me out anymore? I was the source of all her frustrations as far as she was concerned. I was taking her away from her mother and her friends. I was obviously trying to ruin her life. She'd told me that often enough on the drive here.
But I couldn't look away from Saylor. Her wet hair fell down her back as she put on her bra and drew a white T over her head. When she turned around, she piled her wet hair on top of her head and wrapped a band around it, her shirt lifting slightly so I could see her bellybutton piercing, the one I was by her side for.
I wondered why she'd gotten dressed while I stood in her bedroom doorway, and why I was still standing here. It was part curiosity about how the cottage had been double-booked and whether the towel would slip. She'd certainly filled out since she was eighteen.
She placed her hands on her hips, and I drew my gaze up to her face. "We can't both live here."
"Why don't you move in with your grandmother?" I asked, curious about where her grandmother was living now, if not in her house.
Saylor rolled her eyes, and I wondered if my daughter was destined to use this move for life too. "She lives in a one-bedroom condo. There's no room."
"There's no room for you here."
She raised a brow. "There are three bedrooms, and I didn't even take the biggest one."
I figured she'd done that because of the view from this room, or maybe it had been one she stayed in as a child, and it held memories for her. "I have an impressionable young daughter downstairs."
"Are you saying that I'm not a good influence?"
I sighed, running a hand over the back of my neck. I wasn't handling this well. "I'm saying you're a stranger to my daughter, and I don't know who you are now."
"You could get to know me."
"That's not a good idea." It had been a long time since I was with a woman, and I didn't intend to get close to one when it was my summer to bond with my daughter. I should be focused on Hayden. Saylor living in my house was a distraction. One I wouldn't be able to ignore.
"You can bet I'll be talking to my grandmother," Saylor said as she moved past me.
"You should start looking for an alternative place to stay." Surely, she could stay with her grandmother. She was the one who’d made the mistake.
"I'm confident that Grandma will want me to stay here," but her tone wasn't as sure as it had been before. Maybe she doubted her grandmother would want to kick out a paying renter who was here to spend time with his daughter.
That was the only play I had. I knew all too well that family was supposed to come first. I'd betrayed that basic tenant when I signed onto the military, and I was prepared to deal with the fallout with my family at some point.
My father and Hudson had assumed I'd stay on and help them manage the business and eventually take it over with Hudson. I'd let them down.
"I'll call the management company," I said as she jogged down the stairs.
A few seconds later, I heard the front door close. What are the odds that I'd rented the same beach cottage as my former fling?
Technically, we could both stay here. There was plenty of room. Then I remembered what Saylor looked like in that towel, how it had barely covered her curves and how her skin glistened from the water. That summer we turned eighteen, we couldn't keep our hands off each other, and it was clear the attraction hadn't dissipated.
I should be focused on Hayden and not my new roommate.
Chapter Two
Saylor
